Help with new growroom design please.

[The Wang]

Hey. Getting back into growing some tomatoes.

I'm asking you guys the favor so I'll try to make it as easy as possible to fulfill by listing what I intend to have as well as specs.

Here is what I have so far:

Secret Jardin DR120W (Dimensions: 47.25" x 23.5" x 5'5")
I think I'm going to use 5 gallon smart pots (about 10.5"x12") (8 of them)

My question is, what will be better for this space? 400w or 600w?
I know hortilux makes some awesome HPS bulbs, so thats probably what I would use.

What kind of ballast do you guys recommend I get? Theres so many to choose from and they all seem to be the same except for name, but I want something reliable.

Hood reflector? I think I want to air cool my light.

With that in mind, what kind of ventilation system do I need? I want zero smell. Can filters seem to be the way to go. I heard the can fan + can filter combos were kind of mismatched because some of the fans suck too much air through the filter and the filter can't keep up.

Anyways, please post any additional questions you might have to further assist me.

Thanks all!

also, is Greners a reputable site to order stuff from?

 

[The Wang]

Bump, for great justice.

 

[touchofgrey]

Hey. Getting back into growing some tomatoes.

I'm asking you guys the favor so I'll try to make it as easy as possible to fulfill by listing what I intend to have as well as specs.

Here is what I have so far:

Secret Jardin DR120W (Dimensions: 47.25" x 23.5" x 5'5")
I think I'm going to use 5 gallon smart pots (about 10.5"x12") (8 of them)

My question is, what will be better for this space? 400w or 600w?
I know hortilux makes some awesome HPS bulbs, so thats probably what I would use.

What kind of ballast do you guys recommend I get? Theres so many to choose from and they all seem to be the same except for name, but I want something reliable.

Hood reflector? I think I want to air cool my light.

With that in mind, what kind of ventilation system do I need? I want zero smell. Can filters seem to be the way to go. I heard the can fan + can filter combos were kind of mismatched because some of the fans suck too much air through the filter and the filter can't keep up.

Anyways, please post any additional questions you might have to further assist me.

Thanks all!

also, is Greners a reputable site to order stuff from?

With regard to the light, I'd go for 600 watts in a 2'x4' space. It's either 50 or 75 watts/SF, 50 is low IMO and 75 isn't too much. If you were more square the 400 might do OK but to get penetration to the perimeter you will be happier with the 600.

As far as ballasts, I recommend digital over magnetic. More expensive yes, but more energy efficient and you can use either MH or HPS bulbs. I've got a Lumatek with a EYE Hortilux bulb with a group 'bout 2 weeks into veg right now. I was going to get a MH bulb but I've read the Hortilux spectrum was OK for veg too, and so far they're looking great.

For ventilaton it really makes a big difference if you go with an air cooled hood or not. Without it you would need about 200 cfm to keep the delta T to about 10 degrees. If you get a filter and fan combo that will deliver a net of 200 cfm then that would be the simple solution.

If you AC the hood with a cheap axial fan ('cause you don't have much static pressure) that got 80 to 100 cfm then get a smaller scrubber/fan for the tent that just provides enough ventilation to keep the plants happy. Figure 1 to 2 minutes per air change. Your tent is 44 cubic feet so you could get by with much less fan on the scrubber. If the scrubber is not a mated pair with net ratings you need to know the static pressure of the scrubber and match it to a manufacturers fan curve spec sheet. IMO you should get alot of scrubber area with a smallish fan so the air velocity through the filter is lower.

 

[The Wang]

With regard to the light, I'd go for 600 watts in a 2'x4' space. It's either 50 or 75 watts/SF, 50 is low IMO and 75 isn't too much. If you were more square the 400 might do OK but to get penetration to the perimeter you will be happier with the 600.

As far as ballasts, I recommend digital over magnetic. More expensive yes, but more energy efficient and you can use either MH or HPS bulbs. I've got a Lumatek with a EYE Hortilux bulb with a group 'bout 2 weeks into veg right now. I was going to get a MH bulb but I've read the Hortilux spectrum was OK for veg too, and so far they're looking great.

For ventilaton it really makes a big difference if you go with an air cooled hood or not. Without it you would need about 200 cfm to keep the delta T to about 10 degrees. If you get a filter and fan combo that will deliver a net of 200 cfm then that would be the simple solution.

If you AC the hood with a cheap axial fan ('cause you don't have much static pressure) that got 80 to 100 cfm then get a smaller scrubber/fan for the tent that just provides enough ventilation to keep the plants happy. Figure 1 to 2 minutes per air change. Your tent is 44 cubic feet so you could get by with much less fan on the scrubber. If the scrubber is not a mated pair with net ratings you need to know the static pressure of the scrubber and match it to a manufacturers fan curve spec sheet. IMO you should get alot of scrubber area with a smallish fan so the air velocity through the filter is lower.

Thanks for the really helpful post.

I'm still a little confused with how to pick my ventilation though.

Would a Can33 (Max 200CFM)
paired with a
Vortex 6" 449CFM be too much if its also used to cool the lighting?

I don't understand how I would calculate that

Edit:

Ok so the canfan 6" combo w/ the can33 filter provides
156CFM, so about 3 air exchanges per minute, is this Overkill? I want there to be ZERO smell

 

[Pseudo]

first of all you dont have to worry about smell with tomatoes, but say you got some stank azz tomatoes, the 449 cfm is what it blows with no resistance, a can 33 would be ok, just get a speed controller for your fan, filters are more efficent at a slower air speed and quieter too, good luck!!

 

[touchofgrey]

I'm still a little confused with how to pick my ventilation though.

Would a Can33 (Max 200CFM)
paired with a
Vortex 6" 449CFM be too much if its also used to cool the lighting?

I don't understand how I would calculate that

Edit:

Ok so the canfan 6" combo w/ the can33 filter provides
156CFM, so about 3 air exchanges per minute, is this Overkill? I want there to be ZERO smell

I think the 156 cfm is a little light for 600 watts. That air flow will keep 600 watts at about 15 degrees above ambient and you might not be able to stand that much.

This chart has been floating around since the OG days

I just noticed the specs on the tent you referenced and see they only have one exhaust port. That kinda makes it hard to do an air cooled hood separately so you're kinda stuck to exhaust the filter and hood together. The 156 cfm would be better with a 400 watt light and you could probably afford to slow down the fan a bit and still control temps.
You should definately get a speed controller so you can slow it down if you need to, it makes a big difference in noise level.

The specs say the 33 is good for 100-200 cfm and the 6" fan says it will deliver that much filtered air.

I've never grown in a tent, will that much exhaust make it implode? lol

Ventilation 101 is an informative read http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

 

[soilgrower]

'quote'
With regard to the light, I'd go for 600 watts in a 2'x4' space

a dr120 is 120 cm by 120 cm which is closer to 4 foot by 4 foot correct me if I'm wrong. But yes a 600 or 1000 if you can cool it will be great. I use a Homebox 120 with 1 600 hps and 2 in last few weeks a flower with extra extraction..