I've been easing into increasing my wattage in the grow room as I am unsure to what extent it may affect my electric bill. Now that I know what running 600w vs 400w does to my bill I am contemplating turning the ballast up to 1000w as the bulb is a 1000w bulb but my ballast is set to 600w to reduce energy costs. I vegged under 600w mh and am flowering under a 1000w hps bulb. A few questions I have keeping me from proceeding to turn my ballast up are: 1.) Is there anyway to calculate a percent difference in yield mathematically based on size of tent and wattage? I'd like to know if the increased energy costs are going to be worth it before I get the first bill. 2.) I have had the ballast set to 600w for the entire 12 weeks they were in veg. If I increase lumens now I hoped I'd see the same yield as if I had the ballast at 100w the duration of the grow as light only affects yield in flower,correct? Lastly, 3.) I've heard a rumor within the grower community that if you suddenly switch wattage up or down in flower it can increase the chance of light burn and of hermies as the sudden change will create stress. Is there any truth to either of those claims? Again,many thanks in advance. I came here having never grown cannabis and God knows you guys have saved my ass many a time.
(1). 1k watt in a 5×5 tent you could get 1 gram per watt. But 2 600 watt hps run just as cheap or a little over as the 1k watt but you get 200 extra watts out of it. (2) 1k watt in veg will only grow the plant faster so if you go from 600 to 1k for flower the 600 you ran didn't effect the yeild it just took you longer to grow in veg. (3) when you increase wattage in flower you want to adjust the distance between it and the plant you will also notice an increase in temps both of these combined if not controlled could possibly lead to a hermie and or light burn heat stress.
But those numbers could always change depending on genetics grow style and how good you are at it. I started with a 600 watt led 325 actual draws and I pulled close to a pound off one light/plant
Thanks so much for clarifying. I may as well have used 1k watts during veg then. Trying to save money probably cost me money in the long run as I ended up in veg for 12 weeks to get the size where I wanted. I'm glad it can be changed in flower without consequence as I am going for maximum yield. I grow for my personal use but I always run out before the next harvest and I always reveg or start new seeds immediately after. More plants aren't an option sadly as I don't have the space. I think I'm definitely going to invest in a second fixture and ballast for a second 600w light in the grow tent.
Something doesn't sound right. How is it you are running out of pot? I grow one auto and I'm always stoned. How many ounces do you smoke per month? Or, does "just you" include all your "friends" that only seem to stop by when they are out of pot?
It's my husband and I we smoke a lot. We go through 3 or 4 ounces a week between the two of us. Per plant I yield just under to just over 1lb in optimal conditions barring any setbacks. I also veg a little longer than most for size because I have a decent sized tent to work with. I veg anywhere from 12-20 weeks depending on strain. I'm scared of autos because I have never experienced them only reg and fem seeds. I hear autos yield less so that's another reason I've always avoided them.
It's not optimal to grow with an HPS bulb dimmed. They don't have the same spectral output when dimmed I've been told. Dimming a 1000 watt bulb to 600 should only be used to battle peak temps if they're too high. It shouldn't be the normal all the time operating wattage of the bulb. HPS bulbs are engineered to put out their most efficient output when they're heated up and at max capacity. Running a bulb dimmed never gets you the best output or growth. I was told this a while ago by a very experienced 20 year or so HPS grower and from other threads where's I've posted this most people agree. It seems to be the case. I asked him why he didn't just run his bulbs dimmed because he was complaining about having too much light when he ran 2 1000 watters in a 5x4.5 area. He claimed dimming the bulbs would screw up their output and he wouldn't get as good of buds.
Yeah what azbud and tbone have said there is spot on. If yield is your game have you considered hydro? Could fill the 4x8 with 2 plants after 6 weeks veg. 12 weeks could fill a master bedroom lol. Oh and regarding autos it just depends what you buy. Some are small, others can pull nearly a kilo. Only ever seen 1 person get over the 1k but quite a few that have managed around 800g. Sent from my SM-J330FN using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I would love to attempt a hydropnics grow. I started with soil the way my dad taught me. I hear hydro growing is challenging as the ph and keeping mold and harmful micro-organisms at bay is tedious but if I'd only be in flower 6 weeks I'd consider trying to work with a hydro setup - the electricity savings alone would be worth it. I have 2 bubble buckets,tubes and a bubbler. I have no idea how to even set it up.
Hydros easier than soil growing mate. A lot easier. If you fuck the res up and tox your plants or whatever you just empty it and start again. Cant do that in soil. Also in hydro if you need more of something you just add it in. Non of this twattin about with epsom salts for calcium, bird shit for the next thing, top dressing etc. If you want more calcium you just add calcium. Can use an oversized res too so you only have to feed once a week. And regarding the ph thing, its literally a case of adding a few drops of ph down to the res. Thats it. If your ph goes off in soil you need a botony degree to fix it lol. The mould thing is just cos people dont keep the res clean. You get extremely cheap products like sm90 that do that for you. As long as you empty it every 7-10 days youll never have any issues. Id love to learn soil growing one day. Ive seen people that can keep up with a hydro res no problem, just building the soil right so it only needs water. Theres generally more thought goes into a pot of organic soil than i put into the full grow though. Thats what puts me off lol Sent from my SM-J330FN using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Do hydro growers still have to deal with gnats and thrips or are those non-existent issues? I have had thrip,gnat and whitefly issues in the past from bad soil.
If you're careful in hydro it is bug free. If you grow DWC like I started and use an aeroponic clone machine there's absolutely nothing resembling dirt in the whole garden. As long as you keep infected plants and don't contaminate it yourself you can never have a bug issue. DWC compared to soil is IMO at least about 40% more yield on average all other things the same. Faster growing plants as well.
So glad you guys responded to this post. I am ALWAYS trying to maximize yield in little space. I bought 2 buckets. I am about to take photos so you can see what I have. I know NOTHING about hydro equipment or setup. I have no idea how to set the buckets up.