Is this too much light?

@dbrn32 Here is the lighting set up I spoke to you about. I put in the HPS bulb cause it says its better for flowering. I took the cfl’s and ran them down the sides. Yes I have them in central air and a fan circulating as well. All together I have the 600w and 256w totaling 856 watts . There is a selector knob on the transformer, I have it at 600 but it has a setting for " Super Lumens " … Am I good with this set up and how suoer is the super setting ???

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The cfls are almost useless that far away… you would be better off wrapping reflectics material around them… like this… :wink:

:v::sunglasses:

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I agree with @peachfuzz about the cfl’s. Perhaps you could run them sideways along the edges instead too.

Otherwise, 600 watt hps should do a real good job there. From what I hear, going super lumens will reduce life of bulb, and you don’t really need it.

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I agree that that 600 watt is plenty…
He just needs to direct the light better… huge difference… I guarantee… :grin:

:v::sunglasses:

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Kool, I’m hoping the $137.00 I spent on the light kit is going to pay for itself. Preciate it @dbrn32 … Oh and @peachfuzz , I like your set up , its clean … Yep …

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I had to laugh out loud because I started a topic yesterday titled, something like “dimmable ballast question what they’re for.?.” And here you are talking about super lumens like I asked about yesterday. Feel free to read the post if you want but like the guys and gals said you have enough juice for your environment I would think. Enjoy your grow!

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@dbrn32 … I found this article and was wondering if it is close to the truth … I have the hps about 5-6 inches from the tops … This says it should be at least 14 inches … I dont want them to stretch as they are 26’’ now …

Grow Light Closest ~ Sunlight Furthest

150W 8" (20cm) 10" (25cm) 12" (30cm)
250W 10" (25cm) 12" (30cm) 14" (35cm)
400W 12" (30cm) 14" (35cm) 19" (48cm)
600W 14" (35cm) 16" (41cm) 25" (64cm)
1000W 16" (41cm) 22" (55cm) 31" (79cm)

150W – covers 2’ x 2’ (0.6m x 0.6m) area

250W – covers 2’ x 2’ (0.6m x 0.6m) area up to 2.5’ x 2.5’ (0.8m x 0.8m)

400W – covers 3’ x 3’ (0.9m x 0.9m) area up to 3.5’ x 3.5’ (1m x 1m)

600W – covers 3.5’ x 3.5’ (1m x 1m) area up to 4’ x 4’ (1.2m x 1.2m)

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Looks about right. 5-6” seems pretty close for a 600. Most will veg under mh to keep nodes tight pre transitional stretch with hps.

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It works a LOT better if you do something to get the light on your plants. Your light is mostly wasted going other places. Especially the CFLs. Might as well not bother running them. You can build reflecting side walls out of masonite, or even cardboard. Just paint it flat pure white and it reflects most of that light back onto the plants. This is why people use tents with reflective side walls.

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@1BigFella I had some cardboard , masking tape and foil … Will this do the trick ???

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That’s better. If you were using an HID lamp, I would say don’t use foil, especially on curved surfaces because you can focus light on hot spots. Not really a problem with LEDs. Flat white paint works just as well.

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