However, indoor plants of this size need plenty of light and that’s where grow lights come in. But how to hang grow lights for the best results?
In this practical indoor cannabis grower’s guide, we explain what light fixtures and fittings you need to give your plants the light they need to grow a bumper crop.
How Do You Hang A Grow Light Fixture?
The majority of cannabis grow lights come as a type of light hanging kit, including the light itself, a hook, hanging cables, hanging strings or some kind of sturdy wire.
But you can also fix your grow lamps using chains, screws, and rope ratchets. Make sure that the lighting fixtures you use are strong enough to hold your grow lights.
Growing lights are heavy and the structure needs to support the weight or it will end up falling on your plants damaging your crop.
How Do You Hang Grow Light On The Wall?
You can use a variety of fittings to hang your grow lights on the wall, including wall hooks. Just keep in mind that your lighting system should be placed at a correct distance from the plant.
This is the reason why most growers prefer to use ceiling fixtures for their grow lights. This allows them to space out the light evenly which mimics natural sunlight.
If you want to hang grow lights on the wall to encourage growth on the side of the plants, then you can use either wall hooks or longer chains.
What Is The Best Way To Hang Grow Lights From The Ceiling?
The best way to hang your marijuana grow lights from the ceiling is by using a heavy-duty nail or hook that allows you to attach the light or a chain.
The hook needs to be sturdy enough to support the full weight of the cord or chain. Plus, it also needs to hold the weight of the grow light.
How Do You Hang A Grow Light Without Drilling?
A grow light setup for your indoor cannabis plants needs to support a good amount of weight. This is the main reason why most lighting kits require drilling.
However, there are a few good options that allow growers to build a lighting system without drilling.
Magnetic Plant Hooks
If you don’t want to ruin your walls or ceilings with holes, then magnetic hooks can be a secure alternative for standard grow light fixtures.
Made from bronze, chrome, nickel or stainless steel, these hooks can hold up to 100 pounds of weight which is ample for your grow lights.
You will need a clean, metal surface to which you can attach your hooks. This could be an exposed metal beam, braces, fasteners, bolts or metal plates.
These strong magnets can also detect and stick to the metal underneath a drywall ceiling, so it’s worth sliding the magnet over the ceiling to locate screws or other metal surfaces.
Adhesive Hooks
If you don’t have a metal surface or an even surface, then adhesive hooks are your best alternative to ceiling light fixtures.
You can use them on almost any type of surface, including walls and ceilings. These hooks with self-adhesive backing don’t require drilling and you can even remove them again.
Just make sure that you buy adhesive hooks that are extra strong. The packaging should indicate how the weight capacity of the hook.
Tension Rods
If you prefer to hang several lights, then tension rods that extend from wall to wall can provide a sturdy and durable way to hang your grow lights.
These rods don’t need drilling and they usually have rubber tips that don’t mar the wall surface.
Just keep in mind that the strength of these rods depends on how long they are. The longer the rod, the less weight you can put on them.
This is the reason why tension rods are best suited for smaller rooms. Plus, you will also need thicker rods that can hold the full weight of your growing lights.
Bar Clamps
You can use almost any type of clamp to fix your grow lights to the ceiling without drilling holes. Bar clamps are designed to be sturdy and durable.
Plus, you can adjust the jaw slides on the metal rail to give you the exact width of your beam or fitting.
This being said, you will need either an exposed beam or some type of protruding surface to fix your bar clamp.
C-Clamps
As an alternative to bar clamps, you can also use smaller C-clamps. They typically hold up to 50 pounds which is suitable for smaller grow lights.
Make sure that you screw them tightly onto the beam. You may also want to get some clamp jaw pads to protect the beam from any indentations.
How Far Should LED Grow Lights Be From Plants?
You will need to hang your grow lights at the right distance from your plants. Your growing marijuana plants require varying light intensities throughout their lifecycle.
With young cannabis plants, you should place the light further away but make sure that your grow light system is flexible enough to move the lamps closer to the plants as they enter the vegetative and flowering stages.
Moving the lights closer to your plants during the flowering phase can increase the photosynthesis process increasing the yield of your plants.
The correct light distance also depends on your individual plants and the cannabis strain. Some weed plants need greater light intensity than others.
This means that the light source needs to sit closer to the plants, even during the early growing stages.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need much to hang grow lights for your cannabis plants. Most light systems come as a kit that allows you to hang grow lamps from the ceiling.
Hi, I’m Zack Finch and I work as a Budtender for a Health & Wellness center here, in sunny California. I have been using marijuana recreationally for around 6 years now, and have many a time enjoyed the benefit that weed has to offer.
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