Advice on setting up my grow! 400HPS/t5

[Droid88]

Hello!

I recently purchased a 400 watt HPS with cooltube. I've already purchased and have been using a T5 HO 6 bulb fixture with 2700k bulbs and a 2 x 4 x 5.5 "Mother's keeper" tent from HTG, I really like this tent btw, steel construction, strong, well designed.

I'm also running a 300 CFM squirrel fan sucking air through a filter and exhausting it under my house. I've also got 2 4" inch duct fans at 80 cfm each for exhausting the cooltube under the house.

My question is what is the best way to use both the HPS and the t5 fixture in this tent for flowering. I'm running 3 plants in hempy buckets with netting above. I'm planning on vegging for two weeks after I install the HPS tomorrow.

The way I see it, I can either have the T5 acting as side lighting and the HPS as the top lighting or put the t5 and the HPS as top lighting. But I'm not sure if the side lighting will be effective, considering I am doing a horizontal scrog. The problem I have with doing the HPS and t5 as top lighting is that the HPS would block out the entire middle section of the t5 with ducting and reflector also the t5 would have to be further away than ideal in order to get decent spread on the HPS, maybe this isn't a big deal though.

Which do you guys think is best? I need the scrog as I am limited by height and intend to veg these plants for a while.

Thanks!

 

[FreezerBoy]

The 400 alone will bury you in weed. I'd run it alone.

 

[Droid88]

The 400 alone will bury you in weed. I'd run it alone.

Thank you, I might just do this to keep things simple. I was worried that because of the strange dimensions of the tent, the HPS might not reach the edges of the 4ft long tent, but I might just give a shot and see how it goes.

 

[redbud56]

Well, since you have it, you could use the T5 for side lighting if you have room. You would just have to remember to turn your plants all the time though. But ya, in that size tent the 400 would be plenty and with the 300 cfm fan, (wow) you'll have to get a speed control or you might suck in the walls Really, if you have adequate ventilation you shouldnt need a cool tube, and they cut down alot on the amount of light your plants receive. Or, you could make a clone/early veg grow box and use the t5 for that. A small homemade box.

 

[Droid88]

The fan is actually really quiet! Inside the closet with both doors shut I can't hardly hear it, although I have an AC and fan running outside.

Good to know about the HPS in this tent size, for some reason I was under the impression that the 400 watt HPS wouldn't be able to go the 4 ft required. I might just setup the t5 in there, you guys have convined me that doing the top lighting isn't worth it. Maybe I'll do a stadium scrog kinda thing? Like have the netting tilted so the plants furthest away from the t5 can grow a bit taller and therefor not be blocked?

 

[TRONIC187]

Mines louder than a...... you get it