Is 600w HPS excessive for 8sq ft?

I have a tent that's 2'8" x 2'8" which comes to about 8 sq ft. Right now I'm planning on flowering using a 400w HPS, which comes to 50w/sq ft, but I'm wondering if I should maybe upgrade to a 600w HPS to get denser buds and better light penetration (my plants will finish at about 3ft tall, measuring from the base of the plant). I will be using DWC as usual, just one big plant. Electric is included in my apartment's rent so efficiency isn't an issue - mainly I'm wondering if the gains will be worth the cost of buying a new light. Any thoughts?

Maybe a little, but as long as you keep yr temps down it shouldn;t be a problem... I have a tent that is 5x5x6 with a 600 in there but i may move up to haing 2 600's or a 1000w hps in their eventually

actually, i just re-read yr post... i'd just stick with the 400, no point buying another lighting kit when you could easily get denser buds just buy improving your growing skills.

Yeah, I would be going from 50w/sq ft to 75w/sq ft... now I've heard those high wattages can be great with CO2, but does it still apply without it? The tent is in my bedroom, and I don't feel like gassing myself in my sleep - I've slept in stuffy rooms before and I always wake up feeling suffocated, assumedly from CO2 buildup. Heat isn't an issue, I can vent outside and electric is included so if the a/c bill is $500/mo I won't even know.

My growing skills are already there. I've pulled 8oz off a single plant before (made for a lot of hash).

Thanks for the feedback.

Ive never used Gas in all 10 years of growing... Ive never needed anything "special" like that and only really use basic nutes (dutch master grow/flower A&B) and with a 600w HPS get over a pound of dried herb.... So my advice is to just keep everything simple and improve what yr doing with every single grow. Going down the CO2 route without sound growing experience could end up in too much going on too quickly.

I already have the growing experience... I am not at all new to this, I've just never gone much over 50w/sq ft. The layout of my apartment doesn't allow me to use my bigger tents.

Yeah ive been there before.. started out growing in a cupboard in an apartment with the light keepng me awake most of the time haha... glad to have a house now with a big garage.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=144438

According to these guys 75w/sq ft will result in real gains...

Beyond yields, it would sure be nice to eliminate popcorn from my crops.

I run 1000 in 16 square feet and i find the light to be enough...i would think that at just over 100 watt difference between sq foot would be better than less.

bumpbumpbump

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