KEEP the LIGHT CLOSE

It is KILLING me to watch people grow and keep their lights so far away from their plants.

If you are going to invest the time, money, effort, and risk into growing YOU should definitley keep your HID lights as close to the tops of your plants as possible. This means, you will need adequate airflow. Exhaust lights and keep oscilating fan between the tops of the plants and the bulbs.

I have been visiting a few garden in Northern California latley and the growers have their lights 16-24 inches from the tops of their plants..

WRONG, BAD, a waste of F-ing light. With proper airflow a 1000watt bulb with a glass fixture can be brought within 1- 4 inches of your plants...

This will more than double the yield of a light at 16-24 inches... not to mention make some huge baseball bat diameter colas..

IMPORTANT - bring light down slowly- start at 16 inches and lower light 1-2 inches per day... study leaves..... plants less than 3 weeks old probably can not handle a 1000watt bulb at 2 inches.

You know I did this in flower with 500W HPS and MH....

I think the closeness of a few inches caused more leaf growth than I cared for on the main kola.

I agree 24" is way too far than it needs to be but 2" with a 1000W bulb seems overkill.

I would like to get Zandor's take on this also.

Good post Knowm :)

The closer the better, the only factor is temperature. The light calculations say 0-12" the lumens are the same. Closer is more and better penetration and that is better. If you can control the temperature go for it. That's why I bitch so much about everybody monitoring the temperature at the top of the canopy. Did you catch my post about how I monitor the temperature in closets?

http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=25057

If the plants get to hot like over 85f then the fan leaves will grow to large and block the airflow defeating the idea of the extra light penetration. You must balance the heat transfer with the light penetration for optional results.

Donâ??t forget the airflow with the lights that close the air around the plant can heat up quickly and dry out the leaves and stocks.

Interesting... about the fan leaves over 85 degrees.. I have never heard that.. thanks

Pull air UP. UP and away.....

They sell real cheap light meters at nurseries... 7-12 bucks... people can check the difference themselves... but the real test wil be the girth of the BUDS!!

smb

I keep my 1000w about 8" above and to the side of my canopy but I use cool tubes too. I like more side light then top light but that's just me. The plant does not need the light directly over the top to grow. I alos use more light bulbs then most people to too. One on each side of the plant for full coverage.

You got to ware shades to walk in there.:cool:

Zandor... can you send me your e-mail address again..

[email protected]

I don't think they can real lumens as high as we use do they? Can they read up to 100,000 lumens of light or more?

Thick dense bubs sound good but I believe they are not as good as you would think they are.

Let me explain that:
Thick dense buds hold back the light penetration and reduce the surface area the plant can use to grow trichomes. They can restrict airflow and increase the chance for mold especially during the drying process. You canâ??t grow resin where there is no light or room for it to grow.

Advanced nutrients have a product called Bud Blood that is formulated to grow large fluffy buds. The idea is a fluffy bud has more light penetration, better airflow, and increased resin producing capacity. It will speed up the dry process by allowing more airflow around the bud. As they dry they will collapse into each other and stick together of sorts to make a dense bud in the end.

I sent you a PM

all these sound good and helpfull, really, but what happens if the grower does not have the means to get/buy/find/install a glass on the hood?

in my experience (very low starting budget) it is very helful if you manage to have a fan blowing air directly on the bulb and thus taking the heat away and spreading it around..likewise i was able to get my lights at 6-8 inches from the tops without burning them....of course the optimal would be to extract it out the room, when matters of low budget emerge the solution with the fan comes into my mind first... ;-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newgroweroldsmoker

all these sound good and helpfull, really, but what happens if the grower does not have the means to get/buy/find/install a glass on the hood?

in my experience (very low starting budget) it is very helful if you manage to have a fan blowing air directly on the bulb and thus taking the heat away and spreading it around..likewise i was able to get my lights at 6-8 inches from the tops without burning them....of course the optimal would be to extract it out the room, when matters of low budget emerge the solution with the fan comes into my mind first... ;-)

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Then you don't do it. Thatâ??s all, simple.

Not every post or topic is meant for the new grower or someone on a tight budget. It's not cheep to grow quality pot. It takes money, time and experience. Threads like this are meant to provide everyone with more experience and hopefully learn from others.

Yes the fan helps but with the higher wattage bulbs that is not the best option. If you can't do it right then do something else. Use a lower wattage light that's all.

The most import point of this thread I think is "Monitor the temperature at the top of the canopy" That will tell you how close you can get your lights no matter how many watts you use.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zandor

Then you don't do it. Thatâ??s all, simple.

Not every post or topic is meant for the new grower or someone on a tight budget. It's not cheep to grow quality pot. It takes money, time and experience. Threads like this are meant to provide everyone with more experience and hopefully learn from others.

Yes the fan helps but with the higher wattage bulbs that is not the best option. If you can't do it right then do something else. Use a lower wattage light that's all.

The most import point of this thread I think is "Monitor the temperature at the top of the canopy" That will tell you how close you can get your lights no matter how many watts you use.

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TRUE, that's why i am using 2x400 watt HPS and i'm planning to get a third one ;-)