Thanks @raustin. I did, indeed, lower my light a tad. It’s about 5" above the canopy now, and about as low as I can get it, and still leave the humidity dome on. Of course, I am using a weird bulb, because heaven forbid I should do anything the simple way. I’m using this LED bulb with about 1100 lumens.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074KPB7JR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It seems like it should be plenty bright enough. But maybe I’m wrong.
You can take off those plastic diffusers, that will help. You should be able to pop them off with a screwdriver.
That’s a good idea, and one that I hadn’t thought of. If I hadn’t somehow lost track of the second bulb in the set, I would give this a try. But since I can only find the one that I’m using right now, I don’t want to screw that up, and have no light. Hopefully, they’ll like having the light at 5" a bit more. And if I ever do find that second bulb, I’ll see if I can remove the diffuser. It isn’t super obvious to me, with just a quick look and feel, though. But the boost in light would be worth experimenting. Thanks.
I don’t think those bulbs will be sufficient. Definitely not for a a reasonable yield, but @dbrn32 what do you think friend?
Tough to do a lot with them I agree. But removing diffusers like @raustin said and adding some more of them will do ok for a small plant.
When removing diffuser, some of them are glued and need to be cut off.
That bulb was just for the seedling phase. I have a 600w LED panel sitting above them, waiting for them to grow a bit bigger before I turn it on, and I’ll get a second 600w light for the tent when the plants are spread out a bit. Does that seem reasonable @dbrn32, @FNG101v2 ? It’s a 24"x48"x60" tent.
Which 600w panel? Most of them are a little small for a 2x4.
He’s gotcha all taken care of 
@dbrn32 @FNG101v2: This is the panel I have. It’s set up on one side of the tent, and I intend to get another in there soon so that I’ll have two of these to light up the whole space. That was the plan anyway, but I’m certainly open to suggestions.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0778K6TR2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks!!
Despite what those amazon listings lead you to believe, those lights don’t really pull off the advertised hid replacement. Even two of them in a 2x4 would leave a little room improvement.
If you’re looking to get that kind of performance out of leds it usually takes something a little more expensive unfortunately. If you’re open to that, I could certainly make a couple of recommendations. I would just need to know if you’re looking get something now for like half the tent and continue to run the light you have in the other half, or light the whole the tent.
Thanks @dbrn32. I’m open to everything, actually. In a perfect world, I would have been making the right choices already. But this seems not to be the case. I also have half a mind to get a 2’x2’ tent to use later on for germinating clones, so I could conceivably use this current light in that (perhaps)? So I would be interested in what you would recommend both as a supplemental light for the other half of the tent (since my wife is getting a little fed up with all my purchases and obsessing) and also what you’d recommend for a replacement for the whole tent… if it isn’t too much to ask. Many, many thanks in advance!
I would think the light you currently have would do a real nice job for vegetative growth in a 2x2. If you decide to do that, one of the xl 260 quantum board kits would do real nice in a 2x4. Or maybe a 200-300 watt cob rail. The qb kits are available at horticulture lighting group and growerslights. Timber has some really nice cob rails. If you’re open to building yourself there’s a little money to be saved.
Thanks @dbrn32. (Sorry for the long delay. Busy day at work.)
Sadly, I’m not a DIY electrical guy, and wouldn’t feel comfortable with a kit. I think there might be a rebellion at home if I dropped a grand on lights right now… even $500 would cause trouble. Not everyone sees this as the “investment” I would… even if they’ll be happy to partake of the fruits. Do you really think that if I try to scrog a couple plants in this tent I won’t be able to get them to flower and bud? I’d certainly like to get a few ounces out of them this summer/fall. I was hoping that two of the lights linked above would do the trick. If that’s unrealistic, then I guess I should know now, rather than later, and perhaps I can negotiate for something along the lines of a Kind K3 L450, if you think that this would be significantly better.
That xl 260 kit I’m pretty sure you can get assembled for under $400.
You can grow weed with the light you have, but I wouldn’t buy another one. Look at the qb 135 kit using version 2 board and run it along with the light you have already if that’s the case. It’s around $200 if you pay for them to assemble and test from growerslights.
Don’t worry, so is mine 
I’m kind of in the same boat so I really appreciate the info! I wish I would have joined the forum and talked with you before purchasing my first light! Right now I’m in a 4x2x5 running a VIPARSPECTRA Timer Control Series VT450 450W LED. Starting this on a budget as well this seemed to be the best fit. So far my Cheese Auto seems to be doing quite well approaching day 26 from sprout but I think for the type yields I’d like I will most definitely need to upgrade after this. I’ll look into some of the stuff you’ve mentioned above. Thanks for the info as always! You’re definitely one of the most helpful around.
Thanks for that clarification. I must have looked at the wrong lights, initially. 'Had a somewhat tough conversation about this tonight. Personally, I’d really like to get the XL260, but having already purchased one (albeit weak) light, I think I’m going to have to settle for a QB 135, this go-around. It seems a shame to me, but it’s an uphill battle. Maybe the “winning side” of the tent will demonstrate the validity of the argument, later in the summer. Anyway, thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it!!
There’s nothing wrong with those, they just don’t quite perform as usually advertised. Still grow solid weed though, and usually veg plants very nicely. So you have that covered if you ever decide to expand or upgrade. Thanks for the kind words too.
Day 4
Amateur (and crucial) mistake, the soil is too moist. I’m leaving town for a few days, and will let the soil dry out… though under the humidity dome. Otherwise they seem to be doing alright, I think; except for one which has nothing but cotyledon (center, rear). 'Turned the lights up to full strength tonight.
Be cautious “turning your lights to full strength”. Combining water problems, with excess light, and being away 2 days… Be careful
