Grow room space effincientcy

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CountryBoy

Michigan Farmer
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Jan 24, 2012
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I have always vegged with 1000 MH in the past but have been considering using Led's or more than likely VHO's. My question is how narrow of a room could I make to veg in using VHO's with enough Lumens to veg at with a growth rate comparable to the 1000 MH?
Has anybody had experience with both 54 watt HO's and 95 watt VHO's if you have can you post the comparisons in growth rate and vitality if any.
Like everyone I am trying to keep costs down where I can, but never at the cost of quality. I typically overlight, but with all of the knowledge on this site I am sure someone can guide me to a intelligent use of my lighting resources,
 
I don't really understand your question. You can make a room as narrow as you want.

The T5HOs put out about the same lumens per watt as a MH. So given that, if you want the same growth from T5HOs (not familiar with VHO) as a 1000W MH, you are going to need around 1000W of T5HOs.
 
I am trying to construct my new grow room so it has self contained rooms inside of it.
My understanding is I can get some longer and narrower T-5s or the newer and higher wattage VHO's which are just a higher watt version of the T-5's from what I have been able to find.
If i could use these longer and narrower Light systems then I could have a long veg row with a cloning area above it( one plant deep by whatever length I can fit) and have the space in the middle of the usable square I have available. I then could use the space for a second Flower room with door on the inside of the whole grow room
What I am trying to do is have a door to enter the whole grow set-up with a small hall down the middle with 2 flower rooms on one side and one long veg room on the opposite side of the hall and the clones above the veg which doesn't need as much room for height as the flowering rooms do.
 
CountryBoy said:
What I am trying to do is have a door to enter the whole grow set-up with a small hall down the middle with 2 flower rooms on one side and one long veg room on the opposite side of the hall and the clones above the veg which doesn't need as much room for height as the flowering rooms do.

Sounds great if you can make it happen, good luck, it would be a great set up.
 
The VHOs appear to put out (quite a bit) fewer lumens per watt than the HOs (75 lumens compared to 92). To me, that alone would be justification for the T5HOs, but when combined with the higher price of the VHOs, I definitely would go with the T5HOs. You can make the room as narrow as you want--it really doesn't have to be any wider than the light fixture. I have a 4' 4 tube T5 that is only 10" wide--so 20,000 lumens per fixture. You could just run a line of these down your vegging space, one after the other. Many of these you can daisy chain together.

How large is the main room that you want to be working with? IMO, a hallway is wasted space. Unless you have an abundance of room, I think I would not construct 3 rooms and a hallway. Also why 2 separate flowering rooms? Your vegging space can be about 1/2 the size of your flowering space. It is a waste of space to make them the same size--ie you cannot take a 4 x 4 room full of vegging plants and put them in a 4 x 4 room to flower without them ending up far too crowded.
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
How large is the main room that you want to be working with? Aprox 10x12 which is in my bsmt utility room which is about 12x20 IMO, a hallway is wasted space. Security! in the past too many inquisative Foks out there. It can have me keep the Flower rooms 3 doors from out of sight from my main living area. Unless you have an abundance of room, I think I would not construct 3 rooms and a hallway. Also why 2 separate flowering rooms? In past grows I have found some differences in the Indaca and Sativa grows and their needs were different and as I pretty much automize my rooms I need the types to be as closely compatible as possible and for quality I will waste some space so to speak Your vegging space can be about 1/2 the size of your flowering space. You are right and that is why I want to go down one wall and then use whatever is left for storage controls etc.
Thank You All for the info on the T-5s I am pretty sure that is how I will veg after reading your input. I wasn't sure if the growth would be slower or of lesser vitality. Hemp Goddess I am glad you pointed out the diferences in Lumens per watt as I hadn't noticed that and will have to check them out some more. Thanks again to all

P.S If I only flowered with a 600 HPS what size area would you Guys recommend?
I have used a 1000Hps in a 5x5 area with good success but never tried anything less powered.
 
"THGs rule of thumb": you should have a minimum of 5000 lumens per square foot of grow space, and for vegging, a minimum of 3000 lumens per sqft of grow space. 600wHPS produces about 90k lumens (and according to some literature that I have read, is actually the most efficient of the HIDs as far as lumens per watt) is solid for 16sqft area. :)
 
Thanks again to all who responded. Hushpuppy you nailed what I am looking for, effinciency with results. :icon_smile: Hemp Goddess you opened my eyes to the lumen per watt aspect as well and I appreciate both of you for your knowledge and helpfulness.
I still might go with the 95 watter's just because of the total increased lumens.
Now I just have to decide if I can live with 4x4 Bloom rooms. I had heard the same about the 600 HID's so thanks for confirming what I had heard. The cheapness in me say's go with a smaller room so I can use the 600 instead of 1000, but I have always used around a 5x5 room with a 1000HPS so I'm still a little nervous as I all I have ever been told about indoor growing is MORE LIGHT (LUMENS).
Thanks again to all and hopefully I can make a decision sometime soon.
 
Actually, most 1000W put out the same lumens per watt as a 600W. My 1000W bulb emits 150,000 lumens (150 lumens per watt). My 600W emits 90,000 lumens (150 lumens per watt).
 
What size room do you use your 600 in and is it a HPS and do use just one in the room.
Trying to save money, but I don't want my plants to be less than they can be.
Thanks again for all of your input:)
 
I use both larger and smaller spaces in both of my grows, but I also use multiple lights in each space. I personally wouldn't use a 1kwatter just because of the way I like to set up my spaces. The 1k watters are too hot and have to be backed away, and the light has to be spread out and often the plants at the perimeter of the light footprint get left short of light.

I prefer to use at least 2 smaller watt lights in a given space as that allows for better coverage of my space and reduces the shadowing that occurs with just 1 light. In a 5x5 space I would use 2 400watters, or use 2 600watters in a 4x6 space. And for flowering always go with the HPS. :)
 
CountryBoy said:
What size room do you use your 600 in and is it a HPS and do use just one in the room.
Trying to save money, but I don't want my plants to be less than they can be.
Thanks again for all of your input:)

I currently am using a 1000W in a 3 x 6.5 space and the 600W in a 2 x 4 space. I used to have 2 600W in the larger space, but one of my ballasts died so I put the single 1000W in there. I had 2 lights in there, because I believed like Hushpuppy. However, I have found that the single 1000W gives me about the same amount of bud as the 2 600W. I do not have to keep it further away. It is actually easier to keep cool than the 2 600W. If you have an air cooled hood and your ventilation is set up right, it shouldn't matter.

I also have a 2 x 4 space that I use for vegging. I have a 4' 4 tube T5 in there.
 

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