Bestva Lighting Height/Intensity Question

[ThatRapperWeed]

Hey fam, I started my grow on a budget and got 2 Bestva 1000W LED's for a 5x5 grow tent. Upon a suggestion from someone I recently bought another 1000W to ensure enough wattage for the grow since I already started and couldn't wait for alibaba. I can't find any reputable info about how high to hang the lights since every LED is different and BESTVA likes to exaggerate their brochure. I just transplanted my rooted seedlings into small pots and I have them on the perimeter of the garden with one 1000W LED hanging 3 ft above them. My plan is to introduce the second light after they've had two days to acclimate and lower them to about 2 feet. Is this correct? I'm still waiting for 7 days for the 3rd light but as soon as it gets here I'm going to add it to the garden. Any advice is greatly appreciated! P.S. Yeah my fan is a bit loud lol

 

[Homesteader]

If I were running those lights I would probably start out around 18" from the leaf to the light but you could probably drop them down to 12" without causing any stress.
Many of the lights may say that they produce 1000W but only output about 25% of that. Either way though 18" is a good rule of thumb for LEDs.

 

[ThatRapperWeed]

If I were running those lights I would probably start out around 18" from the leaf to the light but you could probably drop them down to 12" without causing any stress.
Many of the lights may say that they produce 1000W but only output about 25% of that. Either way though 18" is a good rule of thumb for LEDs.

Thanks Homesteader! That's what I keep hearing, seems the consensus is anywhere from 20%-30% of what they claim. I will try starting at 18" and go from there.

 

[Homesteader]

You can pickup a tool that will tell you how many watts any device is drawing from the wall. Probably sold under various names but the one I have is called Kill-a-watt and cost around $15. Don't worry about the wattage so much for now though. It doesn't really matter at this point. You can always upgrade later.
FYI- If you get into this as more than a small hobby, building your own lights is really not that difficult or all that expensive. Many companies sell the entire kit for you to put together yourself. $300 maybe will get you a small but top tier light that will crank photons.

 

[ThatRapperWeed]

You can pickup a tool that will tell you how many watts any device is drawing from the wall. Probably sold under various names but the one I have is called Kill-a-watt and cost around $15. Don't worry about the wattage so much for now though. It doesn't really matter at this point. You can always upgrade later.
FYI- If you get into this as more than a small hobby, building your own lights is really not that difficult or all that expensive. Many companies sell the entire kit for you to put together yourself. $300 maybe will get you a small but top tier light that will crank photons.

Thanks! I learned about this too late unfortunately but I'm definitely going to build a light as one of my next upgrades. I do want to do this as more than just a hobby, I really appreciate the help. For now I'm just going to try to maximize my yield as best I can. Planning on topping in week 4 of veg instead of trying to FIM. I've never tried either but I feel like topping might be easier for a novice?