I'm a first time indoor grower and I am worried about my light.
I started my two Supafreak girls outdoors and transitioned them indoors at their fifth node. Unfortunately, I did not know that an analogue time switch needed to be set daily, and found this out two weeks in. So they had 24 hour lights for two weeks and then for the last two weeks they have been on 18 / 6. They are finally showing good and healthy growth.
I am using a Spiderfarmer SF600 light but I am concerned it is not good enough for flowering. I foolishly got too excited and purchased my light before doing all the research I should have. Instead, I consulted ChatGPT, they said it is good enough. But I thought to also get a human opinion. Is it good enough?
Sadly, I am not in the position to purchase another light at the moment.
Please help!
Well, itlll have to be good enough then mate 😉 It all looks good and seems as if the grow if going well. Just do what you can this time round and upgrade in the futureSadly, I am not in the position to purchase another light at the moment.
You should do ok. Its plenty for now, but as you say, might not be enough during flower. Just keep us informed. Let us know how the grow goes moving forward Welcome to Percys
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Download an app called photone. Measure the ppfd of your light at different heights and see what you get. This will let you know how far you need to hang it from the plant to get them through.
At only 74 watts, this light will be a challenge to flower under, but as Macky said, if you have no option, then you are going to flower with this light. The manufacturer says your light should be 12-16 inches from the plant in veg to get 300-400 par, and only 6 to 8 inches for flowering getting 700-850 par. It won’t be ideal and you should turn your plants daily to avoid hot spots and consistency in the buds, but it should get you through. The picture is from Spider Farmer’s website and is SF600 specific.
For a flowering light in that size tent you usually use 200-300 watts of led power, or a 400 watt HPS.
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monkeydo June 11, 2024 3:38 pm
Yes, you can always use multiple lights in a tent. As a matter of fact, I have a few older lights on my shelf that are exactly for that purpose. If the canopy needs photons, I just add another fixture. One problem that might surface is intensity. Because you would have multiple fixtures, the manufacturers charts for recommended hanging heights are no longer accurate. That’s where a good par meter comes into play
LadyJane Topic starter
June 12, 2024 5:09 pm
@monkeydo If I supplement, can I get away with CFLs from the hardware? If I can, what exactly do I need?
If not, I need help with what cheap supplement to get, what specs do I even need to look at? So many of them seem blurple instead of full spectrum even when advertised as such.
The savings jar has started for a new light, but until then, I need to supplement for my current and maybe even next grow.
I will definitely also take a look at the par meters, sounds like it will be handy.
monkeydo June 12, 2024 9:02 pm
Yes, cfl’s will work, but you need lots of them and they need to be close to the plant too. Back in the day, growers that used them had to put them only an inch or two away, believe it or not 🤷🏻♂️. The light it produces is not a bad spectrum. The issue is the light is all very diffused and it does not penetrate the canopy very well. This is what it sort of looks like
As you can see, even with that many bulbs it’s still fairly dim
When funds are tight, sometimes you just need to make do. Your light will make it to harvest. The issue will be bud density and overall yield. Instead of spending money on something that you probably won’t use again, I’d save the money towards a permanent upgrade instead of spending $$ on cheap sockets and cfl bulbs you are most likely not going to keep using long term
Oh, if you do go the CFL route, I’ve been told 2700k is a good bulb spectrum to use
I second what Monkeydo said about rotating lights that are so close -- my cheapo Chinese light was 65 watts (although I bought a second, mine were $35 a pop) burned a brown spot on the plant just like if you left a clothes iron on a white shirt.
Lousy Tourist
looks like your growing to me. 👍🏻. We use what we have and improve over time. I doubt you’ll have enough under the bonnet to scrog em out and fill the tent but you will produce sumit to smoke and that’s the aim init.
Keep em close, turn em, keep your training tight and flip em early. 💚
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