Ok so im a first time grower and I think ive finally figured out which way im trying to go with this. I just need someone more experienced to work out the kinks in my plan. I want to do a Scrog cab grow with White widow. Hopefully being able to flower 3 plants at a time and have a chamber for veg/mothers if needed. The Cab 71'' Tall, 48'' Wide, 20" deep It is comprised of two sections a top and bottom The bottom chamber will be for flowering it measures 48''/48''/20'' (basically the top shelf is 23'' of the 71'') In the flowering chamber I would have to have: 400w HPS with Cool tube 250 cfm exhaust fan (or more?) DIY carbon scrubber attached to exhaust 100cfm intake fan In the veg chamber on top i think i want to use CFL's and also buy or make a cloner. i can put another fan in the veg chamber if needed. Basically i just need someone to tell me if everything seems up to par. Things that I am very confused on that are hindering my progress: Will a 400w HPS grow 3 scrog plants in my space well? Will the cool tube and exhuast fan be able to keep the temps down What size pots should i use for the grow? What type of Soil? (a specific brand i can buy around town) I was worried that if i needed to use something around a 12'' pot size then that would only leave 36'' left of space in my flowering chamber. I wonder if there will be enough room for the light and plants? Someone more experienced please guide me in the right direction. Any advice is greatly appriciated because I am at the stage of putting everything together and don't want to waste money. Im not going for a budget build. I just only like to have to buy something once. Thank you
Im really not sure that the coverage of that 400 watt hps will be enough for 3 plants over that space at that height, but i believe the cool tube and exhaust should take care of most of your heat issues. People usually say 1 gal per foot of plant growth for pots, check out my thread for an awesome soil mix. http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute...ers-other-useful-information.html#post8384462
You have a sound understanding seems like, or at least to the point where I dont have many "faults" with your stated plans, but I do have a few. First drop the 100cfm intake for flowering, and just use negative pressure to draw fresh air in through your intake hole. Second, add that 100 cfm fan to your clone/veg chamber and use negative pressure here too. A forced intake isn't always needed. CFL in your veg chamber is also fine, just remember to go by actual watts not equivalent. As for the 400 watt hps, that will do fine, I dont know why he said that's not enough for your space, just remember to keep it as close to your plants as possible with out burning or heat stressing them, you can always raise and lower your tube. As for the soil, I dont know where you live, but I will tell you that you can just divide the floor of your flower chamber into three shallow sections and use say plastic liners to keep things moisture resistant, and us shallow planting beds, I say separate because you dont want the root balls tangling and competing. You would just have to transplant your vegging babies into the shallow beds. Everything else you stated you wanted to use seems fine. GOOD LUCK. Oh and although I've never used it, when I do decide to go dirt or organic, I plan on using Fox Farms Happy Frog potting soil, most plants seem to really love the stuff from what I've read and heard. P.S. Remember to get your veg cfl bulbs to be around the color temp of about 7200k, so they dont stretch in your shorter veg chamber, and again best of luck to you!
Ok so if the CFL bulbs i have say they are 26w. How many should i be using to veg 3-5 plants. (i will veg 5 and pick the best 3 for flower) Also, What are ideal temps for flowering chamber and veg chamber. Thanks for your help. Ive been waiting awhile for some solid advice.
I agree on your flowering color temp, but, and I'm not saying your completely wrong, but what I've read is you need to be closer to 7200k, its the more bluish light you want for veg, 7200 is I think the most blue hue you can get for plants isn't it? Can any one confirm this, my memory states that 7200 is the most re occurring temp number for veg. Also with your bills in mind, wouldn't it be better to use a 4 lamp t5 flouro's, they are the same type of light, just not compact, and I think one 3 or 4 foot bulb of those puts out more actual watts than one cfl, go to your local wall mart and you can buy different lengths of fluorescent fixtures. Also some of my info comes from high times editors as I can't help but pick up a new issue when they arrive, and have read about every article in the last 7 or so issues that pertain to growing at least 2 or 3 times each.