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lil newbie help

Discussion in 'Grow Room Design/Setup' started by Walker8, Oct 18, 2011.

  1. #1 Walker8, Oct 18, 2011
    uhey all.. few questions on first grow.

    how much space would be needed for 4-6 plants?.

    me and my father were looking o build a grow box in the garage. somin like 6h x 5w x4d. also looking to start off using the T5 tubes, could we get by with using these to flower as well? or what would be recommended budget is low at this time so can always upgrade later.. right?.

    now another question
    were in michigan, so the weather is starting tol get cold, an our garage is not heated, although we do have a propane heater in it. We will be insulating the box because of this. but will the bulbs produce any heat to keep it warm, or how shoul we keep te temp up.

    one more question with it being in the garage , an opening the drs it mightbe to cold n shock the plants?. an the garage has fumes of gas so im assuming this will harm them as well?
     
  2. #2 ohspyro89, Oct 18, 2011
    Anywhere from 2x2 to a 5x5 space. It really depends on how large you want to grow them. It's kind of like asking how many people can you fit into a VW Bug. You could probably fit a helluva lot more midgets in it than sumo wrestlers.

    You could use T5 for flowering, but you'd have better results with HID lights.

    The bulbs will probably keep the box relatively warm, but you have to remember that you need to exchange the air in the box frequently, which will take out some of the heat.

    If you have the box insulated, it should hold heat fairly well. I don't know about gas.
     
  3. #3 Walker8, Oct 19, 2011
    bump ttt
     
  4. #4 jakesterjammin, Oct 19, 2011

    Hey fellow Michigander!!! :hello:

    OK, first off you will have to correct the cold within the garage.. You will need to keep the temps within the garage at least mid to upper 60s... You can do this with propane heater which will be great because it will increase the Co2 within the garage...

    But without insulting the garage, you're going to spend a shit load of money in propane...
    I'm not exactly sure how much a shit load is, but I know it's a lot... ;)


    What I would do is take most of the money you have planed in propane and spend it on some R30 insulation... You will still need the propane heater because you will not be able to seal around the doors well enough to keep the cold out, but the insulation will drop the heating costs dramatically...

    Personally, I would worry about insulating the garage to keep the temps in the mid to upper 60s as opposed to insulating the grow chamber... The reason is because if you insulate the chamber, when you vent the chamber, you will be sucking in freezing cold air... You also will have troubles at night when the lamps are off and not warming the chamber from within....


    Now, if you can get the garage to maintain mid to upper 60s, I would just do some Panda plastic for the chamber build itself... This will also make it so you can easily expand the chamber at a reasonable cost if needed..


    Size...
    The size is really up to you..
    I usually plan on 1-1/2' sq per plant (and that's a little tight)..

    The problem is the 6' high..
    You have to account for 1' for pot and at least 1' between the lamp and plants, then the hoods are usually 8-12"es deep... My 6" HydroLux Cool hoods are 9" deep....

    So, we have to take at least 3' off the total height of 6', which leaves you with only 3' of plant growth...


    With that being said, most strains grow between 4-6'...
    So you will be limited on what strains you can grow (Some Kush maybe)...

    Personally if I was faced with only 6' in height, I would do a SCRoG, SOG, or LST grow.. If I had to choose, I would do a SCRoG...


    SOG, you're going to use more plants, and with Mich being limited to 12 plants, SOG IMO is out...

    LST, is an option, but it requires more side room than a conventional grow..

    SCRoG, you're going to use screen to keep them short.. It also gives you more budding sites, thus more bud in the end, and the reason I suggest SCRoG to limited space grows...


    So what I would suggest is a 4 plant SCRoG in a 4x4 chamber... Each plant you will be training to a 2'x2' area of the screen.. Under the right conditions you should pull at least 2lbs (1/2lb per plant) the first time out..


    Now the lights....
    It depends on size of chamber...

    You want at least 50w per sq. ft. and if you're doing SOG or SCRoG, you want more like 75w per sq ft... You can use less, but you will get SO MUCH more off the higher watts...

    So:
    L x W = sq. ft.
    Lamp wattage ÷ sq. ft. = watts per sq. ft.


    IMHO T5s and fluorescents belong in the mother/clone chamber, not the flowering chamber.. They just do not produce the usable light a HID produces..

    So IMO, scrap the T5 idea and just get a good HID lamp...
    Personally what I would do is a 4x4 SCRoG lit with a 1000w lamp...


    You also never said if you're going to use soil or hydroponics..
    The hydro setup will be more up front, but IMO you will get more out of the grow..
    So with you guys being on a tight budget, I would suggest soil...

    I have always had great success with Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 because it comes pre-mixed, so no tarp or wheelbarrow trying to mix your soil up....


    I think all this will give you some things to think about during this setup...
    If I can be of any help, just let me know....


    :wave:
     

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