Size of space vs footprint of light.

sunny747

Well-Known Member
Say I had a 400w HPS and I believed that this light and hood would provide sufficient lumens to cover a 3x3 ft area.
If I hung this light and air cooled hood in a 6x6space, but kept my plants in the 3x3 footprint would this be sufficient or am I just giving up too much of the potential to reflect light?

I am asking because I have a 400w light and hood and a 6x6 closet. Not having to work within the confines of a small tent would make life a lot easier. It would allow for better heat dispersion and more room to work. I'm not even sure I can get the hood and filter into the 3x3 area if I did buy a tent. It'd be tight.

One option would be just to place reflective material, like a pen, around the edges of the 3x3 space, but keep the top open.

Thx for the help.
 

justugh

Well-Known Member
Say I had a 400w HPS and I believed that this light and hood would provide sufficient lumens to cover a 3x3 ft area.
If I hung this light and air cooled hood in a 6x6space, but kept my plants in the 3x3 footprint would this be sufficient or am I just giving up too much of the potential to reflect light?

I am asking because I have a 400w light and hood and a 6x6 closet. Not having to work within the confines of a small tent would make life a lot easier. It would allow for better heat dispersion and more room to work. I'm not even sure I can get the hood and filter into the 3x3 area if I did buy a tent. It'd be tight.

One option would be just to place reflective material, like a pen, around the edges of the 3x3 space, but keep the top open.

Thx for the help.
400w in a 6x6 is going to be awful ........the benefit of using the tent is the reflection of the light getting u more power to the plant
a 400w is like u said good for a 3x3 after that the light is to defused to have any power and a 6x6 is going to give u nothing on reflective power to increase the yield

a 6x6 area u need 1000w
1000w 6x6 but great in 5x5
600w 5x5 but great in a 4x4
400w 4x4 but great in a 3x3
 

rob333

Well-Known Member
Say I had a 400w HPS and I believed that this light and hood would provide sufficient lumens to cover a 3x3 ft area.
If I hung this light and air cooled hood in a 6x6space, but kept my plants in the 3x3 footprint would this be sufficient or am I just giving up too much of the potential to reflect light?

I am asking because I have a 400w light and hood and a 6x6 closet. Not having to work within the confines of a small tent would make life a lot easier. It would allow for better heat dispersion and more room to work. I'm not even sure I can get the hood and filter into the 3x3 area if I did buy a tent. It'd be tight.

One option would be just to place reflective material, like a pen, around the edges of the 3x3 space, but keep the top open.

Thx for the help.
to early in the morning for me for foot print buiso ill be back laters
 

sunny747

Well-Known Member
400w in a 6x6 is going to be awful ........the benefit of using the tent is the reflection of the light getting u more power to the plant
a 400w is like u said good for a 3x3 after that the light is to defused to have any power and a 6x6 is going to give u nothing on reflective power to increase the yield

a 6x6 area u need 1000w
1000w 6x6 but great in 5x5
600w 5x5 but great in a 4x4
400w 4x4 but great in a 3x3

Right, but do you see what I mean... If I just keep everything in the footprint of the light and not try to use the whole space is that okay?
 

hydroMD

Well-Known Member
Right, but do you see what I mean... If I just keep everything in the footprint of the light and not try to use the whole space is that okay?
Its perfectly fine. Justugh is a debbie downer.

You migyt loose some of your lighting, but with a 400w light your only gonna be 12" or ao from your canopy. Pretty easy to extend your reflectors a bit.

You dont NEED to use every single possible watt. Just make sure your distance from your canopy is sufficient. ~75w per sq foot which means your footprint is stretching it, if fuether than about 14" from bulb to canopy.

You can use thevlaw of inverse squares to find exact distance needed.

Might suggest taking off some lower sucker buds as 400w will not penetrate your canopy very far
 

justugh

Well-Known Member
Right, but do you see what I mean... If I just keep everything in the footprint of the light and not try to use the whole space is that okay?
it would work
smell controll ...temp controll

but if i was u i would go with a smaller tent like a 4x4 that way u get atleast some improved budding from the reflection ........other wise i would not spend the money on a tent i just build a wooden frame and use poly wrap for smell control
cheaper then buying a tent
(cheap tents have crap for hanging weight the hooks/braces they use are crap and will break with time not worth getting one of those tents)
 

sunny747

Well-Known Member
Thx for all the insight..... I bit the bullet and ordered an Apollo 3x3 tent for $100... I'm so tired of building my own tents and I'm tired of mediocre returns using 150 w hps lights and cfls and LED's... After cleaning out m closet I felt that the tent would be a better option for stink and light control. Also I can move it closer to the window if I need to exhaust heat.

Now I think I will need a new fan and filter. I have an Apollo hood and Solistek 400w with nice air cooled hood. Not sure if my 4"Fan will cool it properly.. I guess I'll have to experiment.

I could seriously grow plenty of bud with a few cfls for veg and one 150w hps, but I am determined to grow some really nice budz. MJ might not be addictive, but growing it certainly can be. :)
 

ugorg

Well-Known Member
120x120x200 (3foorx3footx6.3foot)
400hps is ideal 600hps slightly to hot in some country's
 

sunny747

Well-Known Member
Yea, I'm going to run 3 plants.. it was 4 until I just dropped one seed on the floor and for the life of me I can't find it :) I'll put my 400w in there and and add side lighting...
 
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