So I'm looking to set up my first hydro grow, but I am planning for future expansion and I don't want to start out with tin foil and desk lamps and whatnot. So here's what I'm planning, and any advise is sooooo welcome. Keep in mind, this is just my idea after a lot of reading and zero actual hands-on experience. Amazon.com · Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible - Jorge Cervantes - $19.77 – Free Shipping · Hydrofarm EMSYST Emily's Electric Garden System - $88.44 – Free Shipping · Sunlight Supply SunBlaze T5 - 4ft/8 Lamps - $259.95 · pH Control Kit by General Hydroponics - $12.75 · $39.44 Shipping Amazon Total: $420.35 GYO Supplies · Mylar Hydroponic Grow tent 48"x48"x78" - $97.00 · $19.14 Shipping GYO Total: $116.14 www.aghydroponics.com · Spectralux T5 4Ft - Grow Bulb 95W VHO 3000k (Bloom/Red) x 8 - $102.40 · $11.88 Shipping aghydroponics Total: $114.28 Grand Total: $650.77 So, yeah, that's about the size of it. I want to go all fluorescent due to limited space and heat issues, I don't want my tent getting too hot inside. So I figured I'd do the scrogg method with my little 6-plant hydro set-up, and alternate between cools and warms for vegetation and bloom. I'd love to know what you think. Too much, too little? Is the light going to be adequate (16,000 lumens for a 4x4 tent, but only 2x1 grow area)? I figured the reflected light would be good for the sides of the plants until they filled out a bit, and with fluorescents I can keep them just a few inches from the canopy. Anyway, any thoughts are great, even outright ridicule. Better to know now before investing money.
I think you got enough lumens to cover a 1x2 area. My main questions is what are you going to be using to bring in fresh air (to cool things down and bring in co2) and the ventilate (remove hot, stale air from the tent). These things are essential to growing. EDIT: Your also gona need some nutrients for your hydro grow.
Hey my buddy has the same light for vegging and it works great, shit for budding though but you got some numbers wrong those 4ft t5s put out 5000 lumens a bulb thats 40000 lumens!! almost the equivalent to a 600w metal halide!!! more then enought for what you want
Man, I would think you could do a whole lot better for cheaper. Here is what I would do if i was trying to go as cheap as possible. Setup •\t400w HPS light \t105 shipped- Magnetic ballast, batwing reflector, average bulb, no hanging kit. 105 Dollar light, Magnetic Ballast Econo Hydroponic 400 Watt HPS Grow Light - eBay (item 120547564558 end time Apr-22-10 11:33:45 PDT) •\tTent \t$90.00 Shipped 36”x20”x62”smaller tent 100% Reflective Interior Grow Cabinet Tent 2 x 4 x 7 - eBay (item 180473768893 end time Apr-26-10 11:08:27 PDT) \tFan o\t435 CFM Fan for 90 bux shipped \thttp://businesslights.com/valueline-inch-435-cfm-centrifugal-inline-fan-p-2045.htm •\tFilter o\t70 bux shipped. thats around 350 and that will beat the shit out of that t5 setup u posted. Plus it has the ventilation you need, with a carbon filter to get rid of smell. That system can crank out about 8ozs every 2 months with a sea of green
My 400hps puts out 55000 lumens...Im positive a 600mh can pump out more than that, I think at least 65k. Idr. Google it. Bottom line, Go with hps and a conversion bulb for vegging. Extra 40 bux and u get best of both worlds
Are T5s really that shitty for flowering, even with the warm spectrum bulbs? I've been reading a ton of forum posts, on here and elsewhere, about how they work really well, as long as you use cool bulbs for the veg and warm for the flowering. But to be fair, I haven't seen pics of plants flowered with them. I guess my problem with the HPS lights is the heat output. My apartment does not have air conditioning, so in the summer heat is going to be an issue already. So I wanted to stick with lights that produce as little heat as possible, limiting my choices to T5s or LED. LED is just too expensive, otherwise I'd be going that rout. My concern is, once you start with the HPS lights, you have to have some crazy awesome ventilation, which could be noisy as well as more expensive, as opposed to some lightweight fans (which I forgot to mention I already have) for the T5s. But like I said, I have no hands-on experience, so maybe I'm overestimating how much heat these lights produce or how noisy the fans can be? Thanks so much for the input! This is exactly what I need, you guys are fucking awesome!
You havent seen them in flowering because they dont produce good buds. I use (6) t8's in my veg room. They will support 8 plants all the way through veg until they are about 18" tall. Vegging plants dont need the high light intensity that is required for flowering. Tubes also dont penetrate very well and you'll only be getting optimal light within 2" of the bulb. I run a 400W HPS. It doesnt really get that hot. I use one 50CFM exhaust fan (lowes bathroom fan $15) and one 10" fan to circulate air in the room. my room is 5x5x5 and temps dont go over 75. No matter what your setup, you are going to have issues if your exterior air is above 75 degrees. Don't be fooled, T5's put off more heat than you think, especially if you have them in a confined space. I think you are going to need to look into air conditioning to keep your temps down in the room, whatever your light choice. fans are noisy but there's nothing you can do about that, air needs to move.
Yeah, I have a window-mounted swamp cooler that I'll be using in the room that will house the grow tent, just don't wanna go too nuts with that thing and have it running more than I need to. Your fan set-up sounds almost exactly like what I was planning to use, but you have 125 cubic feet to work with, and I'd be using 96 cubic feet. Hmmm, well food for thought, and I appreciate it. Thanks for the link to htgsupply, stoned_bunny, it shaved over $100 off my estimate! One of the reasons I wanted the larger tent is so I could put fans and air filter in there (which I already have), and actually the tent I'm looking at ends up being a much better value than the one whiterabbit016 linked above. Or so it would seem to me, size for money. I found this video of a guy who used an all T5 set-up, and his flowering appears to be coming along well: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsYNnBKgr-s]YouTube - Auto blueberry 6 weeks in flower[/ame] What do you think? Obviously, his set-up is a different configuartion than mine would be, and doing it that way would actually increase my costs somewhat, like $50 or so (2 4-bulb fixtures as opposed to 1 8-bulb fixture), but might be worth looking into. So much shit to consider, you guys!
Thank you so much to everyone who replied on this thread! You make me re-think my entire design. It'll save me huge amounts of cash and headaches, I am sure. I upped everyone's rep, can't thank you all enough! So now I am going with an HPS light. I decided that I am too much of a noob to bother with trying what MIGHT be possible, best to just stick with the tried and true. I got one on Craigslist for super cheap, though it's a type meant for warehouses and such and makes this annoying ballast hum. But whatever, I think it'll work and the fan noise from my cabinet will probably drown out the hum anyway. And if it doesn't work, I know I can sell it for more than I bought it for, so no big deal. I'm going to build my own cabinet instead of buying the tent. It will be somewhat cheaper, I think, and more sound-dampening. Plus, it'll look a little less conspicuous than this strange humming tent. Now it'll just be a strange humming cabinet.
I recommend that everyone build there own cab/space. You have more control over size, ventilation, and every other variable. It's also cheaper to build a wooden cabinet than a premade tent.