building new space

[BigTree420]

ok so like the title says im building a new grow space...for flowering to be exact...now my new area is going to be about 4.5x4.5'' so what im wondering is...should i go with 2-400w hps or do you guys think i would be ok with a 1-600w...the reason i say 2-400w is because i already have one...what do you guys think?? all the lights will be air cooled so im not worried about heat....give me some input im excited to redesign lol

 

[legalize_freedom]

I recently built a 4'x4' with the intentions of lighting it with a 600w, which if you go by the books should be plenty. After a couple weeks in flower, I realized that in order to get my light foot print to cover the whole canopy I had to have my light at around 14" above the tops. MY reflectors are air cooled, so I'm waisting precious lumens by keeping my light that far away. So I ordered a 2' 4 bulb T5 to put in my veg cab, and moved the 400w that I had in there in with the 600. It's nice and bright in there now, and I can have the lamps 8" off the tops. I don't have the t5 yet, but it should be here next week, so I just put 3 of those big 34w (equal to 150w so they claim) I think, twisted floro's on my clones for a few days...lol...probably should have waited, but I wanted the light on my buds, and a few days aint gonna hurt em.

In theory the 600 would be fine, but I'll bet if you go that route it won't take long that you wish that you would have gone with the 2 400's. Just my .02

 

[iamtd]

My room is slightly smaller than that, but even though I know my 1 400w HPS is adequate. I'm still looking at getting another for my next grow. It just seems to me that we are doing everything we can to max out our crop, so why not go a little crazy with the lights. 800 is better than 600w and like Lf says, with a 600, it's all concentrated in one place.

 

[nouvellechef]

I would run 2 600's in coolp tubes and a T5 in veg.

 

[BBFan]

800 is better than 600w

Hey there iamtd!

No offense meant, but a 2 - 400 watt units requiring 800 watts are only marginally more effective than 1- 600 watt unit- and not worth the additional cost imho (those 200 extra watts will only deliver an additional 5,000 lumens).



Hey there BigTree420!

If you can swing it, you'd really benefit by adding a 600 watt unit along with your existing 400 watt unit. Under an hps, that would give you about 145,000 lumens. In 20 square feet, that's a healthy 7250 lumens/ft2.

2 -400's or 1- 600 is pretty much bare minimum for flowering.

Good luck building your new box!

 

[BBFan]

My apologies to NouvelleChef...

for echoing what he already said in the post before mine. Duh.

 

[iamtd]

My apologies. I just looked it up. I didn't realise that a 600w has almost double the lumens of a 400w. Can someone explain why a 400w will get you around 50-55k when a 600w gets you closer to 100k. I would have thought the watt to lumen ratio would stay the same.

It's making me re-think my plans.

 

[iamtd]

55,000 + 27,500 = 82,500

400 watt lamp is 55,000 so split that in half for the 200 watts more of the 600 and thats what you get.

Thats what I thought at first puff. But I looked it up and 600's are at 95k-100k. 1000s at like 145k.

 

[iamtd]

How is a 400 enough for a 4.5x4.5 area?

Its not nouvellechef. My room is smaller. I was just expressing my thought process which I now know was flawed. Btw are you a qualified chef?

 

[BBFan]

A 400 watt (hps) on average will range from 50k to 58k lumens, depending on mfr.

A 600 watt (hps) on average will range from 88k to 95k lumens, depending on mfr.

I don't know why, but the 600 watt HID's are the most energy efficient on a lumen per watt basis (even better than a 1000 watt). I guess it justs the peak operating rate.

Hope this helps.

 

[nouvellechef]

Yep, CEC, ACF, AAC

 

[iamtd]

Nice one. I've been a chef for going on 10 years now. How long have you been at it?

 

[nouvellechef]

7 years.

 

[BigTree420]

thank you everyone for all the replies. You have all helped me a great deal in deciding on what to use for lighting...i am gonna go with a 600w and include my current 400w in the setup. That should be more than enough...i kinda figured two lights would be better than one to cover more area in the space without having to move the plants around everyday

 

[nouvellechef]

All good BB. Sometimes I don't read thru whole thread and prob just echo what someone already said too. Thats what a thread is for, ppl's opinions. Hell more than one of the same opinion is a good thing, most of the time. GL, OP. When I said 2 600's, yeah it's a bit much, but you can always make your space a bit bigger if needed down the road.

 

[legalize_freedom]

Good choice Big Tree! I don't think you will be disapointed.

 

[BigTree420]

i dont think so either lol! im excitd to build a new room-havent grown anything in 6 months

 

[legalize_freedom]

Hey man...just a quick thought for you, your going to want an air cooled reflector in that spot, I'm growing in a 4'x4'x6' and have the same light set up, both of my hoods are air cooled, and itis still 77 in there (and it's cold out here!)...it would be way too hot without the air cooled hoods. if your 400 is already bought, at least make sure to get the 600 air cooled!

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

my veg room is 5x5x7h and i have flowered in it with 1 1000w. i would go with the 2 400's over the single 6 any day.