Fighting with 1000W HID

[navy66]

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.

 

[Chuckeye]

This helps....

Cheers

 

[dogzter]

I cover 5 x 5 with them no problem a simple batwing reflector on top of the tube makes a big difference.
What kind of ballast are you using?

 

[Chuckeye]

I was using that reflector in a 5 x 5, no problem for 4 plants But you have to turn the plants regularly

Cheers

 

[Lester Beans]

A cool tube is going to narrow the coverage. Also make sure the glass is clean. It can look clean but a good polish will make a difference. A 1k is perfect for a 5 x 5. I would disregard the charts and observe the plants.

 

[flower~power]

I can get away with a 5 x 5 footprint with 1000 watt batwing style reflective (as previously mentioned ) every grow start with a fresh bulb and it is best to let the plants tell you what to do

 

[Chuckeye]

A cool tube is going to narrow the coverage. Also make sure the glass is clean. It can look clean but a good polish will make a difference. A 1k is perfect for a 5 x 5. I would disregard the charts and observe the plants.

Good point @Lester Beans !

I read that and promptly forgot about it

The OP didn't say if this was in a tent or not ?

To get the most out of my light I used four foot high light weight reflective panels to create a 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 space as needed inside a 10 x 10 x 8 foot high room. It did help as I found I didn't need to rotate my plants quite as often as I did with a bat wing reflector.

I've been a die hard HID user for years. Partly because I grow for personal use and mostly because of the cost. Budget is an issue...

A 600w MH/HPS set up with 42" parabolic reflector runs about $300 right now.

When my ballast died I decided to purchase an LED instead of a new ballast and a set of tubes !

More out of curiosity than the need for larger yields

I couldn't be happier !

On sale the Phlizon 640w was $389, roughly twice the cost of HID replacements BUT...

The light spread is amazing, the infinite power knob is a big deal !

This is my current grow at Day 17



This is my last grow under HID at Day 19



Par map



One option would be to switch to a parabolic reflector if heat isn't too much of an issue but ideally I would move up the timing on a LED purchase

Cheers