3x400w, how many plants?

[njayjay]

Hi, I have 3 HPS lights 400w each, and was thinking of running 12 bubbler buckets, so 4 to each lamp.

I was wondering if this is a good idea and also how would I manage the airflow with my oscillating fan if i have to hang the reflective material as close as possible to the plants (im growing in the corner of an empty bedroom in the house).

Peace

 

[Xare]

You could setup a perpetual SOG.

One light for vegging mothers and the two others for flowering.

Take cuttings from the mothers in Veg and then directly flower those clones once rooted.

One of the benefits of this with a 400 watt light is Penetration. A 400 does not have good penetration. The farther the light is away from the plants the the weaker the lumens are.

A stronger light like a 1000 watter is good for growing big plants because it has better penetration power.

So flowering clones would suit you very well. Its the best use of a 400 watter.

 

[Elcap]

More a question of area or veg time, than plant numbers I think.

I can fill 4 sqft screen under a 400w with a single plant if I veg it 35 days or so. Could probably fill the same area with 8 plants vegged for a week.

Do you have a ready clone source, or will you be taking your own and maintaining a mother? Since I don't keep a mother and/or clone at present (have before and will again), I go with fewer plants and longer veg times to cut down on clone costs ($15-20 ea here) , and I also have plant number limits to deal with.

If plant numbers aren't a big issue, I'd keep the mother as a houseplant with a little weak CFL on them at night, rooting clones in a tray under another weak CFL, and then run those 3 400's all in the flower area over a 2'x6' SCROG.

 

[njayjay]

Yes I will be keepign a mother and rooting clones under weak CFL's.

I was thinking of vegging the clones until they re 5-6 nodes tall or is this probably too much? The Lights will be run in a flower area exclusively so yeah my question is about flowering. However 2x6 seems awfully small are you talking ft or meters? I can\t even fit 12 5-gallon buckets in that area.

Peace

 

[Elcap]

Well you know the rule of thumb...50w/sqft. So with 1200w...24sqft, call it 3x8.

I'd look to a different bucket setup, maybe use a multi-site tub or square buckets.

 

[njayjay]

Actually 2x6 does seem about right for 12 bubblebuckets packed together in 2 rows of 6 maybe a little over the mark if the plants are grown out, say 2.5x7ft. I have no restriction on vertical space.

The question is how long, or until how many nodes should i veg? Hopefully I will veg from clones all the same size but I might not. Would a screen come in handy here to keep everything at the same level?

I'd like to veg out the plants a bit. I dont want to flower little clones.

I might run a Scrog, top, or both. I was thinking of topping each plant for 4 colas with the possibility of adding a screen. Would scrogging increase yields? Should I train at all?

I will be running different strains. C99, White Rhino, Jack Herer, Super Silver Haze. These plants all grow differently and at least one of them grows notoriously tall and lanky like sativa so this has to be bore in mind.

I also have a 400w metal halide bulb I can use instead of an HPS. Would this be useful and where in the garden would I place it? (im talking about flowering)

I'm also curious about UV lighting and what kind and how much of it should I use to supplement 1200w or 3x400w HPS lamps?

Peace