Hello all, I see this question alot.... and in my early days I pondered it. Now that I have several grows under my belt and have toyed with different light set ups I understand the differences. Anyway here goes: (3) 400 watt lights do NOT equal 1200 watts of growing power, it is simply 400 watts from different angles and you get more lighter buds. Or say 40,000 lumens from different angles. The same with (2) 600 watt lights, it does NOT equal 1200 watts, At 90,000 lumens it is still 2 sources of light at 2 different angles. And fatter buds Now a 1000 watt light at 140,000 lumens gets the fattest buds. So adding more lights will get more coverage but not necessarily more penetration or more bud weight like a 1000 watt does. Total lumen output from a single source is what you are looking for. Two sources of lumen output equals just that, 2 sources from different angles, they are no stronger but yet come from different angles. Hope I clarified things,,, it's really hard to put into words. Dewave
I agree with this to a certain point, I think that light intensity vrs canopy distance from the bulb is an often overlooked variable, light foot prints need attention as well, you cant just toss a single 1k wat bulb in a 10x5 room and think it will cover you sufficiently. light penetration is very visible with 400w, I'd say it goes a foot deep and totally stops, the undergrowth on my plants obviously gets no light and suffers for it.
I used to use 600w, now I use 1000w lights. With air cooled hoods you can have the 1000 as close to the plants as a 600/400.
This is something I have come to learn within the past 6 months, by no fault of my own. Simply thinking that wattages or lumens "add" doesnt comply. One 1000w bulb covering a 4' x 4' area will always produce more usable energy than two 600w lamps, at different angels, over the same area. It has to do with light coverage, but the same could be said for a 6' x 6' area covered by one 1000w lamp vs. two 600w lamps. The two 600w lamps will cover the 36 sq ft better than the 1000w lamp, but will not equal to 1200w total.
Well said Veo and I agree with Mord and Zing there is alot to consider to achieve the proper lighting for an area and obtain the desired results. We are conditioned thru out life that 2 + 2 =4, but not in this case, except for the electric company, doh!
In SCOG and SOG a 400w works well, that is all I used and had great results. Now that I moved on to a bucket setup the 1000 blows the the 600 away. I get a bigger yeild with 1 1000 than I did with 2 600's. It is dependant on the aplication. But growing 6 ft plants under 400w lights is kind of a waste imo, unless you like popcorn buds
ive often pondered this, i want to make a dual cool tube with a MH on one side and a HPS on the other, has that been done yet? i think that would be good for full spectrum growth
i've got 6 plants that range from 4-5 feet, under 2 400w's i doubt i'll end up with just popcorn bud, well see how ever...
not seen it with cool tube yet!,just together mh & hps, but think its a great idea & as you say WILL give great dual spectrum growth. which is proven method here in uk & europe with outstanding results. great idea man, go for it as think your on a winner all the v best M.
I agree with dewave . I have seen penetration described as LUX, as opposed to the more common description of light quanity, LUMENS. the coverage area of each bulb, is best described as a radius from the bulb, 1000w gives 53 inch radius, 600w gives a 33 inch radius and 400w gives a 22 inch radius. that pretty much describes the penetration as well. anything beyond the radius wont get enough light to develop fully. A light mover can expand the coverage area on the same plane it moves on, ie horizontal, vertical, circular. Adding another light, if in the same plane wont increase the penetration, but can spread the area horizontally. If you can place another light lower in the canopy, or from below you can increase the vertical area. If you place a light mover below, moving horizontally, you can increase both vertical and horizontal coverage. If you could make a circular light mover, you could maximize your coverage area.
i seen a version when i was shopping for mine that was an extra long cool tube and was able too accommodate 2 1000w bulbs, end to end. it was like 60 euros or something. when i bought my cool tube back in the states it cost 140$, here the same one costs me 30 euros. hydro stores are even scammers.
Back at ya, Puffin Afatty But I think your explanation combined with my explanation does a good job of clarifying the subject. Thanx Puffin PS. Hope ya didn't mind the edit
easy Is this the same concept with cfls, as they are already very close to the plant? Great post though.
Its the same for all lights.... On my first indoor grows I used 400 watters, got some good buds but weight sucked. I didn't understand why and tried diff nutes, reflective material and multiple 400 watters. Still the same shit. Then I switched to 600 watters, and I got huge calyxes, I freaked, didn't know what the fuck they were and every plant had them. I thot they were hermies! Sent a few pics to some buds who grow well and they all laughed at me. They emailed me and said "Welcome to the big boys grow, you've just leveled up", lol. Anyway, CFLs and flouros have very little penetration. Not sure what it is but it is "inches" while HPS lights is measured feet, the stronger the farther. And no they do not add or multiply in number but are one source of light, no more no less.
not so much about lumens as it is about getting the proper spectrums. Get a Ceramic Metal Halide and you will see a huge difference in THC production over anything out there right now cause it provides a full range spectrum as well as more UV output than any light on the market right now. I know cause I have seen bubbleberry under a few thousand watts and it didn't look as good as one bubbleberry I have seen finished under a 400 watt CMH. Way more trichomes on the CMH product by a long shot. ALthough I know many variables can come into play but I really believe these bulbs do their job much better than a HPS or MH alone or even putting them together.
Lumens are essential, just as the correct spectrum is essential, both need each other, for without one the other is useless. When they come out with 1000 watter bulb then I'll be there! My understanding is they have them in development, hopefully they will be out soon. Dewave
I just got a 1000 watt dual spectrum bulb from germany, it has a HPS and MH in the same bulb, I also have a cool tube and some UVB bulbs from the pet store using the Lucas formula w/ diamond nector and pro-tect and liquid Kool bloom for flowering, I plan on flushing with clearex. I have a 400w scrog under my belt but would like to have a more constant supply so plan on doin a perpetual harvest, I wouldnt want too much bud at once now would I; ). So in what direction should I go, I was thinking 5 gal buckets with lava rocks top feed (no drip emitter) on drain tables, recuirculated around a vetically hung bulb, growing 4-5 foot plants 20 - 24, want to keep the plant numbers below 99 with mother clones and veg ya know. let me know what ya think peace out.
ok, so how would you best utilize 2 400's? if the penetration is so shallow, would you recommend more topping. or at some point would you remove some shade leaves to allow for more light depth. i'm guessing you want to keep the lights as close to the plants as they will allow without damage. i really need know these things..... much thnx, p