FUCK! I'M STUCK!!

[budhownd]

Hey gang.

I'm a first time grower, still in the process of getting my growroom set up and of course, I've hit a snag choosing my lights. I've read that anywhere from 25-50 watts per sq ft. is neccessary to grow good green. I have a closet, 12 ft. sq. total. I was thinking about 3 or 4 plants to start.

I'd say a 600w HPS light would be the best bet. On another site I found that a 400w HPS light is more than adequate to grow 4 plants in a 16 sq. ft. room. What should I believe? I want to have good lighting but, I don't want to make the electric bill skyrocket, heat the closet up too much, or waste any light. I want the adequate amount of light without making uneccessary purchases, ie
not buying a 600w light if I don't have to.

Now, cutting and sawing and hacking up this closet in any way is not an option for me since I'm renting, but I want to make sure there is adequate ventilation. I can put fans inside the closet but consturcting some sort of ventilation system is sort of going against the whole covert operation thing <I have a housemate>. Plus, I dont have anywhere for it to go. There is no space at the bottom of the door for any kind of hose to stick out of.

The closet, itself, is in the basement and has some sort of ventilation already. I figure this much because I can feel a slight draft. It is also situated at the far end of the house next to a door leading outside. The basement is cool anyway and with the closet being a sheet of drywall and some cement away from the outdoors I'm wondering if there is any need to be concerned about heat.

So, I guess my questions are, What's the best lighting setup for my closet? 400w or 600w HPS? Should I be worried about heat inside the closet if I do get a 600w light? Any Ideas on ventilationg a closet that you can't do construction on? Anyone heard anything good/bad about Insidesun.com? I was thinkin about getting the Inside 600w HPS light system because it's pretty cost friendly. I'm willing to spend about $250 on lights right now just to start out and upgrade later if I need to.
I want to invest, also, in some foxfarm nutes and ferts but I'd rather use regular soil for the medium <I've read of folks using soil they got from wal mart>. I've read that FF Light Warrior is great soil but it already comes with nutes and stuff in it and I don't want to commit the newbie mistake of overdoing. OR should I just get the Light Warrior and not get the other suplemental ferts and nutes?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Keep on tokin ! :D

[Joel]

I wouldnt use a 600w HPS if its your first grow. Thats a little dangerous without someone who knows what they're doing. I would typically use a 200w HPS for fast growing without the danger. If you get reflectent panels, your plants will grow alot faster, I forget where I saw the ebay light, but it came with a 250wHPS and 2 reflecter panels for 75$. I would suggest that you try to find a 250w HPS and atleast 1 reflecter panel to the side. If one side of the plants arent getting enough ligh, use the panel to reflect the light on to it.

[Zandor]

Wow where to start?

First light â?? More is better and 600w is better then 400w. The more light the bigger and better the buds will get. Heat is always a concern and should not be overlooked. With any HID you choose you need to have the ability to bring air in from the outside. Move it though the light hood and back out the other side of the room. If you canâ??t do that then you run a big risk of heat causing you many problems. Only one of which is turning female plant into a hermie and producing seeds instead of buds.

Mylar lined walls will improve side to whatever light you choose to use. For odor control you need a carbon scrubber. What about using a few of the 125w compact fluorescent lights? http://www.discount-hydro.com/GardenLightFluor.asp at the bottom. I think you can get a better price on eBay. They will save you heat and they will grow your plants just fine. They will not produce as mush as HID light but you may not notice the difference. A few of them would be close and you could use them as side light too and that will increase the overall weight at the end of the grow.

Is there anyway you can change the door so you can make air in and air out in the door? Save the owners door and just replace it when you move. You can use a carbon filter in the door as a passive or even an active exhaust.. Bring air in from the bottom of the door and exhaust out the top. It could be done with a little imagination.

I do recommend you get a good book. Forums are full of crap information and you need to know how to tell the difference.

I recommend a copy Jorge Cervantes book "Indoor Marijuana Horticulture the indoor Bible" you will use it as a reference for many years to come the ISBN number is 1-878823-29-9 he may have a new one out by now, Iâ??m not sure.

Good luck and welcome btw.

[HARDDON]

I too use discount hydro for stuff...but not CFL's.

If you do get the CFL's, do not use the parabolic reflector shown.

Your grow space should be built so that no reflector is even needed. Let the walls you have be your reflectors. Light should be everywhere and when you close your door, you should be color blind for a few minutes.

My littlest one thinks I am GOD when he sees me open the door to my grow chamber.

Personally, I beleive those reflectors stunt the growth of plants.

I wouldnt use the reflectors.

When I use CFL during veg state, I attach or hang them from a white board.

As shown....

[Joel]

Nice setup HARDDON. Im ammused with the ammount of lights you have fitted into that area and the tinfoil. Must have put alot of work into that one? I like alot.

[greenthumbintern]

skrew the 400 and 600 geta 1000 hps and vent the shit put of it like they say more is better especially growing the green

[budhownd]

Thanks for the advice gang.

OK, while I would LOVE to have a 1000w HPS light in my closet, it isn't going to happen. Even I know that is too much heat in too small of a space. Truthfully, I think without a ventilation system set up A 600w will be too much. :(

I'd rather have 600 watts but I think Im gonna err on the side of caution with this first grow and go with two 125w CFL's and a 250w HPS<I know. Only 500w total for 12 sq. ft. But it's better than nothing. Maybe I'll cut it down to three plants.>. I figure with a lil mylar I can get light to the green buddies up top as well as reflect light down to the bottom branches without heating things up too much.

Fiddlin with the door is a no can do.

There is maybe a half inch space at the bottom of the door and even if I could rig something up, I don't have anyplace for the exhaust to go, unless I keep my backdoor open all day and night. Not gonna happen. :(

I'll set up fans and do what I can to keep things cool in there.

I'll check out a local hydrophonic grow store to see what they have to offer in the light department. If I don't see anything, I'll order them online. :)

[budhownd]

Thanks for the welcome Zandor, tho I've been tipping thru the Cannabis Kingdom for at least a year now. I enjoy reading your posts. You seem like a really knowledgeable person. :)

I took your advice about the cfl's. :)

[Joel]

Budhownd, you do know you could run a 600w in the space you have. If you got 2 fans running, one facing towards your plants and light and another facing an open window , and another one outside of your closet circulating cool-fresh air. This is only if you can keep your closet door open. If not, buy 2 portable fans and ductape them to the topleft and topright corners of your closet and run them when ever your light is on your plants.

[budhownd]

Budhownd, you do know you could run a 600w in the space you have. If you got 2 fans running, one facing towards your plants and light and another facing an open window , and another one outside of your closet circulating cool-fresh air. This is only if you can keep your closet door open. If not, buy 2 portable fans and ductape them to the topleft and topright corners of your closet and run them when ever your light is on your plants.


Now THAT is the idea I had all along but I kept reading that I had to have some sort of extensive ventilation system set up. I figured if I could keep fans going, the heat build up wouldnt be too bad and a fan pointed at the space at the bottom of the door and a fan on the inside blowing air out would be ok to circulate some air. The space is big enuff to circulate some air, just not big enuff to fit tubing and all that under or over.

I really don't think it will be that bad, even in the winter with the heat going the closet will be chilly (well under 80 degrees) because of it's location in the house. :)

By the way gang, I bought a 400watt HPS light today. The guy who sold it to me said that the light that came with it is ok for growing plants. Should I still go ahead and peruse ebay or another grow site for a better bulb? Will it be ok to start out with and maybe get a better bulb when I go into the 12/12 cycle??? :confused:

[Joel]

You go into the 12/12 cycle when your plants flower. www.ebay.com , Look for some 400watt bulbs... Simple as that lol.

[snow owl]

Just keep a buffer budget, so if you don't like what you have you can make the necessary adaptations. These projects will always cost more than you can forsee. I rent also, and use a $10 vent grid from home depot to evay some type of normalicy to the unsuspecting eye. Save the cut out and plaster it back and paint it when you move. Paranoia makes us think everybody will automatically know what where up to, but its the last thought on their minds.