I'm not an expert, I only have one grow. It was also in a space about the size of yours, and I learned quit a bit from that first grow. My biggest mistake was underestimating the smell. I had to take some measures to deal with it, but can't fully fix it until I harvest my (one) plant...very soon though.
Get the entire enclosure sealed, with plastic, reflective mylar, etc. except for intake and exhaust. Have a light-proof intake (intake grill & dust filter, attached to some flexible duct with lots of bends). The exhaust should have a carbon scrubber and be ducted to outside. You don't want the smell soaking into the walls, or leaking into areas that could spread throughout the house.
I chose 4' fluoro's. They actually create a fair amount of heat. My plants turned out excellent, but it may have taken longer than needed. They recommend T5's, but those are expensive, and hard to find. My local big-box-hardware has 4' fixtures that take both t8 or t12. You can get a mix of standard white T8's along with some T8 grow lamps from plant and aquarium stores. This allows you to pay cash, which I prefer.....and not have a credit card trail, and large packages being delivered.
I also found a 75w HPS at a local hardware store. It would not be hard to add a piece of sheet metal as a reflector to it. A bit or wire mesh should prevent plant from touching bulb. One should be adequate for a small space without adding a ton of heat. Especially if it's on a separate timer to only be on for 3 or 4 hours "mid-day". I'll see what the heat is like, then maybe add another when it's time for flowering.
Best of luck
Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep it in mind. To be honest, this is a project I plan on working on over the next year. I am in no rush to have a finished product.
Instead I want to do my research, buy the best tools that I can afford, get some feedback from users on this site, and build it myself (the enclosure) to save some money. My limited growing space is something that will not change, so I want to plan this just right.
I figure it'll be a few months easily, before I finish this project. But anyways, KaleoXxX hooked me up with the FAQ link (which I didn't find myself), so I'll have plenty of reading to do, and with it, lots of knowledge to soak in.
But thanks for the heads up on the odour control issue. I'll keep it in mind.
P.S. >> I wish to buy my lighting from my local Home Depot or Rona store, so what are the components of a complete lighting system? I've seen components like :
- Ballast
- Reflector
- Lamp (what exactly is the lamp? Is that the electrical box or is it merely the bulb?)
Worst come to worst, I'll buy one online. Been thinking about one of these two models.
1) First choice :
http://www.elights.com/sun900517.html (400 watts, 5 year warranty, and CHEAPER)
2) Second choice :
http://www.elights.com/sun9005451.html (400 watts, 2 year warranty, and almost double the cost because I think it's a commercial built-to order product)
What do you think of these, for a small grow space of 4'x4' ?
