Hello all, I'm new here and new to indoor growing. I've been doing some reading and I'm trying to get my indoor setup figured out. I'm setting up for a small indoor closet grow. 34"x57"x80" roughly. 6-8 plants. I'm trying to decide what to do for lighting. Right now I've got my seedlings growing under CFL's. I'm probably going to invest in a T5 fluorescent setup for the seedlings in the near future. Right now what I'm trying to decide is what kind of fixtures do I need for the actual vegging and flowering. I've decided that I want HID because of their proven performance and relatively inexpensive upfront cost compared to LED's. I want to use Metal Halide for vegging and High Pressure Sodium for flowering or maybe a combo of both for flowering. Here's where I have some questions. I don't have a lot of money for the lighting budget. I can get this light which is 1000 watts and will run either MH or HPS for a little more than $200. HTG Supply - GrowBright Switchable 1000w Grow Light Or I can get some used stadium lights that have been removed from an indoor arena. There is a 1000 watt Metal Halide that I can get for $140. Another guy has a few HPS fixtures that look like either 400 or 600 watts. I'm waiting on him to text me back with the wattage. He wants $20 each for them. He has 3 fixtures so that would be either 1200 or 1800 watts all together. Either way I'll be spending a little bit more than $200 right now which is really cheap from what I've seen. First of all is 1000 watts enough for 8 plants? I don't have any experience with indoor growing. I've had some success with outdoor grows but indoor makes more sense for me right now and I'm gonna give it a shot. Can I get some opinions on which way I should go with this? How much trouble would I have with cooling using the stadium lights compared with the actual grow light fixture? One of the reasons I wanted to use these stadium fixtures is so I can run MH and HPS for flowering. Obviously with the real grow light I can only run one or the other. Am I trying to get too much into my little closet? Is there such a thing as too much light? Any help would be very much appreciated.
Do you have sufficient exhaust? If you're growing in a really small area like you mentioned it's going to heat up very quickly
I'm working on setting up the exhaust. I'm wanting to set up inside a closet in a spare bedroom but if it would be easier to use the actual room instead of the closet, I could do that.
Don't mess with the stadium lights, We'll do what ya want ( I wouldn't mess with the stadium lights) More trouble than they are worth, That's pretty much all folks used to grow with back in the day, You are going to need to run air cooled hoods, or a designated air conditioner in that space , hid heats up really quickly 34x57, ? Let's call it a 3x5, 1000 watts could work, but you would have to move some serious air for that to begin to work, Might I suggest a 600w , and even that will heat that little space up very fast, like really hot Boom4200 winter spring grow journal Boom4200 winter spring grow journal
Stay away from the stadium lights if possible, you can get a 600watt off craigs list for $50 around my area, but new would be best you can easily get a 600 watt hps/mh for less than $200 online with an air cooled hood, and bulbs... good growing
Thanks for the replies guys. After doing some more thinking and reading I have decided to go with an air cooled hood and a digital ballast. I looked a little harder on eBay and found some more affordable options. Hopefully a "cheap" light will get me through a few grows. If indoor growing is for me and I have reasonable success, I'll probably invest in better equipment.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look at those lights. If anyone else has any lighting advice I'm open to suggestions. I had a talk with the wife and we've decided to invest a little more into this entire project. First off, we're not going to use the closet as our grow space. Too much work needed to get adequate ventilation. We're gonna use the bedroom. It's plenty big enough for this. I've decided to buy an inexpensive tent to make ventilation and odor control easier. Most likely a 5x5. I've found several online that we can afford. I actually found a 96"x48"x80" really cheap but I'm thinking that will be too much area for the light that I'm planning to buy. Is it possible to get a big tent and only use about half of it and get good results? I tried to research that and still haven't found the info I'm looking for. As far as the lights go, I'm still leaning heavily towards HID. If you guys know of a good cheap setup that's worth the money let me know. We're trying to keep the initial costs low until we get the hang of this and can justify the cost of more expensive, higher quality equipment. I was looking on eBay and found a few different kits that look promising but due to most not having a discreet shipping option, I'll probably pay a few more dollars and order from Amazon. I don't want the delivery guy knowing what I'm doing. Does anyone have any experience with any of these lights? Amazon.com : VIVOSUN Hydroponic 1000 Watt HPS MH Grow Light Air Cooled Reflector Kit - Easy to set up, High Stability & Compatibility ( Enhanced Version ) : Patio, Lawn & Garden Amazon.com : iPower GLSETX1000DHMAC6 Light Digital Dimmable HPS MH Grow Light System for Plants with Air Cooled Hood Set, 1000-Watt : Plant Growing Light Fixtures : Patio, Lawn & Garden Amazon.com : Hydroplanet™ 1000W Horticulture Air Cooled Hood Set Grow Lights Reflector Digital Dimmable Ballast HPS MH System For Plant Grow Light Kit (1000w) : Patio, Lawn & Garden Amazon.com : Suluxlight SLGHR6 Grow Light Fixture Glass Hood Reflector, 6-Inch, Air Cool, with MH1000W 6K & HPS 1000W Bulbs, E39 Ceramic Mogul Socket, explosion protection, with Digital Ballast, Complete Growing Kits : Patio, Lawn & Garden Amazon.com : Yield Lab 1000w HPS+MH Cool Hood Reflector Grow Light Kit : Plant Growing Light Fixtures : Patio, Lawn & Garden
, That's not a bad idea , getting a bigger tent than ya need, and growing into it,, If you have the space get the biggest tent ya can, and the biggest light ya can, just don't forget about ventilation, lots of folks do, I kinda did on my 1st run, I didn't realize the importance of proper grow climate.then you can always add more lights96x48x80 is a great size in my opinion. you could run 2 1000's, it would be just over 50w per square foot , and properly cooled , could yield some serious weight for a home tent grow Boom4200 winter spring grow journal Boom4200 winter spring grow journal
I think I have decided on the Apollo Horticulture Purple Reign 1000 watt, digital, dimmable ballast. Does anyone have any experience with these ballasts? Is this a good choice for the money? Amazon.com : Apollo Horticulture Purple Reign 400W 600W 1000W Watt Digital Dimmable HPS MH Grow Light Ballast for Plant Growing : Patio, Lawn & Garden I found a reasonably priced air cooled hood. Now I need to figure out bulbs. I want to use Metal Halide for vegging and High Pressure Sodium for flowering. Does anyone have any recommendations for inexpensive bulbs that produce good results?
I would take a 1000 watt equivelent LED all day over that personally. To much heat (Fire Hazard) and electric use for me. Apollo is a good name brand so it should be solid for the type of setup you want to run. Best of luck! Only 418 watt and replaces a 1000 watt with same results. Amazon.com : VIPARSPECTRA Reflector-Series 900W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum for Indoor Plants Veg and Flower : Patio, Lawn & Garden
Yes you can grow as few plants as you want. I only use LEDs. They generate less heat and consume less power. Power consumption for an indoor grow can quickly add up over time. Also, those 8 plants should fill up that 5x5 if you plan on just growing them normally from seed to flower. In the future you might consider only growing 4-6 in that space and producing just as much flower. But, I'm fairly new to growing. Am I right about that?
Thanks for your input. I went ahead and ordered the 96"x48"x80" tent. I figured I can grow into it as I get the hang of indoor growing. I hope to add more lights in the future. I went with the Apollo Horticulture Purple Reign ballast and got an air cooled reflector hood, 440 CFM exhaust fan with speed controller and a carbon filter. I bought a couple of Apollo Horticulture bulbs because they were fairly cheap. The reason I'm going with HID instead of LED is because from what I've read it's cheaper to set up. Everything I've read says that even with LED you still need actual watts to get a good yield. I can't afford quality, high wattage LED lights right now. Maybe down the road I'll give them a try. As far as why I've got so many plants started, that is mainly the wife's doing. She started the seeds. I asked her if she was gonna start growing and she said she wanted to give it a try. She got the idea from a co-worker who says he grows in his closet or something. It took a little persuasion to convince her that we needed actual equipment to hope to get anything substantial from all of these plants. Cheap CFL's from Walmart weren't gonna cut it. So here I am. Hopefully this works out.
Here is a good site that talks about lighting.it also mentions a mix of LED W/ HID/MH. There are pics and info on LEDs some LEDs are cheap on ebay. I got 2 LED total draw 245w for $120 (I have smaller space) 2'x3' and plants look good so far.(actually the 110w is on its way) this plant and 1 more are growing with viparspectra 300w(136 draw) and the light cost about $80 I no you would need bigger just thought Id put my 2 cents in.Cant really speak bout HPS/MH haven't use them yet. You can also put them on a mover to cover more space. Love the tent idea, I went closet with no ventilation (wasn't drilling holes in walls) and I regret it if its hot outside grow gets up to 87 deg. Which LED Grow Lights Are Best for Growing Cannabis? | Grow Weed Easy
This is one of the big reasons I decided to go with a tent. My closet is small and I wasn't crazy about cutting holes in the wall for ventilation. Another reason is odor control. I can keep the plants in the tent with a fan and carbon filter and not have to worry about the smell getting out to the rest of the house. We rarely have visitors but on the on the rare occasion that we do, I don't want anyone knowing what we got going on.
Yes I might get a tent to flower in just don't really want to spend more on this grow. the other reason I cant make up my mind about the size LOL. Right now I only have viparspectra v300 and this lights on its way (wanted to add lil more for flower. 300W LED Grow Light Lamp Full Spectrum Panel Veg Flower for Hydro Indoor Plant I no neither are the best quality but I figure its a start and I can always use them on a angle later for side light or fill in weak spots if I got way better ones.
Dude that's a killer set up, folks been growing with hid since it all began, as long as your ready for the heat, and it sounds like you are, 4x8? , you can eventually grow into that tent , have a designated exhaust for the lights, and an exhaust for the heat , and run 2 1000 w lights in there and kill shit, serious yields possible, 2 lights, that space, even a mediocre grow should pull you 3 lbs every 50 or 60 days if done correctly, I'm jealous Best of luck bud Vote boom 2017 Testers wanted for Mars Hydro COB Testers wanted for Mars Hydro COB
Thanks. I figured having a little extra room would end up being helpful. I definitely want to add more lights and fans to the setup as I go. Big yields are the main goal. Hopefully this works out for us.