Trouble reading today's article? Click here: Issue #331 - Sunday, August 19, 2018
Dear Fellow Grower,
In today's issue... - How far away should you keep the grow lights from the top of your plants? Get the answer for every type of grow light!
- Want to
maximize the light levels you give to your plants? Consider getting a lux meter so you can always ensure your plants are in the "sweet spot" of the light.
- Today's trophy pics feature plants grown under several different types of grow lights!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside
(founders of GrowWeedEasy.com) "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
~Martin Luther King Jr.
How Far Away Do I Keep My Grow Lights?
by Nebula Haze |
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Although this detail is often overlooked, in many cases cannabis growers can increase their yields and potency simply by keeping their grow lights just the right distance from their
plants!
How far away should you keep your grow lights for the best cannabis yields and potency? Cannabis plants capture energy from light and use it to grow bigger buds. In order to maximize your cannabis yields you’ll want to give your plants as much light as possible, but without causing light burn. In other words, you want to increase light levels but without going overboard!
While standard fluorescent grow lights like T5s and CFLs really don’t produce enough light to overload your plants, powerful lights like HPS, LECs and LEDs can do so with ease. Although
LED, LEC and HPS grow lights can produce the biggest yields and most potent buds of all grow lights, they need to be used correctly to get those results!
You get bigger yields and more potent buds by using powerful grow lights and keeping them just the right distance away from your plants By positioning grow lights the right distance from your plants, you’ll create the highest levels of light your cannabis plants can use. Put your buds in this “sweet spot” light level zone, and they’ll reward
you!
Notice with these plants how all the top buds are big, while the lower buds are smaller. You want to keep grow lights close, because buds closest to the grow light get the biggest. (Do I need side
lighting?) More light is better when it comes to yields, but unfortunately that’s only up to a point. Although it may be tempting to keep trying to move grow lights closer and closer, your plants simply can’t use more
light past a certain point!
In fact, if you keep your lights too close to your cannabis plants, you’ll see bleaching, yellow leaves and nutrient deficiencies, so it’s important to find a balance!
Keeping grow lights too close hurts your plants! These plants were too close to their LED
grow lights and their top leaves started getting bleached from light burn! Each type of light needs to be kept a different distance away, so if you feel confused, this tutorial will show you how far to keep your grow light so you get incredible results every time, no matter what your
setup! Metal Halide & HPS Grow Lights
HID grow lights like Metal Halide and HPS (High Pressure Sodium) are the most widely-used and debatably the highest-yielding grow lights available for growing cannabis. Metal Halide lights are well-suited to the vegetative stage and tend to encourage plants to grow short and squat though they are less electrically efficient than HPS. HPS lights are suitable for both the vegetative and flowering stage of cannabis growth and the light they give off encourages
plants to quickly grow tall and produce big buds. Despite these differences, MH and HPS bulbs need to be kept about the same distance away from your plants. The proper distance actually depends on the size/wattage of your lamp. | Grow Light | Closest | ~ Sunlight | Furthest | | 150W | 8" (20cm) | 10" (25cm) | 12" (30cm) | | 250W | 10" (25cm) | 12" (30cm) | 14" (35cm) | | 400W | 12" (30cm) | 14" (35cm) | 19" (48cm) | | 600W | 14" (35cm) | 16" (41cm) | 25" (64cm) | | 1000W | 16" (41cm) | 22" (55cm) | 31" (79cm) |
150W - covers 2' x 2' (0.6m x 0.6m) area 250W - covers 2' x 2' (0.6m x 0.6m) area up to 2.5' x 2.5' (0.8m x 0.8m) 400W - covers 3' x 3' (0.9m x 0.9m) area up to 3.5' x 3.5' (1m x 1m) 600W - covers 3.5' x 3.5' (1m x 1m) area up to 4' x 4' (1.2m x 1.2m) 1000W - covers 4' x 4' (1.2m x 1.2m) area up to 5' x 5' (1.5m x 1.5m) With all grow lights, always do the “hand test” after you’ve positioned your light. If you put your hand where your plants are for 30 seconds, does it feel too hot for
you? If so it may be too hot for the plants and the light should be moved a bit further away even if it’s already within the acceptable range. A 600W HPS light
should be kept about 16″ (40 cm) away from the tops of your plants This grower didn't keep moving the 600W HPS light up as plants got taller, and some colas on the left plant got within 12" (30 cm) of the bulb. As a result, the top buds and leaves
on that plant got burnt and/or bleached. In addition to the wattage, it’s important to realize that older bulbs stop giving off as much light over time, so new MH/HPS bulbs generally need to be kept further away and older bulbs
should be kept closer than the normal recommendations.
If you’re using new bulbs, never start closer than the “~Sunlight” distance on the chart and only move lights closer if your plants are stretching towards the light (getting tall and lanky).
If you’re using older MH/HPS bulbs, you should replace them if you can, but if that’s not possible you can keep your bulbs closer to help make sure your
plants are still getting good light levels. This is why it’s beneficial to be able to test your current light levels with a lux meter.
In general, MH bulbs need to be replaced about once a year (every 2-3 grows), while HPS grow lights last a bit longer, up to 2 years (every
4-5 grows). Older HID bulbs give off less light and more heat, so in addition to keeping the right distance, make sure you’re aware of the age of your bulbs. To maximize the light to my plants in the flowering stage, I personally replace HPS bulbs every 3rd grow, but that’s a bit excessive.
If you see that all the leaves are turned up toward the light, it’s a sign your plants
may be getting too much light. This puts them at risk of getting light burn unless the light gets moved up.
Keep reading to learn the best light distance for....
How to Increase Yields with a Lux Meter |
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If you have a Lux Meter to measure your brightness levels, you can get even more accurate with your grow light distance. A Lux meter isn't a perfect measurement of light because "lux" isn't exactly what
matters to your plants (lux is a measure of light as humans see it).
However, a lux meter is accurate enough for indoor cannabis gardening when it comes to fluorescent, CFL, LEC, MH and HPS grow lights!
Quick Guide - Lux Levels for Optimal Cannabis Growth < 15,000 lux – sparse or “stretchy” growth – plant isn’t getting enough light
15,000 – 50,000 lux – good amount of light for healthy vegetative growth
45,000 – 70,000 lux – optimal amount of light for cannabis plants in the flowering (budding) stage
70,000 – 85,000 lux – a lot of light, some strains thrive at this light level, but some plants (especially auto-flowering and indica strains) lose their top leaves early under this light intensity and need lights to
be kept further away for healthy growth
> 85,000 lux – at this light intensity, you’ve hit the plant’s “saturation point” which means your plant can’t use all the light (be careful of light bleaching!)
*Unfortunately, lux meters may not be as accurate with LED grow lights due to their unique light spectrum.
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"I love the newsletter article on Autoflowers. Great job! I love how you touched base on everything from light leaks, to yield and more."
~Triple-c |
Trophy Pictures of the Week! |
This is my Pre98 Bubba. This is my 3rd grow. Thanks to this site.
Grown in a 4x4 tent with 600W MH and HPS.
Used Fox farms soil and supplements.
Thanks for your awesome site.
~Joe
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This is my Girl Scout Cookie plant, week 7. Two weeks in flower. COB and LED lighting. GH flora series nutrients.
~Steveo
My first indoor grow. I used a 250w CFL and went with Critical Plus 2.0 and it definitely surprised me. Excellent plant, especially for a first time grower. I wanted to use HID lights but did not have enough money and did not want to have to deal with the heat so
I went with a cfl and it gave me 2 beautiful 11 gram main buds, another 7g budie and many more dense nuggets.
~Jdongle
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Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
I'll be honest with you, when I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my
mission to make it easier for new growers to get started as well as help advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We are updating and adding articles every single week and our goal is to eventually build a comprehensive growing resource so anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! If we all share the knowledge there's more buds in the world for everyone :) |
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Learn which seed sources are personally recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis can be a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water
doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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