[booduh]

a design I have been thinking about and want to get some input

[candypurp]

Originally Posted by booduh

a design I have been thinking about and want to get some input

Dude im having a tough time making sense of that picture..... I'd love to help, try to get a better pic or describe it verbally.

[freeworldorders]

It looks complicated, looks confusing with the lights. You have Hps and Cfl in the same room?
Make it as simple as possible, saves you alot of trouble.
Post some more info so we can get some better details.

[messn'n'gommin']

Dimensions?

May I ask why the rubmaid is on it's side? Would the area of vertical plant growth be a bit deeper if you stood it upright? Placing an inverted tub atop the bottom one would give you a lot more area, still.

With 242w's, you're going to need ventilation. Intake ports, exhaust port, and fan will be necessary. If odor is of any concern, you'll need to set up a scrubber, too.

namaste

A 70w HPS still needs a ballast doesn't it? I know they sell them at the hardware store but that doesn't mean you can just plug them in.

I think you should axe the larger CFL bulb. The heat it casts just isn't worth the lumens because you have to keep it further away. You're much better off having three 23w bulbs than one of those, I'm speaking from experience on this one.

You need intake and exhaust also, fresh air is very important. If the air isn't exchanged then the plants will use up all the CO2, and create a kind of oxygen toxic environment for themselves if it goes on for too long.

Flower your plants when they are maybe 5 inches tall. If you wait any longer they might overwhelm your grow space when finished.

[booduh]

i would like to thank all you who have responded.

its a 30 gallon heavy duty rubber maid. as of right now yes i have the 1 70 watt hps and the cfl's. what would i do to make it simpler?

i have it on the side for more vertical space. its 13 1/2 inches top to bottom, and 17 1/2 on its side. the reason for using 1 rubbermaid is for stealth. where in the pic would you all add the exhaust ports and fans, right now i will leave the lid open just a bit for exhaust, but would like to add exhaust ports/fans in the correct position. i will need a carbon scrubber at some point but havent got to that point yet. added is a pic of the set up. please any suggestions on what i can do better on this will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

[messn'n'gommin']

Originally Posted by booduh

i would like to thank all you who have responded.

its a 30 gallon heavy duty rubber maid. as of right now yes i have the 1 70 watt hps and the cfl's. what would i do to make it simpler?

i have it on the side for more vertical space. its 13 1/2 inches top to bottom, and 17 1/2 on its side. the reason for using 1 rubbermaid is for stealth. where in the pic would you all add the exhaust ports and fans, right now i will leave the lid open just a bit for exhaust, but would like to add exhaust ports/fans in the correct position. i will need a carbon scrubber at some point but havent got to that point yet. added is a pic of the set up. please any suggestions on what i can do better on this will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

A good rule of thumb, is 50w/sq.ft. Try to shoot for around 60-75 per. For your cfl's, the 1st pic shows 5 and lists four. While the 2nd pic shows (as best I can tell) the 68 and just two 26w's. I suggest you dump the hps (for now) and add a couple more cfl's. Temps will be a lot easier to control.

These links will tell you in detail why a 2/1 ratio of intake area to exhaust area is a target to shoot for.

“Understanding Air Flow,” by Hoosierdaddy
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=100823

“Ventilation 101,” by redgreenry
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

You might want to give odor control a higher priority. Stealth will be shot to hell, if you wake up one morning and two plants have the whole house stinkin'. You can find something that addresses that here at, arguably, the best page on the site!

“ICMAG'S OFFICIAL ~DIY~ LINK-O-RAMA,” by Pontiac
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=40637

It looks like you are well on the way though!

[booduh]

yeah your right about t he hps with temps. i added it a few days ago to see what would happen. it did make it about 10 degrees hotter and forced me to open the lid for more fresh air and cooling. with the 4 26 watt cfl's and the 1 68 watt cfl i can leave the lid closed, heat not being an issue. that being said when i added the 70 hps the plant seems to really like it alot. the color of my plant seems to like it.

i will add another pic and describe it a bit more. the hps is comming down from the top center of the rubber maid. the 68 watt cfl is on the left top. the back wall has the 5 light socket but i onlyl used 4 of them. then right now i have the fan on the ground, shown on the right side bottom where the one socket doesn't have a bulb.

if you really think i should lose the hps i will. but if i can have the right airflow/exhaust in the right placement would that fix this?

those links are hard for me to follow so where would you place the fans/exhaust?

for the smell i will build a carbon scrubber or use ona not sure which to use as of right now, i am a noob so any advice.

[messn'n'gommin']

Originally Posted by booduh

yeah your right about t he hps with temps. i added it a few days ago to see what would happen. it did make it about 10 degrees hotter and forced me to open the lid for more fresh air and cooling. with the 4 26 watt cfl's and the 1 68 watt cfl i can leave the lid closed, heat not being an issue. that being said when i added the 70 hps the plant seems to really like it alot. the color of my plant seems to like it.

i will add another pic and describe it a bit more. the hps is comming down from the top center of the rubber maid. the 68 watt cfl is on the left top. the back wall has the 5 light socket but i onlyl used 4 of them. then right now i have the fan on the ground, shown on the right side bottom where the one socket doesn't have a bulb.

if you really think i should lose the hps i will. but if i can have the right airflow/exhaust in the right placement would that fix this?

those links are hard for me to follow so where would you place the fans/exhaust?

for the smell i will build a carbon scrubber or use ona not sure which to use as of right now, i am a noob so any advice.

Just for now, unplug your hps (you can always add it later).

When you flip to 12/12 replace your "blue" cfl's for 2700k "red" ones and, "Tie ya kangaroo down, boys! Tie ya kangaroo down!"

If inside temps don't get above 85*F you can do without much of a ventilation system. But, that means you won't be able to use a fan if temps do get too high.

A regular pc fan (without the carbon filter) wired up to an adapter would work fairly well. I think they are what...3-1/2"? One 3" hole as high up on one end of the tub you attach the fan to for exhaust. And two 3" holes (or one 4"X4" square) as low to the bottom of the other end for a passive intake. Light proof as needed.