Smuggler
Active Member
I am a noob and I want to build my first indoor grow room. This is a long read so I will really appreciate anyone reading it all. I’ve read a lot here, in books, watched many youtube videos and think I have a workable plan. But, I would really appreciate some advice from the experienced growers here. Anyone who sees problems with my plan or who has info on lower cost suppliers please let me know and I’ll appreciate it very much!
I have a small area (5w X 4d X 7h) with an airtight door, for a small grow room, heat is a serious concern as is smell. I want to use a mix of T5 HO lights and 150W HPS lights. The flowering room is intended for 4 plants. I can do the electrical wiring as needed (including running new 20A circuits from the service) and any carpentry work called for.
For all of the T5 fixtures in the flowering portion, I want to put a mix of HO 6,500/3,000 bloom bulbs, mixed 50/50 and due to heat concerns I want to run only two 150W HPS fixtures. The walls will be Mylar covered and I will be using a 7 pound (4lb carbon) filter with a 4” 170cfm inline fan.
I will be growing in 3 gallon buckets of soil or maybe a hydro unit, I’m still trying to decide on nutrients also. Good Lord, there are so many options and suppliers for a newbie grower to consider.
I will also need to squeeze a small (26”L by 26”W by 36”H) vegging area just big enough to squeeze in another 2 foot 8 bulb (6,500 bulbs only) 16k lumens, T5 fixture. I’ll most likely build it out of plywood and run it 24/7 using light filters and muffin fans. It will also be Mylar covered (in & out) and I will place it in the front right part of the grow room for easy access. The 36” high cabinet top can also double as a plant stand for new additions to the flowering room. Even if I do start using a hydro unit later on, I can still jam everything into this space. Here is a top view of the space;
____________________
[ xxxxxxxxxxx5xxxxxxxxx xx]
[ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
[ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____ ]
[x4xxxxxxxxxx xxx [ Seed
[ xxxxxxxxxxxxxx x [ Veg
[___No lights ___[ Cabinet
Hanging on the upper part of the R/L side walls (2 on each side wall, where the walls and ceilings meet) will be 2 foot 8 bulb T5 fixtures and across the back wall will be (1) 4 foot 6 bulb T5 fixture, creating kind of a light band running around the upper part of the 3 walls. The door into the room is where my diagram says “No lights”.
The flowering chamber:
For my overhead lights, I want a 4 foot-4 bulb T5 HO fixture on the front & rear portion of the ceiling with 2 150W HPS hanging in the middle with cold air vents ducted from outside flowing into the light fixtures.
_____ = 4’ -4 bulb T5 florescent fixture, x = Ducted 150W HPS, ------ = duct work;
The overhead ceiling lights would be arranged like this:
_______________
------X xxxxxxxX------
_______________
The idea is to exhaust out of the top/side of the grow room with the carbon filter/170 cfm fan. That will in turn draw the outside air in through the lighting ductwork from the outside air source. I know that the draw into the lamps will not be 85cfm (1/2 of the 170 cfm exhaust) because of lost efficiency. My question is; if I keep the 4” ducts as short as possible and considering the carbon filters restriction on the fan, will the amount of outside air flow into the HPS fixtures be enough to cool them sufficiently?
Here is the ebay information on the filter/fan and the lights that I want to use but I’m looking for better prices on them from other sources. Is a 170cfm fan and a 4lb filter big enough for 4 BIG MONSTER STINKY plants, lol?
Carbon filter & 170 cfm inline fan combo
4 foot 4 bulb florescent fixture
150W HPS lamp & fixture
4 foot 6 bulb florescent fixture
2 foot 8 bulb florescent fixtures
Doing the light math, the 4 foot 4 bulb T5 fixtures put out 20k lumens each = 40k lumens
The 2 foot 8 bulb fixtures put out 16k lumens each = 64k lumens
The 4 foot 6 bulb T5 fixtures put out 30k lumens = 30k lumens
The 150W HPS lights put out 16k lumens each = 32k lumens
Total lumens= 166k lumens
With a 1,000W HPS giving off 32k lumens, 166k lumens = (5.2) 1,000Watt HPS lamps in a small space.
I am a meticulous individual and pay close attention to what I’m doing but is this setup overkill and too complex for a first time indoor grow and is it just setting up too many problems for me?
Will the florescent and HPS lights combined, put off too much heat for such a small space?
Should I forget about the (2) HPS lights and just go with all T5 lamps?
Should I just stick with soil instead of hydro?
What are the easiest to use and best results nutrients? I like the KISS principal but I can do detail measuring also. Is there a nutrient that can be used in either soil or hydro, or can they all be used either or?
Do any of you experienced gardeners see any holes in my plan or anything that I’m missing?
Thanks much for your input. Smuggler
I have a small area (5w X 4d X 7h) with an airtight door, for a small grow room, heat is a serious concern as is smell. I want to use a mix of T5 HO lights and 150W HPS lights. The flowering room is intended for 4 plants. I can do the electrical wiring as needed (including running new 20A circuits from the service) and any carpentry work called for.
For all of the T5 fixtures in the flowering portion, I want to put a mix of HO 6,500/3,000 bloom bulbs, mixed 50/50 and due to heat concerns I want to run only two 150W HPS fixtures. The walls will be Mylar covered and I will be using a 7 pound (4lb carbon) filter with a 4” 170cfm inline fan.
I will be growing in 3 gallon buckets of soil or maybe a hydro unit, I’m still trying to decide on nutrients also. Good Lord, there are so many options and suppliers for a newbie grower to consider.
I will also need to squeeze a small (26”L by 26”W by 36”H) vegging area just big enough to squeeze in another 2 foot 8 bulb (6,500 bulbs only) 16k lumens, T5 fixture. I’ll most likely build it out of plywood and run it 24/7 using light filters and muffin fans. It will also be Mylar covered (in & out) and I will place it in the front right part of the grow room for easy access. The 36” high cabinet top can also double as a plant stand for new additions to the flowering room. Even if I do start using a hydro unit later on, I can still jam everything into this space. Here is a top view of the space;
____________________
[ xxxxxxxxxxx5xxxxxxxxx xx]
[ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
[ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____ ]
[x4xxxxxxxxxx xxx [ Seed
[ xxxxxxxxxxxxxx x [ Veg
[___No lights ___[ Cabinet
Hanging on the upper part of the R/L side walls (2 on each side wall, where the walls and ceilings meet) will be 2 foot 8 bulb T5 fixtures and across the back wall will be (1) 4 foot 6 bulb T5 fixture, creating kind of a light band running around the upper part of the 3 walls. The door into the room is where my diagram says “No lights”.
The flowering chamber:
For my overhead lights, I want a 4 foot-4 bulb T5 HO fixture on the front & rear portion of the ceiling with 2 150W HPS hanging in the middle with cold air vents ducted from outside flowing into the light fixtures.
_____ = 4’ -4 bulb T5 florescent fixture, x = Ducted 150W HPS, ------ = duct work;
The overhead ceiling lights would be arranged like this:
_______________
------X xxxxxxxX------
_______________
The idea is to exhaust out of the top/side of the grow room with the carbon filter/170 cfm fan. That will in turn draw the outside air in through the lighting ductwork from the outside air source. I know that the draw into the lamps will not be 85cfm (1/2 of the 170 cfm exhaust) because of lost efficiency. My question is; if I keep the 4” ducts as short as possible and considering the carbon filters restriction on the fan, will the amount of outside air flow into the HPS fixtures be enough to cool them sufficiently?
Here is the ebay information on the filter/fan and the lights that I want to use but I’m looking for better prices on them from other sources. Is a 170cfm fan and a 4lb filter big enough for 4 BIG MONSTER STINKY plants, lol?
Carbon filter & 170 cfm inline fan combo
4 foot 4 bulb florescent fixture
150W HPS lamp & fixture
4 foot 6 bulb florescent fixture
2 foot 8 bulb florescent fixtures
Doing the light math, the 4 foot 4 bulb T5 fixtures put out 20k lumens each = 40k lumens
The 2 foot 8 bulb fixtures put out 16k lumens each = 64k lumens
The 4 foot 6 bulb T5 fixtures put out 30k lumens = 30k lumens
The 150W HPS lights put out 16k lumens each = 32k lumens
Total lumens= 166k lumens
With a 1,000W HPS giving off 32k lumens, 166k lumens = (5.2) 1,000Watt HPS lamps in a small space.
I am a meticulous individual and pay close attention to what I’m doing but is this setup overkill and too complex for a first time indoor grow and is it just setting up too many problems for me?
Will the florescent and HPS lights combined, put off too much heat for such a small space?
Should I forget about the (2) HPS lights and just go with all T5 lamps?
Should I just stick with soil instead of hydro?
What are the easiest to use and best results nutrients? I like the KISS principal but I can do detail measuring also. Is there a nutrient that can be used in either soil or hydro, or can they all be used either or?
Do any of you experienced gardeners see any holes in my plan or anything that I’m missing?
Thanks much for your input. Smuggler