I'm pretty diligent about measuring my light amounts over my canopies. It's been a
huge pet peeve of mine that I don't have an actual PAR meter; just a $25 Lux meter from Amazon.
So I've been doing the math, but basically guessing @ my PAR amounts from my mh/cmh/hps.
I saw this MIGRO video (I know
)
where he uses the Apogee SQ 500 to measure PAR for 3000, 3500, 4000, and 5000k spectrum white LED, MH and HPS and gives a chart reading and calibration for a $30 Lux meter off Amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07Q56D14Z?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
So I ordered one, got it today and tried it out.
Nothing special. The display is easy to read even under direct light, but the sensor head rotates 270 degrees so that can be avoided.
It reads on average about 5k-7k lower than my other meter does which is why I bought it. For $30 I now have the peace of mind actually knowing what I'm giving to my girls.
If you don't want to watch the video but are interested in the details, here's a couple pictures of the charts for MH and HPS
I also went ahead and made myself a chart on the wall for 150/300/600/800 PAR->Lux# (they say messy handwriting is a sign of intelligence...or I just really suck @ it. don't make fun
)
The best part is now that I know how much light I need, I've been able to make adjustments and have figured my costs out to be about $0.13 per/hr when lights are on atm.
So, if you're anal about measuring your light spread (and money) like I am but aren't rich, I would definitely consider taking a look @ the video.
On to the growing part...
I got lights/plants shifted around. Everything is @ a minimum of 600 PAR @ the dimmest point of the canopies.
315cmh running in the veg tent for now.
White Widow #1 is still under 650w hps and I couldn't be happier with the way she looks 1 night after getting defoliated.
Last night
Today
She's going back to a 12/12 schedule now that the pistils are established.
And thanks to my recent exhaust work and light adjustments, I've found I can only open 1 vent on each tent a wee little bit to maintain a 75F temperature with my fans on low...