Running two 1000 watts? monthly bill increase? how many plants? ect........

[legaltoker]

Ok so heres the deal, i have a 9'x6' room, so i figured an actual 8'x4' area of growing space. i've been running one 1000 watt in there with 9 plants. i recently just picked up another 1000 watt to run in there so i can have enough lumens per square foot in there to grow sativa strains if i want. i was reading in ed rosenthals book that 2 1000 watts were ideal for an 8'x4' area. i'm just wondering what other peoples setups are like that are running 2 1000 watts......about how much a month do they cost to run? i'm figuring somewhere like 150-175$ more a month?(electricity) also i was wondering how many plants you run under 2 1k's. i was thinking of doing a sog with 5 gallon pots(just dont know how many), and maybe scrog them after i perfect my growing skills.....2 thousand watts in this room are hella bright! it kind of hurts your eyes just being in the room

 

[Allglad]

It depends where you live and how much they charge per KW, along with temps in your area (if you live in a hot area you will need more a/c due to light heat).

 

[newatit2010]

hang sunglasses at the door put them on walk in

 

[Allglad]

Good idea...newatit2010.

 

[Mountainfarmer]

My buddy runs 2000 watts in a 9x4 area, it works out nice. You should expect each 1000 watt light to run you $40/month @ 12/12. So 2 1000 watt lights @ 12/12 would run you Around $80/month. Unless your growing trees (60 days or more veg time) 5 gallon pots are a waste. They consume more soil and are harder to move then the 3 gallon pot. We' have used the 5 gallon with no benefits. We veg for 30 days and flower up to 75-80 days and have never had a problem with rootbound plants. This is using the 3 gallon pot with promix. By the way, if you were to run a sog u wouldn't use 5 gallon pots. You would run a 1-2 gallon pot a fit 50 plants in there.

Ok so heres the deal, i have a 9'x6' room, so i figured an actual 8'x4' area of growing space. i've been running one 1000 watt in there with 9 plants. i recently just picked up another 1000 watt to run in there so i can have enough lumens per square foot in there to grow sativa strains if i want. i was reading in ed rosenthals book that 2 1000 watts were ideal for an 8'x4' area. i'm just wondering what other peoples setups are like that are running 2 1000 watts......about how much a month do they cost to run? i'm figuring somewhere like 150-175$ more a month?(electricity) also i was wondering how many plants you run under 2 1k's. i was thinking of doing a sog with 5 gallon pots(just dont know how many), and maybe scrog them after i perfect my growing skills.....2 thousand watts in this room are hella bright! it kind of hurts your eyes just being in the room

 

[woodsmaneh!]

I have been using 1000w for years and have grown anywhere from 100 small dicks on ebb and flow to 30 in pots. I am in raised beds now that are 4x8 and I grow 20 plants under each one. 2 lights per 4x8 for a total of 40 plants. I am going to try 15 soon. I grow Indica most with some Sativa for me. I found that if I veg for a full 3 weeks than flower, my plants finish about 4 feet tall and I get between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs per light.

In my experience I have found that I tend to grow the same weight no matter how many plants I GROW under one light. I have gone from 100 plants to 20 over the last 10 years and I now grow 20 per light and because I am a better grower I grow more than ever and my risk is lower due to the low plant count. So up here if I get busted it's 1000$ a plant = 20 plants = 20,000$ vs 100 plants = 100,000$

 

[FootClan]

Ok so heres the deal, i have a 9'x6' room, so i figured an actual 8'x4' area of growing space. i've been running one 1000 watt in there with 9 plants. i recently just picked up another 1000 watt to run in there so i can have enough lumens per square foot in there to grow sativa strains if i want. i was reading in ed rosenthals book that 2 1000 watts were ideal for an 8'x4' area. i'm just wondering what other peoples setups are like that are running 2 1000 watts......about how much a month do they cost to run? i'm figuring somewhere like 150-175$ more a month?(electricity) also i was wondering how many plants you run under 2 1k's. i was thinking of doing a sog with 5 gallon pots(just dont know how many), and maybe scrog them after i perfect my growing skills.....2 thousand watts in this room are hella bright! it kind of hurts your eyes just being in the room

I think 2 1000w in a 4x8 is about as good as it gets really......That would be a great set up....I do one 1000w in a 4x4 space and it does very well....i also do a 600w in tandom with a 400w in a 4x4 space....thats guys right you wouldnt use 5 gallon pots unless you pplant to veg for months and grow a 6foot tall plant.....and you diff dont use 5 gallon for sog that wouldnt even make sense if you know what i sog grow is

 

[legaltoker]

thanks for the replies, im a newbie (obviously lol) and i need all the help i can get.

ok so five gallon pots are too big? that sucks i have like 18 of them lol, oh well just gonna have to see if the hydro store will trade me for smaller ones...... i must have done something wrong this grow...... because the reason i was thinking five gallon pots is my Rocklock clones were like two feet tall and they were getting rootbound in 3 gallon pots. i veggied them from oct 5th to nov 14th when i flipped to 12/12. i ended up having to transplanting them on nov 21st..... the reason i figured out they were root bound is i have one in a ten gallon pot and it didnt exhibit none of the problems the ones in the smaller (3 gl) pots did. they were turning light green/yellow, growing really slow, if at all. before i transplanted them i tried feeding but they keep getting worse so i figured let me transplant one and see what happens.....when i took it out of the 3 gallon pot all the stuff (brocken clay pots) i had at the bottom for drainage was stuck to the roots, and i mean stuck! they had grown all around them, it was bad ....im thinking maybe i didnt water them enough? i overwatered at first (around oct 18th-23rd, plants drooped and deformed some baby leaves) now i think what happend is i started not watering them enough, that possible?.....i dont know but they look ok now.....i'll post pics of them and my room in a bit

mountainfarmer....40$ a month each doesnt sound bad at all! i hope our electricity is comparable in price.....

woodsmaneh!, when you do 20 under each light (that finish 4ft right) what size pots do you use? if you do 15 a light would you use different pots? if so what size? and would you still veg only 3 weeks or longer because of less plants?

footclan, how many plants do you do in your 4x4 area with the 1000 watt? how long do you veg, ect......

thanks

 

[FootClan]

thanks for the replies, im a newbie (obviously lol) and i need all the help i can get.

ok so five gallon pots are too big? that sucks i have like 18 of them lol, oh well just gonna have to see if the hydro store will trade me for smaller ones...... i must have done something wrong this grow...... because the reason i was thinking five gallon pots is my Rocklock clones were like two feet tall and they were getting rootbound in 3 gallon pots. i veggied them from oct 5th to nov 14th when i flipped to 12/12. i ended up having to transplanting them on nov 21st..... the reason i figured out they were root bound is i have one in a ten gallon pot and it didnt exhibit none of the problems the ones in the smaller (3 gl) pots did. they were turning light green/yellow, growing really slow, if at all. before i transplanted them i tried feeding but they keep getting worse so i figured let me transplant one and see what happens.....when i took it out of the 3 gallon pot all the stuff (brocken clay pots) i had at the bottom for drainage was stuck to the roots, and i mean stuck! they had grown all around them, it was bad ....im thinking maybe i didnt water them enough? i overwatered at first (around oct 18th-23rd, plants drooped and deformed some baby leaves) now i think what happend is i started not watering them enough, that possible?.....i dont know but they look ok now.....i'll post pics of them and my room in a bit

mountainfarmer....40$ a month each doesnt sound bad at all! i hope our electricity is comparable in price.....

woodsmaneh!, when you do 20 under each light (that finish 4ft right) what size pots do you use? if you do 15 a light would you use different pots? if so what size? and would you still veg only 3 weeks or longer because of less plants?

footclan, how many plants do you do in your 4x4 area with the 1000 watt? how long do you veg, ect......

thanks

I do 9 3gallon smart pots and i veg for about 3 weeks......if i vegged any longer id have to move to a bigger pot...which i dont have room for in my 4x4 area.....if i was going to move to 5 gallon i would only grow 6 plants under my 1000w...... If you are vegging for over a month that might be your problem......The longer you veg the bigger your plant will be at harvest so you have to account for that when you veg....I only want my plants to be about 3.5 feet tall max at harvest because anything taller would just be too big for my 4x4 area......a 1000w lights up an area of 4x4 so my goal is to fit as many plants under a 4x4 area that i can but still be able to have room for them to grow into the space.....Ive done 2 gallon 3gallon 4gallon and 5gallon ive found that with the space i have and the time i veg, 3 gallon seems to be the magic number ....

If i were you i would portition off your tent into a 4x8 space using panda film... i would eather than do 2 1000w's, 1 light for each 4x4 space or i would do 3 600w's in a row. 3 600w's will cover the same area as 2 1000w's...good thing about 3 600's is you might be able to get a lil better covrage over your area since theres 3 lights instead of 2 and you can get the lights a lil closer to the canopy too.... That being said i personaly still prefer 2 1000w's thats just me though.......

If you do this set up i would eather do 18 3gallon pots(9pots for each 4x4 space) and veg for 3 weeks or i would do 12 5gallon pots and veg for 6weeks eather way you should yield the same wether you grow less big plants or more smaller plants if you do it right the yield should come out about the same eather way just depends on how you want to do it.....I personally would do 18 3gallon pots under 2 1000w lights......thats just me though....

 

[woodsmaneh!]

woodsmaneh!, when you do 20 under each light that finish 4ftright. ( nope that's where I'm going next, right now I'm finishing at 30 to 33") what size pots do you use? (I used 10"/3gal, could have used the 12" but took up to much room) if you do 15 a light would you use different pots?(If I still grew in pots yes bigger would be necessary) if so what size?(5 gallon) and would you still veg only 3 weeks or longer (longer by 5 to 8 days)because of less plants?(the only way to have less and grow the same or more is bigger plants. Remember your limited by your light size. A 1000w is good for max 4 1/4 feet and you have 6 to 10" from plant to bulb inside the tube.)

I would keep you 5 gallon pails and use them. When you harvest them have a look at the root ball, is it all over the pot or just a ball in the dirt. If it's not using all the pail just put less dirt in them.Less watering too.

I have thought of going to 3 600w but found that first the bulbs are more than 1000w and they don't have the penetration that a 1000w has, so I'll stick with my 1000w.

Vegging times are very different for most plants and a few days can make the difference. I would let them go a little longer and than top them for clones then into flower all at the same height. You get extra gorilla dicks as a prize.

 

[legaltoker]

thanks for the reply footclan........i have the thousand watt lights already..... i have two yeildmaster 2 hoods, i like their coverage compared to others i've seen at the hydro shop...... the 5 gallon pots i have are 5 gl. tall pots, they take up the same amount of space (width wise) as a 3 gallon pot. i'm thinking about doing what your saying (9 under each light) but just use the pots i have...... im new to growing and im thinking the 5 gl. pots will cut me a little more slack?? do you think i vegged to long (a lil over a month) in the 3 gallon and thats why it got rootbound?

 

[legaltoker]

woodsmaneh!, when you do 20 under each light that finish 4ftright. ( nope that's where I'm going next, right now I'm finishing at 30 to 33") what size pots do you use? (I used 10")if you do 15 a light would you use different pots?(If I still grew in pots yes bigger would be necessary) if so what size?(5 gallon) and would you still veg only 3 weeks or longer (longer by 5 to 8 days)because of less plants?(the only way to have less and grow the same or more is bigger plants. Remember your limited by your light size. A 1000w is good for max 4 1/4 feet and you have 6 to 10" from plant to bulb inside the tube.)

I would keep you 5 gallon pails and use them. When you harvest them have a look at the root ball, is it all over the pot or just a ball in the dirt. If it's not using all the pail just put less dirt in them.Less watering too.

yea thats wat im gonna do, there the same width of a 3 gallon pot anyway, so they dont actually take up more space, they could just take more dirt.

thanks for the reply woodsmaneh!

 

[FootClan]

thanks for the reply footclan........i have the thousand watt lights already..... i have two yeildmaster 2 hoods, i like their coverage compared to others i've seen at the hydro shop...... the 5 gallon pots i have are 5 gl. tall pots, they take up the same amount of space (width wise) as a 3 gallon pot. i'm thinking about doing what your saying (9 under each light) but just use the pots i have...... im new to growing and im thinking the 5 gl. pots will cut me a little more slack?? do you think i vegged to long (a lil over a month) in the 3 gallon and thats why it got rootbound?

Yes if the pots are all the same width as the 3 gallon then USE the 5 gallon for sure man and fill them up all the way so they have more meduim too. better to have the extra medium if it dosent change the number of plants your going to run.. make sense?? ok taller pots are probably better for plants growin from seeds because they have a "tap root" which goes straight down but clones have no tap root there roots grow Outward and that could have a possible effect on your narrow pots.....I use smart pots they are very wide and not very tall.....I use to use plastic cheap taller pots 2 or 3 gallon and i rutinely had problems with my plants and roots...once i switched to the smart pots everyting was better i stop getting rout bound and drainage was better......The smart pots are "air pruned" or cauterized if you prefer not allowing them to rap around the pot and bind up in a mess. when the root reaches the pot it starts growing through the material tell it gets to the other side where the light cauterizes it stoping it from further growth causing a new fresh root to grow in its place......with these pots i never even get close to root bound and ive even considered moving to a 2gallon smart pot just because i felt i wasnt even using alot of the medium but then i think better to use the 3 gallon i know the plant will do better with the extra meduim........ just some more things to consider

 

[legaltoker]

those smart pots sound pretty cool, do most hydro shops carry them? i think i read about those i didnt know they were called smart pots tho..... dont you yield more with those pots where the roots are allowed to come out the bottom and die or cauterize......i think someone was saying they started yielding 20% more or something like that once they started using those.......

and woodsmaneh!, i didnt even think to price the bulbs before going with the two thousand watts over the 3 600's, i just assumed the 600 would be cheaper because it was a lower wattage (thats crazy that they're not). the only thing i was thinking of is the fact that i wasnt too impressed with the penetration of my 600 watt i had before i got these thousands.

im glad i went the route i did, i sold my 600 watt cooltube and ballast for 220$ then turned around and bought my first thousand watt setup for $150, i have some 'rocklock', 'og kush' and 1 'big bud' going under it.........a couple days ago i traded some meds for the second 1k setup....... im gonna run 'chocolate rain' under this one, cant wait! i hear/read great things about it

 

[FootClan]

those smart pots sound pretty cool, do most hydro shops carry them? i think i read about those i didnt know they were called smart pots tho..... dont you yield more with those pots where the roots are allowed to come out the bottom and die or cauterize......i think someone was saying they started yielding 20% more or something like that once they started using those.......

and woodsmaneh!, i didnt even think to price the bulbs before going with the two thousand watts over the 3 600's, i just assumed the 600 would be cheaper because it was a lower wattage (thats crazy that they're not). the only thing i was thinking of is the fact that i wasnt too impressed with the penetration of my 600 watt i had before i got these thousands.

im glad i went the route i did, i sold my 600 watt cooltube and ballast for 220$ then turned around and bought my first thousand watt setup for $150, i have some 'rocklock', 'og kush' and 1 'big bud' going under it.........a couple days ago i traded some meds for the second 1k setup....... im gonna run 'chocolate rain' under this one, cant wait! i hear/read great things about it

Yes most all hydro shops carry them or you can get them on ebay real easy. I dont think you will yeild 20% more JUST by switching to smart pots i think it will help how much depends on the rest of you grow id say........ i dont know where woodsman is getting bulbs from but my 600w didnt cost more them my 1000w bulb so not sure wheres hes getting those price figures from.....I just bought a 400w 600w 1000w all at the same time and the prices went in that order and that was the prices listed in the catalog so i im not sure id like someone else to confirm that....