Well guys ive been reading ALOT on here and cant tell you how excited after smoking mexican dirt weed for the past 10 years im growing my own stuff.I have an idea for my setup,just wanted to run it by you guys and make sure its legit. Apollo 48x24x60 grow tent.(im growing deep roots hydro in a 5 gal) 250 HPS with cool tube attached to carbon filter with fan on top pulling the air out. Im wanting 2 plants but cant decide if I need a 600w HPS or if a 250 would do the job. I know you guys get this alot but most people are trying 3 or more plants. I just need enough for me and dont want to overkill it with a big light a dont need. If you need any more details let me know, Thanks!
Hey mate In that setup I would stick to 2 plants and the 250w HPS a 600 will be too much in that small a space, and 250 would be more than enough for a 2 plant grow anyway. Besta luck.
Cool man now I can start ordering! Thanks for the feedback. 2 plants will be more than enough so ill stick with a 250. Thanks again!
600w is what I have for the same size tent with 3 plants. If you can control the heat then its not a problem.
I have that exact same size tent. Get the 600 or two 250s. Air cooled hoods either way....A 250 by itself won't have the light distribution to get to the ends of the tent as the plants grow unless you don't plan on utilizing the whole tent that is and grow small plants. The problem is 5' doesn't leave much room to raise the light to get enough light down to the ends w/ smaller hids, as the plants get taller. I used to run a 400 alone in it with 2-3 plants under a scrog and it sucked. The buds at the ends were always very airy, no matter what I tried. I ended up getting additional lighting. Even with a 600 I run additional with no problems. Get a ballast that's dimmable and when the plants are real young turn it down. You won't regret it come flowering time
Thats where I keep getting stumped. Since you have the same size tent and have already has good results I think I will go with a 600 with dimmable ballast. Im just scared of to much heat even with a cool tube. Its going to be in a basment which keeps pretty consistant temps. I have no idea how to use co2 to keep cool. Mabye a fan also blowing on the lights with a cool tube would help? Since im complety new would you suggest a 400 w and keep it simple or a 600w and see how it goes? Thanks again guys!
If you get the 400w I bet you're gonna regret buying it and then you'll end up spending more to get a 600w lol.
Yea your right etch3d, I think I would regret it. Im going with a 600w for 2 plants. Like you stated, you have a 600w with 3 plants so one less witha dimable ballast should work!
You need to know the cubic feet of your grow space and turn that over 5x a minute. You have 40 cubic feet, so that's 200 cfm minimum, but a 200cfm inline fan is not your best option. In my tent the same size I run a 440 cfm inline fan, speed controller and carbon filter. The extra cfm does 3 things....1st with a smaller fan you would have to run it wide open, which works the fan harder. 2nd since the fan is wide open its going to be louder then running a larger fan w/ a speed controller and dialing it down. 3rd it gives you better temperature control
That is my exact tent size growing in the basement also with the 600 watt hps dimmable and 440 cfm filter and fan combo make sure you get a enclosed hood and heat shouldn't be a problem. I have consistent temps lights on of 78 degrees.
Thanks for the input killset and kenners. Ive been racking my brain at work over ligths and exhaust. Glad I didnt waste money on to small of a fan. Thats everything I need for my construction, now on to learning nutrients! Thanks for the help guys, it will save me some money down the road if I do it right the first time.
I would without any doubt have 2x 250w HPS lights in there. Because of the 4ft width anything less than a 600w bulb isn't going to light the far ends adequately. But a 600w will require more height than that. In my opinion 2x 250w HPS lights is the only option. It's a great option too. You can get a pound off two of those. I had a 4' x 2.5' x 6' tent with a couple of 250s, both open hoods and it worked really well. You can use air cooled hoods if you want but they aren't totally necessary
I run a 600 but I still use additional lighting, 2x 250s would be the sweet. I was running 300 watt LEDs in there for additional on each end, but I've moved things around and I'm waiting on a 400 watt led that's getting delivered today. One light in that short of a space just doesn't get the ends. The set up I've been running works great. I'm kind of digging the broader spectrum of running both LEDs and hid.