Whats up. Once again, for anyone who hasn't seen any of my posts, I am building a growbox out of a dresser. My inside dimensions available for use are: 49" tall X 25" wide X 18" deep. I walked into a growshop last week and talked to a guy about my plans, and what kind of equipment I have in mind. The guy seemed pretty knowledgeable (he obviously knew more about ventilation than i currently do)...So, he was trying to talk me into buying a 4-light-set of Flourescent LEDs for $325 because they give off a very veryy small amount of heat, which would make ventilating the box less of a problem. BUT my initial idea was to stroll up to Lowe's and buy a couple 70watt HPS lights for $74 plus tax each. Keep in mind that this is my 1st grow. I kinda feel like I should keep things simple. *ALSO*, i was planning on using a piece of glass/plastic of some kind to use as a barrier between whatever lights I use and the growspace of the box. I was given a piece of GE (General Electric trademark) LEXAN SHEET, which is used to put on the outside of windows to protect the important window glass from breaking, possibly by sporting objects like baseballs, basketballs, golfballs, etc... The LEXAN SHEET is completely transparent; It's straight see-thru, completely clear, and less than 1/4" thick. It's like fiberglass, but completely clear, it doesn't dull light in any way. I asked the guy in the growshop about it and he didn't sound real sure of whether the LEXAN SHEET would holdback useful light from my plant. I, though, am pretty damn sure the piece of LEXAN will work perfectly fine. Anyone know anything about this stuff? SO: LIGHTS- Go with 2 x 70w HPS (=140w HPS) ~ $150 ? Try 4 x LEDs (not sure what wattage) ~ $325 ? LIGHT BARRIER- Keep and use General Electric LEXAN SHEET ? ~ free Buy something else that doesn't withhold light to use as barrier? Sometimes I can't really tell if those growshop guys are generally trying to help me out in the growing process, or if they're trying to put pretty things in my face and see if I will buy them. I need some answers people ! Willie
THe problem with this is that if it is transparent how are you going to do a 12/12 light cycle to create good buds, becuase you can't have any light leaks, and the def. of transparent is that light can pass through it. I would recommend white plastic that you can get at home de pot or lowes and its pretty damn cheap, or if you know any land scapers or someone that has done some yard work they have these light barriers you can buy by the roll and if they are your friend should let you snag like 10 feet off it.
How was I planning on doing a 12/12 light cycle ? I have several light timers (my mom is an xmas light fanatic); My idea was after 20+ days of 24 hr. lighting, plug in the light timer to my power strip and have 12 on/12 off... Whenever I need 12 straight hours of darkness, the lights will cut off, and the smarter thing to do would be to have 12 on from like 9am to 9pm, then off 9pm to 9am. Maybe you misunderstood my intentions. The ONLY reason i am using the LEXAN sheet is to KEEP LIGHT HEAT OUT, all while still allowing as much valuable light to my plant as I can. The barrier I am proposing is mostly an overheating precaution. I don't want to burn my chronic. Furthermore, I plan on boxing-off my lights and cutting 2 ventilation holes in the boxed-off section, one for some kind of FAN. I also plan on cutting 2 more ventilation holes to vent-out my growspace, with another fan down in the growspace doing the job. WHAT'S LEFT TO DO?: 4 ventilation holes 2 fans (ANYONE HAVE FAN SUGGESTIONS?) LIGHTS - HPS or LEDs ?
I know very little about Flourescent lighting, but I was recommended to use Flourescent LEDs because they give off very lowww amounts of heat. **Is there anyone out there who knows much about LEDs ?*** I was always under the impression that HPS lights are best for marijuana. IF i bought the LEDs, then I probably wouldn't have to box them off from the rest of my growspace because the heat they gave off wouldn't be bad. They would COST $325 for a set of 4. IF i bought a couple HPS, I would have to box them off due to the large amount of heat. They would COST $75 each (Less Expensive). SURVEY: DO I SPEND $325 FOR NEW-TECH LED LIGHTS, OR DROP $150 FOR HPS LIGHTS THAT I KNOW WILL DO THE JOB ? THIS IS MY 1ST GROW.
hey man, I would keep shopping if I were you. I've seen 400 watt switchable ballasts for less than $200.00. that is more than enough light for your setup and you also get the advantage of using metal halide for veg. and then switch to hps for flowering. I've seen good results from the cfl's but its nothing compared to the hid lights. I've had 8 cfl's going at one time but you end up using the same power as the 400 watt but get less lumens. try htg supply. good luck.
Yo Tex, Thanks for the idea. I'm checking out that site right now. Let me get this straight: Are you recommending that I get one of those Metal Halide kits, AND then also get myself an HPS bulb for flowering ? Some of those kits are pretty nice.....The only thing that I'm not real sure about is where I would put the 10" ballast. Would you put that thing inside the dresser, or keep it outside ? Since this is my 1st grow, and I don't have tons of space to deal with, GROWSPACE is my main concern. With the light, and maybe reflector, at the top of the dresser, that will leave me with about 40 inches of growspace. I have a friend who straight up loves to grow BLUEBERRY; Blueberry for some reason is his bread & butter, and he is offering to give me a Blueberry clone to start out with. And for the first grow, I'm just gonna grow 1 plant, even though i may have the space to grow 2. I plan on SCRoGing the Blueberry plant from a Rubbermaid tub with soil. I want to try to keep that plant under control as much as i can and not let it grow like wildfire. The tub is about 12" tall, so that'll leave me with like 28 inches between the soil and the light. The SCRoG will be about 8"-10" from the top of my soil..... Willie
lol my bad about the earlier post, but instead of putting the light with the reflector I personally just put tin foil along the walls in the dresser and toss some bulbs in the dresser. That can clear up a ton of space.
they make a switchable ballast that will run both types of bulbs. there is a good thread that shows how to make a diy cooltube that would be excellent for a dresser. scrogging it is an excellent idea as well if you have the space to do it. ditch the tin foil idea too. its not recommended for growing as it causes hot spots that will burn your plants. get some mylar. its cheap. the emergency blankets at walmart are made of mylar as is the shiny type wrapping paper. or splurge a bit and by some from htg supply..
You talked me into it, Tex. I ended up ordering a 250w switchable HPS and MH light kit - ($167 + tax). That deal was alittle too good for me to pass up. ....I figured I could've dropped $150 for 2 HPS bulbs, but then I would've had to purchase a ballast to use em. AND the LED kit was pretty smooth-looking, but $325 was alittle too rich for my blood. THANKS for referring me to that site, dude. Willie
cool man, glad i could help! i think you will be pleased with your lighting. post some pics when you get it all together.
Hello , I use LEDs for my Grow system .... I bought 9 Watt Led Bulbs for 24 Bucks each .... which are powerful led bulbs.... SO for 360 Bucks you could have bought 15 Bulbs ..... Which would have provided much more usuable light than the Hids .. . LEDs Dont give out much heat at all .. These big floodlight bulbs Can be taken out by Hand when they are Running !! Try that with any other bulb ! For A small chamber or closet setup they are They way to go ! They are not hot at all .. . They require VERY LITTLE electricity so nobody will come knockin because of too much power use .. .. For a Little over 600 Bucks . I bought a set of 24 Red , 12 blue and 6 mixed color lights . Red (24) 9 watts each = 216 watts . Blue(12) 8 watts each = 96 watts . 6 mixed at 5 watts each = 30 watts ... Total 342 watts . Because of the Efficiency of LED lights ... I am getting the Equivilent of a 2400 + Watt system using only 342 watts . Reflective material must be used to Concentrate the Light with Leds . ALso the lights are kept much closer to the plants . For me LEDs were the way to go since I need a High output / low heat system that Uses very little electricity ( for obvious reasons ) Reflectors and Proper placement of the lights are essential with LEDS , if you dont do this step right then you are not going to get that much growth out of them but once you get this part right you Will see plants with Internodes that are much less than One inch and very fast growth . I have an MK Ultra Plant that has 12 internodes and it is 9 inches tall .... I am not sure if this is too remarkable but that is what happened for me .
that sounds good but I don't buy it. a 400 watt hid is using the same power as a desktop computer. nothing to worry about as far as electricity goes. noone is gonna beat down your door cuz of it.
hey smoken guitar, where did you buy those 9 watt LED grow lights? Were they as effective as you say?
