Things to Know About Lighting

KGB27

Member
How can I optimize the light output?
You can help reflect the light out of each tube, by using metal foil tape as a reflector, attached directly to the tube as shown in this faq. click here Using clear plastic safety sleeves over the fluorescent tubes allows you to recycle the metal foil reflective tape.

This is a great idea that I never thought to do. I am going to start seedlings under flourescents this time in order to cut down on power consumption and I will foil tape the tops, it can only help....thanks Mogie:hump:
 

masterhydro

Active Member
I have a UFO that is equal to a 400 W HPS over my 15 plants. The biggest one is 17 inches tall. The UFO is starting to no penetrate threw all the leaves and the bottum ones are dying because of this. If I hang compact flouresents around the side of the grow area will it help the bottum leaves get more light or will it effect the light that the UFO is giving off and mess my plants up? ANY INFO APPRECIATED!!
 

KaliKitsune

Well-Known Member
I have a UFO that is equal to a 400 W HPS over my 15 plants. The biggest one is 17 inches tall. The UFO is starting to no penetrate threw all the leaves and the bottum ones are dying because of this. If I hang compact flouresents around the side of the grow area will it help the bottum leaves get more light or will it effect the light that the UFO is giving off and mess my plants up? ANY INFO APPRECIATED!!
Your plants will be fine with extra supplementary light.
 

Hulk Nugs

Well-Known Member
Alright i am getting ready to make some changes in my flower room and veg room

Right now i have :

Flower room
400 wat hps
4inch can fan
6inch blower

Veg room
600 wat mH
pc fans hahaha


I was thinking of putting the two lights together in a cooltube setup in the flower room so i would have 1000 wats (400hps,600mh) should i do this ??

If i do this i will hook up the can fan to the lights then do ducing to the ouside.

I will then get a fluoresent lights out for my veg room that will help with the heat in there.

Just not to sure if you can have to much light, since i only have a 2x2 area, the rooms bigger then that but thats the size of the area i am growing in.

Edit: I also have a 250mh just sitting on a shelf not being used but i dont have a ballast for it....... whats the most watage i should put in a 2x2 from what i read on FAQ they said 400 is fine but if i can get more wats in there and then get bigger nugs i want to ya know hahaha.


I am trying to provide all the info you would need to think of how the setup is but if theres anymore questions let me know.
 

born2killspam

Well-Known Member
400W hps is more than enough for 2x2, and 600W MH is way more than enough to veg for a 2x2 area.. Save some money and get a few cfls to veg with, and just put the MH away until you have a worthwhile job for it.. I'm all for mixing MH into the flower room, but 250W/sqft is equivalent to almost twice as bright as the sun ever hits the earth, and yes too much light for extended periods is bad.. They can use about 50W/sqft for an entire 12hr day fairly effectively without CO2 addition.. With CO2 they can use a bit more.. Give them more light than they have water/CO2 to process and photosynthesis starts going haywire and starts creating destructive compounds that destroy chloroplasts rather than what the plant needs..
 

That 5hit

Well-Known Member
leds real or hype
can i grow under colored lights (red and blue) would this be the same as led
i see a lot of led setups online and they all are red and blue 7/2 could i just by a massive amount of red and blue party bulbs and have a seed to harvest grow during my research i found out that its not about the brightness of your light but the spectrum led's do a good job at forcing the red/blue light spec. onto plants could this theory work with colored lightbulbs, it would defiantly be cheaper
and why are leds so much $$ couldn't I just buy a bunch of super bright x-mass light, about 50 leds come on each string so about 7 reds 2 blue tape all the lights together or how ever just put them together so they kind of look like the ones online.
would the light thats produce be comparable to led made now. i mean we are talking about 400 super bright xmas light focussed to one point and not the typical pointed sape but the ones that look flat at the top in theory this could and should work?????
maybe
 

KaliKitsune

Well-Known Member
leds real or hype
can i grow under colored lights (red and blue) would this be the same as led
i see a lot of led setups online and they all are red and blue 7/2 could i just by a massive amount of red and blue party bulbs and have a seed to harvest grow during my research i found out that its not about the brightness of your light but the spectrum led's do a good job at forcing the red/blue light spec. onto plants could this theory work with colored lightbulbs, it would defiantly be cheaper
and why are leds so much $$ couldn't I just buy a bunch of super bright x-mass light, about 50 leds come on each string so about 7 reds 2 blue tape all the lights together or how ever just put them together so they kind of look like the ones online.
would the light thats produce be comparable to led made now. i mean we are talking about 400 super bright xmas light focussed to one point and not the typical pointed sape but the ones that look flat at the top in theory this could and should work?????
maybe
You would be wasting more $$$ on energy in a few months using colored light bulbs than you would spend just buying an HID or even an LED array.

Intensity of the light matters absolutely. One watt of quality light ain't going to get you a pound unless you spent decades on the plant.
 

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
Same room...
Same grow...
Same strain...
Same res...

The ONLY difference is MH vs HPS...

Any thoughts?







 

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
And what do you guys make of this post?

Holy shit I think I know why my plant was having a hard time to bloom!!!!

The fucking CLF's glow for HOURS after you turn them off! :cuss::cuss::cuss:

I discovered this being on a war path to find any light leaks this being the first 12/12 day of my second grow :cuss::cuss::cuss:



Get in your bloom room next time and see how you can use the CLF's to walk around in the so called pitch black room, NOT :cuss::cuss::cuss:

There not old bulbs yet !


There on my bench in another room, just the bulbs and there STILL glowing WTF?


I will only use CLF during Veg ever again :cuss::cuss::cuss:

You can light seal the room but who would have thought the CLF's would be still glowing for hours afterwards inside the tent? :cuss::cuss::cuss:

Picture are of the poor thing hovering in veg confusion. :-?





 

KaliKitsune

Well-Known Member
And what do you guys make of this post?
A huge honking lie. When a CFL goes off, the residual charge is barely enough to even excite the green phosphors in a CFL. The last few moments of actual light emission left is almost purely in the green range and doesn't last more than about twenty seconds.

I've *NEVER* had a problem flowering using any fluorescent lamp, even set at 14/10.

Poor fool burned the CRAP out of his plants. WAY too much nitrogen and a major imbalance of calcium and magnesium.
 

born2killspam

Well-Known Member
Its not that there is even residual charge.. Well, I guess thats as good a general description as any.. The current stops instantly the only energy (not charge exactly) is in excited electrons within the phosphors (similar to excited electrons that drive photosynthesis).. Fluorescents are coated with phosphors that are pretty much the same as glow-in-the-dark trinkets..
Phosphorescent lighting like glow sticks are actually used in scenarios where any typical lighting would cause problems (like dark periods).. For instance, on The Unit, they used glow sticks to see while disarming a bomb that had a light activated trigger.. The excuse doesn't even fly from a theoretical POV..
 
Hey there every1

Just new to all this got a wee queery about lights, I've currently got a 400w mh and a 400w hps. Just wondering what's the best light to use? I'm using the mh for the veg stage the noo then al use the hps for flowering. But I'm a bit greedy n want maximum buddage and been told that I should jst use the hps for veg and flowering to maximize my buds. Is there any truth in this? Cheers guys
 
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