400 watt HPS for cab?

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

Hello guys and gals first time poster long time lurker. Anyways I'm planning on a cab grow for personal use. Just have a couple ???'s (I'm sure I'll have plenty more)

I just ordered this High Tech Garden Supply (http://www.htgsupply.com/productdetail.asp?productID=229) It will be going in a cab I have that measures 4'x3'x6' divided into two sections for obvious reasons. I want to get atleast 4 plants in there if possible. Do you think the 400w will be enough? I'd also like to know how one would get this ventilated cheaply but right.

I might just go ahead and get some pics of the cab and such to get some advice on anything and everything.

Thanks.

[Tokudai]

Kind of expensive for a 400 watt ballast and hood - don't cheap out on the fans because of that. 400 watt in that tiny cabinet will get HOT - Depending on duct routing and intake temps you will need ~400+ cfm to keep that light cool.

Why are you splitting the space in 2? Its not that obvious to me..

[puddlecruzier]

so he has one space to flower and one space to veg. make sure they flower area is bigger.

good exhaust and air intake will be crucial get a good exhaust fan and have some air intake holes on bottom of cab.

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

This is the cab. The left side I'm going to use for clones/mother while the right "He's" only going to get 2 maybe 3 flowering squeezed in there. I will put a partition up splitting the two sides and cut out the right part of the shelf giving the full 6' to use, bottom left is where Momma stays, top left for babies.
Whatcha think?

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

Tokudai of all the sites I searched it seemed the best deal to me. Maybe I shouldnt do all this stuff so late.:rastasmoke:

[Tokudai]

Heya JJB

I guess thats not that bad a deal considering you get the timer and itsa a switchable ballast - I generally get my ballasts and lights wholesale through a distributor and then buy the reflector to fit the space, and its much cheaper that way, but you have to assemble them.

I still think thats a small cab for 400W, especially 1/2 of it, if you don't have a good fan your gonna cook em.Maybe go 250? And you are gonna have more than one light in there? (one in the mommy/veg space?) Then you have to have its own exhaust and intake, lightproof it from the bloomroom.. If stealth is an issue I guess you gotta make do, but 400W is way too big IMHO

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

Well found out today that the light I ordered was not in stock and wouldnt be till next week so I didnt get it. Maybe get the Cooltube instead now? I have seen 400's in tighter space's that did fine, you think it's still too much even with exhaust fans (two for flower room)? I was planning on using CFL's for the clones/mother. I have another cab. that would be perfect for the clone/mother just have to talk the better half into letting me have it. So I figured I would just use this one for now.


Also if I was to start an ongoing thread for my 1st attempt at a grow where would I want to put it?

BTW heres a better pic of my "idea"

[VaporDaddy]

Where did you get that cab, how much $?

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

Luckily it was already here when I moved in. The previous owners didnt want to move it since it weighed a ton.

[Tokudai]

Thats 3 foot deep??? Looks smaller to me. So one half is 6' tall x 2' wide x 3' deep? Thats 36 cu ft with a footprint of 6 sq ft - a 400 is way overkill for that cabinet IMHO. Sure you are at 67WPSQFT, but with the heat issues you'll get, theres better solutions. I'd get a bunch of cfls, or a 250, or even better, a 150HPS and 100 MH, build a custom reflector and have a 250W Dual Spectrum over one fat scrogged plant in a 5+ gallon bubbler bucket - but im nutty like that

You can run whatever lights you want. It all depends on your fans and ventilation. A 400W light puts out a lot of heat. If you cannot remove that heat quickly from that tiny grow area, plants will die. You could run 1000 watts in there with proper cooling. Just buy good fans, don't be looking for "inexpensive" ones. Cooltubes work great if you duct them properly, and take intake air from a cool source (NOT inside the growbox).

Where is the cab located in the room? Where will it exhaust and intake from? What are stealth requirements?

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

Thx Tokudai for answering my ???'s and I appreciate your opinion on the light and venting. The only reason I'd like to go with the 400 is this cab will be just for flowering when I get a couple harvests in. Then I'll make/get another one for the vegg/clones/mother. Saves me a future upgrade.


What would you recommend for exhaust? The Vortex 6" 449 cfm or a Dayton 465 cfm? I will also be putting in atleast 1 other axial fan at the top of cab. I can put it by a window to pull air from outside or I can vent it outside. Dont think I'll be able to do both that way tho.
The cab is located in my garadge and I only need minimal stealth as I dont want it to be obvious whats going on other than that its a go.

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

O and a correction it's not 3' but just a little over 2'.

[bejay]

what is the size of the flowering area if its about 2 by 2 a 400 will be hard to do and a 250 would be a better choice if you had the whole cab to use for flowering then a 400 would be your better option.

[Jiu-Jitsu Bluey]

well the flower area right now will be about 4' width x 2' depth x either 6' height or 4 ' depending on how I section it off. Maybe I can call and try to get the 250w before they ship it just dont want to wish I had got the 400w when I use the whole cab.

[bejay]

a 400 is about the perfect size for a 4 by 2 area and would use the 400.

[BlueBear]

You will wish you would have picked up the 400W, IMO. I have a cab that is a little under 4x4 that I had a 1000W MH for veg and HPS for flower in with an air cooled hood and a 172 CFM 4 in vortex pulling air out into an air scrubber with a couple little fart fans for intake and it was cool. I now use the cab for veg with a 400W and it is always cool and I don't need the fart fans, but the air cooled hood can make all the difference. I could of layed the hood on my tummy even when I had the 1K Hortilux in there.
Also, I have a row of 5 CFL lights up top with a small shelf about 8x20for a clone tray that takes up very little room and gives out very little heat. I can put a 10x 20 cloning tray up there with 18 clones in it and it works fine.
Adieu
PS, I have a thread somewhere around here with pics of it.

[BlueBear]

Here is a thread with pics of the cab when it had the 1K.
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-growing/81845-blood-sweat-double-c22-1k.html
Adieu

[DrDichotomy]

Hey, I am thinking about putting a 250w HID into a grow cab where ventilation may be an issue. The cab will only be big enough for 4-6 plants. Is this going to cook my plants or is it a low enough wattage? I might be able to get my hands on a 150 watt HID. Should I use that instead?

[keeko]

Hey, I am thinking about putting a 250w HID into a grow cab where ventilation may be an issue. The cab will only be big enough for 4-6 plants. Is this going to cook my plants or is it a low enough wattage? I might be able to get my hands on a 150 watt HID. Should I use that instead?

any light will cook your plants if you dont have the right ventilation.......weather it be 250hps, 150 hps or some clfs. cool air in, hot air out.