Lighting Position and Distance Question

shinedog

Active Member
I'm working on my new grow room space and I have a question in regards to lighting distances and position. As of right now I have 2x 600 watt hps lights in my flowering room. I intend to eventually add more lights and swap the two 600s for 1000s, but for the time being this is what I have.

I'm a little uncertain about light position and spacing. Both of the lights are under hoods and will be hung horizontal. I've read that a 600w hps can cover anywhere from a 4x4 area to a 6x6 area. I'm using an attic area for my grow and the ceilings slope as you reach the edges of the room. I had considered lining the lights up in a row right down the middle of the room, but this doesn't really allow for maximizing the grow space.

I'm thinking of placing the two lights 5 feet apart from one another. I think this should allow me to cover a 10' x 5' area.
Any thoughts on this?

Also, I'm a little concerned about coverage between the two lights. Visually, it seems that the closer the lights get the floor/plants the smaller the light radius becomes. I'm sure there is a great math equation out there to factor all of this info.
 

desertrat

Well-Known Member
I've read that a 600w hps can cover anywhere from a 4x4 area to a 6x6 area. I think this should allow me to cover a 10' x 5' area.
Any thoughts on this?
here's the info to make your own decision:

minimum light for flowering weed: 3,000 lumens per square foot
recommended light: 7,000 to 10,000 lumens per square foot (sun = 10,000 lumens/sqft)
a typical 600 watt light gives off 90,000 lumens.

so with 2 600 watt lights and 7,000 lumens per square foot you have a 26 square foot growing area. if you used all of the 10x50 area you will be using half the recommended light.
 

hightyde27

Active Member
There's a thread on here somewhere for the download of the Cannabis Grow bible. I'll find it....one sec.
bongsmilie



....


:sleep:

oh, shit. What was i doing? ... Right. Grow bible. hold on.

bongsmilie
:eyesmoke:
bongsmilie
bongsmilie:eyesmoke::sleep:
;-)
bongsmilie
bongsmilie
:hump::hump::hump::hump:
bongsmilie


....Oh here it is.

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/12028-cannabis-grow-bible-download.html


I suggest you go buy the real one. It's worth it's weight in gold. You can find it at borders behind the counter. Pay with cash and don't use any dumbass shit like a club card. Good Luck!
 

llop1103

Active Member
7,000 is not necessary. You need 3,000 to have a sucessful grow and 6,000 is plenty 4-5k lumens per square foot. Your should have no more than 6-8 plants max under a 600 watt light and thats pushing it i would suggest no more then 6 plants under each light and that is still alot. Pretty much you should hang your lights as close as possible to the plants without burning them with the heat this distance is normally around 3-4 feet but it all depends on if you have exhaust fans to control the heat of the light and a bunch of other factors. Either way i would put like 4-5 plants under each 600watt light to accomlpish a good yeild and give each plant plenty of light. So 10 plants max in total with 2 600 watt lights. It really all depends on your setup. Are you putting the lights in a tent or just in an open attic are you putting a mylar type substance on the walls or paiting them white to get good reflection off the walls and not have alot of light escape? There are alot of factors involved. Can you give a little more info on your grow area and your setup. I personally flower 4 plants under my 600 watt hps and can easily achieve .5 grams per watt which comes out to 300 grams for each light. You can obviously accomplish more then .5 grams per watt but that all depends on growing conditions veg time if you top, fim, or lst. There is alot of variables give me some more info on your grow setup and what you wish to accomplish and i can further help you with any other questions
 

desertrat

Well-Known Member
7,000 is not necessary. You need 3,000 to have a sucessful grow and 6,000 is plenty 4-5k lumens per square foot.

I personally flower 4 plants under my 600 watt hps and can easily achieve .5 grams per watt which comes out to 300 grams for each light.
4 plants at 3 square ft per plant, 90,000 lumen hps gives you 7,500 lumens per square foot. just saying.

and as for "
without burning them with the heat this distance is normally around 3-4 feet" i challenge you to put a poll on this site and see how few people keep their lights that far away. where do you get this stuff from??
 

BloomBrothers

Active Member
I'm working on my new grow room space and I have a question in regards to lighting distances and position. As of right now I have 2x 600 watt hps lights in my flowering room. I intend to eventually add more lights and swap the two 600s for 1000s, but for the time being this is what I have.

I'm a little uncertain about light position and spacing. Both of the lights are under hoods and will be hung horizontal. I've read that a 600w hps can cover anywhere from a 4x4 area to a 6x6 area. I'm using an attic area for my grow and the ceilings slope as you reach the edges of the room. I had considered lining the lights up in a row right down the middle of the room, but this doesn't really allow for maximizing the grow space.

I'm thinking of placing the two lights 5 feet apart from one another. I think this should allow me to cover a 10' x 5' area.
Any thoughts on this?

Also, I'm a little concerned about coverage between the two lights. Visually, it seems that the closer the lights get the floor/plants the smaller the light radius becomes. I'm sure there is a great math equation out there to factor all of this info.

Dude stay with the 600s' cause they give the best return..........CFM them bitches and you'll be able to drop the lights right down on them......
 

desertrat

Well-Known Member
Remember guys, anything over 70-80watts/sqft is a waste indoors without Co2..............
70 watts x 150 lumens/watt for hps is 10,500 lumens per square foot. so yea, 7,000 -10,000 lumens per square foot is the optimal amount of light without enhanced co2.
 

llop1103

Active Member
you challenge me to take a poll about people keeping their lights 3-4 feet away. If you read what i say, i said that you cant keep your lights closer then 3-4 feet away without them burning your plants unless you have an exhaust fan or ac unit or something else to keep the heat from the light down becasue if you have a 600watt light 2 feet or closer to your plants without any exhaust fan or cooling method it will burn your plants and or casue heat stress. I didnt say he should keep them 3-4 feet away i said thats the normal distance without burning your plants if you dont have a cooling method
 

meetzu

Well-Known Member
you challenge me to take a poll about people keeping their lights 3-4 feet away. If you read what i say, i said that you cant keep your lights closer then 3-4 feet away without them burning your plants unless you have an exhaust fan or ac unit or something else to keep the heat from the light down becasue if you have a 600watt light 2 feet or closer to your plants without any exhaust fan or cooling method it will burn your plants and or casue heat stress. I didnt say he should keep them 3-4 feet away i said thats the normal distance without burning your plants if you dont have a cooling method
Right now I have 2 600 watts in easy cool 6's going like this: Carbon filter at top of a 7.5x7.5 foot tent>484 CFM vortex fan> Hoods > exhaust with an intake that is 181 CFM. Right now my plants are about 8 inches from the glass on those hoods. There is nothing 'extreme' about my set up and my temps rarely climb above 80 F at that close from the glass. And as far as 3-4 feet away being normal; I have never heard of anyone having their bulbs set that far away and achieving acceptable results. If you do then you need to spend some money to fix it. 400w and even 600w lights (in some cases for the 600w) can be cooled adequately at times with simple oscillating fans and a fair exhaust.
My previous post was to find the best distance for your light if you have heat under control to where it isn't an issue.
tl;dr 3-4 feet is not normal.
 

hightyde27

Active Member
Shiiiyit. I keep my plants 4-6" from my bulb. Which, according to hacksaw's chart, makes it just as good as a 1000 from that distance. And as my bulb is a super hps it should be even better.


Right....?


Hacksaw?
 

Mark30g

Active Member
this may sound daft but what about hovering helicopters?, As i was going to put my set-up in there put got paranoid.
 
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