So as the title says im upgrading my grow lights for my 5x3. Ive settled on the HLG350R which says it fills a 5x3. My question is would the one light be sufficient for my space or should i buy 2, or maybe a different model? I know it says for a 5x3 but sometimes manufacturers exaggerate. Im hoping somebody has experience with these lights or something similar and could help me decide. Thanks all in advance!
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How many plants are you growing?
Trying to get decent use of my space so maybe 4-6 plants? I havent decided yet. At the moment i only have two…
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The 350R Is a nice light alot of people here use them. I have a HLG320XL used it in a 32x60 tent the light grew 2 plants to there finest. Good luck in your adventure there’s alot of good help here.
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I think you will be fine with one 350R. At least I would start off with it, and see how it goes. When I had the 350R in a 2x3. I couldn’t turn it up above 50%.
If you want more light during flowering. I would buy the 260 Rspec FR to add in, and it only goes for $249 new without any discount.
I have stopped overcrowding the tents. Only run one or two in the 2x3, and four in the 5x5.
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Thanks for the response. Thats probably a good idea to start with the one and see how it goes. Do you think 6 plants would be too many?
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Sure you could do six if you want. You will be doing more trimming to allow good air flow. There will not be much if any gain in amount, but you can run more strains than two or three.
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Given enough light and nutrients the plants will quickly fill whatever space they have.
Maybe it is the evolution of seed genetics, but I am amazed at how well these plants have adapted to life in a tent.
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I wonder can you yield a similar amount in 2 plants as opposed to 4 or 6? Maybe crowding isnt the best idea?
I have a 350R in a 2 1/2 x 5 tent, but it’s actual dimensions are 62" x 32", so fair enough to just say 3 x 5 I guess.
It really depends on what you want out of it. If you’d be happy with 3 or 4 nice plants then the 350R is definitely all you need to accomplish that.
If I want to fill the entire tent and have all the plants receive good close to equal coverage I move the 350R all the way to the left of the tent and hang a 300Rspec from front to back on the right side. It’s definitely overkill, and it makes for a lot of extra issues. More plants make more humidity to get rid of, and the 2nd fixture makes more heat to get rid of. It’s also tougher to find space for fans or anything else.
My suggestion is to go for the 350R to start. Most likely you’ll be more than happy. You can always pick up an auxiliary fixture down the road. I only use the Rspec now when I screw up and get too over crowded.
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I used to be the worst with over crowding. Average plants in my 4x6 closet back when I started was 12, like in this pic. Now I do 8 in there if they’re a smaller strain or 6 for bigger ones, and I’m yielded more now with less plants. To be fair I’ve also learned a lot since then, but overcrowding doesn’t help yield more, at least in my experience.
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Thanks for the response. Sounds like the best idea right now is to start with the one and and maybe only grow only 2-4 plants…
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The number of plants really comes down to how tall they finish at. If you want to finish at three - four foot tall, then I would allow about 2x2 foot per plant. The advantages would be using 5 gallon bags, and this would allow three to four days between waterings. Also sometimes overcrowding can lead to fluffy buds instead of dense.
If you run more plants than about three in your 3x5. You will need to use smaller bags, and it will require a little more maintenance.
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Good points…
Nicely done!
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For a 3 x 5 sqft space I would recommend 35 true watts per sqft of quality lighting that uses the Samsung LM301 H or B series Diodes. To get decent coverage across the complete grow space I would say 525 watts or better 
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The two lights that I suggested would equal 590 watts. But you will not need this much until you are in flowering, and reduce the light cycle to 12 hours. The 18 hours makes a big increase in the DLI. But I agree that the additional light will give better spread and even coverage, when the increase in light is needed.
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I run 2x 350Rs in my 5x3 and get wonderful results.
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