# 1000 watt light, 5x5 or 4x4 grow tent?



## gorillagrower0840 (Mar 24, 2014)

I need help on deciding if I should get a 4x4 tent or a 5x5 tent. I am only going to use one 1000 watt hps light for flowering. I'll be growing in 5 gallon dwc buckets and want to do the typical 4 week veg and 8 week flower grow. I know that watts per square foot should be as high as possible, so the 4x4 might seem like the right choice, but I would also like to fit as many plants as I can into the area, which is why i'm considering a 5x5 tent too. With the 5x5 tent and 1000 watt light, it gives 40 watts per square foot. The 4x4 will give 62.5 watts per square foot, which is better but I wouldn't be able to fit as many plants. I would like to have 8 plants if possible, and the 4x4 seems like it may be too small for eight 5gal bucket plants. But maybe 6 plants would fit nicely in the 4x4? Which situation would yield more weight: 8 plants in the 5x5 tent with 40 watts per square foot, or 6 plants in the 4x4 tent with 62.5 watts per square foot? (Or am I wrong in thinking that many plants would fit in either of those tents?)


----------



## hydrogreen65 (Mar 24, 2014)

Its not the space for buckets you need to be concerned with. The space each plant is goi.g to take up is the issue. 
I would go with the 5x5 and do fewer plants in a scrog grow. You'll get a whole lot more production, and can really get the most from light with even canopy. Jmo


----------



## gorillagrower0840 (Mar 24, 2014)

I know that the space each plant will take up is the issue. That's why I'm trying to figure out if I should go with a bigger tent with more plants (BUT LESS LIGHT PER PLANT) or a smaller tent with less plants (BUT MORE LIGHT PER PLANT).


----------



## hydrogreen65 (Mar 24, 2014)

You could do 4 plants in a scrog grow and fill a 5x5 tent easy. Then you can keep light a lot closer and not have to worry about light penetration to lower growth. Which is usually a problem


----------



## hydrogreen65 (Mar 24, 2014)

You need to figure light per space, not light per plant. A 1 k light in a 5x5 scrog grow would flat out rock.


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

I have tried six plants in my 4x4 tent with aeroponics and they outgrew the tent and caused bad overcrowding, I also tried a 1000 watt hid in my 4x4 and ended up bleaching the plants. I now run 4 plants in my 4x4 tents and a 600w hid. I've got 4 in bubblers and 4 in soil right now. If your going to put alot of plants in the tent then consider running a sog.


----------



## TheSnake (Mar 24, 2014)

Maybe a VERT grow, light in center, and 4 plants, one each corner. Not the easiest to tend to because of the light being in the way, but everything should be even-ish.


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

If you grow the plants ala natural then you can control the height of each plant by simply supercropping.


----------



## gorillagrower0840 (Mar 24, 2014)

hydrogreen65 said:


> You need to figure light per space, not light per plant. A 1 k light in a 5x5 scrog grow would flat out rock.


I understand that. Yes, maybe a 1000 watt light in a 5x5 space would rock, but a 1000 watt light in a 4x4 space would rock even more wouldn't it? Again, a 5x5 tent and 1k light is 40 watts per square foot. And a 4x4 tent and 1k light is 62.5 watts per square foot.


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

^^^^plants will only use what they need and a 1000 w bulb in a 4x4 tent will bleach the plants. I know because I have tried. Not only that you will have the heat issue as well. But since you think more light is better then good luck to you.


----------



## Steelheader3430 (Mar 24, 2014)

I'm running a 1000 in a 4x4. I wish I had a 5x5. This time I'm growing vert and got 7 plants in there right now. 4 in 10 gallon fabric pots. I'm looking foreward to pulling the males so I have more room. The mh bulb is a couple inches from the leaves of a few plants and no bleaching....yet.


----------



## hydrogreen65 (Mar 24, 2014)

Agree with popcorn. You may ha e more watts per ft, but you would also be losing 9sqft of usable canopy.


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

^^^^*LIKE*


Steelheader3430 said:


> I'm running a 1000 in a 4x4. I wish I had a 5x5. This time I'm growing vert and got 7 plants in there right now. 4 in 10 gallon fabric pots. I'm looking foreward to pulling the males so I have more room. The mh bulb is a couple inches from the leaves of a few plants and no bleaching....yet.


MH is only about half the lumens of a HPS so ya you're doing great. A MH burns alot cooler than a HPS so no doubt you can get it closer to the plants.


----------



## Steelheader3430 (Mar 24, 2014)

Popcorn900 said:


> ^^^^*LIKE*
> 
> MH is only about half the lumens of a HPS so ya you're doing great. A MH burns alot cooler than a HPS so no doubt you can get it closer to the plants.



My hps is coming on wednesday. Good thing I spend a good amount of time with them. Thanks popcorn.


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

Steelheader3430 said:


> My hps is coming on wednesday. Good thing I spend a good amount of time with them. Thanks popcorn.


I have done all my grows with MH/HPS but my next grows will be different as now I got my 10x10x10 tent and two shiny new 600w digital ballast and and hoods. I chose the 600w because they are more efficient than a 1000 also I will be use full spectrum dual core HPS in my new tent as it is a bother to switch the bulbs.


----------



## gorillagrower0840 (Mar 24, 2014)

Popcorn900 said:


> ^^^^plants will only use what they need and a 1000 w bulb in a 4x4 tent will bleach the plants. I know because I have tried. Not only that you will have the heat issue as well. But since you think more light is better then good luck to you.


How close did you have the light to the plants?


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

gorillagrower0840 said:


> How close did you have the light to the plants?


When that happened the hood was around 12 inches from canapy, It was a combination of bleaching and baking. At first I thought it was a deficiency then the tri's started to get baked and thats when I pulled the 1000w sodium.


----------



## gorillagrower0840 (Mar 24, 2014)

I read that ideal watts per square feet is around 60 to 70 watts per square foot. Light from the sun is even more intense than that isn't it? So shouldn't plants be able to use more light than 40 watts per square foot? Shouldn't they be able to easily use 62.5 watts per square feet?


----------



## Popcorn900 (Mar 24, 2014)

gorillagrower0840 said:


> I read that ideal watts per square feet is around 60 to 70 watts per square foot. Light from the sun is even more intense than that isn't it? So shouldn't plants be able to use more light than 40 watts per square foot? Shouldn't they be able to easily use 62.5 watts per square feet?


Some people I know will use a 1000w sodium in a 4x4 but they also defoliate but it all starts to get technical and it gives me a headache. The golden rule is a 100w a plant. Also another thing to remember is the footprint and intensity of the bulb if you have a bulb pushing out 90000 lumens that means you should have it around 18 inches away from the canopy. If you got five gallon buckets they stand almost two feet by themselves the plant will be on average 4 feet so thats 6 feet now add another foot for the hood thats seven and don't forget about the 18 inch gap from canopy. most 4x4 tents stand around 7 to 8 feet tall so do the math. You would have to run the hood full height which means that the plants will stretch and eventually outgrow the tent. To me it all adds up to problems when you simply can use a 600w thru the entire grow with no problems. The footprint of a 1000w bulb should easily cover a 10x10 area way too much intensity for a 4x4 tent.


----------



## Ou8aCracker2 (Mar 26, 2014)

50w per square foot minimum and 66w max.More light isn't necessarily better and there is a saturation point and that little thing called the point of diminishing return.


----------



## JointOperation (Mar 26, 2014)

i would personally do a 5x5.. im running a 5x5 with a 1000w.. and by the looks of things.. the only way u can get a 1000w to fit in a 4x4 with decent sized plants.. is to have a WALL OF BUDS. so screen ur wall up.. and make the plants stay away from the bulb.. ive noticed that my bulb is just far enough away with big plants in a 5x5.. if u go with a 4x4 .. u might wana think about a 600w.


----------



## Ou8aCracker2 (Mar 26, 2014)

JointOperation said:


> i would personally do a 5x5.. im running a 5x5 with a 1000w.. and by the looks of things.. the only way u can get a 1000w to fit in a 4x4 with decent sized plants.. is to have a WALL OF BUDS. so screen ur wall up.. and make the plants stay away from the bulb.. ive noticed that my bulb is just far enough away with big plants in a 5x5.. if u go with a 4x4 .. u might wana think about a 600w.


Or do a SOG,or grow less plants,or veg less.


----------



## gorillagrower0840 (Mar 26, 2014)

Ou8aCracker2 said:


> 50w per square foot minimum and 66w max.More light isn't necessarily better and there is a saturation point and that little thing called the point of diminishing return.


So do you think it is better to use a 1000w in a 4x4 tent than a 5x5 tent? If in a 5x5 tent, that offers only 40w per square foot.


----------



## urban1026835 (Mar 26, 2014)

Popcorn900 said:


> ^^^^*LIKE*
> 
> MH is only about half the lumens of a HPS so ya you're doing great. A MH burns alot cooler than a HPS so no doubt you can get it closer to the plants.


That is some mis-information mh bulbs run hotter than hps and vice versa depending on the type of ballast.

my mh personally runs about 3-4 degrees hotter.


----------



## Ou8aCracker2 (Mar 26, 2014)

eQUOTE=gorillagrower0840;10365246]So do you think it is better to use a 1000w in a 4x4 tent than a 5x5 tent? If in a 5x5 tent, that offers only 40w per square foot.[/QUOTE]

You can do either.But in a 5x5 the edges will be a little dimmer.

In a 5x5 I'd rather use 2x 600w bulbs as it will give you about 48w per square foot plus a more even light spread.

And,600w bupbs are the most efficient in terms of lumens per watt.


----------



## Steelheader3430 (Mar 27, 2014)

Here's what I'm doing. 3 v-screen like joint mentioned.  3 trained in the corners in 10 gallon bags. The rest in 5 gallon pots. The screened ones look to be male. Damnit. I would like a 5x5. It's hard to work these in a 4x4. Sorry about the sideways pic, phone cam.


----------



## JointOperation (Mar 28, 2014)

i only use a 1000w because i realized.. when i stacked 2 1000s.. vert in my 5x5x7 i was wasting light.. more light doesnt mean shit.. unless u go from 20watts per . to 75.. u will see a diff.. but if u arent using all 7 feet of that height in the room.. theres no reason to stack 2 bulbs.. 1 bulb.. i figure. the pots are a foot.. and i got a foot above the top colas.. so i figure i need enough light for 5x5x5 of plants.. so a 1000w.. works great.. .. iuno but i try shit for myself to figure out if it really works.. alot of info on the net is misinfo.. given by people who read the grow bible and then give info out that are growing in a 3x3 box with 5 plants.. lol maybe working myself from 2 150ws all the way to a 6000w setup.. made me realize that MOST INFO ON THE FORUMS IS BULLSHIT.


----------



## wood780 (Mar 30, 2014)

Dont know why but when I switched from a5x5 tent to a 4x4 tent my temp actually went down a few degrees and got easier to manage .


----------



## jtdubz (Mar 30, 2014)

Im running 1000w in a 4x4x7 and I honestly think its perfect. 5 plants in 4 gal bucket, but im on my first grow still in veg. So my opinion is really obsolete at this point. Just giving my .02


----------



## 2012dmax (Mar 30, 2014)

I run a 5x5 sog with 1000hps, just FYI it also matters what hood you run to get the full potential of your light spread.


----------



## VYZUNZ 907 (Apr 15, 2014)

gorillagrower0840 said:


> I need help on deciding if I should get a 4x4 tent or a 5x5 tent. I am only going to use one 1000 watt hps light for flowering. I'll be growing in 5 gallon dwc buckets and want to do the typical 4 week veg and 8 week flower grow. I know that watts per square foot should be as high as possible, so the 4x4 might seem like the right choice, but I would also like to fit as many plants as I can into the area, which is why i'm considering a 5x5 tent too. With the 5x5 tent and 1000 watt light, it gives 40 watts per square foot. The 4x4 will give 62.5 watts per square foot, which is better but I wouldn't be able to fit as many plants. I would like to have 8 plants if possible, and the 4x4 seems like it may be too small for eight 5gal bucket plants. But maybe 6 plants would fit nicely in the 4x4? Which situation would yield more weight: 8 plants in the 5x5 tent with 40 watts per square foot, or 6 plants in the 4x4 tent with 62.5 watts per square foot? (Or am I wrong in thinking that many plants would fit in either of those tents?)


5x5, less plants. I use 1 plant per side of a 4x8 tent with 2-600wt and clear 1/2lb on each side. Check out Mr Big DWC on youtube. HHT-DWC.


----------



## LilT211 (Apr 17, 2014)

I think it all boils down to personal preference. We can sit here and watch ppl go back and forth on the issue or can just accept the differences. Just EXPERIMENT. Thats what this whole things about, right? I have, in transit, a 4x4 grow tent and a 600w MH/HPS combo. Im going to start with a 600w and when I'm ready to accept the responsibility of dealing with more heat and more buds then I'll bump up to 1k. Too many threads airing personal opinions instead of being realistic. Some ppl run a stricter grow environment. If you can control the environment go 1k if you can't 600w is still more than qualified. Simple.


----------



## SpaaaceCowboy (Aug 15, 2014)

Ou8aCracker2 said:


> 50w per square foot minimum and 66w max.More light isn't necessarily better and there is a saturation point and that little thing called the point of diminishing return.


so a 600w light is no good for a 4x4 tent ? cause that would only be 37.5 watts/sq. ft


----------



## twalte (Aug 20, 2016)

gorillagrower0840 said:


> I need help on deciding if I should get a 4x4 tent or a 5x5 tent. I am only going to use one 1000 watt hps light for flowering. I'll be growing in 5 gallon dwc buckets and want to do the typical 4 week veg and 8 week flower grow. I know that watts per square foot should be as high as possible, so the 4x4 might seem like the right choice, but I would also like to fit as many plants as I can into the area, which is why i'm considering a 5x5 tent too. With the 5x5 tent and 1000 watt light, it gives 40 watts per square foot. The 4x4 will give 62.5 watts per square foot, which is better but I wouldn't be able to fit as many plants. I would like to have 8 plants if possible, and the 4x4 seems like it may be too small for eight 5gal bucket plants. But maybe 6 plants would fit nicely in the 4x4? Which situation would yield more weight: 8 plants in the 5x5 tent with 40 watts per square foot, or 6 plants in the 4x4 tent with 62.5 watts per square foot? (Or am I wrong in thinking that many plants would fit in either of those tents?)


Hi GorillaGrower - Sorry for resurrecting an old post, but what size tent did you end up choosing? 4x4 or 5x5? And more importantly, are you happy with your results? I am looking at lumens per square foot as well and torn between running an air cooled 1000W in both size tents...and the numbers definitely point towards using a dimmable 1000 watt ballast in a 4x4 tent. I'm not doing SOG or SCROG, so trying to get the best quality out of 5-6 plants maximum. Thanks for your help!


----------



## DrunkenNinja (Aug 21, 2016)

If you have the room I would go with the 5x5 . I have a 600 hps but I also have a 1300 watt led Chinese Cheapo that I paid like a 100 bucks for. It's great for 6 plants. I use the rainforest 66 dwc

Sent from my SM-S920L using Rollitup mobile app


----------



## Txryan77 (Mar 6, 2021)

Popcorn900 said:


> ^^^^plants will only use what they need and a 1000 w bulb in a 4x4 tent will bleach the plants. I know because I have tried. Not only that you will have the heat issue as well. But since you think more light is better then good luck to you.


I run the same, and Ive NEVER "bleached anything. 4x4 tent, 1000 watt light, 8 plants 5 coco and 3 dwc. No bleaching and large harvest. Its all about keeping it cool. If I had a 5x5, or better yet 6x6, id run 2 600 watt.


----------



## 1212ham (Mar 6, 2021)

Zombie thread, popcorn900 hasn't logged in for 5 years.


----------



## jimihendrix1 (Mar 6, 2021)

Id get the 5 x 5 tent, and use 4 x 4 of it.

1000w Hortilux HPS is made for a 4 x 4 area. It will light a 5 x 5 area but 4 x 4 is optimum.


----------



## Johnny Lawrence (Mar 6, 2021)

Txryan77 said:


> I run the same, and Ive NEVER "bleached anything. 4x4 tent, 1000 watt light, 8 plants 5 coco and 3 dwc. No bleaching and large harvest. Its all about keeping it cool. If I had a 5x5, or better yet 6x6, id run 2 600 watt.


Oh man, thanks for the help. I'm sure the OP will pop in any second to say the same . . . 









. . . 7 years later.


----------



## Txryan77 (Mar 7, 2021)

Youre more than welcome. Looks like this thread has been dead awhile. 


Johnny Lawrence said:


> Oh man, thanks for the help. I'm sure the OP will pop in any second to say the same . . .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Youre more than welcome! I come on here and one other forum to find my answers. Ive been growing for 14 years now, but took about 5 years off when my son was born. Ill say that it was MUCH easier, at least for me, to do closet grows or split room/ whole room. No HEAT issues. Still not sold on LEDs except for the units that are at least 600, the preference LED for commercial is over double that, but it truly does emit more light, less heat. Glad I could somehow help, happy growing!


----------

