1200w in 4x4 tent?

[Marlo]

Hey Benny

I'm not in a 4x4 but i run 1200w in a very tight space. less than 3 feet of width. 2.8 x 6". I have branches less than 6 inches away from the bulbs at times... but I make it work. Using a vertical light mover, scrog'n to the walls, and not growing in the summer all help me to get thru it. I bet you can do it in a 4x4, but it will definitely take some work. My space works out to approx 70wpsf, and the buds are much much better than what I was getting with 800w.

I probably fried less than a dozen fan leaves this grow, lol

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[Sleeper7784]

Marlo's got it down boy! Keeping your fan leaves out of the light is going to be your biggest problem. Its a must to have a way to tie branches back. The vscrog/wow is the ideal method to doing this but, I've also been using bamboo hoops installed at a slight angle in the pots behind the plants and its been working great without the need to build some bad ass elaborate pvc screens.

I feel you'd give yourself so much more room and a more efficient light spread. if you stacked them. I'd only run them side by side if you were in a 3 or 4x6 space.

 

[SmokinErb22]

Never could make stacked 600's work for me in a 4x4. Radiant heat was just too much for 'em. Downgraded to stacked 430's, and now temps are good. My space is also more like 3'9" rather than a full 4', so that could be part of the issue.

 

[Bennyweed1]

Well damn I suppose I will rock it back up to 1200 sense all you cool cats sent me some good vibes.

I switched to 12/12 last night. They are currently in their first 12 hours of darkness............The lighting went back to the summer schedule, and lights fire back on at 7pm. Nights around here get real cool still. High 50s, low 60s, and with 750cfm of that air dumping in.....yayyy boiiiii

People are saying I should stack the bulbs but I dont know if I am digging the idea. With the bulbs being side by side....all the plants, even the corner plants are close to the bulbs, it wouldnt be like that with a stacked arrangement.

If I was running a full 360 degree of plants I would for sure stack them, but I have two rows so side by side lighting in my mind seemed more efficient.

 

[Bennyweed1]

I raised up the bulbs and cranked the motha fuckin' power back up to 1200, time to cook these hoes.

This picture looks like complete shit, it was hard to concentrate, my hamster was teasing the dog again

But these girls are looking good. So far the thrip damage is contained to what they did and all the new growth is clean, Ahe fuckin'men, cheers.

I am trying out open seasme, beastie bloomz, and cha-ching for the first time around.

So far ppm is droppin about 25ppm every night and the hoes are drinking a lot. pH is rising about .1 every 36hours which is perfect.

Shit is on the up and up around here ladies and gents, I just gotta keep it that way. I been rocking hydro since 10/2013 for the first time and have not got a solid yeild because shit keeps going south.

Thats why I have the back up tent with organic soil because that jam literally gross it self. All I have to do is setup the blumats again and literally I wont have to open that tent back up until harvest.

Well now that I think about it....I better go hook the damn things back up

 

[Bennyweed1]

These girls are looking awesome after switching over to bloom, they have grown a ton. I finally have the water chiller up and running keeping the nutrient temps between 62F-68F and the EC set at .86/434ppm which is steadily dropping 20 ppm a night with the pH rising about .1 every 24-30 hours.

These are by far the best results I have had since starting hydro and that is just fucking stiller in my book. I really hope the yield is rock solid. My last hydro yields have been a knife in the side....lol....I gotta pick it up, I dont know how many hits I can take!

This round finally looks like I am headed somewhere


Day 3 of bloom

I cranked both ballast up too 100% starting bloom. So far the girls are showing nothing but love for the full 1200w, yesterday we had day time temps at 91F, and my tent peaked at 79F pulling in night air. Pic @ two hours before lights on.

 

[komboloi]

You've got a good one going there, Benny. Congratulations.

Question: How do you physically manage the plants? I mean, you have to push the tops behind the screen at least, right? Do you pull the fan and crawl down the middle? Or are they accessible from outside the structure?

 

[Bennyweed1]

You've got a good one going there, Benny. Congratulations.

Question: How do you physically manage the plants? I mean, you have to push the tops behind the screen at least, right? Do you pull the fan and crawl down the middle? Or are they accessible from outside the structure?

Thanks for the love. Im pretty excited about it.

So far I have been letting the plants grow through the screen on their own, I have only moved a few branches back behind the screen. The one thing I am potentially concerned about is not having enough vertical space to adjust to bulbs. As of now I probably have about 1ft of space left to raise the bulb...maybe more like 15"....none the less, I hope they dont stretch like mad.

The grow tent I have has access doors on all four sides so it is no problem getting at the plants.

 

[Marlo]

Looking great so far Benny!

I used to select my keepers based on how well they took to the heat as well. I've had many plants that showed instant leaf curl from the heat in my room. Others took it like a champ.
This round I've had temps regularly hit 88 and all has been fine. I did have to turn my bulbs down yesterday tho.


Good luck!

 

[Bennyweed1]

I finally remembered to grab the Nikon from my girlfriends house so the picture quality is much better.

Plants are looking awesome. I just flushed and change the reserv. today and am now running 2:1 bloom : micro and a TBS is open sesame. I also raised the bulbs up another 6" and will probably not go any higher so hopefully the stretch ends when the plants are level with the bulbs....not much more space left

PPM at 380

Temps are so great right. Im glad I decided to hook up both 750cfm intake and exhaust fans.

Pistol just starting show up

 

[Bennyweed1]

Girls are hammin' right along....sipping down around 30ppm a night

The weather has been so kick ass...cant ask for better conditions

The DIY water chiller is kicking ass

A dehumidifier converted to be used as a water chiller, works effin' great. The stainless steel wort cooler came a few days ago to finish it off.

 

[LSWM]

Woah, DIY water chiller looks sick! Care to share anymore info about this diy? I've got two dehueys just sitting around ATM. Would love to put them to work somehow...

 

[Marlo]

Lookin great in there Benny!

 

[Bennyweed1]

Woah, DIY water chiller looks sick! Care to share anymore info about this diy? I've got two dehueys just sitting around ATM. Would love to put them to work somehow...

Here is a little thread I started for the diy dehumidifier

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=280703

 

[LSWM]

Does it still work to dehumidify in this setup, or no because the heat exchanger that was used for that is now dunked in water?

 

[Apache Kush]

Is a 400 watt (Non-A/C cooled) lamp to Hot for grow Tents?

Is a 400 watt (Non-A/C cooled) lamp to Hot for grow Tents?

I have an older, non air cooled

'' hot '' 400 watt set up, Hps/MH I forget

My question, is that amont of heat best, better, ideal for


in a 2x2 a 2x4 or a 4x4
I think 4x4 would be big enough for all the heat obvious, but thats IDEAL, best, biggest setup?
but also thats most expensive.

SO, could I run my 400 watt in a smaller grow tent?
I now its not exact science and varies but ball park figure is that too hot

idk might need new hood, this is a 400 watt w/ oldschool hood
not air cooled' that my worry, im in SW so its hot, ligths on temps get high to medium high most the time, most places , without tents

Please help! TY

 

[Apache Kush]

sick setup

 

[LSWM]

I have an older, non air cooled

'' hot '' 400 watt set up, Hps/MH I forget

My question, is that amont of heat best, better, ideal for


in a 2x2 a 2x4 or a 4x4
I think 4x4 would be big enough for all the heat obvious, but thats IDEAL, best, biggest setup?
but also thats most expensive.

SO, could I run my 400 watt in a smaller grow tent?
I now its not exact science and varies but ball park figure is that too hot

idk might need new hood, this is a 400 watt w/ oldschool hood
not air cooled' that my worry, im in SW so its hot, ligths on temps get high to medium high most the time, most places , without tents

Please help! TY

Gonna step in here on this one bennyweed. Hope you don't mind...

Lose the hood and go vert. 400 watt would be just fine to cool with ambient/air exchange in any of those tents. The hood is a massive heatsink and traps all the heat in the tent. When you lose the hood, its much easier to take all that hot air and move it out of the tent.

 

[Bennyweed1]

Does it still work to dehumidify in this setup, or no because the heat exchanger that was used for that is now dunked in water?

No it doesnt work as a dehumidifier any longer. I actually learned a lot about A/C units and how they function with this little project.

Basically a window a/c unit and a dehumidifier are practically the same thing, just setup differently in their function.

Both units have evaporator coils but on a dehumidifier the evopvoator coil does not have air blowing across it like a window a/c unit has, which chills the air. On a dehumidifier, the evop coil basically freezes when running and it sucks the moisture out of the air by freezing it, then melting it off into a bucket.

All that needs to be done is you have to bend the evop coil into a reserv of water, so inturn the evop coil chills the water....and it does a damn good job of it. Dehumidifers have a lot of extra tubing that can be carefully bent.

Then you just need a heat exchanger to transfer the chilled water through your nutrients reserv to maintain a sealed system, so no chance of a reaction or oxidization with the copper coil.

I used a 25' stainless steel wort chiller.

 

[Bennyweed1]

I have an older, non air cooled

'' hot '' 400 watt set up, Hps/MH I forget

My question, is that amont of heat best, better, ideal for


in a 2x2 a 2x4 or a 4x4
I think 4x4 would be big enough for all the heat obvious, but thats IDEAL, best, biggest setup?
but also thats most expensive.

SO, could I run my 400 watt in a smaller grow tent?
I now its not exact science and varies but ball park figure is that too hot

idk might need new hood, this is a 400 watt w/ oldschool hood
not air cooled' that my worry, im in SW so its hot, ligths on temps get high to medium high most the time, most places , without tents

Please help! TY

Hey all I can tell you is a 400w bare bulb is not to difficult to keep cool.

I run a 400w barebulb in a 3x3 tent with 7 plants. I use a basic 6" duct booster fan you buy at any hareware/home improvement store and your standard circular fan blowing air up across the bulb.

My temps peak in the low 80s at the highest point during lights on for about 4 hours.

current temps

RH is low but not much I can do when it isnt a sealed environment (do easily that is)