# Too many lux?



## legallyflying (Feb 8, 2011)

For those of you out there with light meters, wondering what kind of readings you are getting at canopy level. Initially I thought, as close as I can get then without burning but I recently read somewhere that lux readings in the8k and 9k range is too high. Had mine at around 8,400 but raised the lights so that reading were in the high 6k's 

I just don't see people running their lights that close.? 

Is there a correlation between high lights and more trichs? 

Would love to hear some experienced opinions. 
Thanks!


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 8, 2011)

don't everyone post at once now...


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 9, 2011)

ok fine, somebody just post something even if they don't know what the hell they are talking about. 
You can't argue that THAT doesn't happen from time to time on the forum.


----------



## TruenoAE86coupe (Feb 9, 2011)

I will use Al B. Fuct as an example, he has combined a cool tube and an adjust-a-wing to be able to run his lights ultra close, i believe he said less than a foot, not sure if that was a 600 or 1000, but pretty damn close.


----------



## Bonzi Lighthouse (Feb 9, 2011)

what's a LUX? Do you put it on a begal? Do they come in different flavors? Theres an app for that.

View attachment 1432196


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 9, 2011)

Thanks Bonzai. As per the chart.. 6,700 or so is the maximum amount of light energy (lux) you want to be basking your plants in. 1 lux = 10 foot candles. 

Interesting though that I get that amount of lux at a farther distance than shown on the chart. probably because of my hood. 
'Thanks!!


----------



## darkdestruction420 (Feb 9, 2011)

Bonzi Lighthouse said:


> what's a LUX? Do you put it on a begal? Do they come in different flavors? Theres an app for that.
> 
> View attachment 1432196


thats a good guide, lol, i just spent like 5 minutes trying to find it but you beat me to it.


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 9, 2011)

What is interesting is that jorge says that 10,000 lux is ideal for flowering, that chart says 6,500. What a brother to do? All I want is the dankest, most crystallized bud in the world...sob...sob

I'm splitting the difference and basking them in around 8-8.5k and see what happens. Produced HUGE buds last round but the crystals could have been better.


----------



## jungobo (Feb 10, 2011)

one thing to consider, a cool tube reduce some lux , question is, how much.


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 10, 2011)

Well most people actually measure lux or foot candles with a meter at the canopy level so it really doesn't matter how much light energy a cool tube or hood absorbs. I think that you would actually be able to utilize a much higher lux with a cool tube or other ac hood as you can get them much closer to the canopy


----------



## xivex (Feb 10, 2011)

LF I had read that 7500 Foot Candles was the max the plant could use at canopy level. I haven't measured shit with my fancy ass high dollar meter in forever (sigh..  ), but last time I checked like 7 months ago, I was about to get that 7500 - 8000 fc rating at about 4-6" from the glass off my Cool Sun hood as measured in the middle of my 3 flowering lights with all 3 lights on. 

I have been keeping my 400's about 6-8" away this cycle..could probably go closer..the air cooling and the sun shield heat shields really does keep em damn cool underneath. 

X


----------



## Total Head (Feb 11, 2011)

i don't know about lux because i have a cheapo needle light meter and i don't even know what units it measures. current crop got a few tops totally light bleached which i seriously thought was a myth or at least that it couldn't be done with a 400w. however this 400w is only about an inch away due to unexpected space issues and lazy lst. no heat issues because it would be freezing in there without the light, so i just let the top grow almost into the light. it has not burned, just bleached. i notice nothing different about the trichs under the scope except they are harder to see.


----------



## Sr. Greensea (Feb 12, 2011)

im going to try and pick up a light meter this week.
is green light really 100% safe durning the night?

I have 400's and the bulbs are usually around 15 inches above the canopy. 
the hoods are called, super sun, from sunlight supply if i recall the name right
the hoods came with glass, which i don't use, because i dont have a problem with heat.
i could use the glass and fans to cool the hoods and be able to keep the bulbs much closer,,
but it seems without the use of a lux meter that having the hoods any lower only, makes the light uneven.. stressing a 1sq' area and giving the surrounding 8sq' to little.
i really want to get this meter and know what numbers im actually getting, at what distance. i think lots of us are guilty of having bulbs closer that they should be. 
still the numbers are only relative imo. wave length i think is much more important.. anyone not using a 'eye blue' mh buld should look into starting. 
now im not saying that hps isn't better but these eye blue bulbs are really something else.. i have 2 400's side by side and want to add one more in a row. i just cant decide if it should be 2 eye blues and a super hps in the middle or 2 super hps and a eye blue in the middle.. im really thinking 2 blues. 
leaves under the blue are always proper and i always have alittle curl under the hps. every week or two when i rotate the mh and hps, in just a couple days the leaves that were curled straighten and the straight ones curl. it isn't as drastic the higher i keep the bulbs. this is why im thinking a hps in the middle and mh on the sides, mayb up as high as 20 inches. 
if i pick up a meter this week ill post some of the numbers im getting around my garden..


----------



## Sr. Greensea (Feb 12, 2011)

we cant forget that were giving direct light the entire day. no clouds, no weak mornings and evenings. roots can only do so much and to much light is as bad as to little.
with too much light leaves can't get enough water quick enough to keep cool and over heat, causing nute burn even with a weak ec.. 

anyone use a glucose meter? i want to get one of these also. hahahh just when u think u have everything u need and want 

ive been keeping my roots colder than should be by most accounts, dwc. i think this is why they aren't eating practically at all.. its strange that they don't seem to be to effected by this, im probably killing my gpw, ill know in another 2or3weeks. eitherway in 4 weeks ive used so little nutes i can't believe it, ive also only been doing add backs,, its been so nice and easy, even if my gpw suffers alittle i wont care ahah.. 

i mean if u don't have lock out and the girls are perky, and the rez is clear and the ec is proper, what is the point of changing the rez??


----------



## darkdestruction420 (Feb 12, 2011)

I've had 100% success with green lighting during the dark period, i know alot of others who can say the same, so i'd say you should be perfectly fine too.


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 13, 2011)

Greensea, you change the Rez because you don't know WHICH minerals are contributing to the ppm your reading. Proportions get out of whack and things can get ugly. But I suspect you already know this 

To xivex, thanks for the info. I have them at 80k right now which is about 12" above the canopy. Your hoods sound a little lame if you have to get that close to achieve 70-80. Could be the meter. I have the el chepo eBay special. Seriously, I don't know how some people grow without one. They are Sooooo valuable. Specially when setting up or testing out hoods. With a meter you can really see that some hoods suck ass. I tried four different hoods before deciding in the super sun II. I just set the hoods up and equal height and read light levels at various distances from the hood. 

Sometime just moving things 6" can make a huge difference. I also see people with their lights super high like over 2.5' for a 600. Just pissing money away at that point. Next to no light energy. 

Anywho.. 89 it is. There is the whole roots supporting transpiration aspect but also, many plants, web MJ stop photosynthesizing in the noon sun. Just too intense.


----------



## riddleme (Feb 13, 2011)

legallyflying said:


> Greensea, you change the Rez because you don't know WHICH minerals are contributing to the ppm your reading. Proportions get out of whack and things can get ugly. But I suspect you already know this
> 
> To xivex, thanks for the info. I have them at 80k right now which is about 12" above the canopy. Your hoods sound a little lame if you have to get that close to achieve 70-80. Could be the meter. I have the el chepo eBay special. Seriously, I don't know how some people grow without one. They are Sooooo valuable. Specially when setting up or testing out hoods. With a meter you can really see that some hoods suck ass. I tried four different hoods before deciding in the super sun II. I just set the hoods up and equal height and read light levels at various distances from the hood.
> 
> ...


You should try pissing some money away you might be surprised at what happens, I have 2 400's that are over 5 feet from the floor (plants are in a raised bed) and the radiation from the bulbs actually heat the cold concrete floor in my basement


----------



## RawBudzski (Feb 13, 2011)

lux is short for luxury [email protected]!


----------



## xivex (Feb 13, 2011)

LF,

I had no idea wtf i was doing on hood selection. I just went with what the local grow shop guy recommended, bad idea i know. Interesingly enough, your super sun 2 hoods are the exact same width as shrubs hoods. They are 13" wide. In my research hoods come in 3 sizes now, the slim, narrow 13" ones like your super sun 2s, exactly like shrubs daystar ac hoods from hydrofarm, 13" wide. 

Then there are the wider ones like my cool sun hoods, about 25" wide, twice that of the slims. Finally there are the xxxl magnums ochos etc etc. Imho these are crap. Too damn big. Plus i heard their large size causes mechanical problems with them and they break easily just from normal opening and closing of them due to their mammoth size. Too big. 

Shrubs postulates that the slimmer 13" wide hoods provide a more focused, concentrated beam of light. Seems like you agree. If i ever buy new hoods, id go slimline also. For now tho stuck with my cool sun hoods! 

What ya think? Riddle you have any thoughts on this subject youd care to impart?


----------



## collective gardener (Feb 13, 2011)

We light a 4x4 area with every 1000 watt air cooled light. The middle plants see about 4500 f/c and the outer branches around 2500 f/c. As you can see, we also run 2 adjust a wings. With those, we get 6000 f/c at the edge and 4000 f/c in the middle. The edge is sooooo lit up with those reflectors. If it wasn't for the heat, I'd just have 20 adjust a wings.

I should point out, we use a $300.00 light meter. My old cheap meters always read way higher.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/407048-20-000-watt-medical-grow.html


----------



## Gastanker (Feb 13, 2011)

The more the better - always. The sun on a clear day puts out ~100,000 lux at the surface of the earth. You will never get remotely close to this with lights but might as well try as long as there are no heat issues. This is not advisable for seedlings and you can stress plants by rapidly increasing the number of lux.

/e on a cloudy day outside lux are around 10,000. Pretty crazy that we generally grow with such low comparisons but like the person prior to me pointed out we are able to minimize other disturbances.


----------



## legallyflying (Feb 14, 2011)

collective gardener said:


> We light a 4x4 area with every 1000 watt air cooled light. The middle plants see about 4500 f/c and the outer branches around 2500 f/c. As you can see, we also run 2 adjust a wings. With those, we get 6000 f/c at the edge and 4000 f/c in the middle. The edge is sooooo lit up with those reflectors. If it wasn't for the heat, I'd just have 20 adjust a wings.
> 
> I should point out, we use a $300.00 light meter. My old cheap meters always read way higher.
> 
> https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/407048-20-000-watt-medical-grow.html


That's nice to hear about the adjust a wings. I just picked one up for my veg tent as the grow area is a funky size 3 x 5. I haven't put it up yet as clones are still under the floros. I wonder how inaccurate my light meter is? Not that it really matters but it would be nice to know. 

Xivex, there is a well known thread about hood foot prints and how even and intense they are. Your right about hood sizes, there are "deep" hoods like mine that really focus light and shallow ones that really spread it out. The magnums seem goofy but they actually cast a nice even, and intense swath of light. The thread got crazy long but it's an awesome thread...
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=51325


----------

