Question about HID grow setup

Hey guys, I've been a long time reader, just finally came into an issue that I'd like to post about and get a clear cut answer rather than taking bits and peices of threads to make my own answer haha.

I have a small box I built for 3-4 plants. It's 3ft wide 3 ft deep 3ft tall. I have been using floro setups thusfar, but the problem I'm having is using 20 CFL the heat is uncontrollable, on my budget. I WANT to switch to HID.

My question is does the top of my box HAVE to be enclosed? As in could I mount an HPS light 2-3ft above my plants and just have it shne on them with no roof? Or would I lose a ton of lumens by not having it covered? The reason I don't want ot cover it is heat of course. I figure if I just hung it and let it blast down I could throw a fan on it and call it good. I'd imagine I'd need to cover my windows because of the ominus 'glow' emitting from the room, but would I just lose entirely too many lumens?

Thanks alot in advance, sorry for the wall of text, but I wanted to be detailed.

having an eclosed space is more than just keeping in the light. PPM which is a measurement of Co2 has to be in a sealed environment to have its' best affect. haven't no roof could cause the temperature to be even less predictable and the humidity would always be in a flux. but aye that's just my opinion. someone can use this and add on to it.

Twist1285 said:

Hey guys, I've been a long time reader, just finally came into an issue that I'd like to post about and get a clear cut answer rather than taking bits and peices of threads to make my own answer haha.

I have a small box I built for 3-4 plants. It's 3ft wide 3 ft deep 3ft tall. I have been using floro setups thusfar, but the problem I'm having is using 20 CFL the heat is uncontrollable, on my budget. I WANT to switch to HID.

My question is does the top of my box HAVE to be enclosed? As in could I mount an HPS light 2-3ft above my plants and just have it shne on them with no roof? Or would I lose a ton of lumens by not having it covered? The reason I don't want ot cover it is heat of course. I figure if I just hung it and let it blast down I could throw a fan on it and call it good. I'd imagine I'd need to cover my windows because of the ominus 'glow' emitting from the room, but would I just lose entirely too many lumens?

Thanks alot in advance, sorry for the wall of text, but I wanted to be detailed.

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am i reading this correct your space is only 3ft tall?? If this is correct how do you expect to which to HID lighting?? you say your having problems with heat using CFL's and you want to switch to HID?? lol um HID lighs are HOTTER then CFL's so if your already to hot then switching to a hotter light dosent seem to make much sense does it?? also even if you didnt have heat problems 3ft of head clearance is just not enough to start using HID lights thats crazy bro...... you might need a lil more experiance and money to grow properly.... and when i say might i really mean you do..

To the first responder, thanks for the input. That was another thing I was wondering about was Co2 I knew I'd need it. However how do you guys keep it cool in enclosed rooms? I mean I have fans set up in there, 2 of them and its still too hot.

The second guy, thanks for the response, no need to make me feel like an ass BRO. Secondly I've seen alot of successful grows with 3ft, I'm only keeping them in there for maybe a month and a half. I could even keep them in there full time with the right training. I've trained plants for a long time and know (from my last 2 grows) that I would be able to keep them through flowering in there. Third: I've seen HID light setups before. When you have 20 CFLs running at 150 degrees it produces more heat than 1 HID lamp producing 300 degrees. The reason I asked this question was becuase I knew I'd need more headspace becuase I can't have HIDs mounted 6 inches away, I'd need a couple of more feet, which is why i asked about the roof.

Also how can you get more experience without growing in the first place 'bro" I guess we all can;t start about and be Pro's such as yourself, but we can at least try to strive to your level of perfection.

I don't understand. What is the purpose of the 3x3 box? People usually use an enclosed box for concealment purposes. Meaning they are trying to hide their grow room. If you remove the top and stick an HID over it there is no more stealth.

By the way, you will never get a hid in a 3x3 box and keep it cool enough. Forget about the 3x3 box. Just use the room you were gonna put the box in.

Reason for the box was so I didn't have to light such a large area. In any case here is what I've done. My buddy had a mylar tent that he used for other purposes. Its 4x4 7ft tall. Has all of the holes for venting and all that. Does this change my game at all? I'd rather ot have light seeping out the windows of my house too, SO that is another reason for having a box.


New question is how should I light this new room? the holes are 6in dia. just two 6in PC fans? 1 for intake 1 for exhaust at the top, would that keep is plenty cool? Also Do I need some sort of filter for the intake?

Hummm, OK yes you can should you maybe not the best Idea but if you want to hang a light over them why not just make sure the plants are not burning. Fans ect are good.

Co2 don't bother, you have far to many other things to get down as a grower first. [FONT=&quot]For a successful, productive garden you must control six "essential elements" - air, light, nutrients, water, humidity and temperature. It is fucking hard to do every day let alone weeks at a time without some controllers which means money. Remove or alter the ratio of only one of these elements, growth will slow, and plants could eventually die.You only get the benefits of Co2 when you have all the other 5 areas nailed. Hope this helps good luck.


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So with this tent, will 2 6in PC fans work for cooling and exhausting the room? Or do I need some sort of tech cooling system?

Get a 6" inline with speed controller and be done with it. PC fans and Booster fans arent going to cut it. Plan on spending at least $100 on an inline fan. Dont skimp on ventilation its more of a headache than its worth!

Hahaha really funny you just mentioned this...I thank you for your input. Beofre I red this I was JUST at Grainger looking for 2 6in inline fans. What i plan to do is jsut make a simple cooltube with 1 of them. and use another to exhuast the room. I think the passive intake into the room would be fine if I get maybe a 160cfm exhuast fan mounted to the top? Seems to me sucking air OUT of the tent would also draw it in and long as I have some spaces for it.

i went through this..... i had a 400w MH in my shop, and it was hotter than a teakettle. i made a frame out of thin PVC and panda film, and since the light is always reflecting inside, much less is converted to heat. actually, i had to ADD a heater after i did that.

Twist1285 said:

So with this tent, will 2 6in PC fans work for cooling and exhausting the room? Or do I need some sort of tech cooling system?

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No 2 small computer fans will NOT cool a tent with HID lighting ..... like stefan is right you need a real fan 6"inline fan will do the trick or even 8".......hes also right abour the speed controller too...

Oh and do you sill think 3ft tall box will wor with a HID light?? lol

FootClan said:

No 2 small computer fans will NOT cool a tent with HID lighting ..... like stefan is right you need a real fan 6"inline fan will do the trick or even 8".......hes also right abour the speed controller too...

Oh and do you sill think 3ft tall box will wor with a HID light?? lol

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I've been searhcing around for inline fans also for my cooltube, I'm not seeing much in the way of 'speed control' though. I see some that say they have 2 speeds, what is the purpose of this? You run it full blast while lights are on? Less when off maybe?

as stated in another post, I upgraded my room size to compensate for the HID. Now using a 4x4x7 mylar tent that I got from a friend. Now my only problem is venting which i have another post about. Trying to get some tips on cooling and exhausting maybe a 400w HPS, I plan to use a cool tube, but in anycase people are chimeing in on that as we speak. Great site for info! Thanks everyone

The speed control has a few purposes. Running at 100% an inline is quite loud so the variable (dial anywhere 30%-100%) speed controller allows you to run at a lower speed which greatly reduces the noise. Also, it allows you to buy a big fan now so that in the future, if you upgrade lighting you will not need a new fan.
If youre on a budget check out this fan http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/valueline-inch-435-cfm-centrifugal-inline-fan-p-2260.html . I recommend Vortex fans but havent had ANY issues with my valueline, its just not nearly as well made.
For a controller there are alot of different models availiable, theyre all around $20-$30. Here is a link to one for reference. http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/hydrofarm-variable-speed-fan-control-p-2263.html
I have used both of the products linked above, so I can recommend them with confidence.....

Do you think this setup would do me good? I think I could make it cheaper, but would these specs work?


http://cgi.ebay.com/400-WATT-400W-HPS-DIGITAL-GROW-LIGHT-AIR-COOL-TUBE-HOOD-/140480563907?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b54b4ac3

thanks alot

stefangoalie said:

The speed control has a few purposes. Running at 100% an inline is quite loud so the variable (dial anywhere 30%-100%) speed controller allows you to run at a lower speed which greatly reduces the noise. Also, it allows you to buy a big fan now so that in the future, if you upgrade lighting you will not need a new fan.
If youre on a budget check out this fan http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/valueline-inch-435-cfm-centrifugal-inline-fan-p-2260.html . I recommend Vortex fans but havent had ANY issues with my valueline, its just not nearly as well made.
For a controller there are alot of different models availiable, theyre all around $20-$30. Here is a link to one for reference. http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/hydrofarm-variable-speed-fan-control-p-2263.html
I have used both of the products linked above, so I can recommend them with confidence.....

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yes exactly what he said....

Twist1285 said:

I've been searhcing around for inline fans also for my cooltube, I'm not seeing much in the way of 'speed control' though. I see some that say they have 2 speeds, what is the purpose of this? You run it full blast while lights are on? Less when off maybe?

as stated in another post, I upgraded my room size to compensate for the HID. Now using a 4x4x7 mylar tent that I got from a friend. Now my only problem is venting which i have another post about. Trying to get some tips on cooling and exhausting maybe a 400w HPS, I plan to use a cool tube, but in anycase people are chimeing in on that as we speak. Great site for info! Thanks everyone

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where is your tent? is it cold or hot whre you live? are you going to grow in the summer? winter?both? where are you venting to? inside? outside? all these factors play a part and how and what you use to grow with.....a 400w will be ok in a 4x4 space just know that its ment for a 3x3 space......if your growing in winter you may want to run your speed fan controller at lower speeds if its summer you run your fan at higher speeds....if Its winter you may not want to air cool your light....if its summer you may want to air cool your light...you may want to switch back and fourth from air cooled in summer to no air cooled in winter...Theres so many different way to do it and you cant just have it always the same way unless you always have the same ambient temps....make sense? what works perfect for half the year may not work perfect the other half.....I Have two tents one i use all year becuase i have add enough options to the grow to change it how i want it based on the weather the other tent is more basic and i can only use it during 7 months of the year or id have to buy more and change it to be like the other tent.....theres no ONE right answer you have to look at your envirment to know how to set up your grow up.....

alright I think I'm getitng the hang of this. Thanks alot to everyone.

That light set up is pretty lame and generic It may work but for around the same cost you can get better stuff. Look at the website referenced earlier and you will find good deals there. Plantlightinghydroponics.com. Now that you have a respectable area to work with you should do fine now. Also don't even consider cooling a HID with a pc fan. It ain't gonna happen. Oh yeah, forget the thanks and pass out some rep where it's deserved.

Mountainfarmer said:

That light set up is pretty lame and generic It may work but for around the same cost you can get better stuff. Look at the website referenced earlier and you will find good deals there. Plantlightinghydroponics.com. Now that you have a respectable area to work with you should do fine now. Also don't even consider cooling a HID with a pc fan. It ain't gonna happen. Oh yeah, forget the thanks and pass out some rep where it's deserved.

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About the AC, what I'm thinking right now since as you'll read I just busted the wallet, I think because its winter, I may just set up my intake (with a critter cover) outside since I'll be venting outside I'll need to be close to an exterior wall anyhow. I'll run my lights at night and have some sort of temp gauge hooked up to a seperate fan that will turn on when it needs to to keep it around 78 in the tent. If I run into trouble I suppose I'll pick up an AC, but hopefully this'll work out for now. Ducting is cheaper than an AC haha.
In fact, before I read this I went ahead and order my setup. Daystar6 600W HPS Dual Voltage Xtrasun is what i got for the lighting fixture. I got 2 of the 6in fans, and grabbed one of the HPS bulbs with improved spectrum that i also read about somewhere on here. Hurt the wallet, but I figured why bother buying shit I'm going to want to upgrade. As for the rep, I've been tossing it out.