Just wondering what everyone is thinking on this topic. I have a 4x4 grow tent with 4 photo periods in 7 gal grow bags. I have 3 lights (yes I know it should only be 1) but it is two vivosun (200w) on the outside and a California light works in the middle to make it 600-650w right now. So my question I have them in flower right now. I do have a larger 400w California light I can swap out the smaller one for and turn the vivosun down. Just not sure if 800w is too much for if it will help with resin production. Heat isn’t an issue.
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I have a 4x4 flower tent for 4 plants in 7gal fabric pots… I use one hlg600 Rspec…
I would suggest using the photone app or a quantum sensor available on Amazon to check your DLI.
If you need more the numbers will tell you.
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Not necessarily. I know a lot of growers who ran 2 HLG 260XLs in a 4x4 for years. I run 3 HLG 135 panels above each plant in my tent.
As a general rule you want either 200 watts of quality lighting per plant or ~45 watts per square foot of canopy space.
You can take it even further like @Growmoredank suggested above and shoot for a good DLI. PPFD is also a good way to measure lighting and that is what I do. Suggest a minimum of ~800 PPFD at a plant’s canopy for the best flowering performance. The Photone app also measures PPFD. The only difference between DLI and PPFD is the time interval of lighting per day. DLI considers time of light exposure per day while PPFD does not.
Please also keep in mind that not all lights are created equally. The best way to ensure that you have a good product is to insist that the light you buy is built with Samsung LM301 diodes. The LM301 diodes are the most effective, efficient LEDs on the market and they perform very well.
Mars Hydro and Spider Farmer use LM3o1b diodes and HLG builds their light with LM3o1h diodes. The LM31h is the lastest model and they perform about 10% better than the b model, but the b model is still a fine LED. I have older HLGs and run the b model and they do just fine.
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I run 3 seperate lights in my 4Ă—4 and just harvested some big dense sticky buds a couple days ago. The more lights the better in my book. Theres always the dimmer dial too!
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I agree 100%. I even like a higher PPFD than that but 800 will yield great flowers (assuming the others boxes are checked).
The photone app is really good too. Not as accurate as my apogee sensor but it wasnt $400 either lol!
@MidwestGuy always provides solid info!
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Get the largest quality light you can fit in there. Having a light that is overpowered for the area is always the better option. Running your light at less than 100% will give it longer life. When you want to go even bigger on a tent you still have A good light and wont need to buy another.
Spending good money on a light now will only save you from buying one later and throwing away cheap lights.
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My android ap never read correctly.
This unit reads better.
Agreed.
After upgrading to HLG’s (350R and 260DKit) The temperature in my 4x4 dropped.
I get double the PPFD for half the electricity as being used by the Vipars.
It cost $$, but the grow is better.
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The vivosun have dimmers, the California lighting does not. I to have 3 lights just new to growing don’t wanna stress them out or stunt them too bad.
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Is that 8 plants? I’m trying to count them. You’ve got some great lights! How many watts do you have total there? I love that set up you got. This is eventually what i am going to do in my house so that i can quit squeezing into the 4×4 tent I’m learning with. I see it as my training wheels for now. Untill i expand into an entire room…
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Always more, well until you need C02 supp to utilize the extra lighting
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@MartyMarajuanaseed theres 9 lol…
Theres
HLG600r
HLG350R
HLG320XL
they are all cranked at max
Thats nearly 1300 watts lol
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I found that same meter on ebay for 12 bucs. But before i buy it, do you have to do the math to figure out PPFD and DLI or dose it have a function like the free photone app?
Yeah, you need to have them cranked, 1,800 would be better for 9 plants going with the 200 watt per plant requirement or 45 watts per square foot of plant coverage. But with the overlap from the lights emitting, its concentrated in those areas better. I was seeing spikes in my tent in certain spots with the photone app dli meter
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Not necessarily. With the overlapping, i have great coverage. Ill rotate the plants every few days to allow the backsides to get toasty too. 9 wasnt planned. Only 5 were, BUT my curiosity got the best of me and yea, theres 9 in there 
the 600r replaces a 1000wattMH setup. Its technically a commercial light. Its good for a 5x5 area
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Thats what I was doing, rotating my plants every week. I always do that with potted plants. Thats one of the perks that come along with with being in pots.
Sometimes i wished i would’ve gotten a big powerful light for my 4×4 but i had no idea what i was doing when i bought all my gear…lol i thought an HLG 200 Rspec was going to be enough until i was enlightened by you all here. So, thats when i started buying a few more $500 00 lights. I think I’m going to just keep on buying a few more high powered lights to add to my collection. You can never have to many back-ups. And its good to rotate them for longevity reasons. I haven’t had to run my lights full tilt this first entire grow due to excess power in a 4×4 area. I ran them around 75 to 80% and still had more than enough DLI/ppfd for flower. It helped on keeping the temps down also. I’ve read that the LED’s diminish in brightness 75% after 3-6 years…
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I have 3 fixtures in a 4x4 tent and I think there can be advantages to having 3 light fixtures instead of just 1. Mostly so if the driver on one fixture fails you still have some light still maintaining the timing of lights on during flower. Plus they can be at different heights, like plants are. I had also considered that if heat became an issue on some days that the center light could be turned off, although I have not needed to do that yet.
While the pic is from about ten days ago, they are still hung the same way right now. The 2 on the outside are HLG fixtures turned up all the way at about 250 watts each and the middle fixture is a less expensive, less quality light from Bloom Plus set at about 125 watts right now. I only adjusted the lights that way to try and even the DLI coverage some because my 4 girls have about 16-18 inches of difference in height. I am now at day 42 of flower and DLI is between 45 and 50 at the canopy all around the tent. I was thinking of checking the DLI again today and tweaking things, but everybody seems happy like they are so I’ll probably just leave it alone.
There is some good advice in the comments above mine!
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do you have to do the math to figure out PPFD and DLI
[/quote]
The app provides numbers.
HLG.com has calculators for conversion, specific upon light/watts or LUX .
LUX, PPFD, DLI can be computed using the HLG site software
available at HLG Horticulture Calculators – Horticulture Lighting Group
[quote=“MartyMarajuanaseed, post:13, topic:105679”]
Both at less than 50% on introduction to tent.
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Budding Girls want light, not heat.
I have the 600rspec @Growmoredank recommended. I remotely wired the power box, and can ALMOST manage the heat in a 4x4… Buds are dense, and yeilds are 1.5 if I do my part + genetics.
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It does get warm with 3 lights i a 4Ă—4 but i can keep it under control.
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