Need advice on light setup

Hey guys,
I'm setting up a brand new indoor grow room. I will be doing a coco coir grow of BlackJack. The space is 3 1/2ft by 23"(closet), and i will be growing 3 or 4 plants. I have a T5 fluorescent strip light that will be attached to the back of the closet. I was going to also buy an HPS but need some advice. Would i need a 400W for this space or could i get by perfectly well with a 250W? also, according to your answer, would it be 100% necessary to have air cooling, and what would be required? My setup will also not really be airtight by any means, so that may effect any possible cooling procedures.Thanks in advanced,
Crusherdub

i would suggest looking at a carbon filter and fan for ur setup as it can smell strong. i think that u would get by with a 250w. u could always upgrade later. have u got any pics of the space?

Thank you, well i was going to attempt to make a carbon filter to use. I dont have pics of the space, but basically its one of those standard mirror slider door closets that are about 6 1/2 foot wide and almost 2 feet deep, 7 feet tall. my height is limited to 5 feet due to the clothes hanging rack. and I am only using 3 1/2 feet of the width because i need to use the rest for storage. Do you think that i would have any issues with heat using a 250 watt with just one incoming air computer fan to bring in air, and a carbon filter fan blowing out for exhaust? (once again, not an airtight setup) and if i decided on a 400W would that up my yield significantly and would it call for a more intense exhaust system?

well your closet sounds much like mine (about 5ft in height also due to a clothing rack, lil over 4ft across and just under 2ft deep). there are a few main worries you have you have to keep in mind before jumping to that HPS.

1. Heat. even with my 6tube T5HO bulbs, it can get as warm as 100 degrees, and with a boxfan literally placed on the floor of the room pointed up (the top half of the closet is opened up, the bottom half blocked off) it still only brings it down to about 85, and thats with a household ambient temp of around 68.)
2. Ventilation. This applies for your heat as well, but iam more referring to stink. Now ive been searching these forums a bit looking for some info on the Black Jack strain (i also have 5 fems otw in the mail, so our setup is soundin kinda similar so far lol), and there isnt a whole lot there, at least that i can find. what i have found is that when done right, which iam sure my first grow wont be, it can be quite a stinky plant. Top that with a warm environment from a 400hps and your lookin at having some warmth with some stink.
3. Experience. Now again i might make the jump myself in a year or maybe less to a good hps for the other closet (its identicle to the one iam using now, minus the Breaker Box) and do a seperate veg/flower room that way. BUT, this is something that most people will tell you to wait on, until you get some more experience with growing and start greening that thumb up a bit.

so i guess, in the end, and this is coming from just me (not much hands on exp, just TONS of reading this site), get a grow under your belt. play with your fluoros, learn how to nute, water, flush, top, lst, prune, harvest and cure with your first, hell maybe even second and third grow. once youve been through the steps a couple of times, you can start gettin fancy with it and learning to dial in your plants and yields. this will also give you some more time to learn a bit more about what strain will work best for your environment, condition (if medical), and for your current setup. some of these things will change when you change the light, but for the MOST part, the process will remain the same.

there are many more on here who would have better input than I, so i expect a few rebuttles coming oh and keep my posted on how that BJ strain goes! i cant wait til mine come in, it looks like a beautiful plant.

That's crazy that we have an identical setup. i have done a few outdoor grows with soil so i understand the nuting, training, pruning and what not. i really just need to decide what lighting system to use, thats all i have left to buy. if i got an inline fan in a duct blowing out into my attic, and a few computer fans bringing air in from the room, would that be sufficient cooling for a 400W HPS? what about a 250W?

as long as that room has some cool air in it, ya that sounds like ti would work just fine. as for the smell issue that came up earlier, if you cant seem to get a carbon filter setup, i hear those big 5 gallon bucks of Ona Gel work pretty well if your dealing with like 6 or less plants, but i havnt played with em yet.

any more input guys? i'd love advice from a few experienced growers

can anyone help me out? i need to buy the light today, so i'd like to know a few more opinions
kiss-ass

Crusherdub said:

can anyone help me out? i need to buy the light today, so i'd like to know a few more opinions
kiss-ass

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i would preferably go for a HPS ballest an buld coz of the light specrum its gud for both.

what wattage HPS and what kind of reflector? cool tube? and also, what kind of exhaust system should i use?