First timer, trying to do it right...or close

[Noob84]

everyone on here has been really helpful, thanks. here goes my first grow, tired of paying top dollar for a little fun.
2x2.5x5 foot box, painted flat white
8000 lumens, 6500k spectrum lights
2 gallon pots
2 28 cfm fans, one blowing in, the other out.

does this sound good? anywhere for improvement? thanks

 

[THE BROTHER'S GRUNT]

everyone on here has been really helpful, thanks. here goes my first grow, tired of paying top dollar for a little fun.
2x2.5x5 foot box, painted flat white
8000 lumens, 6500k spectrum lights
2 gallon pots
2 28 cfm fans, one blowing in, the other out.

does this sound good? anywhere for improvement? thanks

Everything sounds good so far but you need to try and get atleast 3,000 lumens per square foot of grow space.

 

[Noob84]

thats already 5 GE 100's. dont know how much more i can fit into that space, may have to break down and get better lights, but they're expensive. i have 20 square feet total when the lamps are all the way up(which they wont be for a long time), so you are saying i need 60,000 lumens? when the plants are first growing i will have about 12 square feet, meaning i need 27000 lumens, that seems like an ungodly amount, am i doing my math correctly? counting the walls, i would say my grow space is about 5x1.8x2.3 or close.

 

[Noob84]

how many lumens will a HPS 250 watt put out? will that one light be better then 10 1600 lumen 2700k CFL's?

also, are there any downfalls to putting up 2-4 side mounted 4 foot flourescents up and down the sides of the cuboard?

 

[KADE]

how many lumens will a HPS 250 watt put out? will that one light be better then 10 1600 lumen 2700k CFL's?

also, are there any downfalls to putting up 2-4 side mounted 4 foot flourescents up and down the sides of the cuboard?

Only downside would be extra heat... probably not a problem w/ a couple flouros... a 70w hps puts out around 6700... soo I'm guessing around 16000-25000

 

[ob1kinsmokey]

thats already 5 GE 100's. dont know how much more i can fit into that space, may have to break down and get better lights, but they're expensive. i have 20 square feet total when the lamps are all the way up(which they wont be for a long time), so you are saying i need 60,000 lumens? when the plants are first growing i will have about 12 square feet, meaning i need 27000 lumens, that seems like an ungodly amount, am i doing my math correctly? counting the walls, i would say my grow space is about 5x1.8x2.3 or close.

sq/ft is floor space not volume at all.

a 2x2 foot space- 2ft across and 2ft deep, would be 4 sq/ft. sq/ft=base x width


your thinking more cubic feet which you dont need to worry about unless you plan on growing in your vertical space. (like having different levels of planters up the wall)

so your ideal lumens would be 12,000. i go by watts myself. but TBG knows whats up, and going by lumens is much more precise.

you can still do fine with 8,000. but your best potential for your plant would be with 12,000 lumens.

cheers

 

[pufindo]

i agree with kade. id put a 250 hps on top and throw a few of cfl's all around the sides. that would keep your plants from growing sky high unless its 100% sativa...

 

[Noob84]

would i use an hps plus the 6500k cfl's on the side or change those out also to 2700k's?

if i double all six sockets for flowering i will have 12 26w 1600 lumen CFL's. thats 19,200 lumens and 302 watts. will a 250watt hps be better than this? i am looking at cost, since i already have the setup for cfl's, i am just wondering how much better an hps will be? thanks guys. the new 2700k's and doublers will be about $50, a 250 watt hps is ???? how much different will the flowering be?

 

[KADE]

would i use an hps plus the 6500k cfl's on the side or change those out also to 2700k's?

if i double all six sockets for flowering i will have 12 26w 1600 lumen CFL's. thats 19,200 lumens and 302 watts. will a 250watt hps be better than this? i am looking at cost, since i already have the setup for cfl's, i am just wondering how much better an hps will be? thanks guys. the new 2700k's and doublers will be about $50, a 250 watt hps is ???? how much different will the flowering be?

The hps would still be better then all those cfls... HPS per watt puts out more lumens then a cfl... so ur getting more light for less wattage... which means lower power bills too.

 

[ob1kinsmokey]

yup. and the intensity is more which is more light penetration.

and there is NO light that can match HPS when it comes to flowering and mroe so, yield. unless perhaps you go all out.

i have flowered with both cfls, metal halide, and mercury vapor, and the HPS will get you the highest yield period.

a 250w hps is probably about 75-100$ on hydroempire. maybe 200-250$ at your local hydro shop.

also remember if the base of your grow room is only 2 feet, and the width is only 2 feet, that is only 4 square feet. which means an efficient lumen count would be 12,000 lumens, not 60,000

you listed your deminsions kinda wierd. if your base is 2 feet long, and 5 feet deep (width) then you would have 10 square feet, which is still only 30,000 lumens efficiently

 

[Noob84]

when reading, i thought it was cubic feet, not squared. the base is roughly 2x2 and 5 feet high.

so everyone agrees that a 250w hps is a MUCH better alternative to cfl's? the light jargon has been difficult to get used to but once i finally understood exactly what i was looking for i have been helping others with cfl's. is there spectrum's in hps too? what type of writing will i be looking for at the store?

 

[Noob84]

is this what i am looking for?
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-250-HPS-Eco...ryZ42225QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[KADE]

is this what i am looking for?
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-250-HPS-Econo-Grow-Light-w-Remote-Ballast_W0QQitemZ170055615298QQihZ007QQcategoryZ42225QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yeah that looks not too bad at all... got a nice long cord too... good to see also.

 

[Noob84]

so if i do get a 250 watt hps, how close can i get my plants to it? i only have 5 feet of height and was hoping to get 3 4 foot plants in there. is this possible? or am i better to get 2 plants? they are about a week old now, how soon can you tell if they are male/female?

 

[ob1kinsmokey]

you will be stressing hard to get 3 4 foot plants in there. i would veg them out and just take 2 of the strongest females for flower.

depending on your temperatures the light should be 18-30 inches away from the top of the plant.

if you have a cool tube on your hood (-where the lightbulb is) you can leave it about 18 inches.

but dont get it too close if its too hot- leave it at a safe distance if you see anything close to 80 degrees or higher.

you can tie your plants down and keep them shorter and more bushier, so that you dont run out of room.

ask if you want to know how to low stress train (LST) or tie down.

depending on the plant you can usually sex it after a month or 2. sometimes sooner.