I am putting together the whole thing. Thankfully I am able to purpose build as opposed to adapting existing space. I do have some initial financial limits, and am only able to start with a single 600W. I will be going soil, or agroponic. My main question is this. Under a single 600W how many plants can I safely grow in 5 gallon buckets? The floor and walls are covered in Mylar and Aluminet. Just don't want to overwork the single light first time out. I will be expanding the lights after the first harvest. I have space for 3 more on the Helios 3. Thanks in advance.
My first indoor project. Lighting question.
- Thread starter Druhallen
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namtih024
Active Member
on average (varies depending on brand and type) a 600 watt HID will effectively cover 9 square feet, for decent growth plants need at least 10,000 lumens, as im sure you know the light intensity decreases by a square each foot. a 600w light produces about 10,000 lumens at 3 feet, so 3 foot by 3 foot space equals 9 square feet. you can probably stretch it a little further, especially with mylar reflecting light back on to plants. later once you have more lights the lumens per square feet will overlap and increase the space one light will effectively illuminate. your best bet is to buy a meter to measure lumens, then you will know exactly how far your light will stretch.
five gallon pots can produce some huge plants, depending on the strain the light may be wasted because of the plant size, ive seen five gallons soil operations where each plant had its own 1000w hps over it with plenty of space and produced 2 1/2 lbs per plant every 4 months. be ready to trim back and bend those massive plants so one plant doesnt take over and shade the rest.
good luck and make sure to pass the knowledge gained from your grow on to others and encourage them to grow. remember if everyone grew in there front yard it would be legal in no time.
five gallon pots can produce some huge plants, depending on the strain the light may be wasted because of the plant size, ive seen five gallons soil operations where each plant had its own 1000w hps over it with plenty of space and produced 2 1/2 lbs per plant every 4 months. be ready to trim back and bend those massive plants so one plant doesnt take over and shade the rest.
good luck and make sure to pass the knowledge gained from your grow on to others and encourage them to grow. remember if everyone grew in there front yard it would be legal in no time.
namtih024
Active Member
sorry as for your actual question, you can pack however many plants you can fit into the 9 square foot area and grow a ton of small plants, or you can put just a few larger plants in there and give them some room to breath, just depends on your preference. smaller plants are easier taken care of and maintain, they also take less time and usually average about 2 oz per plant depending on strain, where as large plants are more resistant to pest and disease, but require lots of water and nutes and so on. also most of the bud under a light will only be on the canopy at the top of the plant.
the list goes on, but these are just a few factors when deciding, but the great thing is that your building a grow room from scratch, just make sure you plan ahead for your design, and maximize your allowed space. don't grow a haze plant in a five gallon pot under an 8 foot ceiling because after the pot and the light it only gives you about 4 foot of growth without getting burned by the light, a haze plant will easily reach that long before maturity.
grow well
the list goes on, but these are just a few factors when deciding, but the great thing is that your building a grow room from scratch, just make sure you plan ahead for your design, and maximize your allowed space. don't grow a haze plant in a five gallon pot under an 8 foot ceiling because after the pot and the light it only gives you about 4 foot of growth without getting burned by the light, a haze plant will easily reach that long before maturity.
grow well