Commercial Grow Questions

http://www.hydrowarehouse.com/sunlight-supply-sunlight-supply-1000-watt-yield-master-system-p-1450.html

why not just this one, get ballist, bulb, and hood for 350$

You get what you pay for. Magnetic ballasts are loud and inefficient. The hood ... cheap, difficult to access, and poor light pattern. The bulb should be upgraded to the Hortilux.

Then, don't forget the $100 shipping and $25 tax... extra.

So that's $500 for an obsolete ballast and a cheap hood.... hmmm. x10 lights = $5000.

You still haven't budgeted for inline fans, wall fans, floor fans, dehumidifiers, Air conditioner, carbon scrubbers, ducting, RO water supply, Co2 delivery and enviromental controlls. Plus, do you know what good nutrients cost?

Like I said before, this is not as cheap as it seems.

tubularty said:

http://www.hydrowarehouse.com/sunlight-supply-sunlight-supply-1000-watt-yield-master-system-p-1450.html

why not just this one, get ballist, bulb, and hood for 350$

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Seperately, you can buy that hood for $80. The ballast for $180, and the bulb for $50 (not the hortilux). That's $310 before tax and shipping.

Know what you are buying! A $1000 car will not win any races, but it will get you to the liquor store. In other words, don't expect top-of-line results from bottom-shelf equipment.

what are some hoods you recommend then? and my plans are to have 9 plants under each 1000w HPS (6'x6' area), 2 rows of 4 or 5 lights in each row, closed system with 1 run of intake and exhaust for each row of lights, total of 45 plants per row or 90 plants total. just general outline for now, more to come in time. lets start here though, how does that sound to you Smoking?

It sounds like the last 2 or 3 lights in each string are going to be putting off a LOT of heat. I would recommend this hood: http://www.horticulturesource.com/sunlight-supply-block-buster-8-inch-air-cooled-reflector-p7669/?osCsid=d550a627026fa864c5ecf0904839f229

But probably not from that source, because I ordered 4 of those hoods a month ago. They took 3 weeks before telling me they were back-ordered, then they cancelled the order. I've got to find a new source for those tonight as a matter of fact.

If the air entering the hood (last couple in the string) is 100 degrees +, it will provide absolutely NO cooling for you. Infact, the whole hood will heat up pretty severe and will completely defeat your purpose.

I was planning on having only two hoods hooked up together then run it out to the exhaust tube, either 10" or 8" that way i will be able to keep the lights cool. do you think i need 8" holes on the hood or 6" cause i was thinking having the intake be 8" hard straight pipe and split into 2 or 3 separate 6" flex tubes to the lights, then exit to a 10" straight hard pipe to a 10" inline pulling either 400 or 500 cfm then outside. and that hood says it covers a 4'x4' area, i've read 1000W hps hoods cover 6'x6' area so that would allow me to put 9 plants under each... do you agree?

1000w is a lot of light. I've seen (yesterday) 30 plants under a single 1000w (approx 5'x5' footprint). It all depends on the size your plants are going to get ... how much you veg them, how aggressive the nutrient system is and what strain they are. There are several factors involved, so it's hard to say how many plants are optimum in your system.

You could probably plan for 9 each (fairly safe) and adjust accordingly on future grows.

As far as cooling of the lights, you see the problem stringing too many together so... put your engineer's hat on

In setups like these it always seems better to start off a little smaller and work your way up. Maybe start with 15-20 plants, something manageable, but on closer to a large grow. I've always believed in the KISS principle and work my way up once I have that perfected. Takes a little longer, but will save you more money and might provide better buds on an overall faster time frame. Are you trying to start your own collective or are you just personally growing for a few patients? There are a lot of things needed to maximize your yield to the largest amount, but even with cheaper equipment and not having everything under the kitchen sink included in this grow can yield some phenomenal results. One thing that is mentioned all the time, the biggest variable in a grow is the grower themselves. If you take care of your plants right and you have a middle of the road setup your bud can be amazing, you might not yield quite as much though. It all depends on whether you are also looking to maximize yield in every way and whether the money needed at the very start to accomplish that is worth it.

i already have a grow of 4 1000W HPS in half of a one car garage. So this is my upgrading im just unsure about the ventilation system and which one is the most efficient for a large grow op. I have read that i should do a closed system and inject co2 for maximum yields.... but im not 100% sure about all of it. big grows are semi foreign grounds to me.

I started a 280 square foot closed grow and the initial startup costs were over $15,000.

I have 6 1000W lights, which are linked in 2 chains of 3. Each chain has a 449 CFM (6") fan attached. Even though it help having an enclosed system, the lights still generate a lot of heat.


I found the following:

• Room - Air tight, mylar on the walls, plants off the floor.
• AC - must have decent AC or your screwed (2800 BTU's per 1000W light)
• Lights - Enclosed system with no more than 3 in sequence. Make sure you spend the money on really good bulbs. Electronic ballasts are better but more expensive.
• Controllers - Sentinal (CHHC-1 ) does all I need.
• CO2 - Make a huge difference (good controller helps here)
• Grow system - Make sure you know which one you are going to use ( i currently have an ebb and flow system running and it is awesome)
• Security - Make sure its safe and secure.

These guys have a good selection of stuff but its always good to shop around (you can save a ton of cash with a few clicks).

Good luck with your grow

Ciao

Guys that much space would be quite a few more lights.

280 sq ft would be 10-12 1k lights with 5 tons of cooling.

Screw plant count, keep em low and in BIG pots.

watercooled@ said:

Guys that much space would be quite a few more lights.

280 sq ft would be 10-12 1k lights with 5 tons of cooling.

Screw plant count, keep em low and in BIG pots.

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listen to him!!