I have finally decided I need to tune all the lights in my tents or at least understand whats happening. Each tent has a different type of LED light. I don’t have a light meter so I am attempting to try out this Photone app on android. They have an article about cannabis lighting requirements here https://growlightmeter.com/lighting-requirements-of-cannabis-over-the-full-grow-cycle/
I was curious if the experts on OG agree with these charts as a good baseline to start with as i figure out the proper heights and light requirements for each tent. I have attached a couple of the graphics from the article below but see the article for more numbers that are in tables and not graphics.
I have been winging it for a couple years but now I want to understand more about light requirements as I am shopping for a new light for a 4x4 as well as running several different light cycles across multiple tents.
It is a game changer going from manufacturer’s suggestions to actually using a meter.
You don’t have to spend big bucks on a PAR meter either, just a basic Lux meter will do.
There are phone apps but results can vary significantly (part of the problem is phones do not have a cosine corrector (that white hemispherical plastic bit)). Still, a phone app is better than nothing & some of those apps produce good numbers.
I had tent buddy on my old phone. got a new one recently and my readings never even make the minimum par ppfd numbers that are recommended(holding phone inches from center of board I still get small readings. skeptical phone sensors are good enough.
I agree. It also totally depends on the phone and the calibration. I am testing with a pixel 6 with no calibration. The settings state they do not have factory calibration specs in the app for my phone.
So far I tested a mars hydro TS1000 and a knock off version of it, the Besteva BP1000. According to the PPFD charts provided by those manufacturers the phone app was pretty dang close in my tests.
For example the TS1000 chart says 1350 PPFD for 100% brightness at 12". I got 1200 ish with the app.
The Besteva says 1600 at 6" full brightness. I read more like 1100 but i am guessing besteva had inflated numbers. I can get to 1400 PPFD if i am 2 inches away.
Light meter sounds like the way to go but I am still going to test this app as it seems to be in the ballpark.
Check this guys reviews out. Hes done quite a few brands. Also migro is another you tube guy that does similar testing. In a 4x4 tent with 720w led say roi, 80% at 18" to achieve 1000 par. You can grow healthy veg plants as low as 100 par. But typically 100 to 300 for veg, 500 plus for flower. Some like to push the limits up to 1500 like my buddy @delta9nxs while I have been finding quality and happiness not exceeding 1000 par. Lots of ways to get there. Ive done a fair bit of par mapping myself. Im pretty familiar with the bar style leds ranging around 600 to 800w for 4x4 to 5x5 spacing. If any of that applies to you and you have a question just holler.
Gotta give a shout out to the Coco for Cannabis reviews!
Shane’s reviews are also legit from MIGRO.
The numbers do not lie.
The PAR meter app for your phone gets you pretty close to the $500 PAR meter.
Run the light at 25, 50,75,100% and adjust height to hit the desired PPFD.
