First grow setup question

greywind said:

Hello fellow Arizonans, I thought I'd present my grow room question to the home crowd since you have all grown out here in the desert and surely know more than me. This will be my first ever grow and now that it's right around the corner, I'm getting a bit nervous. But I'm well read on the subject and I have the time and definitely the will to make it work.

So my vision is for a total of 24 plants (patient now, caregiver soon) growing in three stages. Group A in veg, groups B & C in flower four weeks apart. Grow tents will be used, soil based grow using T5 for veg and either 400 or 600W for each flowering group. Genetics are purchased and they are femenized strains all leaning towards shorter plants with 7-8 week flowering periods.

My question is this. Do I go with a 4' x 8' x 6.5' (H) or would it be better to have (2) 4' x 4' x 6.3' (H) tents for the flowering groups B & C? There will be a separate veg tent. Are there advantages of one tent vs. two for flowering? Two lights in a single tent might create more heat, but I'd only need one carbon filter. I'm sure there are things I haven't considered and that's why I'm asking you folks for your input. Anything you got is much appreciated. Cheers!

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greywind said:

Thanks for the heads up BeaverHunter. I specifically sought out shorter, indica or indica dominant hybrids. I figure after pot size and light spacing, I'll have roughly 3.5-4' feet of grow space in these tents. I'd love to grow this Super Lemon Haze seed I have, but I know she'd stretch beyond my capabilities. SLH was one of the best strains I medicated with in Cali.

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BeaverHuntr said:

Super Lemon Haze is like being super stoned yet feel really euphoric and you do not get tired at all.. very up lifting high.

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irieie said:

use two flower tents. run them in compliment of one another. when on goes off the other goes on. this will help with dealing with the heat. i have done both way as well as perpetual all in one tent. this is a mess. i advise growing the same strain at the same times under one light. this will help you yield the highest and get the most consistent product. its is just easier this way and more effective. for your size if you go with a 4x4 hen i would use 1000s if you want 600s then go 3x3 and if you want 400s go 2x2. if you go with big lights then veg with a 400w mh not a t5. you will be vegging 8 plants at a time and flowering the same and your veg time will only be 4 weeks. you should make an additional area or nursery for cloning and seedlings. plants should stay there for two weeks and then transplant and put into your veg this will give you a total of 6 weeks from clone or seed. these extra two weeks will make a big difference especially with plants grown from seed. use a t5 for the nursery it is the best application for florescent lighting.

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BeaverHuntr said:

Thats good advice a T5 is money for cloning and seedlings/cuttings.. I dont want to run my 1000W MH or HPS on 18/6 schedule for 6-8 weeks ( i veg that long just the way I do things in my garden) my electric bill would be too much.

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irieie said:

i know. i have been veggin with two 150w hps i should really get a 250 atleast. 8 plants can only get so big under 28000 lumens.

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BeaverHuntr said:

My T5 says it puts out 30k lumens .. Its the 6 bulb from hydro farm.

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irieie said:

yeah i have been looking at that one or a similar one from CAP. the problem i have with floros is their penetration is always lacking and once the plants get over a certain height, the lower branches stop getting adequate light.

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irieie said:

use two flower tents. run them in compliment of one another. when on goes off the other goes on. this will help with dealing with the heat. i have done both way as well as perpetual all in one tent. this is a mess. i advise growing the same strain at the same times under one light. this will help you yield the highest and get the most consistent product. its is just easier this way and more effective. for your size if you go with a 4x4 hen i would use 1000s if you want 600s then go 3x3 and if you want 400s go 2x2. if you go with big lights then veg with a 400w mh not a t5. you will be vegging 8 plants at a time and flowering the same and your veg time will only be 4 weeks. you should make an additional area or nursery for cloning and seedlings. plants should stay there for two weeks and then transplant and put into your veg this will give you a total of 6 weeks from clone or seed. these extra two weeks will make a big difference especially with plants grown from seed. use a t5 for the nursery it is the best application for florescent lighting.

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irieie said:

yeah i have been looking at that one or a similar one from CAP. the problem i have with floros is their penetration is always lacking and once the plants get over a certain height, the lower branches stop getting adequate light.

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greywind said:

I have decided to go with (2) 4' x 4' tents for my two flower tents and a 2' x 4' veg tent. I had planned for just about as much veg time as you're recommending Irieie, 6 weeks from seed and 5 weeks from clone which will be the norm once things are under way. I will take clones off my vegging plants before putting them into flower. I plan to take cuttings from plants 1 week prior to putting them into the flower photo-period.

I have learned of some unfortunate electrical news for my grow area though. I thought I would have an entire 15 amp circuit to work with as I am staging it all in one bedroom, but have since learned that the 15 amp circuit is shared between bedrooms 2 & 3. This has effectively killed my hopes for (2) 600w lamps for my flower tents as this along with every other electrical need would overload the circuit (600w = 5.5 amps by my research). I cannot afford the electrical work needed to rewire, so I am forced into the 400w lamps. Oh well, starting is what it's all about. I can hopefully expand in the future.

So another question for you knowledgeable cultivators. With a 4' x 4' tent in mind (100 cubic feet), what size exhaust fan (CFM) should I get? The tents have 4" vent holes, but I realize I can adapt to 6" or larger fans. I have heard the benefits of higher CFM fans being used with speed regulators for loudness control, but this isn't an issue for me. I am just curious as to your recommendations for size/speed. I will be using with a carbon filter, but not exhausting through lights. I am torn between 2 different fans, both 6" with one at 206 CFM and the other at 400 CFM. Any thoughts? And thank you for your time and info.

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phxfire said:

I would be VERY careful if you are running 2 lights on 1 breaker... And most certainly if the breaker runs other rooms. Keep in mind you should NEVER use more than 80% of what the breaker is capable of running....
EXAMPLE 15 amp breaker should only use 12 amps at your peak.... Must include the start up of the lights TOO... A 600 watt HPS will use around 5.7 amps (684 watts) when warm and running but use about 6-8 amps to start....

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greywind said:

Thanks for the heads up. I believe I will be okay with running 400w lamps with offset on/off cycles so only one light will be on at a time. I figure on 13 amp max usage if both 400w lamps are on at the same time, but the only time I can imagine 13 amps being pulled is for the one minute when my timers are set to turn light A off and fire up light B. I will be pulling an average of 9 amps on a consistent basis. I won't have any electronics in the other bedroom that uses the same breaker, so no concerns there. I am just disappointed that I can't use 600w lamps as I've read that they have the best lumen to watt ratio.

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