Any tips for the size of my grow room? First time

[Funky_Fred]

I have done all of my extensive reading on how to actually cultivate the product so I know all about the nutes, ph, scrogging, and the such but I can't find something for actual room design. I am planning on doing 16 pots and a 600w hps using clones but I can't figure out a good method for the actual box.

This will be going into an empty room which is about 15'x15' with a large walk in closet. What size is a decent size? I was thinking about making a 6'x6' room but now i'm fearing that this is too big.

Lastly, what are you guys using to go in and out of the room? I see some people use some sort of tents which zip up covering all chances of light from coming in and out but is there something else I can build to keep the place light-tight?

So many questions, I have read countless full guides but none seem to really answer every single question.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Welcome, Funky Fred.
Not sure you are going to get the satisfaction you seek. The knowledge in here is not contained within one thread, or forum. It is a compilation of the wisdom of thousands of worthy souls and a few hundred remarkable folks, spanning several years. Many different areas are covered here, and the successful grower will have a basic knowledge of many of them.
It takes an investment to harvest rewards in most anything we do...if we do it well.
The passionate will make the investment.

*My tip would be to build a stealth box. A smaller one. Make it work and dial it in. Once you have that down, you won't need to ask about room size and such.

 

[wickedpete66]

Welcome to the forum funk. Tents are great because they allow you to control the actual growing environment pretty good. Also they excellent for stealth reasons. let me show you my tent set up.

This first tent is home made using 2x4 and a plastic 4" table its what i clone on.
first stage is my bubble cloner. second stage to start the clones in beer cups







Then i use a homebox for the veg stage







I have 2 hydrohuts for flowering cabs using scrog method and 1000wts hps. I can fit 6plants in these 3x3 areas. Each cab is offset by a month. So I have a harvest every month. hope this helps good luck with your grow

 

[FrankRizzo]

Well some seem to think that 3'x3' is a good size for a 600w. That would give you 66 wpsf.

 

[fish83]

funky fred...3x3 is ideal for a 600.......16 plants in a SCROG grow aint gonna happen with a 600 man...lol....do a SOG grow, and it will work good for you.......what type of system are you gonna use?....ebb and flow, aeroponics...etc?...your gonna do just one grow?...you never metioned a veg room?....you got the space to grow a great grow....just search the threads on here man.....

 

[Funky_Fred]

funky fred...3x3 is ideal for a 600.......16 plants in a SCROG grow aint gonna happen with a 600 man...lol....do a SOG grow, and it will work good for you.......what type of system are you gonna use?....ebb and flow, aeroponics...etc?...your gonna do just one grow?...you never metioned a veg room?....you got the space to grow a great grow....just search the threads on here man.....

Thanks for the replies guys, I was planning on doing something like this.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=10974

So how many pots do you suggest I would place in there?

My plans were to have 16 total plants under a 600w starting with clones grown in soil. But apparently the light isn't strong enough so maybe I can fit 12 pots in there and train the plants so they hopefully don't grow straight up. And how essential do you believe a veg room is? I am only planning on doing 3 or 4 harvests throughout this year and will be stopping after that so I will be trying to keep costs minimal.

So what size box do you recommend with a 600w hps and how many plants should go inside?

 

[fish83]

dude....the link you posted is just a square box...lol....ur gonna grow soil, so I would recommend picking a nice indica dominant strain with 3 gallon pots...maybe 6 or 9 plants...thats just my recommendation man...and if you want 4 harvests, can you get more clones? or do you have to start from scratch? see....im confused here bro...you gotta give more info...you wanna do a scrog grow, right?

 

[fish83]

check these pics out man...they are both with 6 plants under 1-600 watt hps....i saw this one pic of the best Scrog pic I have ever seen, with only 4 plants, but i cant find it man...but check these out...

 

[fish83]

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=81877&highlight=SCROG


awesome thread you can find helpful!

 

[Funky_Fred]

dude....the link you posted is just a square box...lol....ur gonna grow soil, so I would recommend picking a nice indica dominant strain with 3 gallon pots...maybe 6 or 9 plants...thats just my recommendation man...and if you want 4 harvests, can you get more clones? or do you have to start from scratch? see....im confused here bro...you gotta give more info...you wanna do a scrog grow, right?

Yes I can get clones each time. This person has been doing it for years and lives in the city so I would not have a problem getting them. Currently he has 20 strains.

I thought the saying went 1 gallon for every foot you want to grow up? I also know the plants usually top out at 6 feet for 50/50 mixes so I was thinking a 5 gallon after transferred into flowering stage. I was planning on doing a scrog grow but of course, I am always open to suggestions.

Well I just got my card so maybe I will do 8 plants to keep it all legal at the moment. I was planning on making that box ( I guess now I'll make it 3'x3'x6'?) mounting a 600w hps extracting with a 4" exhaust through a carbon scrubber.

How big is the box in which the pictures you showed me? I was hoping to yield somewhere around 1.5 lbs all cured, so would I need to double up and get two 600 watters in a 6x6? Or would I get somewhere near that in this 3x3?

 

[Funky_Fred]

And thanks for the link fish! much appreciated. Oh and from a quick search I see somewhere around an average of 500g per meter squared or anywhere from 20-40 grams per plant.

 

[Dr. D]

Yo! I run a 6er i a tent (budbox) 120x120 perfect size for a 6er imo especially with an adjusta-wing reflector. I run the same about 16 pots give or take, the great thing abut using tents is u can rip the whole set-up down in minutes. I can have mine taken down with everything packed ready to go within 30 minutes. I highly recommend getting a tent, personally i find they make life alot easier...peace

 

[MrBomDiggitty]

try out 6 plants

 

[Jnugg]

Here's the skinny:

3' x 3' = 9 square feet.

4' x 4' = 16 square feet.

600/9 = 66.66 watts per square foot.
90,000/9 = 10,000 lumens per square foot.

600/16 = 37.5 watts per square foot.
90,000/16 = 5625 lumens per square foot.

1000/16 = 62.5 watts per square foot.
14,000/16 = 8750 lumens per square foot.

A 600w HPS will give you the best results in a 3' x 3' area rather then in a 4' x 4' area.

A 1kw HPS would do you better if you go the route of a 4' x 4' area.

You can fit 16+++ plants in a 3' x 3' soil garden...it all depends on how tall you want the finished ladies to be at choppin time.

Fitting 16 scrogged plants is going to be a PITA unless doing a modular scrog,I think a few small plants or a bunch of lollipopped/sog plants would do you better,or one or two plants scrogged.

A 400w HID can penetrte the canopy about 1-1.5' deep and a 600w HID can penetrate the plant canopy about 2-3' deep and a 1000w HID can penetrate the plant canopy down to about 4'.

With a 600w HPS hung in 3' x 3' area I would aim for 9-16 plants about 1-2' at chopping time so start flowering at about 4"-8" tall.Pure indicas don't have much stretch but all MJ plants will have an initial stretch during the first few weeks of 12/12.Indica dom. plants usually stretch 2x their size and sativas 2-3x++ their size.

You'll want a good 6" inline centrifugal exhuast fan (Vortex,Elicent,Eco Plus,Can Fan) for ventilating the area and keeping temps in control.I would suggest you get a 600w HPS with an air-cooled reflector or a cooltube.Get yourself a good carbon filter aswell.

 

[Funky_Fred]

Yo! I run a 6er i a tent (budbox) 120x120 perfect size for a 6er imo especially with an adjusta-wing reflector. I run the same about 16 pots give or take, the great thing abut using tents is u can rip the whole set-up down in minutes. I can have mine taken down with everything packed ready to go within 30 minutes. I highly recommend getting a tent, personally i find they make life alot easier...peace

This is what I was planning. What do you mean by buy a tent? I thought this box... (how I was planning on building it...) was good enough but my buddy also has this type of surround which can zip and unzip so entering the room is a lot simpler. What I don't understand about this box is how would you go in and make all your adjustments if there is that plastic wall. Basically, I'm looking for advice for a door of some sort.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=10974

 

[Funky_Fred]

Here's the skinny:

3' x 3' = 9 square feet.

4' x 4' = 16 square feet.

600/9 = 66.66 watts per square foot.
90,000/9 = 10,000 lumens per square foot.

600/16 = 37.5 watts per square foot.
90,000/16 = 5625 lumens per square foot.

1000/16 = 62.5 watts per square foot.
14,000/16 = 8750 lumens per square foot.

A 600w HPS will give you the best results in a 3' x 3' area rather then in a 4' x 4' area.

A 1kw HPS would do you better if you go the route of a 4' x 4' area.

You can fit 16+++ plants in a 3' x 3' soil garden...it all depends on how tall you want the finished ladies to be at choppin time.

Fitting 16 scrogged plants is going to be a PITA unless doing a modular scrog,I think a few small plants or a bunch of lollipopped/sog plants would do you better,or one or two plants scrogged.

A 400w HID can penetrte the canopy about 1-1.5' deep and a 600w HID can penetrate the plant canopy about 2-3' deep and a 1000w HID can penetrate the plant canopy down to about 4'.

With a 600w HPS hung in 3' x 3' area I would aim for 9-16 plants about 1-2' at chopping time so start flowering at about 4"-8" tall.Pure indicas don't have much stretch but all MJ plants will have an initial stretch during the first few weeks of 12/12.Indica dom. plants usually stretch 2x their size and sativas 2-3x++ their size.

You'll want a good 6" inline centrifugal exhuast fan (Vortex,Elicent,Eco Plus,Can Fan) for ventilating the area and keeping temps in control.I would suggest you get a 600w HPS with an air-cooled reflector or a cooltube.Get yourself a good carbon filter aswell.

Lets say I do get a carbon scrubber. Would I be able to just let the exhaust go into the room and have no smell or would I have to let the air escape outside the house? I would prefer to just let the air escape instead of creating a hole in the wall of the room just for this.

If this is the case then maybe I will go with a 1000w but I would have to get a strain which is very easy to manage since I heard a lot more nute control plays a factor when bumping up to 1000w...

Do you guys have a preferred thread about nutrients? There are tons out there and i'm just wondering if there is one that you usually refer back to every time you have some question about it....

Lastly, I am planning on getting the air intake to be coming in from the very bottom of the box and have the air escape through the bulb . So I'm asking is if there will be enough airflow over the plants if the fan is only hitting the bottom of the plants or pots. Once I get my entire plan decided ( starting this on october 1st) I will create a guide and how I went along to creating my box. Thanks for your tips guys.

 

[Jnugg]

Set your exhuast fan at the top of the tent/box/cab/closet.Intake near the bottom.

Are you asking about dumping the exhuast air into the room the grow tent sits in?That's a no no.If you dump the exhuast air from the tent into the room the tent sits in your'e just raising the ambient temps (air temp of the room the tent sits in) which in return raise the temps in the tent.Exhuast into the attic,anothe room or out a window.You can build an window box over your window out of MDF that you place infront of your blinds.From outside it looks like a normal window with the blinds shut.

 

[Funky_Fred]

Here is my list...

http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=664&navid=58
1000w Harvest Sun Ballast + Lumenair 6 Reflector w/ 6” exhaust port $319.95
1000w Sunmaster Bulb upgrade $35.00
MH1000ADD $49.95
120 volt cord $5.95
15’ Lamp cord $13.95

Dark Room
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=586&navid=32
5’x5’ $289.95

Flood Resevoir
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=605&navid=10
4’x4’x6” $75.95
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=454&navid=10
44”x6” white tray $22.95

Intermatic Heavy duty Timer
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=66&navid=7
$12.95

Power surge controller
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2255839
Rough price from radio shack $30.00

Buckets
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=383&navid=48
3 ½ gallon $4.49 each($112.25)
5 gallon $5.49 each ($137.25)

Soil Tester
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=538&navid=13
$15.95

Fan
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=560&navid=29
8” centrifugal blower $159.95

Zero Tolerance pesticide
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=680&navid=24

Zero Tolerance fungicide
http://www.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=681&navid=24






___________----=========

I am missing a scrubber, exhaust piping, nutrients and soil which I can't seem to make a decision on.

I will be doing a 1000w hps grow with 25 clones in 5 gallon pots. I hope space it sufficient for all of this. How does my list look and what soil/ nutes should I go with? I am also not too sure on the fan that I chose, would that one be fine? Lastly I am not sure how essential that flood resevoir is. I can't find one that will house the entire bottom on that website. I am thinking of buying those individual simple plastic trays for each plant instead of dropping another $100 on one giant one. How does this look so far?

Thanks guys,
Funky

 

[PiCkyPiccAlo]

Just finished frame work on building a 8 x 16 6ft 3in height room took forever in 92 degree heat with no ventilation. Anyways first bought insulated foam board to put as walls but went to crap cause the heat just melted off the adhesive from the tape. Ultimately decided to just spend a little to build it right the first time so put up drywall the cheapest possible but made the biggest differnce in making the structure stable. Decided to put the foam boards on the inside since it is bright white mold and insect resistant as well. Not enough money for doors and other supplies so just gonna cut a door out from the foam board and gonna add a handle to be able to pop in and out with a plastic cover it on that entry way for good measure. Might wanna look into that but it will have to be a small entry way but should do the trick. You can find that insulating foam which is really reflective at Home Depot for pretty cheap. Easy to work with just need a razor and some glue.

 

[limey]

How big is this walk in closet, Fred? 'Cos it strikes me that if you want to use a 600w lamp and the closet is the right size (i.e around 1sqM or 3ftx3ft, or bigger) and you have enough height in there, then that would be the perfect place to put you plants, nicely out of sight and harm's way...

16 clones in pots under a 600w is basically your textbook SeaOfGreen grow

For light security, I would build and inner door frame inside the closet and velcro some light-proof plastic to it (you can use a builder's staple gun to fix the velcro to the frame and the plastic sheeting ; ideal if you can get glue back velcro but the glue on its own will not stand up to much wear and tear) - that will sort out a light proof door for you ; then the "real door" (am guessing it has a real door) to the closet will provide nice camouflage.

The the only thing you have to worry about is ventilation. If you can build it in, have a look at the panasonic whisper fans on amazon. They are well rated and have a rep for being exceptionally quiet. Some other people on IC have come up with some nice designs for a homebuild carbon scrubber to go with them.

If you are considering a tent, I have got a bud box and rate it highly (but you do have to set it up, wash it and let it air for a few days before you grow in it as it is packed with some slightly toxic chems). Of course, if you are talented in that way, you can build it yourself but as they aren't exactly expensive in the first place, I wouldn't feel bad about buying one.

Limey