Grow Help...

Hey im looking for set up help for a 15x15 grow room. i grew with my cousin about 10 years ago but only aided him in the grow. Im looking for tips about what i should get on lights and seeds and what not... seems like i have read everything and go no where. First forum ive joined to see what people who are really growing think. Any help would be great. Thanks!

Im trying to go with MH/HPS not LED dont have the $ for those. Thanks!

general rule of thumb,50 watts/sq.ft. hydro or soil? you will need ventalation,enough to change air in room 4 times an hour at min. 440 cfm fan.lighting you can get away with 4 600 watt hps,better 4 1000 watters.to do anything worth while gonna cost an easy 2000.then pots or hydro system,soil/nutes.

I suggest CMH. Check out the SunSystem using Elite Agro. Or, the Phillips All Start bulb which can be used in a generic MH ballast.

I would start small. Instead of filling that room, start with one CMH in a 3x3 to 4x4 space. Get some experience. Don't boil the ocean.

Are you doing hydro or soil? I think soil produces better taste (with organic'ish nutrient sources). But, for that space hydro would probably be easier to work with. It's suited for mass production, economies of scale.

I was going to do soil but it hydro is cheaper/easier then i will do that... i was thinking in the room 4 1000 watt HPS... i have plenty of ventilation and can run in cooled air to either the room with an exhaust or to each ballast... whichever is better.... Now i was told i would need MH for veg and HPS for flowering... or maybe backwarsd i dont know...

MH in veg, HPS in flower. CMH is more efficient. About 600w in a 4x4 space? (I haven't used it.). You use it for both veg and flower. It runs considerably cooler. My hydro store has one and the radiant heat is much less. It was discussed intermittently in this thread. Elite uses digital ballast, All Start uses ordinary MH ballast, and the "Retro" bulb works in an HPS ballast.

You probably want to spend more time studying (soil, hydro, nutrients, etc.). If you do soil, I have an inexpensive soil and nutrient system which works well for me.

If you do hydro, JR Peters is often used and is inexpensive. You could ask in the general->nutrients forum how hydro growers use "bulk salts" to mix their own using a free program called HydroBuddy.

I would stay away from the boutique "lineups." Be in control of your NPK ratios, don't pay for a proprietary schedule like those. You don't need to spend a lot on nutrients.

It's all good!

so what i just wrote down was a room 16x16 with 6 lights... 2 rows of 3...i wanted to get the ballasts that are mh/hps... is it the bulb that changes when this occurs? i know you are changing the light cycle but what does the mh/hps switch consist of

also in an area like that is that to much light and how many plants am i am to plant with that amount of light/space?

I use hps all the way through,but,if you use mh,2 weeks into flower from mh to hps. Some will say switch when you change cycle,but,mh will keep your stretch down.

is that to much light for that area? and how many plants would you guess for that room?

this is what i have

how big are the lights? what style?hydo /soil? there are a whole bunch of factors.

i was thinking 6 and 6... 6 1000 watt HPs and 6 t5 4fters...

and these

If anyone is willing to take some time and e-mail me ill pay for your time... not sure how to private message or if you even can... let me know if you need my e-mail... thanks

I don't think you really need to pay anyone, there's enough of us around to help out. When you ask questions like, "how many plants can I fit?", these are hard to answer just point blank due to so many factors that can go in to how big you want to grow your plants, training techniques, etc. To answer the light questions though, no, that is not too much light for your room. I'd also think about what az2000 said, instead of filling out that whole room maybe section it off and build a little at a time to get your feet wet.

my ceiling is 8ft... i have heard both sides saying its better to be shorter and bushier then tall and skinny... im looking for maximum yield ... the only reason im not starting off with a small space is because i have the means to get everything now... not sure if ill want/have the funds to get the equipment later... so i would rather come up with a plan get everything i need and to start smaller and section off an area of the room after its set up for 16x16 thats something i am interested in maybe.. I know there are alot of techniques and what im really looking for is just feedback on my current plan and how to tweek it to work.. Anything helps people. thanks for you time.

I have yet to pick the seeds the nutrients or anything... From what i have read the lights and cooling system is whats going to cost the most so i would like to get that down and start from seeds then... again thanks for all your help.

Unfortunately statements like "im looking for maximum yield" just shows the lack of research you've done. Really not trying to sound like a douche, even though I totally am, but still the fact remains that no one person is going to give you an exact formula for getting "maximum yelid". There are many different ways that you could achieve a very nice yield with the space you have no problem. You have to do the inital legwork though first, the simple things like are you growing in soil or hydro (then people can help with nutes), do YOU want 2 rows of 3 1000ws (research a little on lighting but I think that would be fine), do you want to perpetual grow, maybe section the room off in two 8x8 space, etc., stuff like this are the simple things that you have to figure out first then everyone can help with tweaks.