can anyone just lay it down for on how lumens functions with marijuana and what I should be doing to make sure that my plants get enough lumens needed.

lumens =l ight intensity

more = better

3,000 per square foot for veg

10,000 per square foot flowering

those are the ideal outputs

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Nothing i say is true, i do not use, grow, or condone the use of marijuana, every thing i say is a fabrication.

you also want high range kelvins around 5700-6000 for veg (spring and summer is some bright shit) and around 3000 for flower (fall is some red colored shit)

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More lumens per watt (lumens/watt) means faster growth during veg. stage and ultimately bigger, fuller buds during the flowering stage. For Flowering you need lights that are rated at 2700 Kelvin or 2700K. For veg.ing you need lights between 5000k and 7000K. I think the standard, or rule of thumb, is 30 watts for every square foot of grow space.

If you are using cfl's u want more small lights rather than one big one. Smaller wattage cfl's put out more initial lumens per watt. So ten 23 watt lights at 1,700 initial lumens each (17,000Lumens/230watts = 73.0 L/w), would be a lot better than one 250 watt cfl that only puts out only 16,000 lumens which is only 64 lumens per watt. That is 1000 more lumens, and you could probably buy those ten 23 watt cfl's for less money than the 250w cfl.

if you are using cfl's you should have a shit load because the light wont penetrate as well if i've read up properly... cfl's you want a few angled on top and some on the sides/bottom all reflected toward the plant... you are trying to replicate the sun so keep that in mind..

__________________
contact your congressperson about H.R. 5843
it will only remain illegal as long as our opinions remain muted

I understand you are using the word "ideal" but that means that a 5x5 grow area during flowering would need 250,000 lumens a 1000w hps typically only gives off about 140,000 lumens and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone using more than 1000w hps in an area this size, and your suggesting almost double. 3k for vegging seems about right that is about perfect for a 400w in a 4x4. Keep in mind though that this is in the ideal situation and most people are not going to be able to replicate this in smaller indoor grow spaces. My best advice is to use your judgement, and understand that the more light you use (assuming you can keep the temps under control) the better your ladies will do. Good luck with the rest of your research and your grow.