new set up new to growing,need advice and guidance

[joe36]

The disclaimer, this project is fictional. It is only to be used for environmental controlled tomato growth and educational purposes. Any resemblance of a real grow room is coincidental.
I am very new to the form so I hope this post will be a good enough explanation of materials on hand and to get advice on where to go from here.
I have
2- of the type hood with 8 inch in and out vents with 2- 1000 watt metal halide bulbs
2- Solid state dimmable ballast 500w low 750 w medium 1000w high
Originally the ballast and lights had the metal halide and 2- hps bulbs
The hps bulbs lit one time and never lit again.
The metal halides bulbs don’t like to be dimed and on occasion will not start on the low setting so the 1000w setting is the only practical setting.
2- Large 8 inch activated carbon filters
2 -8 inch hurricane blower fans designed for the purpose intended
Timers, hangers, ducting, and hardware,
1-5000 btu. Air conditioner.
Heating is with a 15000 Btu gas space heater
A tight 5 foot by 7 foot by 7 foot high room inside a larger room inside a larger semi industrial building the larger building is kept above freezing in the winter with a minimum temperature of 45 degrees. This building has no air-conditioning. The exhaust air will be to an attic
Water, gas and electric are sufficient for any project of this nature.
I have no dehumidifier at this time.
Temperature and humidity will be P.L.C. controlled to within +- 2 degrees and +_5 % humidity. With the materials on hand I can not lower the humidity
There are no security problems with sound electrical use or smell due to the industrial nature of the building.
Light will be controlled by a Curtin to the area, a door to the room, a door on the inside isolating the back of the building and an entrance door to the main building
I am planning on replacing the 2-1000 w bulbs and ballast with 250 watt bulbs and ballast
This will be used to light a grow area 30 inch deep by 7 foot wide by 7 foot high
At this time the intent is to start small and then customizing the final design to supply personal use for 2 people with a minimal amount of excess for times when the area is not productive.
I have an industrial electrical and maintainer background with the tools and ability required for any job of this nature
I have a lot to learn and will adapt. Any thought or suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

[Rosebud]

So that sounds really good Joe. Folks will be by with their thoughts. You sound lit well enough to me...but i only really know how to grow pot..

My question, have you ever grown before?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Welcome to MP. It is a great advantage to have all the equipment you need and not have to scrimp and scrounge, but along with all that equipment, make sure you have done your homework so that you know how to utilize everything and what it actually takes to get this great plant to harvest. Getting the space set up is only the first step in a 4 month process. For instance, reading will tell you how much light you need per sq ft (i.e. 2 250W will not do 17.5 sq ft), ventilation needs, best temps and humidity for plants, different phases of growing, nutrient and soil needs, the importance of pH, etc, etc.

I don't quite understand the little bit at the bottom about replacing the 1000W lights with 250W? Why? That is simply not enough light for that much space. I have run a 1000W in a space 36" x 6' for many many years--that is just barely larger than the 30" x 7' you have. You will need HPS for flowering. I do not know if this may have caused the light to burn out, but these high wattage bulbs should not be touched with our bare hands. The oil from our hands can leave deposits on he glass that overheat.

Your exhaust air will have to be exhausted outside, not just into the attic. It can cause mold and mildew if you exhaust moist air into an attic. You are also going to need to be able to keep it above 45. You are going to want minimum temps of about 60. Cannabis quits growing at temps under about 60. Conversely, I doubt that a 5000 BTU AC will be able to keep a couple of 1000 waters cool in the heat of summer should you decide to use those.

While humorous, your disclaimer at the top truly serves no purpose. You may as well delete it from further postings.

 

[joe36]

Ok thank you for the advice. I can see that I am at the right place. I do have the technical abilities to set up just about anything but as you had mentioned I am very lacking in the skills and knowledge of how to grow.
I had planned to use the 2 hps bulbs as I had thought that 500 total watts would be enough for 17.5 square of floor space. You have pointed me on a path of further research. I have the equipment from a failed grow attempt years ago so what is on hand is my first option with money being VERY tight. At this time I want to keep it as small and efficient as possible. That is why I was hoping to use the smaller lights with the small air conditioner. I can get replacement hps bulbs for the 1000 watt ballast at a reasonable price. I am sure that the first bulbs were just defective. There were several others who had the same problem with this brand of bulb in the same time frame.
The 45 degrees is the minimum after hour’s temp of the main building. The grow building inside the main building will be regulated to whatever temp is required 24/7
The attic is approximately 10,000 square foot forced air ventilated so moisture should not be a problem but I will monitor it closely.
What would you suggest on the lighting? I could go with a one of the 1000 w metal halides? Would it be better to use that or a combination of the 2 -250 watt hps= 500w with some LED support, 100 0r 200 watts?
How much light and space would you suggest for a 2 person grow room?
The disclaimer was just meant as a joke. I will leave it off in the future.
Again, thank you for any advice and I apologies for all the questions. I have a lot of research and work to do before the first seed cracks.
Joe

 

[Locked]

I would read through as much of thiese links as you can and ask any questions you might have. >>>>>http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9396 <<<

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Well, if money is tight, then do not get the 250W--just a waste IMO. You do have all the equipment that you need and starting out smaller and working up is smart. Each plant does require individual care.

Since you have a large space, I think it would be a good idea to set up a vegging space and a flowering space.

Darn--have to get to work. I will post up more later. You have all the tools, so we will help you with the practical knowledge that needs to go along with that equipment.

Later

 

[joe36]

Ok I have read a bit and am slowly attempting to finalize a plan.
A found a couple of 400 watt HPS bulbs so the options at this time on lighting is 2 -250 for a total of 500 watt , 2 &#8211; 400 watt hps for a total of 800 watts or 2- 1000 metal halides for a total of 2000 watts.
I have 4 ballast and 2 hoods so a combination of bulbs and ballast are possible but I only have the 2 high quality vented hoods so I would prefer any combination of lighting using 2 hoods
I have 4 ballast 2 solid state dimmable 1000 watt 50% low 75% medium 100% high. These ballast work with HPS and metal halide
2- 250 watt HPS that were used for industrial lighting. I do not know if they will work with metal halide.
The bulbs on hand are 2 250 watt HPS, 2- 400 watt Hps and 2- 1000 metal halide.
I tried the 400 watt Hps with the 1000 watt dimmable ballast and all seemed well during the test, about 1 hour. They dimed appropriately but I have no way to test actual wattage used.
My question is this. Is using the 1000 solid state dimmable ballast OK for 400 watt bulbs?
Should I run the ballast on high? This would be normally driving a 1000 watt bulb.
As earlier mentioned the grow will have the intent of supplying 2 people and I am thinking 3 grams a day would be about right.
The first grow area will be ___30 inches by 5 foot.___ I made a mistake in the earlier post saying the area was 30 inch by 7 foot. It is 30 inches deep by 5 foot wide by 7 foot high.The available area will be 5 foot by 5 foot so when the time comes a flowering area might be in the cards however small is the plan and the less money spent the better. I am very lucky to have the resources of a dismantled grow room from years past but a sudden disability changed the household cash flow. Now every dime counts including the electric bill.

Luckily I am a good scrounger and resourceful with materials on hand. I have a lot of odds and ends with potential for this project.
I will continue reading and hope all the request for advice is ok.
There was a question of had ever grown before. Yes, inside about 40 years ago. Just 4 -6 plants under florescent 2 grows with bag seeds. The results were acceptable but could have been much better. Also 35 to 40 years ago several outside grows. Just pick a spot plant bag seed and walk away. Usually this yielded poor results with a couple of surprises and healthy good yield plants.
2 years ago inside 2000 watt metal halide lights good seed and all the trimmings. The results were very disappointing as I was not around enough to properly take care of the plants. The room and plants were abused and the quality and yield greatly reflected this.

Once again thank you for your time and advice.
Joe