# Long time need some advise



## widairyfarms (Jan 2, 2015)

I have purchased a room and I have a 250w so the room is small. I do however want to put in about two 2' t5 bulbs. I am planning on two maybe tree plants at the most. would it be more beneficial too lay them down close to the middle of the foliage, stand them up on areas that need help, or go overhead to help my HID?
 Thanks 
WDF


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## Rosebud (Jan 2, 2015)

Hang you T5's from the ceiling and get the ratchet things so you can move them up and down easily. Then they can almost be touching your plants. T5's are a great choice for Veg.


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## pcduck (Jan 2, 2015)

Horizontally @ mid height along outside


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## Rosebud (Jan 2, 2015)

So your using MH as well as T5? I didn't understand, but the Duck got it.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 3, 2015)

Hey WDF--good to see you!

I really see no real advantage to using both MH and T5s.  Generally the MH needs to be at least 6-12" above the canopy.  And the T5s need to be within an inch or 2.  It is quite hard to get the T5 close enough to do any good without blocking the light from the MH.  If you have a small space and mount them on the walls, you will get foliage growing into them.  This would work while the plants are very small, but when they are, you don't need that much light.  When the plants get larger, I am quite certain that your entire space will be full and the T5s will just get in the way.  I really see no way to use them effectively and not block the light from the HID or have the foliage grow into them and burn the leaves.  

Did you buy a tent?  How large is it?  Do you need more light?  If you have not purchased these yet, I wouldn't.  I really think that you are going to find them more of a PITA than an asset.  If you already have them, are they a single fixture with 2 tubes or 2 fixtures with single tubes?  Are they HOs, how many lumens do they put out, what color?  Let's make sure they are worth messing with.  I think your only option is to mount them on the walls, rotate your plants, and try to keep foliage from growing into them. Overhead along side the HID they would be too far away to do any good.  When you say lay them down close to the middle of the foliage, I assume you just mean hang them close to the center of the foliage with the HID overhead?  If so, this would block HID lighting.  Any chance we can get some pics?


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## widairyfarms (Jan 4, 2015)

I have bought an enclosure and have a fan as well as a thermometer. I need to buy ratcheting straps for the light and some smart pots yet. 3 gal size. If it wont help overall then I wont purchase the t5s. I'm also thinking of starting these ones in happy frog. thoughts?/! I have a really rich mix that is mostly coffee grounds, food scraps that are now soil, some manure, and worms working it over. its nice and moist and stays in my basement covered but not air tight. I turn it over every month to keep it from compacting. What do you think would be better. Of course there is perlite and a little coco husk too.
WDF


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 4, 2015)

The big question is:  How big is the enclosure?  Without knowing that, we cannot tell you if you need more light or not.

Ratchet hangers are nice, but not really essential for smaller wattage lights.  I have several sets, but find chains easier with the setup I have now and I can get the light about 4-5 inches higher using chains instead of ratchet hangers.  

Make sure that whatever you use to start seedlings is not too hot.  You basement mix may be too hot for babies.  I have a favorite commercial organic soil that I start with, but it is only available in the western US.  I have never used any of the Fox Farm or the Happy Frog  soils.  Just make sure it is not too hot.  Seedlings can burn up really fast.  

Do you have a worm bin or are you just putting worms into your compost?  You are going to probably want to separate the worms from the soil as much as you can as they do not do well within smaller confined spaces like a growing pot and the right environment for worms is not the same environment for cannabis.  The worms will die if put through the wet and dry cycles that cannabis needs.  The turning does way more than not allowing it to compact.  It allows air to get in and speeds the decay process.  Be aware too that good compost has a balance of green and brown things.  If you do not know what constitutes brown and green refuse, you can find lists online everywhere.  I love the rich earthy smell of organic soils!


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## widairyfarms (Jan 5, 2015)

The enclosure is 4'x4'x6' so it should be perfect for my small light. I have to get seed but when the tent shows up I have three catnip plants to see what happens. Curiously are there any plants I want to keep away from cannabis? I am also planning on starting plants for spring for family in the tent so they don't have to pay for seedlings. I know I'll have limited space but  if I can get them a good start my mom would be happier than you could believe. Especially since they will all be heirloom seeds.
 WDF


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## pcduck (Jan 5, 2015)

250 watts is not large enough for a 4x4 tent. 600 would be better and a 1000 would be even better


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 5, 2015)

Pcduck is correct.  I know people HATE to hear this, but your light is so important that this needs to be stressed.  Cannabis is one of those high energy plants that demand a lot of the right type of light to grow.  Unfortunately, 250W is not nearly enough light for 16 sq ft.  Remember that you need a _minimum_ of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and 5000 for flowering.  Your light is probably putting out at the max 28,000 lumens.  If the tent is not shipped yet, you might want to see if you can get something smaller.  A tent that is 16 sq ft and a light that is 250W are not going to produce well.  I have a 32" x 32" tent that I really like.  That is still a bit large for 28,000 lumens, but you would get far better results with that tent than the 4 x 4 one.  Most people running 1 600W in 16 sq ft either add another 600W or go to a 1000W.  If it is too late to change the tent size, I would make something like a panda film screen to try and make the space being lit smaller.  

You do not need a tent to start seedlings for your family.  A fluoro shop light over those in a any kind of space will be just fine--they need very little light.  I start seedlings most years.  I have a spare bedroom that I make a make-shift table with old closet doors and milk crates.  And hang shop light over top.  Works great!  The tent will be better used for cannabis.


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