5x5 grow room. Ventilation? either 2x600w or a single 1000w?

[RoloTomassi]

Hi, after reading a lot of stuff on this site thinking about the best way to use a 5x5x7 tent with 4 plants in soil.

The goal would be to grow a few large plants rather than a bunch of small ones.

option #1
Two 600w lamps seem like the best fit as far as lighting requirements but ventilation seems problematic to me. If I daisy chain the two 600w lamps, it might be a bit cramped at the top of the tent and a lot of the reflectors seems too large to chain laterally that way in a 5' space.

option #2
I could have the lamps side by side, so that the ventilation is parallel but then I'd imagine I'd need to run two ducts through the tent for cooling and have two fans pulling the air through them independently, or one big fan that pulls the air through some sort of Y duct.

option #3
I could go with a single 1000w lamp then the cooling is simpler, one fan and one duct through the reflector but with a 5x5 floor it seems that the light might be a little too weak. Also, as I understand it, as a general rule plants should be kept about 2' from a 1000w lamp so if 2' of vertical space is occupied by the reflector and pots, and an additional 2' is used for distance that leaves 3' total of vertical grow space which works against the goal of growing a few big plants, although I like the simplicity of that set up.

So, advice ? suggestions? ideas?

Thanks.

 

[420forme]

You can run two hoods side by side and still vent with one duct. The duct would run kind of a S pattern if you know what I mean.

 

[dbkick]

To me in a tent that size I'd say two 600s but that seems like overkill in a tent that size, you should probably get one dimmable 1kw. and about the room to raise the light, just lst shit out of them and keep them low.also possibly you should get a growzilla(this hood accepts two bulbs) hood and a dual output 600 watt ballast, if you're really serious about having two lights, of course I have no idea really, I'm extremely wasted atm.

 

[RoloTomassi]

Do you think a 440 cfm would be good to cool the S ducting idea?

 

[solarguy]

Hi, after reading a lot of stuff on this site thinking about the best way to use a 5x5x7 tent with 4 plants in soil.

The goal would be to grow a few large plants rather than a bunch of small ones.

option #1
Two 600w lamps seem like the best fit as far as lighting requirements but ventilation seems problematic to me. If I daisy chain the two 600w lamps, it might be a bit cramped at the top of the tent and a lot of the reflectors seems too large to chain laterally that way in a 5' space.

option #2
I could have the lamps side by side, so that the ventilation is parallel but then I'd imagine I'd need to run two ducts through the tent for cooling and have two fans pulling the air through them independently, or one big fan that pulls the air through some sort of Y duct.

option #3
I could go with a single 1000w lamp then the cooling is simpler, one fan and one duct through the reflector but with a 5x5 floor it seems that the light might be a little too weak. Also, as I understand it, as a general rule plants should be kept about 2' from a 1000w lamp so if 2' of vertical space is occupied by the reflector and pots, and an additional 2' is used for distance that leaves 3' total of vertical grow space which works against the goal of growing a few big plants, although I like the simplicity of that set up.

So, advice ? suggestions? ideas?

Thanks.

if you can control the heat go with 2 600's, 600 are more efficient than a 1000, and 2 600's might even be more efficient than one 1,000watt... Also i would put them parralel like in option 2, this will be more even coverage since the lights are more centered. more ducting will be cheap you can send it to a y or just have 2 separate ducts, most tents have 2-4 vents on both top and bottom...just have 2 exhausts but try not to bend, this slows airflow down, with all that heat you will need solid ventilation

 

[solarguy]

Do you think a 440 cfm would be good to cool the S ducting idea?

yea, you can cool a 1,000 watt light with a 6 inch inline duct fan for 25 bucks at home depot, i use these and they work....everyone hate but they work

 

[dbkick]

s ducting, one word static. that fan isn't centrifugal is it? centrifugal fans deal with static well.if its just an fan mounted in a pipe then it won't deal with static well but I had a 440 8 inch inline cooling my 1kw light and it stayed cool as can be.

 

[solarguy]

check this out, http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/587568-how-much-space-will-1000-watt-hps-cover.html

sorry to site jump but this thread, 2nd post....your answer. "a 600 watt is better..way more efficient by far(power vs lumen output...)
a 1000 watt will do an 8x8 room..but create a ton of heat and about 145-150,000 lumen's...
a 600 watt is 400watt's less on your power bill and gives you 95,000 lumen's....that's a major increase in efficientcy..."

this thread breaks it down if you read it, i just read it and learned a lot....good shit...

 

[420forme]

A 440cfm would work if its blowing through the two hoods with fresh air intake. You will need a separate fan for room exhaust.

 

[Snow Crash]

I have a tent this size and a 440cfm fan. Right now, with the cool temperatures, it has worked very well controlling the heat from a 1000w lamps with the speed controller set to low. I can keep the tent temperature within 5 degrees of the intake temperature easily.

During the summer time I'm concerned though because the ambient room temperature might hit the upper 70's on a hot day. Even with twice the ventilation I figure I'd still only be able to cool the tent to that point which makes Air Conditioning important on those hot days. That is why I have a 5,000 BTU window unit I got from Home Depot on sale for $90. Problem solved.

I'm using the single 1000w light because I plan on growing in a 4x4 area beneath the light primarily.

You could always go vertical with the two lights. Or you could get a convertible hood and run dual spectrum from that single large reflector. I chose the single 1000w based on price, being that 600w ballasts aren't all that cheaper.

 

[RoloTomassi]

s ducting, one word static. that fan isn't centrifugal is it? centrifugal fans deal with static well.if its just an fan mounted in a pipe then it won't deal with static well but I had a 440 8 inch inline cooling my 1kw light and it stayed cool as can be.

I was considering the Panasonic Whisperline 440cfm, I'm not sure if it's centrifugal or not.

 

[420forme]

Get a canfan or vortex.

 

[RoloTomassi]

A 440cfm would work if its blowing through the two hoods with fresh air intake. You will need a separate fan for room exhaust.

Yup, I should have mentioned that I plan to have another fan for the carbon filter.

Thanks for the replies, all.

 

[chrono]

with your tent, check your manufacturers specs for the tent, i run a 2.4m long 1.2m wide and 2m tall secret jardin DR240w, its recomended to run 2 x 600w hps, a 1000w in such a confined space, no matter how much ventilation you use, it will kill your tent fairly quickly, the reflective mylar will start to peel off and the stitching eventually gives out, they just cant cope with the intensity of 1000w........

Good luck.

 

[RoloTomassi]

with your tent, check your manufacturers specs for the tent, i run a 2.4m long 1.2m wide and 2m tall secret jardin DR240w, its recomended to run 2 x 600w hps, a 1000w in such a confined space, no matter how much ventilation you use, it will kill your tent fairly quickly, the reflective mylar will start to peel off and the stitching eventually gives out, they just cant cope with the intensity of 1000w........

Good luck.

Ah good to know, actually the tent I had in mind was Secret Jardin. I'll probably go with canfan.

 

[chrono]

Ah good to know, actually the tent I had in mind was Secret Jardin. I'll probably go with canfan.

i have even seen HomeBox tents die within 1 grow due to the mylar and zips giving out, Secret Jardin tents in my opinion are the highest quality tents on the market, they have just released a new range too !!!
As for fans, inline fans are good for intake, but dont use inline fans for exhaust, the reason is that with inlines, the air passes through the motor, centrifigal fans are different, the air passes around the motor, less drag so the fan doesnt have to work as hard to keep the flow going. eziAir or can fans are awesome, vortex also make some pretty cool exhaust fans. Good luck with your grow.........

 

[RoloTomassi]

As for fans, inline fans are good for intake, but dont use inline fans for exhaust, the reason is that with inlines, the air passes through the motor, centrifigal fans are different, the air passes around the motor, less drag so the fan doesnt have to work as hard to keep the flow going. eziAir or can fans are awesome, vortex also make some pretty cool exhaust fans. Good luck with your grow.........

Thanks again, my main interest with fans is keeping it quiet, I've heard that the vortex ones are loud, based on some reports it sounds like can fans are quieter, but I'll have a look at eziAir and some others.

 

[chrono]

Thanks again, my main interest with fans is keeping it quiet, I've heard that the vortex ones are loud, based on some reports it sounds like can fans are quieter, but I'll have a look at eziAir and some others.

The truth is, all fans are around 9-15db, im yet to physically see one thats quieter, its pushing air so you cant avoid some noise, the main thing is that it doesnt sound like an industrial air conditioning system booting up.

 

[Mountainfarmer]

A 5x5 tent seems like a really small area to have two hoods. a 1000 watt'er will give u 40watts/sq. ft. which in my opinion is the least amount of light you should have in a flower room for good results. Plus you don't have to invest in another bulb, ballast, and reflector. GL

 

[AKMEDMAN]

Im running two 600's in my 5x5 dr150 tent. Using super sun 2 reflectors side by side, venting straight thru. I just used metal ducting t's and 90's to connect the hoods. Vortex 6" cooling them, but its speed control is set on low.
I recently only fired up one of my ballast to check out the light footprint, and it doesnt seem to be bad. The hoods arent wide, in fact im not sure id want the bulbs any closer together than they are in the ss2's.
im running co2 so the tent is sealed until the temps get up, then the co2 controller kicks in and does its job. You will need co2 to utilize that kind of light intensity. As far as noise is concerned, inline fans are definently loud running at 100%, but using a speed controller to back them down a bit significantly lowers the noise. I doubt that one manufacturers inline is much quiet than any other at the same cfm.
check out gnomegrown's grow with 2 600's in a tent.