All professional and amateur growers know that LED light promotes the active growth of cannabis and the formation of large and juicy buds. However, the difficulty lies in choosing the right lighting so that it benefits and does not harm your plants. In this quick guide, you will find all the information you need to consider when buying LED lamps.
Tent Size
The area that needs to be illuminated is of primary importance since a device’s power depends on it. The number of bushes grown and the size of your tent will affect the required wattage. There is a rough calculation formula to help you determine this figure. For every square foot of space, you need to take about 32 watts. For example, you should purchase a 450-500 watt LED light for 4×4 grow tent (16 square feet). This formula is great for calculating the power of devices designed for marijuana and other medicinal plants. If you are interested in growing other herbs, then the power can be reduced by about half.
Also, consider the height of the tent when choosing your lighting. Remember that bushes gradually grow upward, and you should be able to adjust the length of a hanging system. The distance from the crown of plants to a lamp should be sufficient so that the heat from the device does not burn the leaves. Simultaneously, the lighting should not hang too high; otherwise, its effectiveness will significantly decrease.
Plant Stage
It is also worth choosing light depending on which stage of plant development you plan to use the tent for. Some growers have the opportunity to use multiple sites for different steps and move the bushes as they develop. Others use tents exclusively for a vegetation period and then transplant cannabis into the ground outdoors. Another option is to organize a full cultivation cycle in one tent.
It is essential because, at different periods of their development, plants need various lighting. So, for example, at the vegetative stage, blue lamps are enough, but for flowering and fruiting, they should be replaced with red ones. If your bushes spend their entire cycle in tents (from seedlings to mature plants), you should opt for full-cycle lamps that combine LEDs of different colors.
Light Type
LED devices can be divided into three main types: panel, spread, and COB style. The first option is the most common for growing plants in tents. Most of the lighting appliances are made in the form of a panel, on which medium power LEDs of one or more color spectrum are installed. Spread style instruments are generally larger in area than panels but less powerful. They illuminate a big area and can be hung closer to the top of bushes. COB grow lights are the most powerful cannabis lighting tools. They differ from the previous two types in that they have huge diodes with thick lenses that concentrate light beams in one direction.
The choice of a specific form of the device depends on your individual situation. Each of these options has its own pros and cons, so it’s impossible to say for sure that one of them is definitely better. When in doubt about which lamp you need, choose a versatile full-cycle panel with multiple settings. Once you get comfortable with growing marijuana, you can figure out whether you need to change the lighting or not.
Right Lamps for Better Crop
This article has collected basic tips for choosing the right lighting for cannabis tent growing. Follow them, and you will find the perfect lamp for your grow tent. However, keep in mind that success depends a lot on the proper placement of the device. Adjust the height if yellow leaves with burn marks appear on your bushes or if artificial lighting does not give the desired results.
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