Hey, I'm currently setting up for my first grow. the closet is 2.8 x 2 x 6.4. I smoke about a gram a day and all I'm hoping to do is cover that with a bit of excess for when mates are over or something. I'm gonna go with a HPS bulb somewhere between 250w and 600w, currently leaning towards 250 watts though, at-least for my first grow since it'd be easier to manage. I'm gonna cover the walls of the closet with mylar. So I only really have two questions. what wattage should the hps bulb I get be And, how many plants would be optimal? I'm not too picky, so I'm thinking 1 super lemon haze and letting it grow to fill the closet. But I'm unsure if that's the best method considering the small growing space. Either that or SCROG, because that seems a great way to optimize your yield.
if youre unsure whether to get the 250 400 or 600, i would go with a 600w dimmable digital ballast with a 600 watt bulb + cooltube. you can always dim the bulb if its too much. If you plan on using the 400/600 you will need ventilation (ie cooltube with fan). The 250w shouldnt give you too much heat trouble. Doesnt sound like you have a large space especially ceiling height, I would LST and scrog the plants. As for how many plants you want to have, thats up to you. But SOG style might be worth looking at in your situation. Personally i currently have 4 plants in 5 gallon pots under a 600 watt hps in a 2.5 feet X 3.5 feet space (scrog). I would do SOG but having so many plants is risky where i live
Thanks for the reply man. I'm also trying to keep it cheap but I think I'm overthinking things way too much. I live in English Midllands and the temperature over a year spans from like -3 degrees Celsius to like 30 degrees Celsius, and I know you're supposed to keep your crops between 20 - 30 C so it seems like it's gonna be struggle no matter what I do. Might just be overthinking as I said. But yeah, England so I can't really do SOG either. Having it dimmable sounds great though, because I imagine I can pump it up until the light alone makes it hit around 25 degrees C and just keep it there/adjust daily with the local temperature. Cheers man.
man a 600w in a 2x2 closet? your nuts.. he will never be able to cool it.. a 400w MAX .. 250 is your best option tho.. your gunna need seedling and veg lighting also so see if you can get a hps/mh combo. and make sure you run it for 2-3 days to see the temps.. my 600w light heats up a 4x4 .. so i know its too much for your closet.. and the number of plants is determined by how many your willing to upkeep. you will yeild the same with 2 4 or 6 in there.. there is only so much light to go around.. maybe build a small shelf at the bottom and that way you can germ and seed in the smaller on and make the room perpetual then grab an auto and see how fast you can pull a yeild ... good luck and make sure you post pics
Entirely new to growing anything indoors so is 600w with the dimmer thing still too much? Even if I can turn the nob down to 250w? And can't I just change the timer so it's like 18/6 hours of light for veg and like 12/12 for flowering with the same light? As I said man, trying to go as cheap as possible. Don't feel like going with an auto so that I can clone instead of having to buy more seeds. Still in education living off my parents you see.
Makes sense.. And dimmable ballasts don't last as long as a magnetic... And are harder to fix... Grab a 400w or a 250w light kit and go that route .. And check out super iced grapefruit as a strain.. Growsnlow.. Purple and red hints thru the buds .. Sweet smoke.. And 22% THC
yea, 600w might be a bit much, but honestly when u buy a kit its like a $20 difference between 400 and 600w. im new to growing, is ventilation with a proper inline fan with a cool tube not enough to keep temps down?
With a good fan I think you could cool it in there with a 600 and cool tube. For ballasts, I have magnetic and digital ballasts and when they die they die, the guts to fix a burned out magnetic will cost you almost as much as a new one. Digital ballasts also claim to run the bulbs cooler as well as the ballast itself being cooler. You'll want to make sure you'll have enough room for the ducting to go in and out of the box. I like soler and Palau fans, they're quiet and reliable and reasonably priced. Just my two cents.. Good luck
My box is 2x3x6 and I run a Lumitek dimmable 400 watter. I have a cooltube and an inline fan. I have harvested four plants at a time using this setup, but three plants at a time is better. I start flowering when the plants are about 14" tall. I have used this box for White Widow and Northern Lights.