New indoor grow. Which lights for 50sq/ft room?

420dankestnugs

Active Member
Hey guys, first time posting and first time growing indoor. The height of the room is about 6.3ft and roughly 9ft by 5.6ft. I plan to veg and flower in the same room, for now. I've got a few questions. First off, which lights would you recommend, and how many? I'm trying to stay towards the cheaper side and go with CFL's or LED's (any input on others appreciated). I was thinking 2x 600watts and or 1x 1000wat and a couple 400's? Also had another question. All the lights I'm looking at have 2 types of wattage, which one should I rely on? Example the Spiral CFL 105watt light is equal to 500wats. So should I just assume that it is a 500watt bulb? I'm sure there are some things I'm forgetting but it may cross my mind later.:lol:
 

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
Hey guys, first time posting and first time growing indoor. The height of the room is about 6.3ft and roughly 9ft by 5.6ft. I plan to veg and flower in the same room, for now. I've got a few questions. First off, which lights would you recommend, and how many? I'm trying to stay towards the cheaper side and go with CFL's or LED's (any input on others appreciated). I was thinking 2x 600watts and or 1x 1000wat and a couple 400's? Also had another question. All the lights I'm looking at have 2 types of wattage, which one should I rely on? Example the Spiral CFL 105watt light is equal to 500wats. So should I just assume that it is a 500watt bulb? I'm sure there are some things I'm forgetting but it may cross my mind later.:lol:
Any way to jack hammer the floors out, dig down, pour new floors giving you a 10 foot tall room and rock some motherfucking DE HPS?
 

420dankestnugs

Active Member
Any way to jack hammer the floors out, dig down, pour new floors giving you a 10 foot tall room and rock some motherfucking DE HPS?
hahaha I wish! I would be able to cut a hole through the roof but thats about it. This is only going to be temporary until i can manage to build something else. Would I not be able to run DE HPS lights in this room even if I were to stick with smaller indicas?
 

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
hahaha I wish! I would be able to cut a hole through the roof but thats about it. This is only going to be temporary until i can manage to build something else. Would I not be able to run DE HPS lights in this room even if I were to stick with smaller indicas?
Sounds like maybe you might want to run some LED. Have you had a chance to look around this site? There is fucking info everywhere about all LED. New shit coming out seems like daily!!!!
 

420dankestnugs

Active Member
Sounds like maybe you might want to run some LED. Have you had a chance to look around this site? There is fucking info everywhere about all LED. New shit coming out seems like daily!!!!
I've poked around on the site for the past couple months but today was the first day I made an account. Spent just about all day smoking and reading/taking notes.
 

420dankestnugs

Active Member
I was taught 50 to 70 watts per square foot depending on strain
Not trying to sound stupid but when you say 50 to 70 watts per sq/ft which do you mean? A 200w CFL says it's equal to 600w, so would i take that as enough lighting for 4sq/ft or 12sq/ft?
Also, thanks for the help and quick replies!
 

Dr Magill

Well-Known Member
It's probably old school but if you had 6 x 6 tent you would have 36 square feet of floor space. If you wanted to illuminate it at 50 watts per square foot - 36 x 50 = 1800 watts of light. Believe me this is really basic info. With the new cooler lights, cobs, cfl, it's all morphing all the time. But........it is still sound advice!!
Good luck
 

Grower899

Well-Known Member
Not trying to sound stupid but when you say 50 to 70 watts per sq/ft which do you mean? A 200w CFL says it's equal to 600w, so would i take that as enough lighting for 4sq/ft or 12sq/ft?
Also, thanks for the help and quick replies!
Don't go by the equivalent wattage. A 200 watt cfl is 200 watts. You're looking at like 4 600 watt mh/hps for a room that size.
 

420dankestnugs

Active Member
It's probably old school but if you had 6 x 6 tent you would have 36 square feet of floor space. If you wanted to illuminate it at 50 watts per square foot - 36 x 50 = 1800 watts of light. Believe me this is really basic info. With the new cooler lights, cobs, cfl, it's all morphing all the time. But........it is still sound advice!!
Good luck
Don't go by the equivalent wattage. A 200 watt cfl is 200 watts. You're looking at like 4 600 watt mh/hps for a room that size.
I get all the math parts of it, im not that high, yet... Grower899 answered my question about it though, I was just unsure about which wattage to go off of. thanks for the help fam, cheers.
 

all coco

Well-Known Member
Do you have the cooling for ~1k of lighting? Also will need to lightproof if running veg and flower in the same area maybe a cheap grow tent will help out there. I'm liking the 315w cmh's so far, you could run 1 for veg and 2 for flower. They do about 3x3 each so you could take up 3x9 and have a 2.5ft access area and to store electrical/ballasts/pumps or whatever.
 

Flowki

Well-Known Member
Entry level 600w Hps units sound like the best bet, cheap to buy and you can upgrade with ought losing sleep on the losses. Just because you have 6.3f of height by w/e it was does not mean you have to use it all. Comfortable spacing will keep you happy long term.

Over time maybe you upgrade to 8x lec, maybe to 4x 1000w hps or led/cob or maybe you just stick with 600's and upgrade the huds or go vert. So many options you'd be a fool to dive into an expensive one right away. But before any of that you'd have to see what your ventilation can handle.
 

420dankestnugs

Active Member
Entry level 600w Hps units sound like the best bet, cheap to buy and you can upgrade with ought losing sleep on the losses. Just because you have 6.3f of height by w/e it was does not mean you have to use it all. Comfortable spacing will keep you happy long term.

Over time maybe you upgrade to 8x lec, maybe to 4x 1000w hps or led/cob or maybe you just stick with 600's and upgrade the huds or go vert. So many options you'd be a fool to dive into an expensive one right away. But before any of that you'd have to see what your ventilation can handle.
I'm thinking about buying 3x of these

iPower GLSETX600DHAC6 Digital Dimmable HPS Grow Light System for Plants with Air Cooled Hood Set, 600-Watt

I'm not able to post links yet but they are 155.99 for everything. Timer, Cooling hood, HPS 600w bulb & ballast

Would it be enough light for the entire room? and good buds?

Do you have the cooling for ~1k of lighting? Also will need to lightproof if running veg and flower in the same area maybe a cheap grow tent will help out there. I'm liking the 315w cmh's so far, you could run 1 for veg and 2 for flower. They do about 3x3 each so you could take up 3x9 and have a 2.5ft access area and to store electrical/ballasts/pumps or whatever.
I don't have it at the moment but I can set it all up. I'm thinking of starting with 600watts. 1000watts would be awesome, but I don't want to risk anything and have the heat super high. Looking for a quick, easy, and safe way to light up the room, and get started. Would I not be able to just have the entire room be my veg and flower? I plan on growing seedlings in a refurbished cabinet and eventually transferring them to veg in a separate tent/cabinet. I'm trying to just get 1 quick grow done, with decent yield and better buds(compared to what i've got from outdoor).

As for CMH I have looked into those but they are around 2x more expensive for everything then the HPS package I found. Is the yield/bud that much better that it'll pay itself off using CMH? Compared to HPS.

Thanks again, learned so much from the replies and this site in the last 2 days.
 
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a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking about buying 3x of these

iPower GLSETX600DHAC6 Digital Dimmable HPS Grow Light System for Plants with Air Cooled Hood Set, 600-Watt
It would be hard pressed to find a better room then what your talking about. 3 600's is the way to go in your space. Massive yields with super super quality!!!!!!!
 

Flowki

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking about buying 3x of these


Would it be enough light for the entire room? and good buds?
No not quite enough, but it's not far off factoring in access area. They always say 3x3 but it's a guide, most only cover 2x3 effectively down the length of the bulb. Closed hoods can project a more even spread but you typically have to increase light distance to achieve it.

You may consider putting the plants against the back wall leaving a good 6 inches gap from it and canopy. Use a row of two from left wall to right |=====| like that. How many depends on pot size. You then run 4x your connected hoods over the top with a little room either side for the venting. Those hoods look ok but they are not going to have great over lap yet better penetration over cheap open hoods. 4 over that area would allow you to cover it at a lower height and penetrate better for good mid bud production. That's my opinion, and it should hopefully fit with a little wiggle room. Otherwise yeah, 3 it is ;p.

As you walk into the room you have a 2f walk way along the face of the front row plants. Access to the back plants, you can use some tools/tricks that remove the need for moving pots. This will make the most use of the space and lights while leaving comfortable access, unless your door is in the middle of the side wall ;p.

The space at the front is something you will truly appreciate over time. Again you are totally limited by ventilation, having vented hoods will not out right solve the problem. If it's a basement you'd be fine mostly but if an upstairs room or loft area everybody at the summer bbq will be asking why you look so pissed off. With 3 lights that may still happen, you may spend a considerable time on real low settings during those weeks/months even if on over night.
 
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420dankestnugs

Active Member
No not quite enough, but it's not far off factoring in access area. They always say 3x3 but it's a guide, most only cover 2x3 effectively down the length of the bulb. Closed hoods can project a more even spread but you typically have to increase light distance to achieve it.

You may consider putting the plants against the back wall leaving a good 6 inches gap from it and canopy. Use a row of two from left wall to right |=====| like that. How many depends on pot size. You then run 4x your connected hoods over the top with a little room either side for the venting. Those hoods look ok but they are not going to have great over lap yet better penetration over cheap open hoods. 4 over that area would allow you to cover it at a lower height and penetrate better for good mid bud production. That's my opinion, and it should hopefully fit with a little wiggle room. Otherwise yeah, 3 it is ;p.

As you walk into the room you have a 2f walk way along the face of the front row plants. Access to the back plants, you can use some tools/tricks that remove the need for moving pots. This will make the most use of the space and lights while leaving comfortable access, unless your door is in the middle of the side wall ;p.

The space at the front is something you will truly appreciate over time. Again you are totally limited by ventilation, having vented hoods will not out right solve the problem. If it's a basement you'd be fine mostly but if an upstairs room or loft area everybody at the summer bbq will be asking why you look so pissed off. With 3 lights that may still happen, you may spend a considerable time on real low settings during those weeks/months even if on over night.
Thanks for the post! The rooms door is on the corner but I see how I could manage to make what you're saying work. I would be able to modify the roof/walls if it gets too hot. Basically it's a 50sq/ft room inside around an 810sq/ft garage. Everything is setup except the light fixtures. I do have dollies for the plant pots each one can hold 2 8gal buckets which is convenient.

My brother said I should stick with Indicas and flower in a 5gal bucket?

How many plants do you think I should start with if I were to only use 3 of those 600watt's for the first time? (I'd be willing to invest into other equipment after first grow)

Excuse the poor drawing but this is how the room looks/where the door is located.

|````````|
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|--------|
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'''''''''''
door^^^
 

Flowki

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the post! The rooms door is on the corner but I see how I could manage to make what you're saying work. I would be able to modify the roof/walls if it gets too hot. Basically it's a 50sq/ft room inside around an 810sq/ft garage. Everything is setup except the light fixtures. I do have dollies for the plant pots each one can hold 2 8gal buckets which is convenient.

My brother said I should stick with Indicas and flower in a 5gal bucket?

How many plants do you think I should start with if I were to only use 3 of those 600watt's for the first time? (I'd be willing to invest into other equipment after first grow)

Excuse the poor drawing but this is how the room looks/where the door is located.

|````````|
|--------|
|--------|
|--------|
'''''''''''
door^^^
I don't know, are you going to top at all?. It's also a huge deal what you're growing in, coco and soil are like night and day in growth rates. You'd also have to setup the lights and adjust them around a bit and get a better idea what kind of foot print they are achieving. Do you know what your optimal height from canopy is going to be with those hoods?.
 

420dankestnugs

Active Member
I don't know, are you going to top at all?. It's also a huge deal what you're growing in, coco and soil are like night and day in growth rates. You'd also have to setup the lights and adjust them around a bit and get a better idea what kind of foot print they are achieving. Do you know what your optimal height from canopy is going to be with those hoods?.
From the book I've been reading it says around 18 inches. Again, first time for this so if it doesnt sound right let me know. Would coco be best to grow with?
 

Flowki

Well-Known Member
From the book I've been reading it says around 18 inches. Again, first time for this so if it doesn't sound right let me know. Would coco be best to grow with?
18 sounds good, I don't want to tell you what medium to use, you should read up on soil/light mixes coco etc and decide for yourself. All I was getting at is that if you are using coco, as many do, the growth rate might catch you out and you end up with a jungle if things are going well. Not to say that soil is crap, it has up sides too.
 
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