Id like to start by saying sorry if this is a repost but ive been goin through threads for hours and havent found what Im looking for... Im starting a grow in a 5ft tall 2ftx4ft cabinet Im building and from what Ive gathered around 7000-7500 lumens per square foot is optimal with 5000 being mid-range... now Ive found that with a 400hps for the 8 sq ft would put it around 5300 lumens per sq ft but the bulbs are only about 10 inches long... would that be enough light to cover the entire surface area of the grow??... and if I put two of them in there it would put it over 10000 lumens per sq ft would that be a benefit to the crop or can too many lumens hurt the plant??... plz help any answers are greatly appreciated...
too many lumens??...
- Thread starter Tok3v3lli
- Start date
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
The sun puts out 100,000 lumens per sq meter if that helps you
grandpa 1949
Well-Known Member
Heat would be the only problem if that even applies.
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
Heat has been my biggest battle
grandpa 1949
Well-Known Member
I would have thought so but he doesn't mention it. So who knows
Maybe he got it whipped! LOL
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
Cool tubes and portable ACs do wonders though. Whats your grow setup tok?
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
In a 2x4x5 a 400 hps would do great.
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
400w hps 50,000 lumen
600w hps 90,000 lumen
1000w hps 120,000 lumen.
Your space a 600 is matching the sun, but a 400 will do a great job in there
600w hps 90,000 lumen
1000w hps 120,000 lumen.
Your space a 600 is matching the sun, but a 400 will do a great job in there
cues
Well-Known Member
400w is perfect. 600w better still but don't expect more watt for watt. Just expect more 
. You can use light up to 10k lumens/ ft but efficiency drops off after 5500 then gets worse after 7500. However, 3k is fine for vegging. It's all about balance. How much space you have, what you are prepared to spend on electric etc.
Put it this way, if you get everything spot-on with hydro, you are looking at 10 oz out of that 400w in that space.
In the same space, you may get 13 oz with a 600w. However, if you double the space to 4x4, you could be looking at 20oz with the 600. It's all about what it's worth to you.
Cooling and air exchange play a big part too.
. You can use light up to 10k lumens/ ft but efficiency drops off after 5500 then gets worse after 7500. However, 3k is fine for vegging. It's all about balance. How much space you have, what you are prepared to spend on electric etc. Put it this way, if you get everything spot-on with hydro, you are looking at 10 oz out of that 400w in that space.
In the same space, you may get 13 oz with a 600w. However, if you double the space to 4x4, you could be looking at 20oz with the 600. It's all about what it's worth to you.
Cooling and air exchange play a big part too.
grandpa 1949
Well-Known Member
View attachment 2146276This is my 400 hps 2x4x6 cool tube with fan, and intake & exhaust fans works great. also have another grow area. But this one keeps up very well!
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
NICE Grandpa!!! How many of them pretty can you fit in that tent? I'm on my 1st grow and I put 12 plants in a 3.5' x 7.5' and 8' tall area. I got a 1000w mh about to finish veg tomorrow and I'm finding out more plants isn't always better. Lol. I'm gonna have to low crawl to water them in full flower!
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
*pretty girls* ^
grandpa 1949
Well-Known Member
Sorry it's a cabinet. I thought I put it down but I didn't. I use 6.5 gallon square pots. It fits 2 it it. My grow area fits about 8, 600 watt HPS. Yes the agency has taught me how to low crawl back in the 70's! Check out my bio if you haven't read it yet, you might be surprised what I used to do! I retired in 1997!
Im still building it at the moment... this is the my first attempt to try something other than dirt and a light in a closet lol... but Im gunna go with this hydro set up that my buddy says hes gotten some great crops from out of rubbermaid bins... Ill be using clay ball medium in net pots... I plan on posting pictures of the whole process from the building to the growing... I dont know much about nutrients though cuz Ive never done hydro before so any advice on that would be nice... Im sure I can just ask the guy at the hydro store though lol... Im thinkin bout covering the whole inside with Mylar cuz Ive heard good things... I was thinking about putting in 2 400w hps bulbs with reflectors and for ventilation Ill be running two computer fans out of the top with a pvc duct at the bottom for airflow... sound legit??...
Thats good to know man... at this point I dont have room to do that... I could go longer but not wider.... and could a ScrOG rack help boost the output or is that a basic outcome from the amount of light and nutrients... this will be my first time with hydro so Im tryin to learn as much as I can....400w is perfect. 600w better still but don't expect more watt for watt. Just expect more
Put it this way, if you get everything spot-on with hydro, you are looking at 10 oz out of that 400w in that space.
In the same space, you may get 13 oz with a 600w. However, if you double the space to 4x4, you could be looking at 20oz with the 600. It's all about what it's worth to you.
Cooling and air exchange play a big part too.
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
One 400 hps should be enough for that room. Any more and you will struggle with the heat issues. With a 400 and some good ventilation you shouldn't need an AC. As for Nutes, I use fox farm. It's simple enough. You have a world of options. I just don't know a great deal on that and fox farm has a schedule to go by. If you see nute burn just dilute the schedule. Have you ever done scrog? My views are do a grow and add extra steps on the next setup. That way you'll have something to compare the scrog with to know if it's worth the effort. Of course I am pretty new at growing all together, so don't take my word as the gospel, lol.
for sure man thanx for the advice either way... and no Ive never done scrog it just seemed like a good process but I think Ill wait like you said so I can make a comparison... I get the concept of nute burn, I was going through random pages and saw someone say that you usually want to start with less than the labeled schedual, but what should I look for... I mean Im going to continue looking into it but your runnin it right now so Im just curious...
SmokeyMcSmokerton
New Member
Spots on the leaves, curling of leaves. Lots of things for lots of problems. Yellowing, sagging, discovered veins, all deficiencies. It's not hard though. Just punch in symptoms in search column above or on google and you'll get all the info you need. I like looking in places of facts and not just places of opinion. Some people just say stuff to sound smart. I like taking a variety of opinions and all the facts I can find on anything having to do with growing and try and plan off of that as best I can. The best way to go about Nutes IMO is to start at 1/4 recommended strength and work my way up to a good level. No problems on the way there, great! Problems, ease off the Nutes a bit and stay there or wait and increase later slowly. Like I say though, I'm not a pro. I have done lots of research, but I have very limited experience. Just a fair warning, lol. And yeah, I wanted to try EVERYTHING on my grow, but I decided to chill out and learn well not just learn fast. That's a HUGE step for me! Lol.