[NPK]

I've done two successful closet grows now and have decided to convert my basement into a grow room. The space is 13 x 9 x 7. I've been putting a lot of thought into my setup and have decided to start out with 4000 watts, with the possibility of expansion if everything goes well. Because I've never set up a larger grow room before, I'd like to do a brain dump here and get feedback from more experienced folks.

I'm looking to achieve a thorough spectrum of red and blue light, so to that end, I'd like to rig up four dual Sunsystems hoods, each with one 600-watt HPS bulb and one 400-watt MH bulb. With that amount of wattage, a chief concern is going to be heat control. I want to air-cool the lights, but the only dual Sunsytem hoods I've seen have holes for 4" ducting; ideally, they'd be able to accomodate at least 6" ducting. Would it be possible to expand those holes by a couple of inches? Unless there's a good reason not to, that's what I'm inclined to do.

It seems like the easiest way to air-cool this number of lights would be to daisy-chain them together and vent the hot air out of one powerful fan, but would that work with what will effectively be four 1,000-watt lights? I'm concerned that the second, third, and fourth lights in the chain would be "cooled" with hot air from the first light. Would this be a problem?

I guess my long-winded question is, what is the best way to air-cool this number of lights? I'd like it to be as simple as possible, without knocking multiple holes in the wall for multiple heat-exhaust fans. How do other people handle this? I'm all ears!

Why not 2 MH 1000's and 2 HPS 1000's. Then you only have 4 bulbs to buy as opposed to 8 and you still have your balanced spectrum. And you then have all of the reflector options available, not just the dual reflectors. There plenty of sixes to choose from, and there are even some eights on the market now that would make cooling a breeze.

[Diego]

or just use the four sixes and grab another hood to toss a 400 in the middle, with that amount of room 4 sixes is all that is needed. Be a little cooler as well and give you some room to work with. I have four dual lights as well and normally opt not to use the mhs, I have used them spreading out 4 of the 6s with 2 mhs (in seperate hoods. We cut a hole through the wall that ducted from the bathroom and the bathroom had a vent the ducted from the freezing ass outdoors (alot of houses already have these built in) and the fan suction made the bathroom a box of cold outside air thatd was used to both cool the lights and cool the room. Then I ducted the light air to the heater vent blocking the heater vent from the bathroom so the bathroom would stay cold and the heat would warm the rest of the house. Just keep your hot air away from the grow room with a good exhaust and plenty of fresh air.

with that amount of room 4 sixes is all that is needed.

13 x 9 x 7 = 117 square feet. With 2400 watts you would be looking at 20wpf....no where close to a 'high light environment'. That WOULD be sufficient...if you were growing lettuce Jane likes at least 50 wpf, which is actually closer to 6000 watts than it is 2400. Just my 2 cents.

[NPK]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Kokua, that sounds totally simple and logical. I could be tempted to try something like that. Thing is, I already have two 600-watt HPS lights and one 400-watt halide; I'd like to leverage the equipment I've got as much as possible, you know?

Still, you make a good point: with what I proposed, I'd still have to buy five more ballasts and four more hoods. So maybe I could try one of the following:

• Assemble a 1000-watter with the 400- and 600-watt lights I've got, purchase one empty dual hood and three new complete systems (I like what I've read about the Lumatek digital ballasts), and sell the extra 600-watt light on craigslist

• Assemble two 1000-watters by buying another 400-watt halide, two empty dual hoods, and also buy two complete systems

• Sell all the lights I currently have on craigslist and buy four complete new 1000-watt systems

You know, the more I hash this out the simpler the last option seems. I kinda cringe at all the cash I'd have to lay out for the new lights, but it would pay for itself in the long run and would be less hassle in terms of assembly, too.

One last question, if you don't mind: what CFM fan would you use to air-cool four 1K daisy-chained lights?

[MTF-Sandman]

Definitely go with the 1k's instead of all those 400's and 600's...better light penetration, cheaper and easier to cool since you can use better hoods. I like Silverstars for 6" air cooled hoods....get an 8" inline, split the input side into 2 6" ducts and run 2 lights off each side of the split.

Get some full spectrum lights like Hortilux's eye (HPS) or Agrosun Golds (MH) or mix them 50/50 and you'll be set.

You'll probably still want to get an AC in the 15-18k btu range though to make sure the temps stay nice unless you live in a very cool area.

i use 6" silverstars with 600w lights...i never bother with dual or mh, the plants veg just fine under hps, its only 2 weeks of veg anyway. or you could use hortilux bulbs that add some blue spectrum

Originally Posted by NPK

You know, the more I hash this out the simpler the last option seems. I kinda cringe at all the cash I'd have to lay out for the new lights, but it would pay for itself in the long run and would be less hassle in terms of assembly, too.

And commercially speaking...Simple = Mo better The last thing you want is a convoluted mess of mis-matched equipment. I totally empathize with you wanting to utilize equipment you already own, but sometimes it just makes sense to start from scratch. It is going to be 2k-3k for the total upgrade including the 8" fan. If you pull anything short of 10x that your first harvest, you are doing something wrong. Not a bad return on your investment...

https://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/sg/Grow%20Lights

Radiant 8 $177.95 x4 = $711.80
1000 HPS ballast $299.50 x2 = $599.00
1000 MH ballast $237.95 x2 = $475.90
cordset $37.95 x4 = $151.80
1000 Hortilux $104.95 x2 = $209.90
1000 Agrosun $95.50 x2 = $191.00
8" 737 cfm Can Fan = $265.95

Grand Total: $2,871.30 + tax





Something like this would work. Instead of pulling from the top you would obviously pull from the sides. The junction box is a must if you want to pull with one fan.

[MTF-Sandman]

Nice pic kokua!

Those prices seem kinda high tho...

Here's my price breakdown...

2 1k Hydrotek HPS, Silverstar, hortilux & cordset $365 from hydroponicstore.com
2 1k Hydrotek MH, Silverstar, hortilux blue & cordset $355 from hydroponicstore.com
1 8" Vortex $189 from mdhydro.com

Grand total = <Edit math typo> $1629 + S&H