Light coverage...?
- Thread starter BRSkunk
- Start date
beginningbotanist420
Well-Known Member
False! 3'x3' feet is the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM, but you shouldn't use it for under 2.5'x2.5' if you want to use just it to flower. You can use it in a 3'x3' room, but you will need additional lighting, via CFLs etc.
FLoJo
Well-Known Member
False! 3'x3' feet is the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM, but you shouldn't use it for under 2.5'x2.5' if you want to use just it to flower. You can use it in a 3'x3' room, but you will need additional lighting, via CFLs etc.
hmm 3x3 is the minimum for a 400w then why is 4x4 considered optimum for a 1000w and a 3x3 considered optimum for a 600w?
i would say 3x3 would be about maximum effective footprint because the plants on the outer edge arent gonna get much light unless you move it up more. if you move the light up more you are losing a lot of light intensity for the other plants, which will most likely end up lowering your overall yield, and leaving you with light fluffy buds
FLo
brontobrandon1
Well-Known Member
I have a 1000 watt and its covering 2 3x3 floodtables nicely. my 400 watt is in a secret jardin 4x4 tent and i have half soil half hydro and the light coverage is perfect.
beginningbotanist420
Well-Known Member
Exactly. The person above me said that 400w was optimum for 3'x3', but you said yourself that that is best for a 600w. I said 400w was the Least you could use, but you should use it for 2.5'x2.5' or below. 400w in a 3'x3' room, your getting about 4,666 lumens/ft2, and you really shouldn't flower with less than 5,000 lumens/ft2.
Also, optimal is not the same as minimum. Optimal is about 75-100 watts/ft2, or about 7,500-10,000 lumens/ft2. The minimum is 50 watts/ft2, or about 5,000 lumens/ft2. So both are half of MINIMUM, or a third of optimum.
FLoJo
Well-Known Member
well then i think what you were saying is that a 3x3 is the absolute maximum size for a 4x4 not the minimum..
and i dont know where you get that 75-100 is optimum, 100 is about the maximum effective use of light.. and most growers will agree that 50-75 is the optimum range, anything more or less is going to take away from what you could have yielded
and i dont know where you get that 75-100 is optimum, 100 is about the maximum effective use of light.. and most growers will agree that 50-75 is the optimum range, anything more or less is going to take away from what you could have yielded
brontobrandon1
Well-Known Member
well im gettin about 2 pounds or more off my 1000 watt with 2 3x3 flood tables, i think its pretty optimal 
Kriegs
Well-Known Member
I have a 400W -- the coverage does fall off pretty quick outside of 2.5 - 3'. But, there are some "bands" of peak light that lie outside of that (found them with a light meter), and I've positioned those outer plants in these "peak zones" and they're doing good so far (they're about 6", and branching out nicely right now).
oh really???
Well-Known Member
i use a 400hps in a 1.5'x2' area sealed and reflected and it seems perfect. i think 3x3 max for a 400 watt is correct.