New Cabinet

[Guest]

Hello all, I have finially completed my new grow cab and I am very excited about it.

Here's the specs:
75" tall total height
32" wide
24" deep
(essentially a c13)
Veg. compartment is on top 30" tall
Flower on bottom 40" tall

Lights:
Veg: 1 New wave 24 t5 (98 w) w/ daylight spectrum bulb
Flower: 2 new wave 24 t5 (total of 196w) w/ mix spectrum
4" can fan and filter for exhaust

I went with the t5's due to heat and the owner of my local hydro shop SWEARS by them. He claims if I do it right I will out preform a 400W hps.

My orig. plan was to throw a 600 w hps in the flower box but it would be insane to cool.

I will start off with M.K ultra from T.H. seeds (g13 x o.g kush)

I plan on having 4 small plants flowering at once...possibly scrog

Any suggestions or concerns please comment.

Weight predictions?

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry to say this, but that hydro shop guy gave you a good talking of bullshit. A 400w hps can pull off half a pound no problem(some guy on this forum got over one pound with a 400 and one plant) .

On the other hand, you'll be doing good if you get 2oz from 196W of fluoro, 3oz would be doing excellent considering that .3g/w is normal for fluoros.

There is no way you could put a 600 in there with only 40" of height; you'd really be pushing it in my opinion. Even with a 400 I think you'd probably have to scrog to keep from burning them. IMO, a 250w hps combined with your 196W of T5's that you already have would be great for your space.

 

[rastamonunika]

ls1, have u ever used a t5 set before>? they are actually quite wonderful. . . i used to veg/flower my extras with them, and u can get decent yield, open air, no reflectivity, with 1 4 bulb t5 (i tihnk mine was 220w, i dunno) they did get a lil but of side lighting from the HPs, but they were at least 4-6 feet away. . . im sure some people dont like the t5 but i think they are neat! =P

i have to agree with ls1 regarding the 250 HPS, that would be "slammin'" if u made it one flower cab and one veg cab, you could easily fit the 250 and 196w of t5, and that would be a pretty killer combination, especiallllly with the mixed spectrum! I think it might be a hassle inside one cab, so i think u could stick with just the 196w t5's, but wow, the two cmobined would be a killer combo if u could get it setup correctly,. . .

anyhow, lets see some pictures! i wanted to throw my t5 in the cab im designing, but of course its 47.5 in, not 48" for the inside of the cab, schucks! but anyhow, if u do it right, you should do well with those t5's, just make sure u get them nice and close and line your cab with something reflective. . . white paint is great and all, but i think it would help the t5's if u threw some astrofoil or somethin' in there. . .

fan and filter will fit well enough, i dont know the cfm's of the canfan but im guessin its its around 170cfm, which is good for the size u got. . .

kewl idea with the 2 smaller t5's, i like ur style =P as for weight guess i honestly dont kno, when i was flowering my spares i would get 1 - 1.5 z per plant, nothing fabulous of course, but this was all headstash so i wasnt complaining. . . i havent done mkultra either, a friend does taht and HOG and says he gets great yield. . .


get some pictures for us =) i know i prefer picturebooks!

good luck with your grow and be safe!

lots of Love and Light
unika

 

[Guest]

ls1, have u ever used a t5 set before>? they are actually quite wonderful. . . i used to veg/flower my extras with them, and u can get decent yield, open air, no reflectivity, with 1 4 bulb t5 (i tihnk mine was 220w, i dunno) they did get a lil but of side lighting from the HPs, but they were at least 4-6 feet away. . . im sure some people dont like the t5 but i think they are neat! =P

I think fluorescent lights are great! I myself use CFL's for my mother plant, and if I had the extra cash, I'd have some of those fancy T5's instead.

I was just commenting on the hydroshop owner saying that 196W of T5 will outperform a 400W hps. We all know thats a load of bullshit, and it's rather dishonest of the hydro owner to be saying things like that.

 

[Guest]

I would love to say that the guy as bullshitting me.... but he made less money of me and wants my return business...so why would he lie?

His justification behind it was that WAY MORE LIGHT GETS TO THE PLANTS due to the fact that a hps has to be about a foot away. this to me makes perfect sense

PICS SOON

 

[rastamonunika]

its actually relatively true ls1, lumen for lumen the HPS will have more initial lumens than the t5, but because u can hover those t5's a couple inches (the buds were literally touching the bulbs and none got burned. . of course i moved them as soon as i saw they were touching the light, but still, i was impressed with the low heat. . )

i got my t5 off of ebay for pretty darn cheap. . .

thumb, the one that you have is 2 feet long and has 4 bulbs across>? just trying to visualize your cab and whatnot. . . and honestly, if u ever get a chance to upgrade, throw in a 400w hps and aircool it well so it can get niiice and close, then the t5's angled down but turned towards the plants enough to give some great side lighting. . then u could grow some nasty bushes ;-)

good luck Thumb and be safe!

lots of Love and Light
unika

 

[Guest]

Sorry bro, but I don't think you're going to win this one.

196W T5 = 20,000 lumens. would cost you $240 at www.bghydro.com

400W HPS = 45-50,000 lumens(edit - thats a foot away from the bulb). You can get complete 400w systems for $170 at the same site.

I'd also imagine that the profit margin on the T5's (newish overpriced technology) is much higher than HPS (old, established, and popular), so you can see why he'd rather sell you two T5 systems than one 400w system.

 

[Guest]

I see about the profit margins...i thought that also.

And rasta the t5's are 2ft long 11" wide and have 4 bulbs.

I want to eventually squeeze a 250 w hps in the but my box is cooled by one fan in the upper veg. box so i dont know how i would air cool an hps without another fan.

I will try to put together a diagram of my cab so yall can get a better idea

 

[Guest]

Heres a diagram of my new can the t5's measure 24" long 11" wide and 3" tall. I was wondering how i could eventually air cool a 250 watt hps in the bottom flower chamber.

 

[rastamonunika]

if u dont want to buy a second fan it will be a bi tricky, but if u bought asmall 4in vrtex and hooked it up the hps, ud be set. . .

completely understand what ur saying about the lighting ls1, they are "overpriced" but that is marketing for u. i kno that the 400w is cheaper, but then u need to get the hood and aircool it too. . . with the t5's its basically all inlcuded, (obviously in the cab hed need a fan to exhaust the air also, but open air grow he could let it sit and it would be fine. . ) i get what ur saying tho, but i think Thumb probably let him know what he was planning and the hydro guy pointed him in the direction that he thought was best. . .

and not trying to win my dear, that is not what its about. . I just didnt want u posting negative thoughts about hydroshop owners, they are people too!

wasnt trying to battle with u my friend, in my eyes it was an open discussion. . . but if that is not wat it is then i guess the fat lady has sung. . .


Love and Light
unika

 

[Guest]

hey rasta. thanks for the feedback I have a question about my cab...did I mess up by putting the two intake holes on the same side as the hole from the veg to flower cab?....will this mess up ventilation....and also how would I rig a 4" fan in the lower box without messing up the flow of air to the upper chamber?

 

[rastamonunika]

i wouldnt go as far as saying mess up, but your circulation would be better if u had them on the opposite side. . . didnt see any oscillation fans on ur list of parts, so id definately grab some from the wally world +P

for the 250 just setup ur vent in reverse. . . in other words make a second 4" hole on the top, pvc pipes with 90* elbows work incredibly well. . . then throw ur 250 in a cooltube (build one>?) with the can fan sucking the air from the carbon filter in the veg cab, downward through the cooltube and the fan sucking it out the back. . . i know that this isnt the ideal situation but its just the first idea that came to mind. . . dont have to go with it of course, but its an idea +P. . . I also dont know how stealth this has to be but in my mind that is the most important thing. .

i think ur better off with just the t5's tho, it will be a hassle to try and make that work, and im conerned that fan wont be able to handle all the heat and all the turns in the ducting for the hps. . . but at that point ti think u should just build a new flower cab and keep that one as a mother/veg and clone cab. . but thats just wat id do. .

if u did stuff the t5's 250w and then the other t5' in the veg i think a digi ballast would be better cuz it gives off less heat and u could mount it to the inside of the cab. . . but i really dont think id go through all the trouble at this point. . .

sorry thats long, i was trying to multitask but it just didnt work =P

hope some of my rambling helps!

Love and Light
unika

 

[Guest]

Hey rast. YES YOUR RAMBLING IS GREAT...THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK.
my main concern with just the t5's is bud density. I don't really care about weight I just want dense frosty buds...I hope that is possible with the t5's.

 

[rastamonunika]

I actualyl have faith that they will. . . I think because of the small space that the cab will keep in all the light, u may have to trim back some of the fan leaves, or just scrog or LST them so that the fan leaves arent getting all the light and blocking the buds. . .

but ive used my 4ft t5 and had good results, just make sure u get enough air circulation in there and keep that light nice and close. . . i think if u scrog em with that light u should be able to produce some pretty tight buds. . .

dont forget to snap some pics when ur ready =) i cant wait to see those t5's blarin in the cab. . . (have u tried them yet>? when i got mine i had to try them, so i set mine up and took some photographs to see how well it lit a scene. . .)

hope ur doing well

lots of Love and Light
unika

are u giong to use hydro or soil? forgot to ask =P

 

[Guest]

It will be soil...I was thinking about scrog but since I have only executed a few grows under an H.I.D and never under t5's I was going to get a feel for growth rates and what not. My grow will be in CoCo due to past success. By the way what is "LST"?

Also, I have my veg t5 pretty damn close (about 3 inches from my little mk ultra seedlings...is this too close?

 

[rastamonunika]

the old "back of the hand trick" has never done me wrong. . . if its too hot for them in there get a small fan and put it on low to cool em down. . . i kept my light literally an inch above the tops of my seedlings, but i did have good ventilation too. . . (ive also noticed that because they have an oscillating fan, the stems get stronger because of the wind jerking them around) of course dont blast them on high, but get some air moving in there for them . .

LST is low stree training, just another way that is similar to scrog except it doesnt use a screen to tuck everything under, u kinda bend the plant at a 90* angle as it grows, and the colas just grow upright. . . its pretty cool!

my only concern with the t5's is keeping them close enough during flower. . . it should prduce some good buds given ur area and the intensity of the t5's, but training them in some way would ensure that the buds get the majority of the light during flowering. . .

coco sounds great =) and i really do believe that the t5's will compete pretty well with an HID. . . but i guess the first run will be a sort of experiment =)

cant wait for pics and updates! ;-P

hope ur doing well

lots of Love and Light
unika

 

[Guest]

whoops....just reread my post I meant coco