I am building a grow box. The box is 44 inches cubed or almost 4ft * 4ft * 4ft. I've got a 150watt HPS (Thanks Hippie John for the great site for lights) and two small flouros. The flouros really arent for vegging, they're for the seedlings after i germ them. But i could use them if the 150 isnt enough. I've designed the box to have an air input and exhaust fan with activated carbon filters to negate the smell. The inside will be painted flat white and will be airtight except for the 2 vent holes. Anyway, my question: How many plants can i fit in that size box, with that setup?? I have more than enough seeds, pots and soil. But I'm a college student with a shitty job which means no cash. I just want to be as efficient as possible to grow the largest yield.
well... a 4' x 4' box is gonna need atleast a 400w light.... a 600 or 1000 would be ideal... although you have to vent the extra heat.... I'm sorry but the 150 just wont cut it in that space... they're good for about 3 sq. ft. and in a 16 sq. ft. box, you plants are gonna have pretty tiny, loose buds after flowering... either shrink the box or get a bigger light... but anyways, in a 4' x 4' box, depending on growing style, anywhere from 4 ~ 80... 4 being a long running ScrOG, and 80 being tightly packed SOG... but for normal growing about 12 - 16...
Ouch, the dagger in the heart about the light! Do you think i could buy more flouros to make it up? Those HPS's are not cheap! Thanks for the reply!
You can get a 400W HPS for about $100 http://www.e-conolight.com/Product/EProductDetail.asp?ProductFamilyID=3&FGNumber=E-HR4H40QZ If you decide to go with John's advice and go with 600w-1000w you could always just buy two of those lights. But yeah, you'll want at least 400w.
if only the box were abit bigger you could cram abunch of 4' FL's in there... but check this place out---> PFO Lighting I've bought a 1000w HPS, 600w HPS, and 2x 400w MH lights from them and they deliver pretty fast, and have great prices for the quality of the ballast.... beautiful extruded alum. (also avaliable in a stamped steel housing) housing and UL listed (you'd be surprized how many of these companys use "UL listed" parts, but arent truly a listed product... theres a big difference... sure the parts might be listed, but the amperage/voltage rating of the parts may be overloaded... always check to make sure its a UL listed product... there are other ratings, but they are all based off of UL, or use UL standards.... they have good prices for their quality.... I know that sounds kinda like an ad but I stand behind their products 100%... stick an air cooled 1000w HPS in the middle of that box and you'll need to lean on the door to close it and use a deadbolt to keep it shut with all the bud in there