Alright GC I have a room that would be perfect for growing(well i think). But the room is 56 degrees and has a humidity of 55%. If i have everything else set up right and having a 400w MH on will that be good enough for a grow, or at least heat the room up a little. I guess im asking do my conditions qualify for a plant to grow or should i purchase a small heater and a dehimidifyer to keep the room at 80* and a 15% humidity factor? THANKS
I wouldn't go running a dehumidifier just yet ur good around that rh it'll drop a little when u vent the room a 400w light will heat it up but ur gonna need to ventilate because that light will make it too hot so as long as u can get good ventilation u should be golden
Well idk about ventilation the room is about 12 by 20 feet and is all concrete will the room really heat up 20 25 degrees with that light being on. Also if we get heavy rain the room leaks and sometimes floods.
I would most be worried about the leaking/flooding issue. RH isn't always super important as long as the roots are healthy and at a good temperature down there. A leaky basement is a red flag for a mold-prone basement. Just make sure the surrounding areas are nice and clean, especially if it rains. But to help anymore pics would be good..
Sounds about perfect to me. A 400 will give you about a 3x3 area with 4x4 being max. so 16 12"x12" pots with small clones, if you have a veg area too,bubble buckets work too. or get a switchable so you can start mh and switch to hps. and grow out 6 full size plants. before you buy one, determine cost of unit + cost of usage. They are usually like 1000 watt minimum. You may need a small box and heating pad for seedlings. They will be stunted in low temps. I would seriously think about putting a wall down the middle of that room so you have 2 10x10 rooms. Use one for veging moms and one for flowwering. or just use the one room. it will be much easier to control the environment in the 10x12 vs the 20x12. if you have the money you want to air cool your hood. it is not the fact that your worried about temps, but you will be able to put lights much closer to plants. I could not put my 400 more than 18 inches away, then i got aircooled reflector hood, now i can have the light 4 inches from tops and it is 78 degrees. so if you want to go the extra mile and do it right then vent and aircool your reflectors. with the cool temps you can still use the heat from your bulb by just leaving the intake and outake ends open so it pulls cold air from your room sends it over your bulb then pushes warmed air out the other end, but keeping it in your room. You will then have a 10 or 12 inch circulating oscillating fan to move that air around. i dont care if it is not hot, you will need the fan to move air, especially if you leave the room 20x12. high and rambling...
i just read the flooding part, um yeah, i would make sure that is resolved before doing anything. if your not gonna make sure all ballasts and outlets are off the floor.
Joe I have really thought abot the dividing for two rooms but i dont really see it practical to grow that many plants right now. This will be my first actual grow on my own and wanna get a custom to it before going too big. I had 2 seeds germinated and planted them and they still havent sprouted and its been almost a week. I shut everything down yesterday for it may just be too cold. if i sit in the room with the door closed for 5 minutes you can deffinately tell. also temps still say 55 at the end of the day when light has been on all day i even added a round heat lamp on each bucket to get the area a little warmer and it only went to 56.7. I am thinking about getting a space heater but will a cheap little 40 dollar one from somewhere get the temps to 80 and keep em there? Also im not sure it is all worth this that the electricity bill may be significantly higher. JMO tho I am thinking about starting in spring through summer.