I have a grow box height of 73cm, I'm planning on growing 1 plant within this space and am thinking about using a 200watt HPS light to do this. With 2 fans within my grow box and an extractor fan (could even invest in some cooling ideas for the HPS) would it be ok to have the light only about 5inches from the canopy as I want to maximize possible height? or would this still be too hot with all the fans etc ?
i wouldnt even think of putting an hid in a space so small ya need about 18 inches of distance ....even with a cooltube setup...cfl's or led
maybe checkout my thread....(are you the master of the micro).....maybe you can find some useful ideas......and feel free to ask meh' questions
thanks for the reply phillyphil, would a 100watt HPS still be too hot? as u can tell im a beginner to growing, Its just that I keep reading CFL's produce poor weed that's not only bad to smoke but produce buds that are not very dense? however ive also read opposite arguments saying how as long as the other limiting factors are good then you should be fine? what your opinion man
thanks for the reply phillyphil, would a 100watt HPS still be too hot? as u can tell im a beginner to growing, Its just that I keep reading CFL's produce poor weed that's not only bad to smoke but produce buds that are not very dense? however ive also read opposite arguments saying how as long as the other limiting factors are good then you should be fine? what your opinion man
check this grow out here http://forum.grasscity.com/micro-grows/1258939-cfl-grow-%F0%9F%8C.html/page-7 It depends on how strong the CFLs are (and lumen output). You can grow some pretty nice buds with some CFLs. I'd say check out some CFL micro grow journals, and find some that are similar to your box as a starting point, that way you can start off following something that you know can work if you do it right. And to your question about using HPS, I'm not saying it can't be done, but it is very difficult to keep the temps down in a small grow area. I started to make a pc grow (which was 20 in tall, so your's is a bit bigger) and had a 150 HPS in there at first, and even with 2 intake fans and an outtake fan, my temps were still climbing past 98F before I had to shut it off. Again, your grow is a bit bigger but be careful, HPS is more of a fire hazard in confined spaces. I ended up switching to CFLs and then ultimately LEDs (but its hard to find cheap LEDs that are good too). Just know that some places will charge you a restocking fee if you even turn the light on at all when you try to exchange it.
[quote name="phillyphill7878" post="19354011" timestamp="1389915486"]hmmmm...well can you post some pics as to what yer' using box wise that is [/quote]The whole structure is made of wood, the shoe is there for size comparison lol Sent from my C6603 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
The box will he air tight btw as its a stealty growSent from my C6603 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
get some sylvania' 36 or 42 watt 2700k cfl's ....they put out like 4800 lumens... then get some 26 watt 6500k bulbs and run a mixed spectrum and you can run a mixed spectrum in the cab thru your whole grow go by the equivelent watts and run 200 watts or better and you should be fine with a couple of plants or better if yer going 12/12 from seed
[quote name="phillyphill7878" post="19357393" timestamp="1389959791"]get some sylvania' 36 or 42 watt 2700k cfl's ....they put out like 4800 lumens... then get some 26 watt 6500k bulbs and run a mixed spectrum and you can run a mixed spectrum in the cab thru your whole grow go by the equivelent watts and run 200 watts or better and you should be fine with a couple of plants or better if yer going 12/12 from seed [/quote]Cheers!! As a beginner I'm finding the whole lighting topic alot to take in this type of stuff really helpsAlso when people say 'a rule of thumb is 100watt per plant' are they referring to wattage equivalent as u said run 200watts or better you are referring to wattage equivalent yes? Sent from my C6603 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
that is correct......if the bulb says it's a 100 watt replacement it's only gonna' actually use 26 watts of power thus giving you a 26 watt bulb .... so try to get bulbs that are 26 watts eqv or better
I had been using a 150w hps at the top of my 2 foot tall grow box. It can definitely be done, you just have to weigh the cost-benefit. With two weak pc intake fans and a Vantec LOUD exhaust fan I was able to keep temps around 85. I ended up deciding the space and heating issues were too much for a successful flower cycle and decided to create a bigger space. So my advice is cfl for your current grow space or look into creating a larger stealth flowering box for hid. I decided to use cfl/led in the original box for clones/veg and created a separate box just for flowering. Look at what others have done with totes and such to get ideas for an easy stealth flower box. This will also allow you to have a perpetual grow if desired.