Too much light?

Discussion in 'Grow Room Design/Setup' started by ninfan77, Oct 7, 2006.

  1. Is it possible to have too much light for a grow area? Im thinking of going with a smaller area, 5x5x4 and wanted to get a bigger light for when i can move to a larger space. Would a 600w be too big for this? I'm hoping to put down 10-20 plants in this area?

    Possible? Do i need more light? I know 20-50 per sq/ft. But what about per plant?
     
  2. High fan! :wave: Not possible to have too much light. Though heat is another story. As long as you can move the heat out the 600w should be fine. Good luck with your grow! Peace, TBug
     
  3. as tbug already stated you just probably would have to have pretty good ventalation to move the heat out of there...
     

  4. If it is not above 50 you are not wasting any. I run a 600 in 5 by 5. That is the optimum for my reflector. I love my 600 (I have a 400 and a little 150 too), - it puts out 90 thousand lumens. It was my very first light and when I didn't know better I used it in a 2 by 3 closet. Haha. It was a bitch to keep the heat down (I ended up taking the closet door off), but I harvested huge ass colas (more than 2 ft long). Now I smash out littler plants and get about an o or so off each. But it is a continous cycle. So I get about 2 o's a week. Sometimes more, but since I run alot of electricity I don't use more than the 6 in the bud room. (The 4 is for vegging, the 150 is for mommies, and flourescents for cloning). You will do well with the 600. :)
     
  5. I use a 400w hps in a cooltube within a 3x2x3 cab and the temps stay at 87*F.
    ....but you say a 150w hps puts out 90K lumens...No SIR !! 18K at the most and the 400watter ..48K at the most. Combined 66K lumen...some 24K short of 90.
    Are you talking watts per foot ?? There's a formula to help figure that out as well......

    Here's some keeper info you'll love to use.

    Lighting

    Light is needed by a plant for using nutrients and manufacturing food. It has a great influence on chlorophyll production, growth rate, leaf size, and flower and seed production. Light will be one of the most important aspects of your grow operation. For the purposes of growing marijuana, there are two basic types of lights: fluorescent's and high intensity discharge (HID), including MV (mercury vapor), MH (metal halide), and HPS (high pressure sodium).
    HID vs. Fluorescent

    The main difference is that fluorescent's create light by passing electricity through a gas vapor under low pressure and HID creates light by passing electricity through a gas vapor under high pressure. HID lights are much brighter and while initially more expensive, are more cost efficient to operate and will grow a much nicer crop. Therefore, they are the light of choice for most indoor growers.
    Fluorescent

    Fluorescents come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There are compacts, twist bulbs and circle bulbs. They all work the same way. They have a starter and ballast which help provide a steady and regulated amount of electricity to the light. Before HID lights were available indoor growers used fluorescent lights. While fluorescents can be used for an entire grow from seedling to harvest, it is generally not advised to use them in this way. To grow effectively with fluorescent's, think small. These lights are better suited for starting seedlings, rooting clones and small plants, maintaining moms for cloning purposes, and providing sidelight for the undergrowth. These situations do not require a high intensity of light to run their course. The light emitted by fluorescents is gentler and more diffuse, it doesn't release a lot of heat, and doesn't make the plant work as hard. For this reason they can be kept closer to the plant. One or two inches is sufficient, but this also means that the lights must be adjusted almost daily to accommodate growth which can be troublesome.
    High Intensity Discharge

    There are basically three types of HID lights. Mercury vapor (MV), metal halide (MH), and high pressure sodium (HPS). These lights also require a starter and a ballast.
    Mercury Vapor

    Mercury vapor is the type of lights that were used for streetlights many years ago. Not very good for growing because it doesn't provide enough of the right kind of light spectrum. While they do provide a littleof the blue spectrum, MV also produces too much heat to get very close to a plant, and are very inefficient to operate.
    Metal Halide

    The metal halide is a very good source of the white/blue spectrum of light that is ideal for vegetative growth. Many growers use MH during the vegetative phase. MH is bright and cost efficient to operate, but not as efficient as HPS lights. Most commonly used sizes are 400 watt and 1,000 watt. Works best when used in combination with HPS lights.
    High Pressure Sodium

    The best light available today for growing marijuana. High pressure sodium lights are very bright and very efficient. This light has a red/orange spectrum that is ideal for the flowering phase. With enough of these kind of lights you too can grow those centerfold buds. HPS comes in a wide variety of wattages from 70 watts up to 1,000 watts.
    Lighting Forumlas

    To correctly determine the best lighting for your space there are several things that you have to know. At this point, a couple of definitions are in order. The amount of light emitted by one candle that falls on one square foot of surface one foot away is called a lumen (lm). The amount of electricity flowing through a wire is measured in watts. Watt (W) hours measure the amount of watts used in one hour. A kilowatt/hour (kWh) is 1,000 watt/hours (Wh).
    Operating Costs

    Find your kWh charge on your electric bill. Assume you have a 1,000 W light and your kWh charge is $.05/hour. A kilowatt (kW) equals 1,000 W, therefore it will cost you $0.05 cents per hour to run that light. Here's another example. Say you have a 400 W light and your kWh charge is $0.03. Since 400 W is not a kilowatt, you must divide 400 by 1,000 (0.4 kW) and multiply that by the kWh rate from your electricity bill (0.03 kWh), leaving you with a cost of $0.012 cents per hour.
    Lumens Per Square Foot

    To determine how many lumens per square foot you have, find out the square footage of your space by multiplying the width and depth. Divide the lumens available by your square footage. This will give you lumens per square foot. For example, say your space is 3 feet deep by 4 feet wide, for a total of 12 square feet. The total lumens available from your light(s) is 45,000 lumens, which means you have 3,750 lumens per square foot.
    How Much Light Do I Need?

    Technology has advanced so much in the last 15 years that we are constantly refining the process and updating what we know works best for growing. Current theory holds that the minimum amount of lighting needed to sustain growth is around 2,000 lumens per square foot. Mid range is around 5,000 lumens per square foot. Optimal is 7,000 to 7,500 or higher lumens per square foot.
    How Many Watts Do I Need?

    The general rule of thumb for providing light for an area is a minimum of 30 W per square foot. 50 W per square foot is optimal. You can determine the proper lighting for your area by using this formula:
    Watts x Square Feet​
    For example, say you have an area of 10 square feet and a 30 W. That would mean you have a 300 W per square feet minimum. Also, remember that fluorescent's are weaker and emit less light than an HID. This means you will need 5 times the amount of wattage to equal the output of an HID. So, 30 W of HID would equal 150 W of fluorescent's. This is why it is advised to provide a minimum of 30 W per square foot for HID lights and a minimum of 150 W per square foot for fluorescent's.
    This is all important because the light intensity will directly affect the quality and yield of your crop. If you have less than optimal lighting your yield and potency will be reduced and buds will not develop as dense. This point can not be stressed enough. You must have the right amount of light for your space to grow high quality bud.
    Can I Have Too Much Light?

    The basic answer is no. According to the law of diminishing returns, you could theoretically reach a point when your plants just couldn't absorb any more light, but it would be impossible to have that many lights in your space. Heat from the lights would become a problem long before you ever reached that point. So use as many lights as you want, just control the heat.
    Experimentation is the only sure method to determine the best solution for each plant. If plants are not receiving enough light, they begin to grow tall and spindly as if stretching for the light and foliage becomes pale green. Or, if they need to be moved closer to the light, or given a longer light exposure period. Too much light may lead to bleaching of leaves and flowers, browning and shriveling. Leaves would become overly compact and curl under at the edges.
    Photoperiod

    Your plants should be started and taken through vegetative growth with a 24/7 or 18/6 light regimen. The reason for an 18/6 regimen is to give the plants a short dark period to breathe and to reduce your electric bill a little bit. Most plants thrive with at least 16 hours of light a day. Adjustments should be made according to individual plant requirements. For flowering 12/12 is the norm. Again, adjustments may need to be made. A minimum of 12 hours of darkness is required to trigger the flowering process.
    Lighting No-No's

    Don't burn your plants by getting them to close to the light(s). Fluorescent's do not put out much heat and can be as close as one or two inches. HID lights get much hotter and will need to be farther away. A good test is to put your hand between the light and the plant. If your hand gets too hot for comfort, the light is too close.
    There are some common lights that may induce a seed to come up, but are worthless for growing purposes. These lights include; Any incandescent (regular) light bulb, halogen lights, black lights and heat lamps. Don't waste your time trying to grow with these lights, you will only be disappointed.



    Tell me what you think.....:hello:
     


  6. No sir! :p I was saying that my 600 Son T makes 90 thousand lumens. I may have said it wrong. I have a 400 too. My little tiny 150 makes 8000 I think.

    :p
     
  7. Very good info. I would just like to add that the most economical method is to get flouros for veg and veg about 2 weeks then go to a powerful HPS (1000W per 10 plants) for flowering. For most indoor grows the veg cycle is very short and there is no reason to spend lots of money on it when floros will do just fine
     

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