So I have a question. I am doing a small operation, in a rather big closet. Looking to have 5 nice looking plants. The closet seems a bit small for a 400w HPS light, and for some reason, I think it can use a BIT MORE power than the 250w. So the question here is, can I use the 250w and use 2 fluorescent lights ?? like, stack the lights? Hang the 250w about a foot above the plants, and attach the fluorescents on the walls of the closet so they are about 3 inches apart from the side of the plants? Because really, 400w is a bit overdoing it for the closet I'm using, and 250, just... gives me the feeling the plants can use a tad bit more lighting. What do you guys think? Will it be okay to stack those 2 type of lights for a bit more lighting? Thanks!
^^Important info... 250W is not very much for 5 plants...even with the addition of 2 fluorescent tubes...
You could make a 400W work with proper venting in a closet that size. If you already have the 250W I would suggest you run a SCROG with like 2 plants or so and take advantage of the fact that you can get the light fairly close to the canopy... Just my opinion...I`m sure others will think differently...
The general rule of thumb is 100w for the first plant and 50w for each additional plant. My closet is a little larger than yours and I have a 400w hps/mh setup. The biggest problem you would have with the 400w would be heat. I currently have 6 almost 2 weeks into flower and wouldnt want any less light, infact I'm considering going to a 600w setup even though my girls are doing great. I just think maybe I could do better... I hope this helps
alright, thanks guys, will go for 400. a question is tho, say i have a 400 watt doing fine, and my plants are say... 3 ft tall, into flowering. adding cfl's on the mid/bottom of the plants a good idea?? mixing diff kind of lights arent really a problem, are they? im just wondering, since the bottom of my plants arent going to get nearly as much lights as the top ones, and would like to help give it a little "boost". is that a good idea, and will it help?
Very good point, especially talking about 3 foot plants going into flower. My closet is 4'x4'x8' and im starting to think 6 is gonna be tight in another 4 or 5 weeks before they are done. Also OP, you said your hight is 6'? if you put you plants into flower at 3' you're gonna run out of space to keep a 400w HID light far enough away from the tops of your plants. Someone please correct me if im wrong, but my 400w hps is currently 16" off my tops and thats getting warm...
LOL. Truth ^^ 250w would do just fine in that space, but personally I would also go with the 400. I'm all about maximizing light for the available space, and 400 is about the max you could do in 4 ft². Also get an air cooled hood with a nice inline fan so you can get that 400 close without getting too hot. And to what toastybiz talked about. You can't grow 4 plants without training in that space. Personally I would do 2 plants and either heavily LST or SCROG them. You have to control your canopy in such tight spaces to maximize yield.
Hitting buds under the canopy is always a good idea, more light on bud=bigger bud regardless of where it is on the plant. The only thing I would emphasize even though you didn't say you were doing this is NEVER turn a real light (hps or halide) on it's side. If it's meant to run vertical do that, if it's supposed to be horizontal do that or it's a fire hazard. T5s, CFLs etc don't matter, put em anywhere. I know one grower who has T5s on a horizontal track to get light penetration under the canopy. Good luck!
In such a small space two plants is the max, trust. Unless you go with Autos, which I strongly recomend, but even then, four little autoflowering plants could get crowded if they bush out nicely. Herbie's Autoflowering Seeds lets you select the higth as criteria of the seeds you select. Get small autos and SOG them in there. Also, a 250W light does not produce a hell of a lot of light, certainly not enough for four full sized plants. First off, you will want to put some Mylar on the walls. Second, get an air cooled hood for your light and you can put a 400W light right down on top of your plants, if your fan pulls enough air to properly cool the hood. But to cool it you have to vent it out of the grow area, which in your space would be through the ceiling into the attic. If that is not an option, well, then you are gonna have temperture problems and odor problems. Anyhow, you're off to a good start, you're here and asking questions. However, you will hit some bumps in the road along the way, so try to research and read as much as you can on the subject. Good luck with your grow.
You could also sog 4-8 plants in there if you flowered rooted clones with little to no veg time. That would require a mother plant to take clones from though, but if you are willing to keep a mother plant in a different area it would be a great way to go imo.
^ To fit 4-8 plants in 4square feet the pots are going to have to be very small, small pots means less room for error and weaker plants. Why not just stick with one plant and use the scrog method? Using a screen is the best way to maximise yeild in small spaces and of course it's much easier to deal with one plant. With the scrog method, 250hps may be more than enough, but it would certainly help to suppliment with as many CFL's as you can fit in there.
Less room for error, agreed.Weak plants? Not at all. SOG is killer if done right. It would also murder scrog yields per space when factoring time per harvest, unless you somehow pre vegged the scrog every time in a different space. I would only recommend it for growers with some experience though as it's not the essiest method to get right.
^ Not weak plants, but weaker than one or two plants in the same space. Large pots means a more stable root environment, more water retention, etc. So better for newbies..... Plus less plants means less hassle with law, if thats even an issue in the first place. It would be interesting to compare sog with scrog, even factoring in harvest time. From what I seen, I'd put my bets on the screen method given that you can evenly & tightly bunch bud growth together, making very efficent use of the given light, which in my opinion is worth the extra few weeks wait.
Are you using an A/C cooled reflector?? Thats the kind I have with a 400 MH and you can hold your hand 2 inches from the glass and it is warm to slighly very warm
Yeah I have a 2' x 2' x 5' GrowLab GL60 and there is no way I could fit 5 plants in my tent! I have 4 in 2 gallon smart pots running a ScrOG and its tight! Happy growing!
I don't think you have seen properly done SOG before. Personally I don't think any method other than vertical grows can compete with a dialed in SOG grow. It's just a lot more work to get a SOG operating at peak efficiency. If you get everything down, meaning finding a strain that thrives in sog, knowing the perfect density for that particular strain, and growing your mother big enough to take twice as many high quality clones as needed (in order to pick the best matching ones for growth rate and height) then SOG will beat all other methods imo for yield.