Hello everyone, I have just started out and am Journaling my grow and have already had so much amazing help I cannot thank everyone enough. That said I learned like everyone that the blurples aren’t what they are cracked up to be. So I’m looking to replace once my first grow is over.
When it comes to lights. People always talk about how much light it puts off in a specific area. IE: I’m using a 4x4 tent. Most will have certain recommendations for what power or size light to use. My question being is this taking into account a full packed tent with 6 big plants or is this regarding any amount of plants? The reason I ask is I was just confused reading because the most plants I will do at once is 2. I want an HLG light but am a disabled vet on a fixed income. So I want the 600R but if the 350R would work I could save $150 or so. Reading about lights it seems everything is based on size and not how many plants. If I’m only doing 2 plants then realistically I wouldn’t be using the full 4x4 and theoretically a smaller light would work. I’m not sure if that’s how it works though. Anyway to clarify it for me? Thanks in advance for any help and information. Also I am looking at refurbished units since I have a vet discount and can get good light and save $ but wasn’t sure 100% how people figure out what to use based on either size regardless how many plants or is it more plant based.
Many out there to choose from. HLG is a fan favorite here but many others perform as well or better. Service and build ups HLG. 600w wont hurt a bit. Dial down till expand. A 480w cover it as well. I TOTALLY understand retired and funds. I have found outstanding lights on Mercari or FB Marketplace. People quit and liquidate. Electric sky/cali lightworks are nice. Spider farmer have some next gens out that seem nice. @dbrn32 can assist and @MeEasy tests lights sponsored all the time. He is a great resource also. Be patient and try for a 1 time buy. They last years so a good sized 1 and done till expand i would suggest. Ty for your service brother.
Thanks and yea I dug around and nothing local plus with a refurbished and my vet discount it isn’t too terribly priced but like I said I just wasn’t sure how to calculate what wattage would for sure work in a certain area based on # of plants not tent size ( unless that isn’t a thing which is why I’m here to learn). I’m definitely going to get an HLG just making sure I don’t have to upgrade yet again in the future lol. I appreciate the input and as always everyone is always super helpful and nice which is rare for any community online these days, it’s a relief to say the least
Good choice. Check for refurbed. Also if need a promo and none from here work call them. They will give you 1. 4x4 2 plants max a 350 do you ok. If can spring for a 600 i would for future.
Thanks I appreciate it. I will spring for the 600R since refurbed with my code I can score for like $450ish. I just gotta wait a little while, having dental implant surgery as well right now and it drained every extra $ I had which wasn’t much 
I was still curious though about how they calculate wattage to space it just intrigues me.
Someone will put up a chart i am sure. I am a seat of the pants grower. Organic now and i judge light by plant reactions. Just me. Same setup for a while. Just move plants around. I have 2 550r in my 4x8 now and will drop a 3rd in when everything takes off. 1 550r in a 3x3. After a couple grows you will just see where they are with light.
Yuck. Tricare could be better my friend for sure.
Unfortunately I am disabled but not 100% and I fought with VA for years to cover my dental ( long story) needless to say they didn’t. I didn’t have 50k lying around for my dental work so spent a long long time getting into a dental implant school for dentist and it was about $7500 said and done but I have to travel across country a few times which wasn’t a big deal but plane tickets have doubled and tripled in the last few months.
@GrowingIs4Everyone , This is because you can grow 1 or 2 or 8 or more in the same space. So the number of plants is not what counts but the area that the light covers. This is usually presented as yield per square meter. So in any area you could grow a SOG (sea of green) SCROG (screen of green), where you put several (many) plants in a given area to let them grow in a an even flat canopy. Or just grow 1 or 2 and train them to grow in an even flat canopy. Here is something that may help with your decision. This 1 plant grow is going on with 1 yes one 65w HLG in a 2’x2’x3’ tent by Nebula Haze at Grow Weed Easy:…thank you for your service!
Ahh OK that makes sense when you break it down like that. Yea if I can grow 2 of those sized plants at a time I would be good to go. Thank you for that input and photo reference I definitely appreciate it.
Oh and it was my pleasure serving 
thank you again I’m going to look into the 350R. I think it will serve me well enough for anything I need ever.
First let me say thank you for your service. I have a 4x4 and run a HLG 300, and I got the refurbished model to save cash. 1 yr warranty, with that set up I ran 3 autos, and all plants had nice solid buds. Pulled around 15oz. And I’m a newbie aswell stumbling thro my second harvest now. I think the 350 will suit u well
Thank you for the input and it was my pleasure serving. I’m so glad everyone here is quick to help and gives honest good feedback. I think I’ll pull the trigger on the 350. I’m growing just for my wife and her friends ( until I can smoke again but currently I cannot) so if I don’t get a few extra buds from a plant I’ll survive lol. Thanks again I appreciate it
The reason for this is because it doesn’t matter if you have 16 small plants or 1 very large plant in your 4x4, the light requirement is the same. The plants see amount of photons over time and react accordingly. Having a half full tent doesn’t really change what plants see, it just means thst you will have light hitting the floor and being wasted instead of on foliage and triggering plant response.
Regardless of brand light you buy you want to make sure total light output is proper for your space in order to run efficient grows.
Also, if you want to run 1 or 2 in there, just hang a sheet or pace blanket to keep the light confined to the plant(s). Hey what about that, an expandable contractable grow tent?!
I use a hlg 600r in a 4x4 and it works great. I dont think plant count matters ive done 1 and filled a scrog and right now have 9 plants in 1 gallon buckets. Its canopy size that matters. You can train a couple plants to stay under a 350r and do well or get the 600r and fill er up. The 350 wont flower the full 4x4 in a way that makes great buds. Right now i have a 350rin a 2x5 and it barely does the job. Also the 350r has a space between the light boards that doesnt seem to light the center. Plants are visibly different in center of the canopy.
The way we calculate this is watts per square foot. The min. rule of thumb for several years has been 30 watts per square foot. As leds have improved that’s being slowly bumped to 40 watts a square foot if not 45. And fools like me that want lots of power at our disposal want even more than that. A 600 Rspec in a 4x4 calcs out to 37.5w per. sq. ft. It’s there but your over all amount of light is going to fall off pretty bad at the edges and corners. The reason for this is the way the 600r or any panel style light projects the light. This is why HLG came up with the Scorpion pattern light. To spread the light out across the available grow / floor space. If you partition out a 4x4 by hanging say some mylar a 350r will give you in a 2x4 space 41.25w per. sq. ft. And by just about anybody’s measure that’s pretty darn good. And two 350r’s IMHO are better than a 600r in a 4x4. But me being a throttle junkie I went with two 350r’s in a 2x4 and two 260 Rspec in my 3x3. Enjoy your journey!
@GrowingIs4Everyone A lot of others also like the GB4 at “Green-Beams dot com”, it’s $360 new and free shipping (unfortunately they don’t ship outside of US, otherwise I’d buy one!). They use the good Samsung diodes and the Meanwell HLG driver.
What code are you using? I was needing a discount code for HLG Lights website. I appreciate the help
Thank you everyone for breaking it down for me. It was alot to take in and was confusing at first. That said I went and ordered an HLG 550rspec V2. Was going to get the 600 but they sold out refurbished so went with the next best thing. Going refurbished with my veteran discount code it was like $475ish so not too terrible if it helps my grow like everyone says it will.