This is my first attempt at growing, and I'm a little new to it, so go easy on me. I have researched a lot in this forum and others and here is my plan. Any revisions would be greatly appreciated, especially from a more experienced grow. Also, I would like to know what kind of yield I could expect. I will be using a small indoor grow box, because I have little space to work with. It will be 4'LX1.5'WX1.5'H and hold two plants. Each plant will be in a 1' Diameter X .5' H pot, on either side of the box, with lighting, electrical, and ventilation in between. I plan on starting from clones, and using LST as described here http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/122936-how-lst-low-stress-training.html in order to keep my plants short (would this keep them under 1' height?). IN between my plants, I will have a timer, 100W socket for MH in vegetation and HPS in flowering. Ventilation would be one or two small fans (or enough to move 6.75 CFM) and I am currently looking for the most silent way to do this. There will be two intake vents at either end of the box, and a carbon filter over the fans' output (Will one filter work, or do I need to replace it, if so, how often?). I also plan on using Lucas' Formula and lining the inside of my box with aluminium foil (Is there a better reflective material for this?). So, how does that sound? anything I overlooked? Any advice on silent fans? Or any other advice that could help me? Thanks a lot for any help possible.
u only need 1 carbon scrubber for ur grow, and u won't need to replace it every so often, might take years before u do or not even at all haha. a better reflective material is also white mylar, just surround ur grow with it. everything else seems to be in order, btw what kind of MH and HPS set up are u using, just incase for heat problems? boxfans are really good silent fans too
I'm still unsure about lighting, what would you suggest? I am now thinking about using CFLs for lighting instead of MH and HPS, and also was considering upping it to 150W. Will I see a significant difference in grow quality between CFL's vs. MH/HPS? I'll also use a humididity meter and thermometer to keep 50-70% and around 70F, not sure how to control temperature though.
CFLs are totally fine for veg, u can use it thoughout flowering as well, but ur yield won't be as great. if u were to stick to CFLs though id try and get some T5 bulbs. MH is the best for vegging though, and HPS is best for flowering, u'd really want to use an HPS though for flowering, and u could stick to CFLs thoughout veg. problem with MH and HPS is that they create to much heat, so u'll need to find a way to have cool air vent through ur lighting system to lower temp.
ok. I was only thinking about switching to CFLs because I couldn't find MH or HPS at lowes and CFL's were pretty cheap. The grow store was closed today, but they probably have MH and HPS, as well as white mylar. is MH and HPS gonna cost a lot more? My fans would be positioned right below the lights, would one 12v computer fan keep temp down from the bulbs and be enough to ventilate the 6.25 cf chamber or should I get another one? Taking into consideration that the fan has to push air through the carbon filter as well.
I just found a box to use for it as well, but it would only be 2.5ft long, so the pots would barely fit lengthwise with a half foot for electrical components. I'd use caging on either side to keep plants from growing into the lightbulbs.
I'm also drawn towards CFLs because I'd like to avoid lighting that needs a ballast system, just to keep this as a low budget project. How much lower would my yield be with just regular CFLs than with the more expensive alternatives.
im not entirely sure how much yield will be cut off using CFLs, but trust me get t5 bulbs they're the best cfls around. i think it'll decrease by 40%, but im not entirely sure don't take my word for it. a decent MH or HPS system costs about 130ish for the whole set up, bulb, and ballast. u should get 2 separate fans, one for ur scrubber, and one just to blow on ur plants.
ok, thanks for the help, I think I'll probably go for MH/HPS if its a 40% difference. I didn't want to spend too much more money if it wasn't a big change, but that's a lot. I'll probably have one fan to the scruber in the the middle, and fans on either side at the air intakes.
if ur using an HPS or MH, u have got to make sure ur venting the heat it's creating out of your grow room. just to make sure.
mh and hps and HUGE step ups from t5s. HUGE! Buds will swell under the right conditions. No way can you do that with t5s or cfls.
what about CFL's for veg and HPS for flowering? I'm not going for much veg growth, anyway, because I' in very limmitted space