Too much light?

My cab is going to be 49"t x 24"w x 21"d. In it's construction I am trying to decide how I want to light it. The entire interior is going to be covered with mylar and I will have light traps and seals as well. I was thinking of 2 single 4 ft t5 mounted vertically in opposite corners may be the way to go. However this is probably gonna be about 10,000 lumens. I am a total newbie and forgive the ignorance but I was under the impression that the more the better theory works here. But a friend of mine is convinced that is too many lumens in so small an area. I believe I have read 5,000 lumens per sq ft. is optimum for both stages. But is it bad or even possible to have too many lumens? To be honest I am also a mathematical moron and do not know the formula to convert my dimensions into sq ft. So I am not sure if that is even evough light as well, Too many years and too many bongs I guess, LOL! :smokebong:

Originally I was thinking of 4-6 clamp on fixtures with screw in cfls. But if I use the t5 I cut drastically down on the number of cords I would have to manuever not to mention the heat production through my grow. Thanks! This forum rocks!

You have 3.5 sq. ft. there:

Length x Width = Area

24in. x 21in. = 504 square inches

504 / 144 (12in. x 12in. which is a square foot) = 3.5 sq. ft.


... I had a 400w hps in the same area (that's about 55,000 lumens total) that worked out really well in terms of lighting, so don't believe your buddy.

T5's are only effective about 1-3 inches away from the plant, so mounting them on the sides as primary light sources won't work out too well. If it were me, I'd get a 250w hps, maybe a cooltube for it, and a good inline fan to cool the cab. CFL's will work also, but they also need to be kept close to the plant to be effective.

Check out some of the growlogs like this one: http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...ard-cab-9.html, might give you some ideas.