HID lights w/flouros

I decided to use a HID light or MH, i made a room in the attic. im in a good enough environment where it dont get to hot or cold up there.i got the ventilation started, and just need a fan to complete the vent set up... any ways im looking to grow 4 plants using hydro, im going to put flouros on the sides to get them nice and bushy, the area im using is about 20 inches deep tho, what im stuck on is, what lamps do you reccomend? im looking to spend 400 bucks more to complete my set up, probably 150 more. the space is quite small i can sit in it and hot box it comfortably if i wanted, its 4.5 ft tall, 20 inches deep and 5 feet long. i kno how much every one loves pictures so im going to post some tommorrow. i dont want to over do it and buy a 1000 watt light, its out of the question. way too much for what i want. i was thinking a 400watt with a light mover going back and forth or maybe 2 400watters.. maybe 600? idk help me out on this one. any one with some suggestions? Thanks guys.

any one got some thin to advise me on? plz?

Throw a 400w in there and be done with it. No need for a light mover in that small space.

Light mover is overkill, 400 watts will do just fine. Good luck!

These guys have the best deals around.

How big is that space, it looks way to small for a light mover. If you want more than 400w add some floro's but mount the basalt on the outside of the grow box for heat.

its 5 feet long. thanks 13 i think im gonna go with that light, whats the differnce between that and the HID, or is it the same? i heard HID's are more efficient?

Gaspertoke said:

its 5 feet long. thanks 13 i think im gonna go with that light, whats the differnce between that and the HID, or is it the same? i heard HID's are more efficient?

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It is an HID light, yes. It's a High Pressure Sodium ballast, but you can buy a conversion bulb for Metal Halide if you want to maximize veg time. You could run the HPS during veg too, but the extra blue light in the MH's spectrum is closer to the plant's liking for veg. HID's get hot, so watch your temps. You want things around 80.

ok thanks for the clarity on that. i need to keep them like 2 feet above my plants no? either that or have the exhaust fan turned up a little higher, doubt that would help tho.

Keep the light as close as you can without burning your plants. Check the heat with your hand. If it's too hot for your hand(hold it near the top of your plants), you need to back off the light. Later on you can get an air-cooled reflector like a Cool Tube that will allow you to get the light within a few inches of your plants. I'll be getting one myself in the not-too-distant future due to heat problems of my own.

think i should get one now instead of later? buy it right the first time is what i say... hey a little off topic but i was wondering if this system would work for start to finish, theyre too close right? http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=53506
im not gonna buy it, i plan on making my own hydro so i can learn more from this.
i got 4 two gallon buckets that im going to stack and drill holes in the bottem of the top buckts,i painted black and just got my pump in, its 109 gph but i can put it down to 40, its ajustable, im gonna go look for the fittings to connect the pipes to the pump correctly tomorrow...

That kind of hydro system is good for sea of green or screen of green grows, but big bushy plants are out of the question due to the close proximity of the pots. Depending on strain, you could grow some nice 12-18" tall plants and maybe get an ounce each if you're lucky.

As for whether you should get a Cool Tube now, it's going to get fairly pricey. You not only need the Cool Tube, but a 6" inline fan as well(another $120). Plus you need some place to vent the heat to. A lot of people vent to the attic, but you're already in it. You need to consider where you can vent in a way that is fairly stealthy. Lastly, are you concerned at all by the smell? You should be if your neighbors are close. You might need to get a carbon filter to take care of odors.

Bottom line, the kind of ventilation system you need will be determined by how hot your space gets with the light going for several hours. I'm afraid there's only one way to find out what that will be. You should probably get the light in there as soon as you can with a good thermometer. Then you'll know for sure what steps you need to take for ventilation. Who knows, you might not need the Cool Tube at all and you may be able to get by with very basic ventilation.

i think im goin with ECO PLUS 4 INCH 170 CFM INLINE FAN as well as the carbon filter then throw a fan speed controller on it, i been checkin it out and i think the 6" is too much. what im going to do is install a "diffuser" (is what its called) in a room and take it from there, into my grow room. exhaust is going to goin from the grow room threw the ducting and into my closet (threw another diffueser). my closet has shutters on it so venting the closet isnt a problem. i got it figured out with venting the most part, if it starts to stink up the room, i might buy an ionic breeze and throw a smelling hanger that i found, it has perfume in a pouch on it, it smelled up my room pretty good and strong, thats worst case tho.
the reason im using the diffusers is because it just looks like a circle vent instead of an ugly hole which guest wont think twice about. they kinda look like the air vents on the airplanes (the ones you can adjust that are above each passenger)

The 4" fan is fine, but you will need to get a couple of 6"-4" reducer fittings. The ends of the Cool Tube are 6". Getting a carbon filter sounds like a good idea. That should take care of most, if not all odors.

ooo damn cool tubes lol... yeah ill check the reducers out at the store tomorrow. i edited my last post, think i got the venting coverd? i think i do, im just trippin off the lights right now. the 2 gallon buckets are a little tall tho, im loosing room with them that tall. i been lookin for some shorter buckets but can only find 2gallons, i was thinking like a short rubber made like 6 inches tall, but then the roots would probably be touching the water. which will cause root rot, right?

You mean like a DIY bubbleponics(DWC) system? That should be fine, along with your venting.

nah im a little afraid to have that much water in that area, even tho it is sealed tight, an unlikely chance of the container cracking or w/e. the room is above the mirror and sink in the bathroom. i was leaning towards a drip system tho. i really dont know, i can always use the buckets around the house, but what would you do?im just thinking the 2 gallon buckets that i got now are almost a foot tall when one is inside of the other, thats precious space that the plant could be using ya know?

You might be better off with a rubbermaid storage bin instead, or two, considering how long your space is(or just get used to 12" 2gal pots). A DWC system isn't going to require much more water than drip, but use whatever method you're comfortable with. I'm using ebb & flow. By the way, how much were you looking to yield per plant? I think an ounce each is realistic if you grow 2 footers. Depends on how well thing go, though.

i was looking at an ouce per plant, maybe a little less than that, saying that a dub lasts me a week unless i smoke out buddies... i wanna impress a buddy of mine with some gooood bud when he visits in a few months. i was lookin at Barneys Farm Red Diesel, Seedism blz bud, and Seedsman Seeds Purple Bud from attitude...

Whatever floats your boat, brother. I'm a kush/indica guy, so I'm growing feminized Afghan Kush. It's pure indica and it has about 21% THC. Got the seeds from Attitude, by the way. I'll be vegging for another week or two, so I figure I'm a good 9-10 weeks away from puffing that bomb.