Watts per square foot?!?

The rule is 50 watts per square foot. Is that for all types of light? So wether I have 50 watts of cfl per square foot, or 50 watts of hps per square foot, growth wont be that much difference? Or do the lumens also play a big part?

Debating what I should buy for lights...lets here it!?!

Aim for 5000 or 6000 lumens per square foot. A little more won't hurt. If you get as high as 10,000 lumens/sqft, you're wasting electricity, since the plants won't use all that light. 50 watts per square foot, whether CFLs or HPS, will get you in the right range of light intensity, but in the case of CFLs, make sure it's 50 REAL watts, not that 'equivalent' BS.

Good looks. I already have 150 cfls watts, but was thinking of buying a 150w hps.

imo the hps will bring your buds to become more dense than the cfl's. i veg under cfls then move to 600w hps to flower. everyone has their own way of doing things but imo the hps is the way to go for your flower cycle. peace.

I want to do a sog with 150w hps in a rubbermaid bin. I want to fit as many 9oz or 16oz cups in there and do a 12/12 from seed. What you think? I bet I could yeild a qp!!!

i'm at 8500 lumens per sf..... and would still like to have it brighter.

i think spread and angles are as important as intensity. movers seem to help, and i'll find out when i can afford one

8500lumen's per sq foot, that's becoming a waste of light.

2000 for minimum growth and shoot for 3000+

mane2008 said:

8500lumen's per sq foot, that's becoming a waste of light.

2000 for minimum growth and shoot for 3000+

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if you saw my plants, you might disagree

kindprincess said:

if you saw my plants, you might disagree

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I'm just saying there's a breaking point at which the plants can use that amount of light.

sure, but outdoors, i'm thinking it's more than 10000 lumens per square foot.... it makes a difference.

kindprincess said:

sure, but outdoors, i'm thinking it's more than 10000 lumens per square foot.... it makes a difference.

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true, but why more use a bigger space and more plants

I'd love to see them too they must be some monster's

After so many lumens, it becomes a waste...

lol

more light more better

Duality, you'll be lucky to yield 2 oz.

12 or 16 oz cups are WAY too small. They'll have no root room and be maxed out in height before 4th week and then have no room to grow to give buds. Trust me, I've tried to veg clones in them, they stop growing by the 3rd week. When I would use 3 liter soda bottles with the tops cut off (so 2.5 liters... around 75 oz) and after 4 weeks of veg from seedling and then flowering with a 150watt HPS, i'm lucky to get 14g from a plant. With 3 or 5 gallon buckets I'd get a little over 1oz each. Which shows it's not the quality of my growing capabilities, that's simple root bind. With a 150w HPS you're a lot better off to grow 4 plants in 3 or 5 gallon buckets and top/lst/supercrop them. You can flower by week 4 (or just do 12/12 from start) and THEN you'll probably get about 1oz off each plant. But take my word for it, if you try to grow plants in those tiny cups, you'll regret it after you've wasted time, cash, and effort.

There's a difference between lumens generated and how many actually hit the square feet in question. The practice of taking total lumens and dividing by sq feet assumes that 100% do and that's unrealistic. If you actually net 2/3 of the calculated lumens per sq ft you are doing well. That's the reason for having more, but it is correct aht past a certain level more light does the plant no good.

Dually said:

The rule is 50 watts per square foot. Is that for all types of light? So wether I have 50 watts of cfl per square foot, or 50 watts of hps per square foot, growth wont be that much difference? Or do the lumens also play a big part?

Debating what I should buy for lights...lets here it!?!

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Bro, lights are the most important thing in the whole room, and buck up and get hps

mindatlarge said:

Bro, lights are the most important thing in the whole room, and buck up and get hps

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there we go.

Shoot, i went a year, in a 10x10, with only like 30 watt/sq ft. (about 2100lumens sq ft.) and got awesome results lol....Quality of light is just as important as quantity....i'm sure i'll be disagreed with though

It also depends a lot on how far away the light is from the plant. A 400W HPS that's 2' away from the top of a tall Sativa plant needs more watts/sqft than say a series of 4 100Ws arranged in an even pattern 6" above a SOG or SCROG. That's because the taller plants need more intense light to affect the lower leaves. Either way, light is the best place to spend money from most accounts.