T5 Vegging Question

[DiamondJim420]

I want to veg 2 Northern Lights plants in DWC under T5's. My grow room is 3.5 x 3.5 x 8. Over each plant, I have a 2-foot 4-bulb T5 fixture. Each bulb is about 25 watts. So, there are 100 watts of T5 lighting above each plant. Is this enough light for vegging, or do I need more?

 

[ozzydiodude]

The watts don't matter.. What is the lumens for each bulb

 

[DiamondJim420]

The watts don't matter.. What is the lumens for each bulb

2000 lumens per bulb...8000 per fixture...2 fixtures...16000 lumens total in a 3.5 x 3.5 x 8 room.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Can you squish the room down some? I have a space 2 x 4 that I use a 20,000 lumen fixture in. Even though this is not 3000 lumens per sq ft, I get quite nice tight veggy growth with it. However, I think that 16,000 lumens in a 12.25 sq ft space is pushing it too much. On the other hand, 2 vegging plants are not going to require 12.25 sq ft. So if you can tighten the dimensions of your space up to, say, 3.5 x 1.5 or so, that would be plenty of space and light for 2 vegging plants.

Maybe construct some temporary walls with PVC pipe and panda film?

 

[DiamondJim420]

Can you squish the room down some? I have a space 2 x 4 that I use a 20,000 lumen fixture in. Even though this is not 3000 lumens per sq ft, I get quite nice tight veggy growth with it. However, I think that 16,000 lumens in a 12.25 sq ft space is pushing it too much. On the other hand, 2 vegging plants are not going to require 12.25 sq ft. So if you can tighten the dimensions of your space up to, say, 3.5 x 1.5 or so, that would be plenty of space and light for 2 vegging plants.

Maybe construct some temporary walls with PVC pipe and panda film?

I think I may just add some side-wall-mounted T5 fixtures on the left wall, the back wall, and the right wall...that will bring up my lumen count considerably.

How many Northern Lights plants do you think I could flower in the 3.5 x 3.5 x 8 space? I'm gonna run a DWC in 5-gallon buckets under 600-watt HPS. I was thinking that 2 flowering plants might fill that space up...but if I could flower 3 plants I would...But I know that more plants foes not necessesarily mean more total bud...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

If you add extra T5s, I would put them overhead. The T5s have to be within inches of the plant for full advantage. IMO, side lighting has very limited benefits.

Northern Lights is a smaller Indica type plant. I believe that you could get 3 or 4 in there okay.

 

[Growdude]

I believe you have enough light if you shrink the room size down
Just move the plants toward the corner, mount the lights right above the plants.
You could then make a temporary wall to "box them in".

I use the same light over my mother plant in a 2x2 closet and it vegg's great.

 

[Hushpuppy]

My cabinets used to be that size and I vegged and flowered as many as 6 plants in there. I would recommend only 4 plants as 6 was way too crowded. Also you can top them when you have no more than 6 nodes as that will become the top colas, and they will bush out some. I would only let them veg to about 12" tall before flipping them because the ones that I did we flipped them at about 20" and they went clean to the 8' ceiling. I would get 2 more of those fixtures and cover the whole top space over the plants even if you have to angle them a bit. Max the lumens and the girls will reward you at the end.