kaspersoprano said:

I have a question, I'm new to growing. I just got the spider farmer g5000 480 Watt and I don't know anything. I have it at 22 in at 70% but it's only reading 310 ppfd on phototone. I just got an 8x4 tent and I thought all the reflection would help increase it. I'm sure you're aware I'm wrong. Do I just have to buy a more powerful light? Can I make it all the way through flower with this?

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ajpapenfuss said:

Take the floor out and use it for a wall in the middle so u have a 4x4

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Newty said:

Looks like everyone woke up before me and answered your question

The G5000 is made for a 4x4 at max coverage.
I also have a 8x4, I run 1400 watts in mine.
Add another G5000 or as suggested use 1 side of tent.

Photone is not always accurate.
Using a diffuser could bring the reading up 100-200 ppfd compared to not using a diffuser. Phone model has an effect on accuracy as well.

Even in a 8x4 though at 22", you should be hitting over 300 ppfd over the canopy at 70% intensity.

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Mikedin said:

Agreed, this SE3000 is at 26” at 100% (300w) and I’m hittin 600’s on the lowers and 700’s on the uppers

Wonder if he means the far sides, as the G5000 is a 4x4 coverage light like you said, 300’s on the far sides of the tent would make sense as long as it’s gettin the 600-700 under the center of the light

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RootFarmer said:

What are the dimensions of your netting frame or, more specifically, the distance between levels? I've been kicking around ideas but I like that set up. I've only used one level before. Is there really any benefit from a second?

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RootFarmer said:

What are the dimensions of your netting frame or, more specifically, the distance between levels? I've been kicking around ideas but I like that set up. I've only used one level before. Is there really any benefit from a second?

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Mikedin said:

Fist net is set at 40” , riser to the 2nd level is 7.5” I have 4”/5.5”/6”/7.5”/and 9” risers to use I just keep the spares in a bin while others are in use, once stretch finishes I’ll adjust that height to be about 2/3 way up the lower colas, then I’ll set the stretchy net to hold up the big bangers

This video is with a single stretchy net, this is what happens when you don’t double layer

They ran like this for the last 2 weeks of flower, they get so heavy they just can’t stay up without support

When they fall over you lose PPFD, t he top just went from 12” from the light to damn near 24” , lose airflow, buds start touching and stacking increasing risk for disease and mold, better places for bugs to hide etc.

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Graham.Bagg said:

I use a similar ;almost identical set up), as mikedin, my out to out corner measurements are 46”, so it can fit inside the poles of the tent. The “legs” on both sections are removable and can be swapped out with different lengths. I usually run 36” lowers and another 8”-13” above.

I can use bottom scrog to fan and spread while the top provides support.

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Graham.Bagg said:

500w is low for a 4x8 tent. You will likely need 2 for that space.

I don’t know how many plants you are running, but a 4x8 is fairly large, do you have it filled to capacity?


Can you put all your plants in 1 side with light over them until you can get another light.

The light you have is a quality, you are just asking more of it than it was designed for. Directly over the plants and it should have no problems staying at 600-1000+ ppd

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Mikedin said:

Agreed!

In my 4x4 I can run 300w and be a solid cola, big heavy weight harvest, but 4x8’s are like a different game that middle space being wide open eats a lot of photons upon a 4x4 there’s a wall there to reflect the light back, in a 4x8 the light continues to travel away diaganially from the canopy so the light overlap in the center of the tent between lights is even more important to monitor than where the highest readings will be directly under the center of each light , one thing to consider when buying lights for like a 4x8 or larger tent is a large LED layout, you want the bars reaching the corners and into the center evenly so large bar style fixtures are very effective at even coverage due to that layout. I like 400w minimum per side (available to use if needed) 500w per side is my preference in the 4x8 past that I just start building too much heat, but I have 1500w availabe to use. In the winter I can push em harder and not worry about the heat

Here’s the 4x8 empty in the video hen half the tent finished I shut if off but now I’m running the kahuna 3 in there only on one side so I’m pushing 650w just to compensate for the absent wall on the left side to reflect back light you can see the left side of the plant is slightly darker than the right side where its being reflected back all around

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Graham.Bagg said:

I would wager that your spider farmer is putting out more than your Photone app is reading.

The app uses a formula to determine photo density based off lux I believe, as the phone itself is not equipped with proper instrumentation. There will be variations between manufacturers of phones, so I am sure the degree of error is probably pretty high.

Read the plants, not the phone app. What do the plants say?

A white sheet as a divider may help as well if you cannot use tent floor.

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kaspersoprano said:

Thanks a bunch. All useful information. Me being hardly-capped made a larger tent necessary so I just opted for the 4×8 instead with one light. I thought it would be okay as long as I kept it on one side. Can I just hang a mylar sheet down the center? Will that increase it?

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kaspersoprano said:

A mylar sheet should do huh? Greatly appreciate the help. I'm stubborn and I call myself smart but it's hard to learn and navigate this independently. I NEED to ask for more help.

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Zer0Tolerance said:

Building the courage to give her the chop

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Zer0Tolerance said:

Building the courage to give her the chop

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