What effects will increasing light have?

[madmarv0525]

I am currently growing under a 400w hps and have 6 plants each in groups of 2 and 3 weeks apart from the group before. I have a 1000w kit on the way and wanted to know what the increase might do to the plants at the 6ish and 9ish week plants I'm not too worried about the week 3ish girls as they should have time to adjust without any hiccups (at least I hope) I haven't been able to make journals of my grows like I want to due to life being crazy. Any imput will be greatly appreciated also if there are any questions feel free to ask

Heat should not be a problem it will be a 1000th hortilux super hps in an air cooled hood with a 6 in inline fan

 

[Papageno]

Well if done correctly you will double the possible lighting so you may double your volume. But you have to do things right.

I can get a pound a plant out of soil under that lighting and I can get 4 plants in the space of that light.

I am finishing off now but I started this grow with 4 seeds. 2 were male, one was a dud. One is a female I grew out to 33" x 28" and it looks like this now. If it wasn't butted up against males I could have grown it much large under my 1000W. It is the size it is because I stopped and started bloom when I had filled the scrog... and then 3 of 4 had to come out. Sucks to be me I guess.

circled one below

 

[madmarv0525]

Still a nice ass looking plant how long do you veg to get 1lb per plant? So 4 lb per 1k light that's amazing

 

[Papageno]

Well that is a bit of a stretch but not far off. I veg until my scrog is full. Of course in this case I have about 1/4 scrog running. Now that is not exactly true. I was not growing clones. I was growing 4 unknown seeds I got as freebies from an order a while back. Lucky for me the one that grew the fastest was a great ending female. So it filled out a bit more than 1/4 of the scrog but not by that much more.

I have a 5x5 tent so I have about a 4'6" x 3'6" scrog so I can get around inside a bit. And I don't always scrog. My next grow I have put down an handful of seeds and 2 clones from this girl and I am looking for a new mother plant to use for cloning at which point I can develop some consistency. So I will have a more traditional grow with some topping and super cropping and probably leave out the scrog. I probably wont get as much but I wont need it. I only grow for myself and my wife.

Some people grow the Scrog out and then up a bit. There is a fine line of overfilling that can cause poor air flow through the canopy. That may lead to bud rot. I tend to not grow up that much and fell like letting the flowers breath is better then packing it in there and swinging for the fences.


For example that plant looked like this 2 weeks into bloom and had an even canopy not much above the scrog.

I could have grown it verticle a foot before flowering and had a huge plant but then it may be too big.

By not over growing it now she has very good airflow.

But I see people grow them up out of the Scrog way to long on here all the time and they end up often with bud rot. I just helped a guy with his journal and everything went great but the whole time I told him I was worried about how packed he had it in there and he did end up with some bud rot. So you must show some restraint and not push things too far or you may create problems you didn't need to have.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Some wise words by VI in the last post

Bigger bulb may suggest a larger light foot print but only with a suitable sized reflector but may suggest an air cooled type to help deal with the extra heat the 1000w will produce.


Larger wattage bulbs should improve yield but environmental conditions are also another factor !

As you can see by VI scrog grow in a 5 by 5 tent training style may well influence expected yield than over some thing grown in the standard manor of a bush.


But good air flow is always a key issue !

 

[madmarv0525]

So the increase shouldn't negatively affect my plants that are almost finished?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Just need to look at heat stress & that high temps may effect yield.

But in the short term more likely not effecting things a great deal...

Temps need to be observed if running a 1000w tho !

 

[Papageno]

Up to a point (roughly 600W HID) the more you add the better. At 600W it is possible to achieve light as intense as growing at the equator which is all you need. That said there are some downsides at 600. I like the flexibility of running a 1000W on an adjustable ballast with a very focused tight reflector since I am in a small grow space. I like the light penetration you get form a 1000W and I can set it down to 650 or 750 and adjust the height and intensity and coverage area as the plants grow.

So all that said to answer the question ...no you can add more light anytime and it will help...well almost anytime. The last 2 weeks where it is not really growing much and packing on resin you can drop the light down so if you only have a few weeks left don't bother you are more likely to burn the plant setting it up wrong.

But in the end...you should get the best light and bulb and ballast you can afford. It all adds up. I have a top of the line ballast that is like 10% more output then other top of the line ballasts and way better than most. I use the absolute best bulb which is at least 10% better than other great bulbs and since it is DE probably 25% more than any standard SE bulb. My DE bulb hurts and you absolutely must have eye protection. My old school 1000W on a magnetic ballast doesn't even come close. I don't cool it (extra 5-10%) I don't have a window in front of it (extra 10-30% depending on how dirty it is). I use a tight focusing top of the line reflector that focuses all the light straight down. So you start adding all that up and I have significantly more PAR than many people using the same power I am.

And for giggles I added 2 Mars Hydro 300 Veg LEDs for some spectrum help (as the gen 1 stuff is super cheap right now) a few weeks back so my next grow should be nice and full.


Watch this before buying and HID stuff.

 

[Papageno]

I adjust my fan speed to keep the temps right where I want them. I may need to add a second fan this summer though...but right now my 400 CFM keeps me down in the mid to low 70's with the 1000W DE and 1 Mars 300.

 

[Papageno]

I took that girl out of the tent to clean up and harvest today. So I took a final few pics next to my 1100CC Motorcycle as it is about the best thing to give some perspective. Can't wait to get the final weight of this one.

Just under 4 months in soil from seed.

 

[DRM Ranch]

I am currently growing under a 400w hps and have 6 plants each in groups of 2 and 3 weeks apart from the group before. I have a 1000w kit on the way and wanted to know what the increase might do to the plants at the 6ish and 9ish week plants I'm not too worried about the week 3ish girls as they should have time to adjust without any hiccups (at least I hope) I haven't been able to make journals of my grows like I want to due to life being crazy. Any imput will be greatly appreciated also if there are any questions feel free to ask

Heat should not be a problem it will be a 1000th hortilux super hps in an air cooled hood with a 6 in inline fan

My suggestion is to download a lux meter app on your phone and use it to determine how much lux is at your canopy with the current light. When your 1k light comes in mount it high enough to get as close to that same lux reading as is possible. Over the next few days lower the light till you are happy with how much light the plants are getting.