looking for comments and suggestions on my upcoming grow

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ruufuus

novice ethnobotanist
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Hey guys, I'm working on preparing for my upcoming grow and am looking for answers, comments and suggestions. I plan to veg 7 plants in a 4x4 under a 400w hps for 1 month, and then flower in a 6x4 under a 600w hps cooltube. I plan to vent through the tube with a 240 cfm fan, 1 for each light, and most likely a secon for negative pressure, and extra carbon filtering. I plan to intake with 1 240 cfm fan per room. The rooms will be tent like structures walled by pandafilm, the lights will be hung from hooks in a ceiling stud. I will be feeding every other watering with gh flora series, the plants will beb growing in 3g grow bags full of coco coir/vermiculite/perlite. I plan to ph my water between 6-6.5. Each room will have an oscilating fan for additional air movement, and too keep hot spots from forming below the bulb on the cooltube. I welcome any questions or comments, and have a question or two of my own.

My question for you all is, how close can I safely operate my cooltubes to the plants with this set up without torching the tops? And also I could use some advice on creating a constand harvest cycle, as they will be veged only 1 month, and flowered for 2. Thankyou all in advance for reading, and or comments^questions/advice you will provide.
 
I think that you are trying to stretch your lighting somewhat thin. A 400W HPS in a 4 x 4 space just barely gives you the minimum light for vegging. However, a 600W will not adequately light a 4 x 6 space. I would either go with a 4 x 4 tent or get more light. I also believe that you will find that a 240 cfm fan (what kind of fan are you looking at--be specific?) is not going to be adequate either. A better plant would be to get a larger exhaust fan--a Vortex or similar around 450 cfm and let your intake be passive.

Doing a perpetual harvest, I believe that you are going to find that you need about 2 months from taking clones to putting them into flowering. If you take clones just prior to putting the plant into 12/12, you will have 2 week or so before they are rooted. Then it takes another week or so for them to start growing well. If you do a fim or 2 they should be ready to go into 12/12 when the other plant is harvested.

You will have to experiment with how close you can keep the light.
 
Thanks for the info, I may shell out for an additional 600 watt light for the flowering, but at the moment I dare not put out the money. I may have the money to put into more supplies by the time the ladies are ready for flowering, which would be great. Also, you don't think a 250 cfm duct fan would be sufficient to exhaust the cooltube? I will run 2 250cfm fans in the flowering room through diy carbon scrubbers.
 
And furthermore, while I this thread is active, could you briefly explain passive intake to me? I have a pretty good idea as to what it is and how it works, but I want to be certain. I did a couple google searches but couldn't come up with any definitive idea, so if you could provide me with some insight I would appreciate it greatly!
 
Duct fans, IMO, are pretty much useless for any growing purposes.

Passive inlets have no fans. You just have openings to a fresh air source and let the pull of the exhaust fan draw in the fresh air. I pull air from my crawl space under my home. In the winter it is warmer than outside air and in the summer, it is cooler than outside air. This also creates negative pressure in the space so no smell escapes the room
 
You want suggestions? we are full of suggestions...or full of something :hubba: First, do not use duct fans for exausting. They are worthless for exausting air, I know cause I have 3 of them. :doh:

They don't create suction because they are just fans in an opening with room for the air to bypass. A centrifugal fan is the same as is used in a "shop vacume". The active and passive air functions just like the shop vac. the air blowing out of the vacume is being pushed by the fan inside the vacume, which is positive pressure. And the air being sucked into the end of the hose where you suck up trash, that is a passive intake with negative pressure(or vacume). You only need a good exaust fan on the exaust side at the outlet to suck the warm, stale air out of the room, and at the same time, suck fresh, cool air in through openings at the bottom of the tents(through a DIY contraption that will allow air through while trapping light from going through). :cool:

I would also tell you to put the 400w in the same room with the 600w and angle them a bit so that the light being emitted crosses each other to the plants. Then buy you a good T5 fixture that emits 40k+ lumens (or even 2 of them) with the 6500kelvin bulbs(grow bulbs) to put in the veg room. I have tried vegging with just T5, just MH, and both mixed. The best results came with the T5 because the plants didn't stretch much and stayed short and bushy. I haven't used HPS for vegging but I have heard that it allows stretching like the MH light.

I know this will be quite an investment but it will give the best results in the end. If you can't afford it all right now, I would suggest starting with both lights in the big room and start out your first run there so that you can set up that room completely and be able to complete a grow without having to do anything or add anything in the middle of the flowering. By the time you get to the end of the first grow you will should be able to get the T5 fixtures for the veg tent.

You will definitely want to get the fan though, here is a real good fan at a good price. I have bought 3 of these fans from this vendor without a problem. and they ship fast right to your door. hxxp://www.ebay.com/itm/6-INCH-INLINE-FAN-SCRUBBER-vortex-hydroponics-hps-grow?item=390264245764&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7228462147729079372

What you will want to do is connect the exaust end to go outside either through a window or into the attic space(if you have good attic ventilation) then run a hose from the fan to the light, then leave the other end open so that the air in the room will be pulled in through the cool tubes. (you can either use a Y to connect the 2 lights to the fan or you can connect them in series). Then you will want to make a connection to the airspace beneath your house(if possible) to allow the cool, fresh air to be drawn into the flowering space. Once you have your lights for the veg room, you can set up the ventilation to go with that as you will not need the same amount of ventilation for that room since the T5 fixtures don't put out the heat that the HIDs do. If your room where the grow is located is kept relatively cool then you will be able to keep the veg room cool easy enough.

With the cool tubes being ventilated constantly while the lights are on, you should be able to bring them as close as about 6" from the nearest top, but I would keep them at 12" for the 600, and 8" for the 400. This will give them room to grow a couple days without reaching the glass of the tube and burning(if you don't get to them for a couple days).

Once you get past the seed stage and are in the cloning you will be able to pull cuttings every couple weeks and have them rooting and vegging at different times, and going into flower room every couple weeks, and then harvesting 2-3 plants every couple weeks. That is how a my buddy does it and he is constantly pulling a couple ounces every couple weeks. :)

I know that is a lot to digest. If I aint makin sense just ask. :)
 
Hushpuppy said:
You want suggestions? we are full of suggestions...or full of something :hubba: First, do not use duct fans for exausting. They are worthless for exausting air, I know cause I have 3 of them. :doh:

They don't create suction because they are just fans in an opening with room for the air to bypass. A centrifugal fan is the same as is used in a "shop vacume". The active and passive air functions just like the shop vac. the air blowing out of the vacume is being pushed by the fan inside the vacume, which is positive pressure. And the air being sucked into the end of the hose where you suck up trash, that is a passive intake with negative pressure(or vacume). You only need a good exaust fan on the exaust side at the outlet to suck the warm, stale air out of the room, and at the same time, suck fresh, cool air in through openings at the bottom of the tents(through a DIY contraption that will allow air through while trapping light from going through). :cool:

I would also tell you to put the 400w in the same room with the 600w and angle them a bit so that the light being emitted crosses each other to the plants. Then buy you a good T5 fixture that emits 40k+ lumens (or even 2 of them) with the 6500kelvin bulbs(grow bulbs) to put in the veg room. I have tried vegging with just T5, just MH, and both mixed. The best results came with the T5 because the plants didn't stretch much and stayed short and bushy. I haven't used HPS for vegging but I have heard that it allows stretching like the MH light.

I know this will be quite an investment but it will give the best results in the end. If you can't afford it all right now, I would suggest starting with both lights in the big room and start out your first run there so that you can set up that room completely and be able to complete a grow without having to do anything or add anything in the middle of the flowering. By the time you get to the end of the first grow you will should be able to get the T5 fixtures for the veg tent.

You will definitely want to get the fan though, here is a real good fan at a good price. I have bought 3 of these fans from this vendor without a problem. and they ship fast right to your door. hxxp://www.ebay.com/itm/6-INCH-INLINE-FAN-SCRUBBER-vortex-hydroponics-hps-grow?item=390264245764&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7228462147729079372

What you will want to do is connect the exaust end to go outside either through a window or into the attic space(if you have good attic ventilation) then run a hose from the fan to the light, then leave the other end open so that the air in the room will be pulled in through the cool tubes. (you can either use a Y to connect the 2 lights to the fan or you can connect them in series). Then you will want to make a connection to the airspace beneath your house(if possible) to allow the cool, fresh air to be drawn into the flowering space. Once you have your lights for the veg room, you can set up the ventilation to go with that as you will not need the same amount of ventilation for that room since the T5 fixtures don't put out the heat that the HIDs do. If your room where the grow is located is kept relatively cool then you will be able to keep the veg room cool easy enough.

With the cool tubes being ventilated constantly while the lights are on, you should be able to bring them as close as about 6" from the nearest top, but I would keep them at 12" for the 600, and 8" for the 400. This will give them room to grow a couple days without reaching the glass of the tube and burning(if you don't get to them for a couple days).

Once you get past the seed stage and are in the cloning you will be able to pull cuttings every couple weeks and have them rooting and vegging at different times, and going into flower room every couple weeks, and then harvesting 2-3 plants every couple weeks. That is how a my buddy does it and he is constantly pulling a couple ounces every couple weeks. :)

I know that is a lot to digest. If I aint makin sense just ask. :)

Hush, you are magnificient, thanks much for this post! I am quite greatful for this information! Could you point me the direction of a place to get a good t5 setup to veg a 4x4x4 at a reasonable price?
 
home depot or menards...

I got my 8 bulb t8 setup at home depot with 10 pack of 6500K bulbs for under 100$. :D
 
I am glad to help :) I would start at EBAY and look close at the vendor info before buying. Most of the commercial vendors on there are legit and give good deals as starters to get people on their sites, so that is what I look for.
I would get 1 of these right here:hXXp://www.ebay.com/itm/48-4-ft-T5-Fluorescent-Grow-Light-12-Lamps-6500K-Bulbs-Veg-Hydroponics-Sun-648W-/260972077354?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc325e12a[/url]
It is a 12 bulb fixture which would have more than enough lumens(yu need at least 48,000 for vegging in a 4x4x4 and this one has 60,000). It also has independant switches for controlling 2 bulbs at a time. This would be good for starting clones at lower light levels and then working them up to full light power as they take off vegging. This vendor also has different size and bulb count light fixtures, and free shipping. If you need to start out with less, you could get a 6 bulb fixture and just put up a reflective curtain to close in the space until you have the money to get a second one. :)
 
OGKushman said:
home depot or menards...

I got my 8 bulb t8 setup at home depot with 10 pack of 6500K bulbs for under 100$. :D
Hey how much do you do under that fixture? I know the T8s don't have as much lumen output as the T5HO bulbs. I don't mean to knock your fixture but you can get a T5 fixture that will put out a lot more lumens for just a bit more money. The ebay site I just listed has a 6 bulb fixture that puts out 30k lumens for $125 shipped. I know that you can pull them right down onto the plants and get good results, but I love the tight veg growth that I get with the T5HO lights. :)
 
Hushpuppy said:
I am glad to help :) I would start at EBAY and look close at the vendor info before buying. Most of the commercial vendors on there are legit and give good deals as starters to get people on their sites, so that is what I look for.
I would get 1 of these right here:hXXp://www.ebay.com/itm/48-4-ft-T5-Fluorescent-Grow-Light-12-Lamps-6500K-Bulbs-Veg-Hydroponics-Sun-648W-/260972077354?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc325e12a[/url]
It is a 12 bulb fixture which would have more than enough lumens(yu need at least 48,000 for vegging in a 4x4x4 and this one has 60,000). It also has independant switches for controlling 2 bulbs at a time. This would be good for starting clones at lower light levels and then working them up to full light power as they take off vegging. This vendor also has different size and bulb count light fixtures, and free shipping. If you need to start out with less, you could get a 6 bulb fixture and just put up a reflective curtain to close in the space until you have the money to get a second one. :)

that looks like a pretty great deal, my only concern is that it states it is used, wouldnt that mean the bulbs too are used?

also, do you think this would be a good buy? hXXp://tinyurl.com/6vx8nmg i am kindof nervous about buying used items..

edit: scratch that, gotta bid first =p
 
ruufuus said:
that looks like a pretty great deal, my only concern is that it states it is used, wouldnt that mean the bulbs too are used?

also, do you think this would be a good buy? http://tinyurl.com/6vx8nmg i am kindof nervous about buying used items..

edit: scratch that, gotta bid first =p
live links are bad. use xx nplace of tt. hxxp://
i love me t5s
 
Hushpuppy said:
Hey how much do you do under that fixture? I know the T8s don't have as much lumen output as the T5HO bulbs. I don't mean to knock your fixture but you can get a T5 fixture that will put out a lot more lumens for just a bit more money. The ebay site I just listed has a 6 bulb fixture that puts out 30k lumens for $125 shipped. I know that you can pull them right down onto the plants and get good results, but I love the tight veg growth that I get with the T5HO lights. :)
I just don't need it. T5s draw a lot of power and I started under t8s. I also have a friend who frys his vegging plants with a 8 bulb t5 every now and then, so I have not wanted to make the switch. Bulbs are cheaper and well...

I just posted a pic earlier:
http://marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=187194&d=1332700633

:D 16 plants, 12-14 inches, and that's only 4 bulbs run 24/7 ;)
 
bubba902 said:
live links are bad. use xx nplace of tt. hxxp://
i love me t5s
my bad, i did not realise. why is this?
 
OGKushman said:
I just don't need it. T5s draw a lot of power and I started under t8s. I also have a friend who frys his vegging plants with a 8 bulb t5 every now and then, so I have not wanted to make the switch. Bulbs are cheaper and well...

I just posted a pic earlier:
http://marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=187194&d=1332700633

:D 16 plants, 12-14 inches, and that's only 4 bulbs run 24/7 ;)
That cool ;) Obviously they work for you. I belive that ya go with what works for ya until yu find something better :)
 
Hey Ruufuus, I understand your being nervous, I don't blame you for that. I looked at the link, were you looking at the inline fan for $50? Those are the ones I actually shy away from because they offer "economy" shipping which means its an individual who is selling what could be junk or damaged and he is going to ship it the cheapest way possible. That means you don't know when it will get to you or what kind of shjape it will be in.

Nothing is more aggrivating than waiting too long to get an item that you need right away only to find that it got damaged in shipment and is going to have to be sent back. I would rather pay a little more to deal with a reputable dealer that will have me a good product on my door inside of a week, in a discreete box that is packaged so that it doesn't get damaged along the way.

On the light, I didn't see that it was used. However, it is probably ok. but if you aren't sure just take a look at some of the others. I don't bother bidding unless it is a special situation and a really good price. If it is something that I want and need to get in hand, I just click the buy it now button. If it is one that doesn't have the buy it now(and says I have 10 more) then I move on to the next ones.

This one is new and looks like a solid deal: hxxp://www.ebay.com/itm/QUANTUM-Bad-Boy-T-5-4-ft-8-Lamp-Grow-Light-Fixture-432w-/390401853395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae5c387d3
Always look at the dealer's approval rating and the number of interactions. If they have a low number of interactions and/or a lower approval rating, I would be iffy about buying from them. :)
 

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