Grow Cabinet Design Help Needed...

So I have had this design and idea for quite some time now. I have done months upon months of research to be able to build the perfect cabinet for myself. Here is the idea.

I will be building a 6' x 4' x 2' wooden cabinet. I have put together (x2) 5 gallon bubbleponic kits (diy) in which I will grow only 2 plants at a time. I plan to use (x2) 100 - 175 cfm fans along with a small 6" oscillating fan for circulation.

Here are the problems I am running into though. I know that to have the right amount of lumens per square foot, I will need to get a 600W HPS. The cabinet being 24sqft and the light giving off 90,000 lumens, I will have 3,750 lumens/sqft. Or I will need to make up the equivilent in CFL's which could be pretty costly. That would probably consist of having the Sunblaze T5 HO 48 along with atleast 2' side lighting. Also, that would mean higher temperatures inside the cab if I went with the HPS.

I guess the question here is... do I buy the 600W HPS and (2) 4" Vortex fans OR do I buy the Sunblaze T5 48 w/ side lighting and run the S&P 100cfm fans?

What are some of the benefits of each and what would you run? Also I have to say that I am pretty big on CFL's because of the low cost and low temperatures. However the HPS will give me more lumens/sqft. I am making this a poll, so please vote and add your 2 cents so I know why you voted for whichever one. I am so f'n lost at this point. PLEASE HELP!!! +Rep for any info/help.

HPS my friend.

I keep reading that I don't need that many lumens per sqft for only 2 plants. I see different thoughts all over the place. 1000 lumens/sqft minimum, 3000 lumens/sqft minimum, 7000 lumens oer plant not sqft, 3000 for veg and up to 10,000 for flower per sqft. What is the real deal here?!

DC2+2 said:

HPS my friend.

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Agreed,
I would do two cabinets stacked & vegg/mother w/ cfl & flouro in the bottom & flower above using hps & a cool tube. Highly recomend a cool tube in a small space.

more light *generally* = denser better buds. Throw as much light at them as you can afford & keep cool. Although honestly for 2 plants i dont know if youd see a difference between 400w hps & 600

Well that's great and grand and wonderful what you would do, however I only asked about the lights and fans. I don't need a 500 page thread about lights and lumens and what you should do / think I should do. Just tell me the lights and fans and along with some solid back as to why. That's all the info I need. Thanks

Mr.J420 said:

more light *generally* = denser better buds. Throw as much light at them as you can afford & keep cool. Although honestly for 2 plants i dont know if youd see a difference between 400w hps & 600

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well you redeemed yourself with this post. Now that's the kind of info I need in here.

Mr.J420 said:

more light *generally* = denser better buds. Throw as much light at them as you can afford & keep cool. Although honestly for 2 plants i dont know if youd see a difference between 400w hps & 600

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Good sound advice, J420. And yes, you'll have more dense buds, deeper down the plant. Low penetration will only produce bud on a thin canopy of your plants. 400 watts is where you get good wattage that you'll be happy with, and the heat is manageable.

So if I went with a 400w, would you guys suggest getting a 400w w/ a switchable MH/HPS ballast or just HPS?

rreign said:

So if I went with a 400w, would you guys suggest getting a 400w w/ a switchable MH/HPS ballast or just HPS?

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If you're only going to get one system, get the conversion system for sure. That's basically all I have...I also have a small cabinet with a few short floros for cloning, but other than that the 400 is all I use.

Well, I think I have decided on a 400w switchable MH/HPS and I will also be getting (4) Sunblaze 4' Strip lights for supplimental lighting in the corners of the cab. Thanks for all the input. +rep coming

Ok, I needed to bump this because I got one more question.... with my newly bought 400w MH/HPS (MGS Supply on eBay for $220) and my 4' Sunblaze Strip Lights, will I need a higher cfm fan for the 400w? I planned on using S&P 100CFM inlines but I think I may need to get the Vortex fans now. Any input???

I thought this wasnt gonna be a 500 page thread????............... pull your head out and think about it more lights more heat alot of this is common sense, noob or not. -_-

rreign said:

Ok, I needed to bump this because I got one more question.... with my newly bought 400w MH/HPS (MGS Supply on eBay for $220) and my 4' Sunblaze Strip Lights, will I need a higher cfm fan for the 400w? I planned on using S&P 100CFM inlines but I think I may need to get the Vortex fans now. Any input???

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I dont know about the Vortex but I have a TD150 connected to a can 33 w/ a 600 hps in a cab just a little bigger than your. I have to slow it down to keep the temps up. Did you get the 100 or 100x? The x had a little more juice. You can check it out in my cabinet jornal.

Usually, the better lighting system will pay for itself. More wattage typically promotes more growth, whether it be vegetative or flowering. I would go with the 600 Watt HPS - especially since HPS are so good for flowering. Just make sure that your plants are cooled and watered adequately - the bulb can get hot!

Cronik363 said:

I thought this wasnt gonna be a 500 page thread????............... pull your head out and think about it more lights more heat alot of this is common sense, noob or not. -_-

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Well since it is MY thread, I can dictate how it goes and what direction I want to take it. Not the people commenting in it, especially people with 4 posts. Now moving on, I'm not a newb, I just never grew with anything bigger than CFL's and I'm not sure of the differences that may come with the heat and air flow. Obviously I know that more light generates more heat requiring more airflow to control the heat. I'm not retarded. As a matter of fact, if you read the question properly, you would notice that I wanted to know if the TD-100 fans would keep the cabinet cool enough OR if I needed to get the bigger Vortex fans.

lol no shit, my 4 posts mean nothing. i could definetly say ive been growing longer and better than you, obviosly since you dont know shit. MOVING ON you shouldnt talk shit yo someone in the begining of your thread about it being a drawn out conversation pull your head out of your ASS

You know, some people don't appreciate the internet's quick and effortless ability to distribute obscene, curse-filled diatribes. I should tell you that I'm one of them. Of course you're one of those people that do. In this case you discovering my rather negative opinion of you, then in reaction, you furiously began a counterattack which you obviously thought would surely set me straight. Well it hasn't. It has just made you look like a child looking for an argument. I don't argue over the internet with children. I would rather have a strong opinionated debate, like adults, about a subject matter. So when you get your panties out of your twat or when you can understand this post and when you grow up and learn to act like an adult, then come back and post in my thread.

the more light the better always keep it growing

call me stupid but did you say your cab was 4 x6x 2 with 24 square feet? so you only have 2 ft to work with on the height? that is going to be more than a problem with any light espescially any hid