Optimal plant /m2

FC3000 in a 1m^2 for autos will be slightly more than you need and maybe could give 3-5 more watts per sq foot for photoperiods, so it's a good fit for that area. Think the light gives off 840-some umol/s at the diodes. In 1m^2 it's a simple 1/1 conversion to PPFD. you lose some of that to the walls each bounce, and some misses the plant, but you are still probably going to push near 35 DLI over 12 hours. You probably want 70-75% power for 18/6. Daily Light Integral table - google to reference ppfd x hours of use = DLI. whether yo ugive 35 dLI over 12 or 35 DLI over 10 hours, it'll be a very, very similar result. nothing you can tell a difference. a large room of clones showed no statistically significant difference for such things - limited strains tested* I like to shoot for 40DLI when sizing light to area, but the difference is probably not noticeable with naked eye and a light providing 40DLI probably needs a few percent dimmed anyay. Envorinmental variables impact this, so your "max" will vary from mine. All of this is for ambient co2. if you add co2 you can push higher and need a bigger light or use the fc3000 with a smaller focus/footprint Optimal number -- well, what provides for solid buds and least amount of vege time? this will be the most productive / efficient use of space. time is equally impoartant to all other factors, if not more. how big does a 12/12 from seed photoperiod get? how many of that size can you fit in? if not an even number, maybe 1 week of vege can even it out? but symmatrical plants is definitely a useful goal for maximizing yield in a specific space. 2x2 (4) is better than 3 or 5 to evenly fill a space in shortest amount of time. Easier to split up the work, anyway. easier choices in training. 4 plants? Probably need 3-4 weeks of vege for most plants to fully fill the space... you'd know how fast your plants grow better than i do. 9 plants? might allow for 12/12 from seed without being too large. This might save 2-3 weeks as photoperiods probably won't flip to bloom while in seedling stage, so that time is added on to expected bloom period. similar yield and save 2-3 weeks. might be able to get 5 grows in per year instead of 4 while yielding similar amount per harvest as 4/year. Time is key to productivity. can't compare results wihtut comparing time invested.