Is it worth it to have side lighting?

[col forbin]

I have 6 plants (all around 4ft tall or so) under a 600 w HPS. They are in they're 5th week of flowering. Im thinking about adding 2 - 4 ft T5 lights (54 W, 5,000 lumens each) to add lighting to mostly underneath where theres not much light. Im doing this to hopefully increase yield (obviously and because ive had a bit of a powdery mildew problem, although its improving because of an added fan. I just figured there some people that can give their 2 cents on this as im a noob - only have done autoflower before.

Thanks!!

[Danzig77]

if you have the t-5s already it wouldnt hurt, but a cheaper option would be CFLs to just put in the shady parts. CFLs are small and not that hot so you can go crazy with them and strategically place them better, IMO

[-mu]

Originally Posted by col forbin

I have 6 plants (all around 4ft tall or so) under a 600 w HPS. They are in they're 5th week of flowering. Im thinking about adding 2 - 4 ft T5 lights (54 W, 5,000 lumens each) to add lighting to mostly underneath where theres not much light. Im doing this to hopefully increase yield (obviously and because ive had a bit of a powdery mildew problem, although its improving because of an added fan. I just figured there some people that can give their 2 cents on this as im a noob - only have done autoflower before.

Thanks!!

It's probably a waste of time and money (energy). 600W is a lot of light already. Unless you have a huge area to cover, then that is enough light. 80% of light passes right through cannabis leaves, and the plant can collect energy from any leaf, use it elsewhere.

What I'm saying is, there IS such a thing as too much light. It's probably not gonna hurt, but it's probably not gonna help a lot, either. A pic would be useful.

As for CFLs, forget it. They put out too little light to make any real impact underneath a 600W HPS. How many CFLs for 6 four foot plants??? No!

There are lots of ways to improve yield. Once you get 0.5g/W from your current lighting, you might want to try adding more, mindfully. Maybe some UVB.

A better investment would likely be superior reflective materials for the walls.

-mu

[REH1]

I tried that for awhile, for a 2 x 3 foot area...150 watt hps overhead and 2 70 watt hps on the sides. Didn't run that setup into the flowering stage, although I did notice the lower folage perk up a little. Like -mu said, there are other ways to improve yield.

Since this is my first grow, I need to improve in many areas. Soil, paying attention to ph levels, nutients, light...I need to get better in each catagory.

[col forbin]

Originally Posted by -mu

It's probably a waste of time and money (energy). 600W is a lot of light already. Unless you have a huge area to cover, then that is enough light. 80% of light passes right through cannabis leaves, and the plant can collect energy from any leaf, use it elsewhere.

What I'm saying is, there IS such a thing as too much light. It's probably not gonna hurt, but it's probably not gonna help a lot, either. A pic would be useful.

As for CFLs, forget it. They put out too little light to make any real impact underneath a 600W HPS. How many CFLs for 6 four foot plants??? No!

There are lots of ways to improve yield. Once you get 0.5g/W from your current lighting, you might want to try adding more, mindfully. Maybe some UVB.

A better investment would likely be superior reflective materials for the walls.

-mu

Thanks...just ordered a digital camera which lens will handle hps lighting...will have pics up in a few days.