250 watt MH/HPS closet grow?

[KPizzle]

Hey guys, this has probably been gone over a thousand times, but Google and the search function didn't really thoroughly answer my questions, and I was hoping the fine people here would lend me their assistance.

• I'm growing in a sliding closet door that's about: 5-6 feet high, 5 feet wide, and 2-3 feet deep.

• I have the light about 2-3 feet away from the sprout-ling, and I put a 13-15 inch oscillating fan on the opposite side of the closet on low for the ventilation. I can't think of anything else for the ventilation because a) I can't cut any big holes in the wall unless they're easily cover-able/fixable (my landlord will shit a brick), and my window is right in front of the street, so I can't have anything sticking out in the fear of rising suspicious behavior. I have each side of the closet slid open a little bit. The fan side is where the new air is pulled in, and the other side is where all the old air is pushed out. The problem is the new air isn't "fresh" air.

• What's a good amount of plants for a 250 watt? Right now I have only 1, but I have my recommendation, so I can have up to 6 LEGALLY I believe, but I don't want that many. This is more of a personal experiment more then anything else.

• Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Great place you guys got here.

 

[100% Dundee]

If you need to retain eveything inside of that closet but you are not looking to drill any holes like you said, you should look at grow tents. You could easily fit a Homebox XS for instance inside that closet and still have some room to spare on the sides. The pro's here is that a tent will be a lot more controllable in regards to light and temperature and humidity. It will also allow you to still use the closet/have the closet doors open without tons of light shining out(if its daytime for them) or shining in(you want to avoid light leaking in during the dark hours for the plants, sliding doors might not accomplish this as well as you want).

The amount of plants you have really depends on you. How much work do you want to have(taking care of one plant is a lot less work than 6)? How much bud are you looking to harvest? How are you growing(soil/hydro/etc)?

If I were you, using a homebox XS or something similarly sized with a 250w HID light in there I would probably do 2-4 plants in large Hempy buckets or DWC buckets. Veg them until they are about a foot tall, top them, veg them another week or two and then flower them out to end up with 2-3 foot tall plants. I would expect at least 2oz per in yield with any good/decent strain. That would leave you with another 2-4 plants in your plant count so that you can keep a mother/take some clones and not really have to worry about going over that 6 plant count.

 

[tr1ck_]

When I used to grow in a closet, I also had a 250 watt HPS. It seemed to me that 2 well trained plants would be best, so I always started with 4 seeds hoping for 2 females. I had heat problems though unfortunately and eventually had to cut a hole in the ceiling of the closet and I installed a bathroom exhaust fan there.

If you cut the whole very nicely you can repair it quite easily come move out time. I also had light leaks my first run because the doors leaked a little bit, so I had to hang a large blanket over the doors to block any extra light leaks. I then used a large dryer duct to create an intake that came out from under the blanket.

Best of luck to you, my first grow was the 250watt hps closet grow, and not only did I get some really great smoke from bag seed, I learned a lot and had a ton of fun.

Like Dundee mentioned, I would also consider a tent, (I have upgraded to a tent myself, and it makes life a lot easier)

 

[KPizzle]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses.

I should have posted that I was on a budget originally. I can literally spend only $30~$50.

If I were to cut a hole in my ceiling or wall, would I be able to take a cheaper router?

• How much work do you want to have?

Work isn't really a problem with me. I'm willing to put in any amount of hours to maintain and make sure everything is acceptable. I'm looking at about 2-4 plants.

• How much bud are you looking to harvest?

This isn't really an issue for me, but ideally I'd say an ounce off each plant, but judging by my set-up, that doesn't seem very likely at all.

• How are you growing (soil/hydro/etc)?

I'm growing with soil. I was told Fox Farm is a good soil to use for a beginner, but I am always open to suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[100% Dundee]

Possibly, but like tr1ck said, if you don't cut that whole very cleanly it is going to be very hard to repair/fix the holes to make them look like they were never there. Do you have the tools/knowledge needed to cut/repair/fix a hole in the wall cleanly? I know I sure don't, but if you do that is definitely an option. $30-$50 is a very very tight budget, maybe look on the local craigslist for some freebie/cheap dressers or some type of enclosure that you can modify to fit your needs if you cant splurge for a tent.

In reality that budget is not very realistic to get a grow off the ground. Just buying nutrients/growing medium will spend most of it.

 

[tr1ck_]

Well if you are on a cheap budget, I would say your best option is cutting a hole in the roof of the closet. You can get a cheap exhaust fan at your local Menards, should be ~20. (I cut the whole in my ceiling terribly, and it was my first time patching drywall, and it came out like crap. Needless to say my landlord never even noticed. I guess who walks into a closet and looks straight up anyways)

I would then go with FoxFarms OceanForest, and cut it with at least 20% perlite, some people go up to 40%. This should make your mix cheaper, and drain much better.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

What's above the closet ceiling? If your ceiling joists support another floor above (even flooring in an attic) it'll block the air flow. You could vent if you have non-floored attic space above. But be prepared to deal with 6" to 12" of insulation between the joists.

I've got sliding closet doors, they suck for growing. You'd have to take black plastic and cover any light leaks. This will make temps even hotter w/o an exhaust fan.

The easiest, cheapest way to vent the closet in your case is a duct fan and a piece of white pine shelf board the length of the sliding door. Cut a hole the size of the duct fan in one end of the pine shelf board. Stick the fan in the hole. Slide the door open wide enough to accommodate the board, (fan at the top.) Open the opposite sliding door enough to get sufficient intake. You'll have to drape a piece of black plastic (wider than the door spacing) over the gap or light leaks will fuck up your flowering plants.