Hi all,
Help with HID lighting please? I use a 1000w HID lamp in a cool tube. I used MH during veg and swap out to HPS during flower. Right now I'm using a Super Eye Hortilux single-ended HPS bulb.
I am stumped first off by the light footprint. 1000W sounds like a lot, and it is, but my bulb is 31 inches from the canopy and giving about 550 PPFD. Temperatures are fine. But the light footprint is slightly rectangular and about 20x18 inches, even at 31 inches away. If I move the lights closer, PPFD goes up of course, but my grow footprint gets smaller, and bleaching, yellowing and heat become an issue.
Shouldn't a 1000W HPS be lighting a 4x4 canopy with closer to 800-900 PPFD at least?? I would think so, but there is absolutely no way I could accomplish that. (Last grow, I had my plants closer to 15-18 inches away and was getting around 1000 PPFD, but it damaged the plants and yield, I think.)
Right now, my PPFD is about 550 right now, and DLI is around 24. I worry that these numbers are way too low. I can let it go and let them "grow up" into the light, getting higher numbers every day.
I just never imagined I'd be using 1000W HID lights and struggling to light 4 plants adequately. As it stands now, I will have to hang a few cheap LEDs, lower and on the edges of the canopy that aren't covered.
My ballast does MH and HPS both, is rated for 1000W and does not include a dimmer function.
And yes, I will probably be changing to full, higher-end LED lights when this run is over.
Help with HID lighting please? I use a 1000w HID lamp in a cool tube. I used MH during veg and swap out to HPS during flower. Right now I'm using a Super Eye Hortilux single-ended HPS bulb.
I am stumped first off by the light footprint. 1000W sounds like a lot, and it is, but my bulb is 31 inches from the canopy and giving about 550 PPFD. Temperatures are fine. But the light footprint is slightly rectangular and about 20x18 inches, even at 31 inches away. If I move the lights closer, PPFD goes up of course, but my grow footprint gets smaller, and bleaching, yellowing and heat become an issue.
Shouldn't a 1000W HPS be lighting a 4x4 canopy with closer to 800-900 PPFD at least?? I would think so, but there is absolutely no way I could accomplish that. (Last grow, I had my plants closer to 15-18 inches away and was getting around 1000 PPFD, but it damaged the plants and yield, I think.)
Right now, my PPFD is about 550 right now, and DLI is around 24. I worry that these numbers are way too low. I can let it go and let them "grow up" into the light, getting higher numbers every day.
I just never imagined I'd be using 1000W HID lights and struggling to light 4 plants adequately. As it stands now, I will have to hang a few cheap LEDs, lower and on the edges of the canopy that aren't covered.
My ballast does MH and HPS both, is rated for 1000W and does not include a dimmer function.
And yes, I will probably be changing to full, higher-end LED lights when this run is over.
