# Building my first room



## 1stimer (Jul 29, 2009)

Hello, I am getting ready to set up my first grow room and any advise I can get would be great. It is a 10x10 room built inside my garage. I plan on running 2 or 3 1k lights, depending on how cool I can keep the room. I bought a new 13000 BTU dual hose portable AC, I hope it will keep it nice and cool. It is going to be a sealed room and I am going to run Co2, Is that the best way to go? I am trying to figure out how I am going to cool my lights, I can either pull air from my attic or from under my house(sub-floor) and pull air through my light and up through a dryer vent to my roof and out a wirllybird or I can pull the cool air from my room and through the lights, what do you guys think. I just hate to take the cool air out of my room. Sorry for the big post I just have so many questions, I am trying to read about it alot, but I would like to get some differnt points of view.
Thanks


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## thedonofchronic (Jul 29, 2009)

I would say forget the co2 bro save yourself the hassle.
sounds like you have a nice space to work with, try and install some decent
ventilation with a carbon filter. And youll want to have those lights air cooled
if you do, the a/c might not matter depending how many 1ks you get. Im not that experienced but im just giving my opinion. I dont know anything about installing air cooled hoods but id imagine in your situation it will be a pain..

but if this is your first grow, may i ask why so big?
make sure you seal the garage for light leaks too :stoned:


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## 1stimer (Jul 30, 2009)

It is my first grow, I have some help from friends and family, But go big or go home. I definatly will have some ups and downs with experimenting and getting everything right, it will get better and better.


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## 4u2sm0ke (Jul 30, 2009)

:ciao:   Grow Big!!!  or go home..becarefull letting to many friends in on what you are doing..just my thaughts


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## pcduck (Jul 30, 2009)

:yeahthat:


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## 1stimer (Jul 30, 2009)

One friend I've known for 20 years and my brother.


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## PencilHead (Jul 30, 2009)

You really should pull air from the cooled house.  Your climate will dictate how much tweeking you'll need to do.  I'm in the south and heat's my biggest foe.  My room's about half your size--4.5x8--and I run an 8000BTU portable but it's only one hose and that sucks.  My light shields pull air from inside the grow room for air flow and I pull my passive from the cooled house.  I exhaust through the attic.  Oh, and I'm only running 2 600watters.

Peace and luck.  And keep it on the down low.


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## 1stimer (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks pencilhead, Yeah I think that is going to be my problem too. I'm in Cali and it's been getting 100-108f, that why I am taking my time doing this hoping it will cool down for my first grow. What does everyone think about C02 is that the way to go or is it a pain? Thanks


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## PencilHead (Jul 31, 2009)

Group wisdomn around here is that CO2 isn't worth the returns.  Excessive exhaust is cheaper and healthier for your plants in my opinion.  Your room's pretty large, so others who have more CO2 experience may have better advice.


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## greenfriend (Jul 31, 2009)

yes adding Co2 does create a new set of problems, but if yer goin big it might be worth it.  they're two ways you can go about it. first seal your room airtight

1) tanked Co2: expensive, need ppm controller so it not wasted

2) propane/ natural gas Co2 generator: less expensive, $20 to swap propane tank at the gas station
produces lots of heat and water vapor, will need big AC unit and a dehumidifier and ppm controller

ya just gotta decide whether its worth, with 3 1k i think it is...


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## 1stimer (Jul 31, 2009)

Thanks Greenfriend, I think I am going to do alot more research before I decide.


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## D3 (Aug 1, 2009)

I started the same way you are. I did the co2 with a sealed room & found It was too much a pain. I did not see that much improvement with it. Just keep GOOD fresh air flow & you'll have plenty of co2.


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## Time4Plan-B (Aug 1, 2009)

Today, 02:22 AM     
pcduck 
June's MVP





Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: south shore of Lake Erie
Posts: 3,988 
Thanks: 6,768 
Thanked 5,693 Times in 2,632 Posts 
  not nice to edit your posts after the fact. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
lol its just hit me you called me a she when in actual fact im a man 



If you were a man you would admit when you are wrong instead of editing your post, to show what is correct. 


There you go PCDUCK im a man iv'e now openly admitted i copied/pasted from a hps light suppliers website without even looking at whether the outputs per light were in actual fact correct.this was just down to pure laziness on my part.




Hi 1st

go big or go home i just love it.

as a few have mentioned too many people knowing its you bro ya have to watch imho

joking btw.

so why 2-3 1000watters as this is an approx coverag of each hps light dependant on the type of reflector used.

400 watt lights: 1m x 1m growing area

600 watt lights: 1.5m x 1.5m growing area

1000 watt lights: 2m x 2m growing area

i would personally go with a max of 3 x 600w and use 'jetstream' type air cooled reflectors pulling the air from underneath your house as this will be the coolest air and blowing it through your  aircooled reflectors and out of your room via whatever exit you choose.

Co2 has it's pros and cons........

pros being increased yeild's-usually if it's all dialed in ok and allows much higher temps and i think no pest problems-not 100% on last comment btw.

cons hassle to set up and get dialed in and having to have the room completely airtight it's extremely dangerous should you forget and go into the room after its just been dosed with Co2-pretty instant unconsciousness- leading to very likely fast death.

just go with a simple set-up 1st time and take it from there you can still go big and be alive to tell the tale.

believe me more people are killed using Co2 fire extinguisers as they stay on the spot when they dischage the Co2 and then collapse dead.

any probs just ask us were all here to help ya 1stimer.

Time4Plan-B


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## pcduck (Aug 1, 2009)

The square footage amount stated in the post above is wrong if you want to grow nice big tight buds of mj. The footprint of the reflector does not dictate the size of optimum lumens per sq feet.

The optimum amount of lumens necessary for mj is 5000+ lumens/sqft


400 watt hps output of  55,000 lumens will cover 11 sq feet of grow room
600 watt hps output of 95,000 lumens will cover 19 sq feet of grow room
1000 watt hps output of 147,000 lumens will cover 29.4 sq feet of grow room.


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## Time4Plan-B (Aug 1, 2009)

hey pc duck go read my post again and take heed of the statement 'approx'

a 600w for example will cover effectively 1.5 sq m

3000 lumens per sq ft is the optimum for marijuana growth over that and your wasting electricity.


as for the footprint of the reflector try using a cooltube with any wattage and see the results of great buds directly under the bulb and piss poor buds  everywhere else.

however saying this you must know more than i do regarding m.j.


Time4Plan-B


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## pcduck (Aug 1, 2009)

*Time4Plan-B* Your _approx_ is more than double of what a 400 is capable of handling. Most growers on this site recommend a  minimum  of 5000 lumens/sqft for flowering, some do veg with 3000 lumens/sqft when/if they want to retard/slow growth for some reason. 

If we are taking _heed_, please take heed of my post where I state _*if* you want nice big tight buds._ Now if you want scrawny air buds use 3000 lumens/sqft.


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## pcduck (Aug 1, 2009)

Thanks for the negative reputation *Time4Plan-B*. 
Now when everyone reads your post and how wrong you were and then sees that you neg rep for me being right, we can all laugh, like I am right now.:rofl:


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## Time4Plan-B (Aug 1, 2009)

anytime pc

 "What Time4Plan-B wrote in her neg rep to me:marijuana bible personified" 


lol its just hit me you called me a she when in actual fact im a man 

ho ho

and we all laughed


"Most growers on this site recommend a minimum of 5000 lumens/sqft for flowering"

sorry i clean forgot this site is the marijuana bible and not just you and that outdated cervantes woman


Time4Plan-B


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## pcduck (Aug 1, 2009)

> "Most growers on this site recommend a minimum of 5000 lumens/sqft for flowering"
> 
> sorry i clean forgot this site is the marijuana bible and not just you and that outdated cervantes woman




Do I need to add, _and all the mj sites that I have visited(which are quite a few)_:rofl:

The only thing I can tell ya is I will keep using my 5100 lumens/sqft and get nice big tight buds over all my plants and you can use 3000 lumens/sqft and get scrawny air buds only on the top.:rofl:


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## greenfriend (Aug 1, 2009)

Time4Plan-B said:
			
		

> Hi 1st
> 400 watt lights: 1m x 1m growing area
> 
> 600 watt lights: 1.5m x 1.5m growing area
> ...


 
this is absolutely false.  pcduck already corrected the lumens per sq ft issue (i advise 1000W for each 4' x 4' area for top quality nugs), but seriously, "collaspe dead" from Co2?  When you use Co2, the controller keep ppm at 1500.  *5000 ppm* is the level at which the environment is unhealthy for humans and animals. i have repeatedly worked in my growroom for a couple hours at a time at 1500 ppm. ive used tanked Co2, propane and natural gas Co2 generators and none of them pose any risk when used as directed.  do your homework before making claims.  and why the heck would you need a fire extinguisher?


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## pcduck (Aug 1, 2009)

*Thanks for correcting your post about the square footage Time4Plan-B*:aok:

The post that I am speaking of is post # 13 which was originally posted at 1:23pm and the edited at 8:20 pm to correct errors in the square footage amounts. which originally stated.

400 watt lights: 5ft x 5ft area
600 watt lights: 8ft x 8ft area
1000 watt lights:10ft x 10ft area

or something like that, before she edited her post and changed it. But I do know that the 4oo was stated as being able to do a 5 x 5 area


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## D3 (Aug 1, 2009)

Do you see why it's a pain? haha


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## 1stimer (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks guys for your input, This is my first grow, but from what I heard and what I plan on doing is 1000k in a 4x4 area. I am going to start off with 2 then probably go to 3 in a 10x10 room, depends on how much work room I have and if I can keep it cool enough. Thanks


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## Time4Plan-B (Aug 2, 2009)

Hi pcduck

As for airey buds iv'e only ever experienced airey buds when i mistakenly grew out 2 x haze cross sativa's and when i chopped the 2 x haze plants with airey buds at week 10 instead of week 13-15 i harvested from each plant dry 4.5oz and 4.25oz of super strong airey buds.

Not too bad for 2 x 3.5 ft plants under 1 x 600w hps.


Hi greenfiend

I have no workings with co2 personally my comments were made on my judgement of watching a friend dose his grow room with co2 manually with his co2 meter thing attached to his co2 bottle then a few moments later he went into the room and dropped like a fly due to the fact he had switched off his extraction for the co2 moment and forgot to switch it back on prior to entering his room obviously his levels were probably way out then.

It's swings and roundabouts ppm levels whats considered safe for human exposure canadians for example must be tough cookies as they can work in co2ppm conditions way higher than whats accepted in the u.k. for example.

Ill steer clear unless i know it all in the future and leave all the growing upto those that can grow.

Ill just go tend to my airey bud room.

Time4Plan-B


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## pcduck (Aug 2, 2009)

Time4Plan-B said:
			
		

> great buds directly under the bulb and piss poor buds everywhere else.





			
				Time4Plan-B said:
			
		

> Ill just go tend to my airey bud room.



Good idea


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## Hick (Aug 2, 2009)

1atimer... shoot for the "recommended" 5k per sq ft. THAT is the most commonly accepted and recommended as correct information.


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