Hello all, I could really use some good advice. First of all I will be using a HydroHut Mini which is 39 in tall x 39 in wide x 6.5 tall. I'm going to go hydro and am hoping for 6 medium sized plants, or should I do 4 larger plants? I'm assuming they can't be more than 3.5 to 4 ft tall. So now my main concern is really the lights. Because of the confined space I am wondering if I should go with the TEK 5 fluro lights and just switch out the bulbs (blue/red spectrum) during the vegetation/budding stages or can I run the MH/HPS lights, should I get a switchable ballast, or will those lights be too hot in there, or what?. I understand that MH/HPS would be my best but I am just concerned about the heat in such a small place. I do plan on a fan and a carbon filter as well. I would LOVE any and all suggestions as I am very unfamilar with the hut. I previously did hydro in a closet with MH/HPS so I am familar with that much. Plus, I'm not sure how study and how much weight the hut will hold in terms of lights either. Also, what about the wattage of the lights? 400W? Thanks all!
The VHO fluorescents get really hot as well. You should just stick with the MH/HPS, because the HPS gives the buds that extra density that the fluorescents just can't. The higher the wattage the hotter its going to be and in the space your talking about I think a 400 watt would be way to big. Stick with something around a 250 watt and get a reflective hood that has a fan hook up (one that makes the bulb hang horizontally) and tempered glass to enclose the bulb to cut down on heat . If you feel like you need more light add small fluorescents as side lighting. If you want to save money you can just go with the HPS alone.
6.5 feet is plenty of head room for your plants. And a 400 watt HPS will be perfect....My cabinet right now is 24x42x46 and I have 550watts of HPS in there. The temps never go over 82! The key is ventilation. I ended up getting a Dayton blower and hooked it to my carbon filter as an out take. It keeps the temps down from over 100 (from when I had PC fans in there), to where they are now. I was amazed! As for the amount of plants I'd say 4 larger plants in some 5 gallon DWC bucket (I think you mentioned hydro.) Your jaw will drop when you see what you can grow. Hope this helps bro, I need to get me some sleep. PEACE!