Any Suggestions

So I've decided to go with the DWC closet box grow with a 250w HPS light... I dont think I'll need a cool tube for it but will make one if needed. Will that light be enough for my little space? I know they say they are good for up to a 3x3 space, but how true is that when put to the test?
So I'm guessing that if I do go with the Scrog I'll start out with 4 plants and just try keeping them short since im only planning on a 4ft tall box. Should I be worried about the plants growing too tall in there with a scrog grow? Any suggestions on how to keep them short? Should I just put the screen about 10-12 inches above the plants, then VEG until they are up to the screen, begin filling the screen and then start flowering just before they totally fill the screen?
Im also hoping that a friend of mine that grows will be willing and able to give me a few clones of the BigBud or DiamondGoo he has right now. If not I am going to have to start from some old bagseed I have laying around.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Im just looking to get this thing started and off the ground. Once I do that I'm pretty sure I'll be able to have things running smoothly. Oh, and a shout out to all my michigan and texas growers out there. And to anyone else growing, keep up the good work!

3x3 should have a 400W light in my opinion. I use a 600 in a 3.3x3.3 tent, just for context. SCROG is rather cumbersome. Look into supercropping. Look it up on Youtube.

Cr8z13 said:

3x3 should have a 400W light in my opinion. I use a 600 in a 3.3x3.3 tent, just for context. SCROG is rather cumbersome. Look into supercropping. Look it up on Youtube.

Click to expand...

With your 400w, do you cool tube it? If not what kind of ventilation do you have?
Thanx for the heads up on the "supercropping", I will surely check it out.
Keep me posted if you have any other ideas or suggestions, and thanx again.

As I said, I use a 600W light. I use a decent inline fan with a cool tube to vent heat because that bulb gets super hot.

How many plants were you running in that tent? What kind of yeild did you have, if you dont mind me asking...

Due to my hydro system, I'm limited to about 8 plants. I get about 1.5-2 ounces per plant. I only grew 5 plants last grow and I ended up with about 10 ounces. I have some seedlings going right now and I may end up growing 6 this time. Squeezing 8 plants in there is too much work, as space is too tight for my liking, making it difficult to swap plants between positions.

wow... 1.5-2oz. is exactly the range i was shooting for. if i go with 5 plants under a 400w hps scrog style DWC and get the 2oz. per plant that would give me a Garden Efficiency of .78. I'm hoping to be up to a 1 or higher by my 3rd grow.
How long do you Veg/Flower your plants for? I'm hoping to find a system that will go from clone to smoke in 60 to 70 days. Im sure I'm setting the bar a little high, I hope not tho. A guy can dream cant he? lol.

I tend to pick indicas that flower in 8 weeks. I veg from seed for a month, maybe a week or so longer. I have some seedlings going right now and I expect to harvest by October, just to give you an idea. Clones sometimes take 1-3 weeks before they start growing after transplant so you might have to deal with that, depends on your clones. Try and learn about the strain you're growing so you can get an idea of when to induce flowering. Indicas stretch 2-3x during flowering, even more for sativas.

I cant thank you enough for being so helpful. If there were only more willing and able people like you out there. Ive been doing tons and tons of research, so much my girlfriend is starting to despise my computer time. Nearly all of my free time goes into researching, and all of my time right now is free time lol. You always seem to bring up a point that I havent come across yet (i.e. "clones take 2-3 weeks to begin growing...")... I had no idea about that. Of course its a subject less studied by me since I was originally going to start off with bagseed, but I may be getting clones (fingers crossed). Pros to clones is I know what I'm getting, cons are they may add weeks of waiting. Pros for bagseed quick start, cons are not having a clue as to what I'll be growing. So many decisions... what ever shall I do? lol. At least there will always be another seed out there somewhere for me to try again with if I fail.

No reason why you can't do both. Good way to hone your skills. Keep up with the research. There's so much great info out there and some fine books as well. I have the SeeMoreBuds book, Jorge Cervantes' bible and Soma's book on growing organic. All were great investments. People talk shit about High Times, but it's that mag that inspired me to grow and I still buy it every month. One more thing, I suggest not neglecting your lady. A pissed off significant other is a garden's worst enemy.....even worse than spidermites.

250w is perfect for your space.

i've got a 400 going in a 3x7 closet and i have 8 plants, most of them are 5 feet+.
in fact, my power skunk got too tall and had to be topped. (8 is max capacity for how big the pots are, which is the only thing that allowed them to grow so tall.)

the coverage is very poor for 8 plants, but is plenty powerful for how far the light is.

3x3 you wont need to worry about coverage, so you can basically put the light closer, which means better penetration.

I've watched SeeMoreBuds on YouTube a few times, and even looking into getting a few of his books. Just found out about mr. cervantes, I've heard his name thrown around a few times but never really knew anything about him till now. I wonder what kind of books my public library will have on the subject... roflmfao.
Never fear, I'm always sure to give me baby her daily dosage of some good lovin', she'd rather it be a 24/7 dose... i cant understand how she has put up with me these past 4 years and still want more lol.

Good News Everyone!... A good friend of mine is thinking about giving me his 2 400w HPS hoods (along with any clones I'll need to get started). I hope that he will be willing to part with some BigBud. YUMMY!!
So what do yall think... Do I put both 400watters in the same box, or do I just make 2 boxes? I was even thinking of maybe doing a perpetual grow.