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How much can you yield with 600 watt HPS?

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How much can you yield with 600 watt HPS?

HID Grow Lights

 

As stated in our previous article HID, but especially HPS, is the gold standard to which all other lights are compared. They produce intense light in a spectrum that fits the flowering phase very well, leading to reliable and potent yields.

 

The most efficient distance to keep an HID bulb above a canopy depends on the wattage of the light and your grow tent conditions. You want your light close enough to provide energy to the plant, but far enough to avoid heat stress. A good rule of thumb is to make the distance between your lamp and canopy around 10cm (or 4in) per 100W. This would result in hanging a 600W HPS grow light at a height of 60cm or a 1000W at 1m (3’ 8’’).

 

Of course the main reason not to hang a light too close is to avoid burning your plants, but this is not necessarily the most efficient. Additional ventilation or the use of a cool-tube reflector can allow you to position your lights closer. In terms of usable light, somewhere between 30 and 60cm is often more ideal as a lot of light is lost when put at a greater distance. A popular approach to test how close you can hang your lights is simply feeling it out. By holding your hand under your lights you can see how much heat they generate at different distances and adjust the height accordingly. The goal is to mimic outdoor circumstances, so if your light feels as hot as the sun does in the summer you’re probably on the right track.

 

 

Another important factor to keep in mind is coverage, which of course depends on how much distance there is between the light and plants. This is also affected by the reflective hood. Using a regular, cheap hood hung at an optimal height, HID bulbs of different wattages generally cover the following areas:

 

250W – An area of around 0.6 to 0.7 square metres

400W – An area of around 0.8 to 0.9 square metres

600W – An area of around 1 to 1.2 square metres

1000W – An area of around 1.3 to 1.5 square metres

Ideal HID Grow Light Distance

Best marijuana yield indoors

When you’re growing indoors, light is the name of the game. If your plants receive the proper amount of light, they will grow to their fullest extent. In theory, the math is simple. 400 watts of an HPS grow light could lead to 400 grams (14 ounces) of weed at the end of the day. 1200 watts would lead to 1.2 kilos (42 ounces) of marijuana, etc. But lights are just one part of it; when growing indoors, it is essential to ensure that every plant has the space it needs to grow and thrive.

 

It’s also important to remember that soil setups can vary greatly (in terms of yield expectations) from hydroponics setups. Soil growing has a lower potential yield, but the process is easier overall, so the chances of maximizing your yield are higher.

 

If you’re an experienced hydro grower, of course, then you’re likely to get a giant yield from your hydro setup. In fact, hydro setups generally can lead to a 20% increase in yield — but there’s basically no room for error. Hydro growers could expect yields on the higher end to be around 1.2 grams per watt (or 720 grams of weed per 600 watts from an HPS lamp).

 

Maximizing Cannabis Yield

There are numerous ways to get the most from your yield. Every grower has his or her own preferences for doing so, but you can use trial and error or the advice of other growers to help you decide which is best for you.

Scrogging

Using the Screen of Green (SCROG) method works great for maximizing yields. It helps utilize every bit of light that your lamps are putting out, meaning your plants will get the most exposure and the best growth possible. It evens out the tops of the plants, so no plant receives more or less than the other.

 

You do it by putting a screen or net over the tops of the plants, then, after a branch has poked through by 4 inches, you horizontally tie it to the screen. You keep doing this until it forms a blanket of green. All the buds you get from this technique will be firm and juicy.

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