Hi all I am just about to set up a new grow room, this is my second attempt, first attempt went wrong due to many factors! I have just purchased a 600w HPS lamp kit, my grow room is 4 foot 6 inches high, 2 foot wide and 3 foot deep, I have 5 Dutch Dragon female seeds to start with, will this light be ok for size of grow room and amount of seeds? Also will this light be ok for all stages of growth? I have been looking at a few threads on here and other grow sites to get as much info as possible and each site seems to differ with regard to soil, nutrients etc. so I am a little confused and don't really want to plant anything until I have covered every thing, so any advise on soil types, nutrients etc. would be greatly appreciated. Also I have 4 x 6 inch fans that I am going to use for the ventilation, 2 to bring fresh air in and 2 to exhaust the stail air and smell, will these be enough and do I need the exhaust at the top or bottom of my grow room? Any advice, views etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Your ceiling is very low & for that reason you're going to need to force your plants to flower at a very low height. Read about the Sea of Green (SoG) technique. I'm not familiar with the strain Dutch Dragon but hopefully it is a short & stout indica because any sativa would grow too tall for that room. When using a HPS light it is best to keep the top of the plants at least 18"-24" from the bulb. I wish you luck.
Thanks for the reply True My grow room isn't built yet so can be ammended, what would be recommended for the height? I will have a search for the SoG technique, Dutch Dragon seeds are from Paradise seeds, they are a Sativa/Indica mix, 75%/25% so will grow quite tall, they have been recorded to grow up to 3 metres out doors!! so maybe not the best seeds to try indoors for my second grow! Will the HPS be ok for all stages of growth or is it advisable to get another bulb for vegetative stage? Again thanks for the reply and advice
HPS is fine for vegging and flowering but you are going to run out of room quickly "Dutch Dragon performs best in warm climates growing into a tall plant with smallish fan-shaped leaves. A sea of green flowering cycle can be started early because DD is a quick growing plant with a typical sativa growth pattern. If height is a concern in your grow room, flower-forcing early is the best soluton. For best results the pH should always be kept below 6.0 Though fast out the gate DD will take 9-10 weeks to develop big fully matured flowers. When grown outside DD can get as tall as 9 feet. She can stretch to reach a height of almost 3 feet if grown using the sea of green technique." Hope that helps
Thanks for the reply SNM Height isn't a major issue as my grow room isn't built yet but will be going in my attic space so a maximum height of about 6 feet is achievable. So if i build it 6 feet high, 2 feet wide and 3 feet deep should this be adequete? How long should they be in the vegetative stage for, till they about 4/5 feet high then force flowering? Thanks again for the reply and advice
It's difficult to say because i've never grown that strain and your setup will be different to mine - but if it is 75% sativa then 4/5 feet and THEN flowering will give you a monster I would start flowering after the 5th node has grown - probably around the 18 inch mark - that would leave you with a final height of approx 4.5 feet - dont forget that your reflector will take up a foot of height AND you need to be at least 18" from the canopy with an HPS or you'll bleach/burn the plants
Nice one SNM So all in all I am looking at having a 7 foot high grow room, that shouldn't be a problem but I will go measure before starting anything, if not possible then I shall look in to SoG flowering cycle. Do you know of any threads on here about SoG, I have searched but it returned quite a few results and the first few I looked at didn't really have any info about it?
I'm not a sea of green fan because of the amount of plants involved - if you get busted in the UK they really take the quantity of plants into accout rather than the yield so I always grow a smaller amount of bigger plants if you can make a 7' high box then you wont have an issue as long as you don't veg too long have another look around as there's plenty of threads about it
Right, I have measured up and my maximum height is 6 feet 4 inches high with a max possible width of 21 inches due to the roof slope, at 3 feet wide my maximum height is 6 feet 1 inch and with a width of 4 feet my maximum height is 5 feet 8 inches. Which would be the best to go for?
Another thing, if the height is going to be an issue would I be better using CFL lamps instead of my HPS and if so what wattage etc. should I be looking for, I have just had a quick browse and seen a kit that comes with 2 lots of everything and 2 bulbs, 1 red and 1 blue and is 125 watts, would this be any good?
if your box is 6 foot by 3 by 3 approx then you'll need more ventilation - a 600w HPS puts out a fair amount of heat so i would go for as large a fan as you can afford
Yep will do I have another concern regarding heat, my attic space isn't that warm, about 18c so is there any way to hide or at least cut down on the heat the lamp produces so it is less visable to prying eyes in the sky?
the last thing you have to worry about is the heat source from a 600w HPS I'd be more concerned that your attic temps will rise massively in the summer you're in the UK right?
Right I have built the grow room and I am nearly ready to get potting, so to speak!! Just a couple of questions, I have decided to use tomato potting soil as I have read on one these threads that it contains every thing my ladies will need to grow big and healthy, is this true or will I need other nutrients aswell, and if so what other nutrients will I need? And also is there anything I can line my room with to lower the heat seen from my lamp on IR camera's? I will be using matt white paint for inside the grow room but have built a cavity in which to put anything in that is suitable Many thanks in advance
Right guys and girls After working out how much it is gonna cost me to run my 600w HPS i have decided to try CFL's instead but after reading some post's on here I am a little confused as to what I need, 2700k for flowering and 6500k for veg stage, is that right because some post's say they have both all the time??? Also I am going to LST them to keep them low and fat, what type and how many lights will i need for a 6'x3'x3', (HxWxD), grow room? And one last thing, are they really cheaper to run than HPS? i have seen these on EBay, any view/comments? 250w ENVIROLITE 2700K Super Grow Lamp/Light + Reflector on eBay, also Hydroponics, Plants Seeds Bulbs, Garden Plants, Home Garden (end time 23-Apr-09 22:08:42 BST)
Right grow room is up and running, I have built one 6'x3'x3', 600 watt air cooled HPS with its own 100mm inline centrifugal exhaust fan, second 100mm inline centrifugal fan for exhaust from cabinet and 2 x 100mm fans for bringing fresh air in. Once my seeds are germinated and growing I shall start a new thread and post some pics