Room Layout recommendations?

[VI-guy]

Hey Guys,

I have recently been given access to a sweet little room, and am looking for the right setup.

the dimensions are 6.5ft x 3.5 ft x 8 ft.

I'd like to grow a fast flowering crop 8-9 weeks, probably going to go with Bud-lite for a strain its a Kush / Burmese cross, med height, low scent.

The things I am having trouble with are, how long to veg for.

How many plants to have in the room?, Im planning on growing in 2-3 gallon pots.

I have helped friends with crops but haven't set up a show myself.

As for lighting I am thinking floro for veg and then switch to a 1000w HPS for flowering just to save the cost of the sep ballast and bulb for veg.

or would it be worth the cost for 1000w / mh and 1000/w HPS rigs?

I know that 1000w might be a little underkill for the room size but I was thinking a large reflector and good rotation should compensate.

Any opinions appreciated

 

[bobdobalina420]

You can get a switchable ballast that will run MH and HPS - The Lumatek Digital Ballasts are dim-able so you can run lesser wattage bulbs for vegging. I would try to use a MH/HPS light if you can for vegging....you will get a lot more growth in the same time period. So to answer you question about vegging I would veg them till they're about 8"+ in height....could take 2-4 weeks depending on light you are using.... and I would not use anything smaller than 3 gallon pots....the less plants the bigger they will be able to get in my opinion. More plants does not mean more yield. Good luck!!!!

 

[SmokeyThaBandit]

if $ is an issue floros will work fine tho, growth might be a little stringy and less compact but that 1000w hps should kill it. keep that canopy nice and level. as far as vegging if you only doin like 4-5 plants i would veg for like 30 days and grow some monsta's!!

 

[VI-guy]

Hey Guys thanks for the input, I've been thinking that a switchable ballast is the way to go, do the combo hps/mh bulbs need a special ballast? Ideally I'd like to veg with a combo,400/600 if they make them and then switch to just hps for flowering.

Still wondering what would be the ideal amount of plants in this room, i don't want to crowd them but would like to find the balance for a good yeild, is a couple of pounds too optimistic for this size of room?

 

[SmokeyThaBandit]

yes you buy a switchable ballast if thats what you want to do, but keep in mind if you only buy one light, you cant have a veg room and flower room going at the same time.... all depends on if you want to have a perpetual grow....

 

[VI-guy]

So what In my searching, what I've understood is that the combo bulbs run in a normal HPS ballast, if thats the case then I could veg under the combo and then throw the hps bulb in for flower.

perpetual is something I'd like to do down the road but at the moment, I just want to get a few mammas going and find a pheno I'm happy with and have lots of little girls ready for when I finish the room.

I will start photo documenting once I start construction and start germing. seeds.

 

[Maijah]

the only way to get a couple of pounds is to get a couple of thousand watts to flower, with nice big healthy plants in 3-5 gallon pots, best of luck

 

[VI-guy]

so an extra 1000w HPS for flowering would make that much diffrence.. hmmm ok added to list.

so in 22 3/4 sq feet of floor space, would 10 plants be resonable?

 

[bobdobalina420]

1 - 1000 Watt Light @ 22 sq ft roughly is about 45 watts per sq foot. That is good for your space. The other thing to consider is the temperature of the light....it will get hot in that space so you will probably need to use an air cooled hood and vent it somewhere...

 

[ogatec]

i would think with those dimensions 2x600w would be ideal...I am a fan of 1ks myself but you have to go with whats best for your room.

 

[bobdobalina420]

And if you can buy 2 600's you can run MH & HPS bulbs through flowering....

 

[VI-guy]

Kinda hard to justify the cost of two 600's. I think due to the fact that I will be moving to a diffrent place after this crop and probably be setting up something a little bigger.

So I think I will go with one 1000w ballast, and Conversion MH bulb for veg and a straight 1000w HPS for flower. Maybe even throw in a couple small 200w MH in for the flower to brighten up the shadows and get a little more of a full spectrum.

 

[VI-guy]

This project seems to be getting more complicated the more I think it through, but I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. I am going to go with a cooltube with a batwing reflector that will pull air from the adjacent room and then send warm air into the garage, thereby at least doing something useful with the heat. As far as air filtering goes, would a can filter that was simply recirculating the grow room air withing the room be effective enough, or should it be vented outside the room?

 

[VI-guy]

actually it looks like cost wise over the long run a switchable ballast would make more sense then conversion bulbs.

 

[Blckbrd]

With those lights, you're gonna have to cool down that room I suspect. You may wanna think about having an air supply (assuming cooler air there) from the garage & then a separate feed dumping out the hot air. If your room is pretty tight, recirculating might not be the way to go. Using your cooltube, why not just pull the air out of that room & dump into the garage & have a passive feed (vent) allowing cooler fresh air to be pulled in.

To get the most out of your lights, you may wanna mylar the walls.

Veg. 24/7 IMHO, then check out those timers that will run your flower cycle in less than 24 hrs ... as in 7 hrs on, 12 hrs off ... it really speeds up your flower cycle time by @ 20%. You don't have to wait a full 24 hour cycle that way.

 

[VI-guy]

The only problem I can see with using the cool tube to pull air out to the shop would be the lack of a filter on it, I'd like to keep the air moving as fast as possible through the tube to give it less of a chance to heat the room up.

I was under the impression (very possibly wrong) that flat white paint would be more effective then mylar, not so?

I'm also considering a decent can filter venting to the basement with a vaportek running somewhere in the vicinity.

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get this as close as possible to right the first time, as I am counting on a little cash influx from this show to take it up to the next level.

 

[VI-guy]

Decided to change strains too, after checking out some reviews. Any recommendations, something not too stinky, and fairly forgiving predominantly indica?

thanks again by the way

 

[Blckbrd]

guys here have had a LOT more experience with genetics than I. that said, in my limited experience, I have found bubblegum and power kush to be very forgiving and strong growers with good yeilds.

As for smell, dunno about less pungent strains.

If you are constantly exchanging air, I have found that the smell does not get so condensed. If your garage is a little bit drafty, it should diffuse it fairly well. Got access to a bathroom vent or chimney flue from a furnace or hot water heater? Dunno what my aversion to filters is ... I have always relied on creative venting.

Mylar DEFINITELY over white paint - no question. It's only about $25 for the roll you'd need ... 1 ml (thinner & cheaper) would be fine. You are looking to maximize your yield - available light is a key way to do it. Put up mylar IMHO.

First grow? Cool! Try to keep it simple. Steady temps - no extreme fluctuations. Don't burn your seedlings - hope you have a nice gentle light to start em out. Sprouting 'em is a whole nuther science.

Study up on curing a bit too ...
Have fun! What a great hobby!!

 

[dybert]

The only problem I can see with using the cool tube to pull air out to the shop would be the lack of a filter on it, I'd like to keep the air moving as fast as possible through the tube to give it less of a chance to heat the room up.

I was under the impression (very possibly wrong) that flat white paint would be more effective then mylar, not so?

I'm also considering a decent can filter venting to the basement with a vaportek running somewhere in the vicinity.

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get this as close as possible to right the first time, as I am counting on a little cash influx from this show to take it up to the next level.

Flat White paint is about 93% effective, while Mylar is 98% or so... Flat white paint is easier to work with, and probably cheaper too... Its up to you if the 5% is worth it to you.

As far as pulling air out through a cool tube, you don't need to filter it. You want to run an intake vent line from outside the room, through the cool tube, and then out. That air never touches the air in the room, effectively giving you a sealed room, while still venting the hot air out of the lights (with no smell).

 

[VI-guy]

Yeah, running the intake for the cool tube from outside the room was my intention. I also like the idea of running room exaust to the chimney flue, from what I can see our furnace and hot water are side by side and both exausts go into one duct, so can I just T into that or should I have a one way flapper or something similar?