What would you do? (Read for free beer and titties)

[tony clifton]

OK hobby friends, I'm setting things up and have been researching all summer. On certain things I get somewhat contradictory info. (understandable), and on others I cannot make up my mind. Please be so kind to spend a minute to help me out so that the planet will be blessed with more green.

Here's the setup thus far:
In the veg./clone/mother room I have a 4x3x8 space painted flat white and a large metal shelving unit. I hope to clone and mother on the lower shelving, while on the upper shelving to veg. my clones whilst I flower in another room. I currently have a 400 W MH to do the veg. job and a large oscillating fan (it's a bit loud). It's my impression that I will not need much, if any, fluorescent tubes on the lower rack as so much light will likely be reflect down onto moms and daughters from the vegging going on above. In the ceiling above there is a four inch PVC pipe running from the flower room, across the top of this veg room and then outside to the back yard, sitting about eight feet off the ground.

In the flower room I have a 7x6x8 foot space (door opens in though). Walls also are painted flat white with a tile floor and small bathroom sink on the opposite wall. A HVAC grill enters above the door, where I have used flex tube to take air flow to the floor for better cross air flow, from floor to ceiling now.

I currently have some nice Bubble Gum clones in veg. with Vic's Super Soil and will likely be placing in 5 gallon buckets when moved into flower and wrapped with tomato cages for support. I was told that this particular strain are quick flowering and only need 45 days in 12/12 once flower begins. I would love to do things right and don't need to scrimp every dime if it will mean a commensurate return in yield. My current line of thinking is to get a 600 W HPS for the flower room and an 8 inch Vortex fan placed in the 4 inch PVC pipe above both grow rooms. Please help!!

Questions:
1. What would you do with this space in my shoes? Does the above seem smart?
2. I was sold on cool tubes as I knew that they could be placed so close to the plants, which equals more lumens, but have read that they do not permit as much lumens to transfer as a regular reflector and are just good for heat issues. I plan on doing a proper job exhausting and also my HVAC vent will be keeping the room pretty close to the home's temp., so perhaps I should be looking at another reflector? What one would you suggest.
3. Will the 8 inch Vortex be complete overkill? I would purchase with a dimmer switch regardless.
4. The Vortex is going to need to exhaust both the veg and flower room as they share the one pipe to the outdoors. I plan on narrowing the veg. room vent as necessary as I assume the flower room with need more venting with the extra wattage. Anyone had any experience with this situation?
5. For odor control there is a T fitting in the PVC before where the Vortex will be. In this T fitting I can unscrew the plastic and fit in a homemade carbon filter. I was thinking that the carbon filters they sell as Wally World could be sprinkled with the carbon in the aquarium dept., rolled up, placed into some panty hose, and inserted into the 4 inch PVC before the air reaches the fan. I will clearly have to try different sizes, amounts and lengths to see how it affects airflow and scent to get the right combo. Anyone try something like this before?
6. I like what I have read about the 600 W HPS Eye Hortilux, though have read others bash it and say the Phillips is much better. Any opinion or suggestions for another bulb?
7. How many Bubble Gum should I expect to put under 600W (they are apparently usually rather short plants)? What square footage will this cover? I have debated to SCROG or LST, but don't know with the space that I have if its necessary. Also, it takes extra time in veg. to do that and I would like to move newly vegged into flower as soon as the others are done. If these babies are done in less than two months than maybe I don't have much time to go all fancy, even with a 400 MH. Speaking of that, how long should I be vegging before flower with that kind of turnover? Height is not much of an issue and I figure the tomato cages will help keep things in line and supported, but I don't know if I will have enough room in the veg. room to clone and veg. the entire two months.
8. What is a respectable yield I should be shooting for with this?
9. Has anyone tried drying in the flower or veg. room? I hate to be taking over the house. I assume smell will be a real issue while drying as well, meaning more odor control issues.
10. I will likely go with the Lumatek digital ballast. Any opinions here?
11. What is the square root of the radius of venus' first moon at high tide times Pi?

Thanks for making the world a better place.
-Next time that you get free beer and/or titties know that it was Tony that was looking out for you.

Tony C.

[Rumpleforeskin]

If I had that space I would use it to store all my o'lady's junk.

You have to make sure the space you dry your bud is dark and cool.

Any hood/reflector that has glass in it will reduce the total light going to the grow. I will take the light loss over baking my plants any day.

Waiting on the beer.

[toastybiz]

Generally looks good. Hard to tell what your actual flower room usable footprint is, since the door swings in.

I think you may have some difficulties venting both rooms properly with a single Vortex, it probably will pull more from one room than the other. Possibly a small inline booster at each room's exhaust intake?

I agree with Rumple that drying in your grow space won't work well while you are continuing to grow. Should work fine if you harvest the whole room and turn it into a drying chamber.

Send Rumple the beer, I'll take that other stuff.

And Venus has no moons.

[mordgrow]

Originally Posted by Rumpleforeskin

If I had that space I would use it to store all my o'lady's junk.

You have to make sure the space you dry your bud is dark and cool.

Any hood/reflector that has glass in it will reduce the total light going to the grow. I will take the light loss over baking my plants any day.

Waiting on the beer.

haha

/agree with everything


I quite often find that my plants are grown onto my cool tubes ( like hugging them) during growth spurts I keep my lights that close... the sativa leafs dont like it all the time. but the wider indica leafs love it