Help me decide which light to use!

[Bonghit74]

Hi, I am new to this forum but not totally new to growing. I am getting back into it after about 10 years off. I am limited on space so I am not quite sure which size hps to get. My set up is going to be in my crawl space of my house which limits my height alot. I have 6 plants in veg under a 175W MH in a make shift tent that I made. I have only 3 feet of growing height so I will have to keep them short. I want to get a 400W HPS but I am concerned that I dont have enough room. Should I get a 250 instead? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks
Be safe and happy growing.

 

[trillions of atoms]

i would stick with a 250w and keep then trianed (lst) and supercropped, flowering early might be an idea. three feet isnt much...can you dig it out? if it was a dirt bottom i would try. two lamps might be a good idea for 6 plants if you veg them for a good while.

you might research scrog too. how old are the plants? and what kind of containers? rubbermaid stow away containers make good "planters" they are wide long and shorter than most regular containers.

 

[Bonghit74]

the plants are only about 4 weeks old and I have them in soil in 1 liter water bottles that I cut the top off of. It is a dirt bottom and I problably could dig it out some. Does it matter how deep your containers are as long you are in the one gallon range. I have never combined plants into one container.
The original plan was to start them inside and move them outdoors but I have started too late and I think I am gonna just set something up inside and keep something going continuous.

thanks for the suggestions and keepem comin

 

[puffnstuff]

When you say 3 feet of growing space are you taking out spacing for light houseings and planters? I used to grow with only 34" of total space and 2 150 hps's, I had to train and train and train to keep them small enough but it worked, sort of..I would dig it out if you could, that would be easier in the long run and much more productive. I came close to doing the same thing under my house but decided to remodel my shop instead...hehehe no more training for me, unless I want to that is.
puff

 

[ChatNoir]

You have 3 feet, 90cm... Your pots will eat up at least 20cm so you are left with 70... Considering that you have used 250W HPS, you must give enough space between lamp and plants at least 15cm so you are left with 55cm. Lamps is as thick is 3cm and must be placed on a good reflective surface which takes at least 10cm leaving you with 42cm which is LESS than one and half feet.

My suggestion will be using 5000K compact fluorescent lamps, add some 2500K for flowering and you are done as you can keep them very close to plants, as close as 3cm (1/10ft) so you have gained 25cm back and total of 67cm which is MORE than 2ft.

With CFLs, you gain more height for plants to grow, ability to place lamps even inside the plants, less problem with ventilation.

 

[Bonghit74]

yeah that is 3 ft. total. light reflecter is 6 inches deep and I havent purchased my main containers yet. i just read up on supercropping and i will try that. And I am gonna see how hard it is to dig and try that also. Any other advise would be great!


Thanks

 

[toothbrush?]

If I were you, I'd just do SOG under an air-cooled 400w. By SOG, I mean 4x per square foot, flowering right after the clones root.

 

[BagSeed]

If you are doing it in dirt under the house why not dig a hole to plant them in so you don't have the 1 foot tall container? Or dig a hole to put the container in if you want to go that way.... And cfl would probably be what you want with the limited height... Or like two 150 watt HPS...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

If you are doing it in dirt under the house why not dig a hole to plant them in so you don't have the 1 foot tall container? Or dig a hole to put the container in if you want to go that way.... And cfl would probably be what you want with the limited height... Or like two 150 watt HPS...

I don't think that it is a good idea to plant in the dirt under your home, but I think that it is a great idea to bury the containers.

If you can manage it, you really should run a HPS for flowering. The difference in final product between a HPS and any kind of fluors is huge.

 

[That crazy vancouver guy]

k... DO NOT burry the plant in the dirt of yer crawl space. lol. they treat the soil with chemicals so that things do NOT grow in the dirt. ie - it's poisoned to vegetation... and prob not too safe for human consumption, either....

and ummm... I would NOT grow in my crawlspace anyways... what if your lights catch fire?... the floor of your main floor is now on fire... say goodbye to your house and all your posessions as insurance would probably not cover you when they find out from the fire investigators why the house burned down. 'sup to you....

 

[Bonghit74]

Hi, thanks for all the suggestions. Still not sure what I might do. Starting to think a long-time set up down there is not a good idea. I am waiting on some good genetics that I ordered from a site recomended here. They were sent out June 16. Still havent got them yet so in the meantime I will finish these that I have started and wait for the good. If and when I get the good genetics I will think of having something permanent. I will just have to wait till next growing season and get started a little earlier for a outdoor crop.

Thanks again and this site is the ****!!!