# How Many Plants Can One 1,000 Watt HID Light Handle?



## C Moore (Feb 26, 2011)

I'm about to attempt to grow 24 Plants (Barney's Farm LSD Femnized) using 2 of Supercloset.com 16 plant Superponics systems. Using only one 1,000 watt HID HPS/MH Light fixture in my grow room. My question for the experienced Hydro Growers will just that one 1,000 watt light be efficient enough for all 24 plants. If not how many plants should I or can I grow using just that one 1,000 watt light alone?? All experienced knowledgable Suggestions are welcome!!


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## sk8disgruntled (Feb 26, 2011)

i dont think this is really an advanced question. didnt i just see this thread in another section too? i think it will work if you keep them really small.


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## sk8disgruntled (Feb 26, 2011)

might be better off just growing the 16 plants though. thats what i would do personally


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## C Moore (Feb 26, 2011)

I'm new 2 R.I.U. so I didn't know exactly where 2 post the question.. But yea I'm aiming for the highest yield possible an I'm buying 2 16-plant site Superponics systems, so I'm going 2 have a total of 32 plant sites in all, but I'm only goin to use 24 on them.. 12 on each system to provide more room for my girls.. Does that method sound about right??


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## sk8disgruntled (Feb 26, 2011)

like i said if you keep them small it should work but really you can get the same anount of bud off of one plant that you can with 20 plants. its just a matter of how long you veg. 24 plants is kinda pushing the limits of that light. you could get a better yeild with less plants. but i guess it could work too. i wouldnt veg for more than 2-3 weeks though


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## C Moore (Feb 26, 2011)

Yea I was thinking the same thing, but I'ma 1st time grower so I wasn't exactly sure. I can't upload the pics but here's the link of the 2 systems that I'm using to make you more familiar with my setup 12 per system... http://www.supercloset.com/index.php?c=product&m=index&d=36


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## Lythergic (Feb 26, 2011)

Simple answer Yes. 

The light is actually more than what you'd probably need. Since a 1000w HID covers about 4'x4' area with optimal lighting for the plants.. but you'd probably be better off with 2 400w's (one over each growing area) since you're only using roughly 29"x44" area for the growing area and since they're more setup for close proximity of each plant you're better off running a SoG for each area. If you wanted to go down that road.


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## smokebros (Feb 26, 2011)

I'd say 12 - 16 plants


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## C Moore (Feb 27, 2011)

Smoke bros, why only 12-16? I thought about cutting it down to just 20.. Basically the less crowed the plants are the higher the yield per plant right?


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## oldschooltofu (Feb 27, 2011)

also depends on if you top/prune them

those holes are very close together. so you could do SOG (keep them single pole and remove most of the branches) and just do colas on each plant. or use less holes and less plants and grow bigger bushes.

here in OR we have a 6 plant limit on medical, so its better to grow fewer plants bigger.


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## C Moore (Feb 27, 2011)

Yea I thought about doin the SOG Method but I've already purchased the Superponics system primarily because it says it's fully automated meaing I wouldn't have to be at home to constantly monitor it. I might just stick with 20 of Barneys Farm LSD feminized because it says it has a medium to short height with a high thc content of "24%" an high yields, using just 10 plant sites on each system even though it has 16 sites on each to space em' out... How does that sound?


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## sk8disgruntled (Feb 27, 2011)

yeah that sounds like it could work. are you using feminized seeds or clones? or just reg seeds? that system looks pretty cool. kinda pricy though. you could build one for a lot cheaper. im also doing a dwc for the first time. and using the same nutes. the recipee for success. cool man.


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## C Moore (Feb 27, 2011)

Yea I'm going with Barneys LSD feminized seeds, but the Superponics system is kind of pricey but it I think it's worth it.. Being a automated hydro system claiming 2 grow my plants twice as fast than any other hydro method with 16 plants sites, nutes, ph control etc for just 299 kinda convienient for me considering me being a rookie grower and all! Lol


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## maps84 (Feb 28, 2011)

In a vertical set up you can easily fit 60 plants (2.5 gal buckets) optimum and up to 80 plants hydro yielding 1-2oz dry each with a 1K in a 4ft square space. Heath Robinson has led the way, search his post in this forum. That's around 3Kg (6 pounds) of weed @ 1oz each so check it out


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## C Moore (Apr 3, 2011)

What about 12/12 from seeds?


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## lightbox (Apr 5, 2011)

I grew some lsd last season.....some of the best smoke Ive ever had, you wont be dissapointed


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## dlively11 (Apr 5, 2011)

Here is a shot of my last grow 35 days into bloom 75 plants under two lights. I have done 4 per sq foot which is 64 plants and get even better results . Have heard of people doing 9 per foot too.


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## sk8disgruntled (Apr 5, 2011)

masp84 said:


> In a vertical set up you can easily fit 60 plants (2.5 gal buckets) optimum and up to 80 plants hydro yielding 1-2oz dry each with a 1K in a 4ft square space. Heath Robinson has led the way, search his post in this forum. That's around 3Kg (6 pounds) of weed @ 1oz each so check it out


160 ozs with a 1k lamp. i really doubt it dude. 4480 grams thats over 4 grams per watt. id like to see that


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## Landrace (Apr 5, 2011)

sk8disgruntled said:


> 160 ozs with a 1k lamp. i really doubt it dude. 4480 grams thats over 4 grams per watt. id like to see that


Check out some of the vertical grows. With a 12/12 schedule you can easily DOUBLE that yield with a light mover switching location every 12 hours. Obviously you would need twice as much space. 

Grams per watt isn't a very accurate method of measurements because you could cram 5000 plants (on the walls and floor) in a 50'x10'x10' space with ONE 1000 watt light and a light mover. If each plant only yielded 5 grams, thats a whopping 25 grams per watt. (Of shitty bud)


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## sk8disgruntled (Apr 6, 2011)

dude i dont care what you say. anything over 2 grams per watt is almost unheard of no matter what kind of setup you have. a light can only do so much


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## sk8disgruntled (Apr 6, 2011)

if you have pictures to prove me wrong please do, because i would like to see this


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## backwoodsburner (Apr 6, 2011)

150w for the first plant and 50w for each additional. should be about 18 plants. i usually divide that in half for my grows so in my opinion 9 plants per 1000w.


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## Landrace (Apr 6, 2011)

dlively11 said:


> Umm nope


You do know there are 24 hours in a day right? Tell me why you think think I'm wrong?



sk8disgruntled said:


> dude i dont care what you say. anything over 2 grams per watt is almost unheard of no matter what kind of setup you have. a light can only do so much


Well I'm happy to tell you there is a much larger MJ growing population beyond RUI, or any forum for that matter. This obviously is not a traditional method of growing, as any sane person would buy extra lights for increased yield, but it isn't impossible. You don't need pictures to "prove" something wrong or right, although it helps if you can't understand something, especially on the internet. 

To answer your question C Moore, the amount of plants a 1000 watt light can handle is only limited to the useable footprint of your light, and the size you choose to flower your plants at. If you want the most (and fastest) yield from using all 24 seeds at once with one light, your idea of 12/12 from seed is right when used in a SOG. You could separate your grow space into 2 areas. Each area has one superponics system in it. Your light will be on 24 hours a day, but every 12 hours your light moves to the other area. While one group of plants is in their dark period, your others are getting their 12 hours of light. 

Your going to need smaller plants so they won't outgrow the small footprint of the 16 site system, and a light mover that works on a set timer over a longer period of time, instead of one that moves slowly every few minutes. Your also going to need to trim the lower branches off your plants to keep them this close together in the superponics system. A custom horizontal cabinet that prevents light leaks into each area would work best with what I've described.

Although you can grow all 24 at once, if your really strapped for space, a scrog might be a better choice with a smaller amount of plants, reaching a similar yield over a longer period of time (a few extra weeks for vegging)


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## B.U.D.S.I.C.L.E.S (Apr 6, 2011)

Landrace said:


> Check out some of the vertical grows. With a 12/12 schedule you can easily DOUBLE that yield with a light mover switching location every 12 hours. Obviously you would need twice as much space.
> 
> Grams per watt isn't a very accurate method of measurements because you could cram 5000 plants (on the walls and floor) in a 50'x10'x10' space with ONE 1000 watt light and a light mover. If each plant only yielded 5 grams, thats a whopping 25 grams per watt. (Of shitty bud)


Exactly, I don't see why more growers with only 1 light on a 12/12 sched from seed don't do this. Yes 12 hours a day extra on the electric bill and the extra space might be an issue, but doubling your yield in the SAME amount of days is possible. 

There are ton's of growers flying under the electric companies radar by having super high plant counts and small size, but this is usually for commercial growers who aren't as concerned with quality


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## maps84 (Apr 9, 2011)

B.U.D.S.I.C.L.E.S said:


> Exactly, I don't see why more growers with only 1 light on a 12/12 sched from seed don't do this. Yes 12 hours a day extra on the electric bill and the extra space might be an issue, but doubling your yield in the SAME amount of days is possible.
> 
> There are ton's of growers flying under the electric companies radar by having super high plant counts and small size, but this is usually for commercial growers who aren't as concerned with quality


In what are you basing the statement that the quality of the bud wont be as good?, 



Landrace said:


> To answer your question C Moore, the amount of plants a 1000 watt light can handle is only limited to the useable footprint of your light, and the size you choose to flower your plants at. If you want the most (and fastest) yield from using all 24 seeds at once with one light, your idea of 12/12 from seed is right when used in a SOG. You could separate your grow space into 2 areas. Each area has one superponics system in it. Your light will be on 24 hours a day, but every 12 hours your light moves to the other area. While one group of plants is in their dark period, your others are getting their 12 hours of light.


if you keep the 1ft rule you can easily fit 24 plants under the foot print of a 600W (4ft x 4ft) given a flat canopy, if you go vertical and take advantage of the 3D dispersal of the light the optimun canopy quadruples. You can easily fit 12 plants in (3 rows of 4 plant sites) on each wall and still have room to veg for 2 weeks. Flooded tubes is as easy, ecological and cheap as it gets btw!


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## C Moore (Apr 9, 2011)

I'm kind of in a rush with my harvest primarily because of the electricity bill, plus I'm a newbie and I'm afraid that 12/12 from seed will cause my LSD plants 2 become hermies, can this happen?


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## colonuggs (Apr 9, 2011)

light leaks are the major cause of hermies


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## C Moore (Apr 9, 2011)

The LSD says 600 grams per M2.. Does anyone know if I could yield 1 oz per plant, if I choose 2 go 12/12 from seed?


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## bleedintears (Apr 9, 2011)

Well if it helps you figure it out. I am running with a 400 w and I am getting around 3/4 of an oz per plant. And there is still room for improvement.
I think I zip per plant under your mini sun is almost underestimating what you have.

Btw I am running 7 to 9 plants in a 4X4 tent, All vegged until 1 1/2 ft.


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## Alex Kelly (Apr 9, 2011)

No way did you get over 4000 grams with 1000w. Without pictures cant believe that. C Moore if I were you i would grow sog. If you don't grow sog and you grow your plants out definately top them to get 2 or 4 main colas. There are threads that teach you how to do this here on RIU. It kinda sounds like you might be biting off a little more than you can chew but hey prove me wrong. Good Luck.


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## Alex Kelly (Apr 9, 2011)

C Moore said:


> The LSD says 600 grams per M2.. Does anyone know if I could yield 1 oz per plant, if I choose 2 go 12/12 from seed?


 
Dude, you can't go 12/12 from seed. And getting an oz per plant depends on what method of growing you are doing ex. sog vs natural or topped plants.


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## maps84 (Apr 9, 2011)

Alex Kelly said:


> No way did you get over 4000 grams with 1000w. Without pictures cant believe that. C Moore if I were you i would grow sog. If you don't grow sog and you grow your plants out definately top them to get 2 or 4 main colas. There are threads that teach you how to do this here on RIU. It kinda sounds like you might be biting off a little more than you can chew but hey prove me wrong. Good Luck.


I don't think 4kg is realistic but in vertical 2GPW should be easily achieved.


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## sk8disgruntled (Apr 11, 2011)

12/12 from seed will cause unnecessary stress to your plant. yeild and quality will greatly suffer. ive tried 12/12 from seed and ive also done 3 weeks veg with the same strain. my yeild almost tripled, and the potency was better as well, and they both fineshed in about the same amount of time. i dont understand the point of 12/12 from seed when it takes 3 to 4 weeks for the plant to show sex any way. like i said same strain veged for 3 weeks triple the yeild and it only took maybe a week longer than my 12/12 from seed.


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## C Moore (Apr 11, 2011)

sk8disgruntled said:


> 12/12 from seed will cause unnecessary stress to your plant. yeild and quality will greatly suffer. ive tried 12/12 from seed and ive also done 3 weeks veg with the same strain. my yeild almost tripled, and the potency was better as well, and they both fineshed in about the same amount of time. i dont understand the point of 12/12 from seed when it takes 3 to 4 weeks for the plant to show sex any way. like i said same strain veged for 3 weeks triple the yeild and it only took maybe a week longer than my 12/12 from seed.


That's some good info from someone who has tried both methods which makes me 2nd guess 12/12 from seed since it's almost the same amount of time 2 harvest but greater yield and potency!..


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## C Moore (Apr 11, 2011)

But I may veg for only about 2 weeks considering that I'm using only one 1,000 watt light for growing 20 plants..


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## maps84 (Apr 11, 2011)

sk8disgruntled said:


> 12/12 from seed will cause unnecessary stress to your plant. yeild and quality will greatly suffer. ive tried 12/12 from seed and ive also done 3 weeks veg with the same strain. my yeild almost tripled, and the potency was better as well, and they both fineshed in about the same amount of time. i dont understand the point of 12/12 from seed when it takes 3 to 4 weeks for the plant to show sex any way. like i said same strain veged for 3 weeks triple the yeild and it only took maybe a week longer than my 12/12 from seed.


Sorry I didn't read it was from seed.. Dude don't do that!!


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## Zaehet Strife (Apr 12, 2011)

Alex Kelly said:


> Dude, you can't go 12/12 from seed. And getting an oz per plant depends on what method of growing you are doing ex. sog vs natural or topped plants.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ9tmm2ljVw&feature=related <--somewhat what you should expect if you have some growing experience under your belt. though i have no proof that this dudes video is real, the way the buds form on the plant it seems legit to me.

right now im trying a mass 12/12 from seed lst grow, and they are pretty fuckin big man, and im sure they are going to be just as potent if i would have vegged them for a couple weeks. but this is my first time.. we will see. (a couple i vegged for 3 weeks, a couple are auto dwarfs


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## Zaehet Strife (Apr 12, 2011)

if you dont have tons of room, you want to bring your electric down, want to harvest a month earlier than usual? start from 12/12. nah bro you wont get hardly as much, but im sure reasonably speaking that the buds will be just as potent... not sure why someone said it would be less, im sure if you harvest at peak maturity it makes no difference, but i have yet to experiment with this so i really dont know. do what fits your needs, but also do what fits your plants needs. you cant grow awesome pot when you dont water because you want to go out and party, its gotta be a passion, its a contstant game of expermental techniques. growing not only your plants, but your mind aswell. you get out of it what you put in it, no matter who you are or what type of grower. you spend 4+ hours in the garden every day it shows, as you can see.


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## Zaehet Strife (Apr 12, 2011)

you can grow as many plants as you can fit under a 1000watt hps, just know that the plants furthest away from the light arent going to yeild as much as the plants closest. 

a cheap way to utilize more light would be to buy some mylar and tape/glue/tack to cardboard or thin wood and set it around your grow area to reflect all that light that isnt being used.


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## Alex Kelly (Apr 12, 2011)

Zaehet Strife said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ9tmm2ljVw&feature=related <--somewhat what you should expect if you have some growing experience under your belt. though i have no proof that this dudes video is real, the way the buds form on the plant it seems legit to me.
> 
> right now im trying a mass 12/12 from seed lst grow, and they are pretty fuckin big man, and im sure they are going to be just as potent if i would have vegged them for a couple weeks. but this is my first time.. we will see. (a couple i vegged for 3 weeks, a couple are auto dwarfs


That's impresive, definately the best, or at least most plants that I have seen done with 12/12. Let's wait and see how it goes. Ill be interested in if you have a lot of hermies. Are those fem seeds?


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## Alex Kelly (Apr 12, 2011)

Talking about your plants I didn't watch the video.


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## Zaehet Strife (Apr 13, 2011)

5 of them are feminized, the other 35 or so are not, i thought i found 2 hermies so far but they were the really small plants that hadnt started to flower just yet, so no worries there. but now that i think about it i think i may have made a mistake hehe. just had a couple hermies last round and dont want to take any chances what-so-ever this time round ya know. thanks for the compliments man makes me feel good, its hard keeping up on a harden that big all by yourself ya know, thanks bro have a sweet fun day.

from this point on im never going to be using fem seeds again, yes they are nice but i dont want my plants to be fucked with genetically at that level. i hear its much easier to get a hermy from a feminized plant too.


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## OpSec420 (Apr 14, 2011)

The basic rule as I understand it is 50 watts per plant/5k lumens per plant. 20 plants under a 1000watt hid...50 watts per plant, 5k lumens per plant, perfect. You can go vertical, use light movers etc (or both!) and go 40+ plants but I wouldn't fuck with something like that unless you already got the more straightforward shit people are doing, down pat. If you are still mastering the variables involved in "the basic stationary, horizontal light" grow and you try some experimentation and it goes to shit, you won't know if it was one of the basic variables that went wrong or if it was something about the experimental method its self. Good luck!

ps. assuming your 1000watter is hps why don't you use an mh conversion bulb for veg??


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## maps84 (Apr 14, 2011)

OpSec420 said:


> The basic rule as I understand it is 50 watts per plant/5k lumens per plant. 20 plants under a 1000watt hid...50 watts per plant, 5k lumens per plant, perfect. You can go vertical, use light movers etc (or both!) and go 40+ plants but I wouldn't fuck with something like that unless you already got the more straightforward shit people are doing, down pat. If you are still mastering the variables involved in "the basic stationary, horizontal light" grow and you try some experimentation and it goes to shit, you won't know if it was one of the basic variables that went wrong or if it was something about the experimental method its self. Good luck!
> 
> ps. assuming your 1000watter is hps why don't you use an mh conversion bulb for veg??


I think the most important thing to get down is cloning, after that setting up a vertical or flat grow is not about complexity any more, it's all in the web! so it's more about the willingness to work and maintain the systems. If you can fit 40 plants under a single bulb in a way then don't mess with each other you're golden. You'll have way more budsites in less time which of course it translates into more yield. 100% positive


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## tanon (Apr 26, 2011)

I'd say 3000 grams give or take is the max you could get with Heaths system built slightly bigger using one 1000 watt light and co2 if you are dialed in right, I can tell you from experience, I have one grow with this set up and got 2500 grams and I'm sure once I really dial it in I could prob. max out at around 3 grams per watt but over 4 is impossible I don't care if you work for nasa and use radioactive fertilizer lol 4000 plus grams is not possible with one 1000 watt light...if you claim you can get 4 grams plus per watt nasa has a job opening for you lmfao prove it and I'll have sex with farm animals, I have done EVERYTHING $$$ you could possibly do to increase yeild and I think around 3 is it period short of dna manipulation.


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## maps84 (Apr 26, 2011)

tanon said:


> I'd say 3000 grams give or take is the max you could get with Heaths system built slightly bigger using one 1000 watt light and co2 if you are dialed in right, I can tell you from experience, I have one grow with this set up and got 2500 grams and I'm sure once I really dial it in I could prob. max out at around 3 grams per watt but over 4 is impossible I don't care if you work for nasa and use radioactive fertilizer lol 4000 plus grams is not possible with one 1000 watt light...if you claim you can get 4 grams plus per watt nasa has a job opening for you lmfao prove it and I'll have sex with farm animals, I have done EVERYTHING $$$ you could possibly do to increase yeild and I think around 3 is it period short of dna manipulation.


Heath's got 2.6 GPW! reaching 3 would be a colossal task IMHO


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## maryjaine (Feb 23, 2013)

Man and I was worried about my 19 under three 1000 watt lights...


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## maryjaine (Feb 24, 2013)

Well today everything is going great in the garden I really appreciate all the good advice.


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