@Countryboyjvd1971 @DissidentPriest I think I have decided on these lights, it’s probably a bit of overkill but is too much light a bad thing? Also found that these lights piggy back so will only use 1 power outlet
The best way to calculate light is tent or room sq. ft. X 50 true watts.
The light you listed is about 200 true watts. I’d add up everything you have and see where you are. Over 50w a sq. ft is probably wasting electricity and/or will damage the plants. Anything less and you can add more, up to 50w.
Yep which means I will need 4 of them to cover a 16 sq foot area, crap it’s gonna cost me a bomb
Yup, worth it in the end though if you can swing it. Think big thick buds!
@Matthew420 is correct on how to size lights
I’m not sure about those smd type led lights so can’t say how good of a light it is I checked link wasn’t much of on it as far as specs but it you use that 50 w # as instructed by Matt you should be happy with your results
FYI I think 35 per square foot is min lighting for leds
I plan on using one 1000w cob and two 400w cobs for my next grow in a 4x4x7 tent (16 sq foot ) actual draw is 250w & 197 x2
Which gives me about 40 watts per square foot of actual watts
I do have more lights if needed but I believe with the led lights that’s more than enough
Hope this helps CB
Maybe look into 1000 watt lights you might be able to 2 of them I paid around 300 $ us for two 1000 watt lights on Amazon
@Matthew420 @Countryboyjvd1971 @Boofnadu420. I wonder about that 50W/sq. ft. calculation with LEDs, and here is why:
The plant gives 2 craps about the wattage. What the plant is most concerned with is, lumens (coupled with bandwidth) If you hung a 300w HPS or MH light as close as I hang my LEDs you would fry the plants in minutes from temperature not light. And, in order to provide a decent amount of lumens, given height above plant required with HPS/MH, you would be in the 1000w range due to lumen drop. The plant doesn’t burn because of the wattage or lumens, but because of the temperature and proximity. Now, at 12" from plant, my 150w UFO is delivering 9700 lumens to the plant. Drop that plant down to 24" from the light and it is receiving 4000 lumens. That’s a huge light drop (much more than the same move with HPS/MH) and where I think most people screw up with LED. I have measured my flower room with 6 lighting ballasts (2x 64w panels, 10x E27 28w, and 2x 150w) is producing over 70k lumens at top of foliage. If I had a 700w HPS in there, and used a 300w MH in my veg partition as well, my room would be 100+ degrees, and my plants would be fried since I have like a 7’ ceiling.
I think LEDs are going to break the old, and kind of generic/not very scientific rules regarding light needs, placement, and space required. I used to be part of a good sized co-op which used MH and HPS. That co-op is now switching to LED because, keeping 45 plants cool under 10k W of HPS or MH is exceptionally expensive and adds one more screw-up point. Yes I have experienced what happens in your last 10 days and the A/C fails, and no one catches it for 8 hours. it made AWESOME bubble hash though!
I like to write… Fair warning!
No doubt there are all kinds of calculations and variables but as a rule of thumb, most go by 50w sq. ft. People who come here confused about lighting surely aren’t going to understand lumens, pars, etc. Just my opinion.
I have about 40w sq. ft and I want more
And I agree with you @DissidentPriest
All those things are important
And will agree will @Matthew420 once again
Honestly I’m such a newbie here with growing I don’t even know what lumens means… lol sorry I actually woke one morning and decided I was gonna wing this whole growing thing because I’m tired of paying alot of money for something that can be grown at home for much less paper out of the wallet lol
It’s a unit of measurement for light intensity @Boofnadu420 no need to be sorry
More lumes brighter light
A very basic answer
Ohhh okay I gotcha I gotcha. This pic is kind of irrelevant but I’m stoked about these little ladies here’s what I’m working with coming up on week 3
So glad to hear there is no stupid question here, I am oblivious on lumens as well but know the higher the better for lights especially when there is little to no heat. I will be honest I have tried indoor once before with multiple failures using coco as my medium but that was also with advice from (what seemed at the time) an experienced friend that turned out not to be which resulted in failure after failure & much wasted money on bought clones which made me give up on it. That is also where I have the tent from (not a bargain picked up on the fly), it has been stored for a while but well cleaned before hand & will scrub the hell out of it before starting my next grow. From the advice received here I am confident I will succeed with my next attempt. I will take a while to get there as I have to build an outdoor (water + light tight) room to house my setup & I am going to build it big enough to be able to add another tent later when I am confident to do so.
So far after some YouTube research I think I have decided on a RDWC system (seems relatively easy to build & looks like it functions well) many have said it is good for a beginner (please correct me if I am wrong on this). I am currently listing out all the items I will need so I can price it all up & start purchasing things bit by bit each week while I build the outdoor room.
Just a FYI on coco I don’t use it my self but from my understanding you would treat it more like hydro with regards to ph levels and coco will store salts easier the organic soil so it requires flushing occasionally again I’m not expert on coco but this may be why you had so much trouble using it but your in the right place and will be successful with the help of all the peeps and Mods
Happy growing @Radnelac
CB
Cheers @Countryboyjvd1971
Quick question on lights, I think I have decided on 4 of these lights. Have confirmed with the supplier that they are true 230W so would give me a total of 920W for a grow area of 4x4 total 16 sq feet, is this over kill with a max of total 100,000 lumens ? Just want to make sure before I start buying stuff. They seem like a good price compared to others I have looked at.
Hi @Radnelac hows it going today?
Saw your question about lights. 3 of the 230 true watt units (920 watts) would be about 58 watts per sq foot. That is above a little but as long as you keep them at the right heights you wont have any issues. 4 would be overkill
The light itself looks similar to the rest of them…
Thanks @bob31, how many watts should I be looking at for a 16 sq foot grow area? I have been advised between 40-50 per sq foot. if I used 3 of them that would give me 690W about 43W per sq foot. Would that be adequate?
whoops, my calculator finger must have gone off track, lol…
4 lights 920 watts 58 watts per sq foot. You could go 3 of the 230’s and one of the 300/140’s and save a few bucks if that is an issue. That would bring you in at around 830/16= 52 watts psf
I’m with @bob31 you should be fine and you can always turn one off if you find it’s to much but I think your good and the light look good as far a spectrum and stuff so I say go for it
I have around 8 lights now and love the options I have to work with I can mix and match I also have three tents now so I’ll use all of them
Good luck and tag me when you get all set up with post pictures we love that around here I’m finishing setting up my grow this weekend and will post pics of my setup when done
@Radnelac. Want light and water tight and “invisible”? Go underground. I did, and I couldn’t be happier. It is a lot of work, but over the long term it is well worth it. In 27 years of being intricately involved with this plant I’ve witnessed everything I hope a person can see go wrong. Problems can hit from all angles, from the plants, from people, from money. After all this time, I think/hope/pray I’ve got all the gremlins beat.
Good luck and never hesitate to ask questions!
Grow big. Grow healthy. But most of all… GROW PATIENTLY!
Thanks @bob31 @Countryboyjvd1971 @DissidentPriest I will lock the lights in to my budget for purchase, they seem like the most expensive part of the whole setup so far.
I would love to go underground but I don’t own the property where I live, just renting but no fear of owners ever turning up cos they live in another state.
What do you guys think of a RDWC system for a hydro novice? From what I have learnt on YouTube it seems easy enough to setup & many have said its a good system for a beginner.