Purchasing a Hydro system

Alright guys,

this is my first post. I am new and will be starting a system as soon as i know which one to purchase. I know many of you are advocates of building your own, and I am a very handy person and very mechanically inclined. However, i don't have time to be shopping and trying to figure out a system. I have the money and would rather buy one ready to go. With that said, what are the most popular and easy/successful systems out there? These are the ones i'm looking because I am starting in a 3'x6' closet:

http://www.4hydroponics.com/hydroponics/aeroflo18.asp
I like this one because it's fits in the space I have nicely

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/euro-grower-hydroponic-system.html
This one is also attractive due to the size

If anybody can give pros and cons or direct me to a better system that I have not pointed out, i would appreciate it. Finally, here are a few questions associated to the other items i might need:

1. Would 1 HPS 1000w light be enough for this system for that size room?
2. What is a good ballast to buy for that size system?
3. Am i going to run into odor issues with a system that small?
4. How crucial is air flow? Is a room fan good enough? Or do i have to physically run the exhaust out of the room and out of the house?

Thanks everybody for your help and time. I appreciate it.

Stiggy

anybody? help?

imaldini said:

1. Would 1 HPS 1000w light be enough for this system for that size room? Yes
2. What is a good ballast to buy for that size system? A digital ballast. Ballast need to match the socket set.
3. Am i going to run into odor issues with a system that small? Yes
4. How crucial is air flow? Very. Is a room fan good enough? No. Or do i have to physically run the exhaust out of the room and out of the house? Yes

Thanks everybody for your help and time. I appreciate it.

Stiggy

Click to expand...

Helps in bold I use a flood table's, rockwool cubes & hydroton. Easiest to manage.

What if i can't run an exhaust outlet? It's in a closet and I have no attic cuz it's in a condo and the second floor is directly above it.

What is the recommendation?

Also, is 120 outlet enough to run the 1000w light and fans etc.?????

I don't want to start a fire.

Your not going to be able to run a 1000 with out proper ventilation or You will NEED an a/c unit to keep temps reasonable. Vent the heat out of the closet into the room. I have a 600 in a 3x3x4.5 space and I needed a cooltube reflector and 2 440cfm inline exhaust fans to keep temps in the 70-75 range. Im using a 3x3x6.5 hydrohut with flood table. Good luck, heats a bitch in small close offs. My nugs are dense ass rocks so its all good. Depends on what you want out of your plants.

for small time ditch the 1000 dude 400s do wonderful work if you know what you are doing. too much heat to much energy spike.

1000w seems like overkill... maybe im wrong...
you can get an elbow with 400w and not have a closet thats 100 degrees?

also.. less heat less smell....

1000W is way to much for a closet that small. You are going to need ventilation and air flow no matter what. The plants need this.

Your ballast must match your lamp.....

Closets are a terrible place to try and grow becuase of the lack of vents and air flow.

Even using a 400w HID which is WAY more fitting will cause a serious heat issue in a small non vented closet.

The ballast runs off of amps not voltage (so to speak without getting technical). ALL electrical devices in the USA use 120v. Its a standard unless your using a dryer or a stove which would use 240V.

You need to worry about how many amps..not volts. Most circuit breakers cary 15 amp fuses. YOu dont want to exceed the max by plugging a HID light into a overloaded circuit.

This site has a TON of information on ALL your questions. Use the search button as its your friend. Read..read and then read some more.......

Would it be sufficient to just keep the door open to the closet and put one fan blowing fresh air in and one blowing the hot air out? I just don't want to grow directly in the room because there is a big sliding glass door going out to my patio and all the light, etc. would make it obvious.

after about 2 months of opening and closing that door its going to get old.. not to mention you cant leave the door open ALL the time? cant go out of town...unless you have some one open and close th door? if your going to do this actually do it right, if you are going to spend $400 on a hydro and $200 on a lamp then spend at least $100 and get the ventilation right.


not to mention 1000w beaming out of a closet through a glass door into your yard.. WILL attract attention



http://dailyhomerenotips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/basement-drop-ceiling-vent-cover-1.jpg
maybe something like this if you can cutt a hole in the wall (not sure if you rent or not)... 1 on one side for intake one for exhasut

Also, when flowering you'll need total darkness for 12 hours per day.

Can you cut an opening into the closet door? One on the bottom for fresh air intake and one on the top to exhaust the heat?

A rule of thumb is 50W/sq ft. But for you, you aren't going to use 3'x6', you'll want to use the actual size of whatever unit you buy/make. The first one you posted is 2'x4' - 8 sq ft x 50w = 400W.

Have a look at this thread to see how simple building your own really is:

https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/116859-harvest-pound-every-three-weeks.html

I'd take the aeroflo all day over the other, but the plants are tight, which requires impeccable air flow. For you, the other may be better since they are further spaced apart.

600w would be about perfect, but 400w would be easier to deal with in terms of heat, though.

Either way, an air cooled hood would be a necessity. A water cooled hood may be better for your situation - do you have a drain somewhere nearby?

You definitely need to vent outside of the closet, really should be through a filter. I'd imagine you don't want to cut into the door. Have you considered removing this door and installing either a cheap one that you can cut, or building something in its place?

In a small enclosed system like this, reservoir temps will also be an issue.
Chillers add a lot of heat to the room they're in. They stop working when the ambient temp gets too hot.

As far as power, add up the watts, if you have a common 15 amp circuit, you have 1440watts to work with, including anything else on this circuit.

Good Luck

you need a tent, then you will be kosher. Closet is bad idea. Tent is perfect, and less an imposition than a mangled cloeset. It tried closet and the temp was imposiible to get venting right with big room fans pushing and pulling. Tent is cake, it is made to vent.

One 1000 should do you right. Then a 6 inch inline with charcoal filter. then an airconditioner in the same room. You will love it when you get it setup right. Even a few plants will make your whole house smell.

Nice systems. Aero would be better. I grow with a table.