Single Level VERT vs. FLAT pls Help

okay... flowering room dimension is 15 by 13. Power consumption being the limiting factor i am only looking to use (4) 1000w HPS bulbs.

I have only done 'Flat' in the past. If someone has experience with both, please comment on the usefullness of a Vertical grow using only 4 bulbs in this room. (Only a single level of Vert lighting as opposed to 2 or 3 bulb heights.)

I'm looking at Cooltube reflectors w/ internal and external reflectors just to keep my options open... but would Vert. (or stadium) be a waste of time in this scenario? Would i yield just as well doing Flat properly? If i went Vert (or stadium with a single row of bulbs as opposed to playing 'four corners'... would i actually yeild better if i partitioned the room smaller and used two levels of vertical bulbs? (The ceiling height is basically not a factor as far as light movement goes... it is 8' at the wall juncture but quickly raises to 12'+)

Thanks for feedback.

I just finished my first "Stadium Grow" and previously did flat grows. In a stadium or vert you'll be able to put in more plants and usee less light to get the same or more yield than you would in a flat grow. In your vert setup there will be no need for a reflector if set up properly to use ALL available light. Reflected light is weaker than straight light fromt he bulb.
Flat grows are usually limited to 16 plants per light unless you go really small with plants and veg times, which limits you to 64 plants.
My stadium grow had 90 plants grown with 3 lights (1k) in 3 gallon grow bags.... and i still had room for about 15 plants or more. i would go with a stadium grow. Just be ware that Stadiums are a bit more work and keep you busy. remember you have to turn your plants every 3 days (and at the least once a week).

Willy Nilly do you happen to have a grow journal? I am on my first grow, 400w, but I'm interested in the stadiums. I was thinking more like 2 or maybe 3 400w bulbs though. I don't have the need for that deep of light penetration I don't believe. Sounds awesome though!

Willy Nilly said:

Flat grows are usually limited to 16 plants per light unless you go really small with plants and veg times, which limits you to 64 plants.
My stadium grow had 90 plants grown with 3 lights (1k) in 3 gallon grow bags.... and i still had room for about 15 plants or more. i would go with a stadium grow. Just be ware that Stadiums are a bit more work and keep you busy. remember you have to turn your plants every 3 days (and at the least once a week).

Click to expand...

i did 76 plants under a 3k setup like the one you describe, but flat... though i was pushing my luck around the edges a bit. The fact that you had 90 under 3k would suggest that it does create more room. i'd be interested in what type of strain (predominantl indica?) that you were using and what your dry yeild was. I actually have plenty of floor space to accomodate the 3 gal. pots i am using (up to 99) but can certainly imagine that plants would get overall more light in a stadium.

So, how would you position the lights in this room? I had planned on putting a light about 4 feet away from each corner of the room (3 1/2 feet from both walls) and playing 'four corners'.

Would i just use the floor in the middle and then a middle shelf and a top shelf around all the edges... like 2 steps up along all the walls? I'm looking at a finished height of around 4'. And the containers are 10" high. So would i want like the first step to 1 1/2 feet up and the top shelf or step to be 3' up?

Also, what does anyone think of suspending cooltubes horizontally with an external reflector... and maybe bending one flap up to not cut off light from the outer slopes?

All feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

(EDIT) maybe this height is too tall for stadium...