Right now I’m using an hlg260 along side a ts600 in my 4x2. According to my research the TS600 pulls 100 watts and the HLG can pull 285. That’s a total of 385 or 48.12 watts per square foot. My question is this, do I need more light?
I wanna be able to pull a pound and a half out of this tent per harvest using dwc. A gram per watt would give me 13.75 pounds and I’m in DWC and learning but not necessarily experienced. Should I buy another light or is this enough?
I also have a Bloomspect sl600 that pulls 85 watts I could squeeze in there but I feel like I could get to 480 without 3 lights if I can consolidate it into one light.
48.12 watts a sq/ft is pretty decent lighting especially for led! Not sure you would need anymore than that…
@ 1 GPW 385 watts, or 385 grams is .849 lbs. A pretty respectable yield for the space! I feel with a optimized environment you could hit 1.5 grams per watt…
@ 1.5 GPW 577.5 grams or 1.2732 lbs in a 2x4 area. Now that’s really good imo!
LED lighting is the future and currently the fasted growing lighting technology period
Sometimes more light won’t get you anywhere other than a smaller yield from “light poisoned” plants…you start getting white “bleached” tips on your plants you’ve exceeded the amount of light the plants can process and start doing damage…
DWC is only 2nd to aeroponics when it comes to pure growth power! Great choice for getting the most out of your small space!!
Hope this helps
Brian(Alaskagrown)
EDIT: It’s worth mentioning the newest version’s of LED lighting have extended far Red (IR) and UV A/B output to increase essential oil and terp production…these are worth looking into if you wanted to upgrade to a single newer light source…
So you have a recommendation of a light for that space that has those newer features?
I’ve also read that in a grow tent co2 is kinda pointless. Then again I could get an exhale bag but is it even worth it in a room that isn’t sealed? There seem to be varying opinions on the subject.
I’d go with a Spider Farmer SF-2000 model(or equivalent) these include the newer diodes/drivers with UV A/B, IR and extended wavelength of output…great for a 2x4 setup, around $300 US.l
Yes Co2 is pointless in a tent unless the room it’s sitting in and venting into is supplied with Co2…I’d say no personally…
The ‘rule of thumb’ is 30 watts/square foot.
I designed my DIY light to that spec and in normal use, I haven’t cranked it higher than 2/3s power. Which is OK as the driver runs nice and cool.
Best bet is get a light meter and use that to adjust your setup (I use a cheap one…)
your already have more than enough light, 30-40w/sqft for current led is enough any more gets you into diminishing returns as heat goes up, air circulations and water/nute usage, plus the plants start fighting each other badly if their happy.
a lb and half imo is not unachievable just harder goal for a 2x4 think closer to just over a lb off say 320w of light
So if you have room consider a second tent or a bigger one.
The SF2000 would also need a SF1000 to fill the 4x2 space with proper ppfd levels. Here is a SF2000 and it is just over 2ft. The SF1000 side by side would fit nicely.
I run 3 vioarspectra p600 full spectrum. They pull 95w at the wall each and at 285w for the trio they rock my 2x4 I don’t feel like I need any more light. I also really like the fact that I can have the 3 lights hanging at 3 different heights if I need to in order to optimize light for an uneven canopy.
I’m running a ViparSpectra XS2000 @ 200 watts in my 3x3, it’s more rectangle in shape… I bet you could put 2 of these in your 4x2 and have more then enough power to fully max out your harvest
You’re also not likely to pull 1.5lbs out of a 2x4 with any light. A lb isn’t unheard of but still really high for such a tight space. You can easily burn plants with to much led. You have enough light, if you can’t pull enough to smoke out a 2x4 then you might just need a bigger tent.(not being mean, I smoke more than a 2x4 can produce too😅)
I have a Mars Hydro TSL 2000 running in a 2x4 as an overflow space presently.
I see that airflow in the tent is a challenge over the canopy, and likewise underneath. - Where the hell am I supposed to put fans?!?!?
The light delivers over 1000 PPH on the canopy which is maximum without CO2 shenanigans.
I can only fit 2 plants in there, as I am incapable of growing small plants…
I expect that I will have to dim the light later in flower when the plants get closer to the light to lessen stress and avoid bleaching.
Your genetic will be playing a big part on your yield in a space like this.
-I am a photo/dirt guy. Coco/Autos might be entirely different.
Best of fortunes to you.
Are you saying I should use a 200 watt spider farmer over a 285 watt HLG? I already have an HLG260 along side a TS600 in there. I think we misunderstood each other
*Ive moved them both to the max height since taking this picture and the HLG is dimmed to 50 percent because it’s just veg I’ll go to 80 once I see buds
I’d really be happy with 8 ounces but 16 would be better lol. I only burn about 6 oz a month under optimal conditions. I’d like to have some reserves and start a decent reserve of many different strains
I was more or less going off @Alaskagrown post, my apologies. I just wanted to share my recent experience on my current build with that particular set up he mentioned. I would personally say you have enough light if you are having to dim the boards. Canopy penetration will be the most concern for ROI. I would not go by watt per square foot anymore. You should go by ppfd as that is what the plant uses…
