6 year member makes a COMEBACK! Help w/ grow setup?

[50bud]

Hi all, it's literally been 4 or 5 years since i've seriously partaken & given my insight on the site. I have been busy working & receiving my college education (which I've completed...For now ) I have a well rounded knowledge of MJ growing via studying & reading that I have done through the years. I took serious notes on this stuff & have a lot of it still embedded in my brain, although I may still need future help. I have even given my whirl on a cfl grow back in '07 which you can review in my sig (seems like yesterday ) MJ has always been so dear to me, it literally is the only thing that I need for my anxiety, insomnia & back pain. I'm tired of paying the bud man & just need to grow & stockpile for my own personal needs. I have some potential questions regarding my possible grow setup that hopefully you all can help me with.

My closet space is roughly 3.5 X 3.5 X 7.5 ft space with white walls for decent reflectivity. My closet space has a removable/slideable wood panel at the top for easy access to my attic space for exhausting. I feel like this is note-worthy & could be very handy given the proper guidance. I have not measured the closet, but i look at it on a nearly daily basis so I have an idea of its size (I will take a legit measurement later.) I am seriously considering buying a 400 or 600 mh/hps dual unit. I realize that I will have to have exhaust & inline fanning & I'm hoping I can receive some help regarding this matter (6-8 cfm etc.) I will be growing in a soil medium, my initial plan is to grow 4-6 fem'd seeds in my grow area (I hear fem'd seeds can be prone to hermie, so 5 or 6 may be ideal to give me 1 or 2 plants that I may have to eliminate). I have a plan regarding cloning/breeding & continuing this in a stable manner but my main concern is putting together the proper grow room environment first.

My main question is, given my grow area; what size light would you choose? A 400 or 600 watt mh/hps? I feel like the 600 watt may be too much for my given area of space. Also, any other answers to my concerns or other input would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to sharing my future grows! Really excited to be back & thanks in advance.

 

[Grower13]

I'd go with a 600 watt........ better light penetration for plants that stretch a lot.

 

[JustAnotherAntMarching]

Welcome back to MP.... :48: Id def go with a 600w over the 400w...

 

[BackWoodsDrifter]

Glad yur trails brought yual back around. Wish yual the best yur grow pilgrim

BWD

 

[N.E.wguy]

nice to meet ya, will be sure to see u around budget allowing a 600w hps with dimmable ballast i'd skip the mh i think if i had to choose between dimmable and switchable then you'd get your 400 aslo

 

[Rosebud]

I ran a 600 and a 400 in a 4x4...it was hot it there. But for sure go 600, it makes a huge difference.

 

[Locked]

600 watter for sure...I bought a 400W first and once I bought a 600W I knew I should have just gotten it the first time. jmo

 

[7greeneyes]

like everyone else says. More lumens more medicine.

 

[50bud]

I was thinking a 600 watter as well. Thanks for the help everyone.

My next question, what size/kind of exhaust fan would you recommend? I was thinking 4" or 6" inline fan.. Something like a 400 cfm would be adequate, don't you think?

 

[nouvellechef]

400cfm would be plenty for a 600 watt.

 

[N.E.wguy]

hxxp://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/hurricane%C3%82%E2%84%A2-inch-inline-fan-435-cfm-p-3802.html

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Welcome back.

A 6" Vortex is about 450 cfm. It works for me really well cooling either a 1000W or 2 600W.

 

[50bud]

Thank you for the responses concerning the fan, would another fan be necessary to draw air into the closet? I have read that in most cases, an exhaust fan is all you need. Besides of course a couple of small fans blowing on the plants & foliage. I ask because I'm trying to keep my costs as minimal as possible, perhaps someone could give me their own personal experience & opinion regarding this matter? Thanks.

 

[JustAnotherAntMarching]

you just need to make some passive air intakes and the exhaust fan will pull cool air into your closet... you need to be sure your gonna have total darkness tho in that closet...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Thank you for the responses concerning the fan, would another fan be necessary to draw air into the closet? I have read that in most cases, an exhaust fan is all you need. Besides of course a couple of small fans blowing on the plants & foliage. I ask because I'm trying to keep my costs as minimal as possible, perhaps someone could give me their own personal experience & opinion regarding this matter? Thanks.

First, I highly recommend that you buy an air coolable hood or a cool tube. It makes it so much easier to control the heat. Amazon and e-bay both have some decent prices on HPS/MH setups. I encourage you to shop around as there can be wide variance in prices for the same thing.

No, you do not need an intake fan. With a space that size, I believe that a single tower fan will be enough to move the air around. I use a single tower fan in a room that is 6 x 3.5.

 

[50bud]

First, I highly recommend that you buy an air coolable hood or a cool tube. It makes it so much easier to control the heat. Amazon and e-bay both have some decent prices on HPS/MH setups. I encourage you to shop around as there can be wide variance in prices for the same thing.

No, you do not need an intake fan. With a space that size, I believe that a single tower fan will be enough to move the air around. I use a single tower fan in a room that is 6 x 3.5.

You read my mind! An air cooled tube is exactly what I had in mind. Right now my plan would be to hook the exhaust ducting to the air cooled hood, that way the source of the hot air (the light) will immediately be drawn out of the room.
Will this work? Or will I need to attach ducting to both sides & have the other side of the ducting outside of the room, that way it draws the cool air passed the light then up to the exhaust fan & out of the room to keep it cool? My only problem with this is that A) I don't want an unnecessary hole in the wall of my closet & B) I think this would call for another exhaust & inline fan, because all of the air circulation is being focused on the light, rather than the whole room & since the cool tube is sealed, the air movement in the room its self would not be enough for the plants. Perhaps a tower fan would be perfect for this scenario THG?
Perhaps I am over thinking this, I just want to make sure that I have everything planned out before I make the decision to order the seeds, lights, fans, & other necessary equipment. Again, thanks for all the responses and advice.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

You are most likely going to have to cut a hole (probably 2) somewhere--you need an intake and an exhaust. It is not an unnecessary hole, it is essential that the plants have a continual supply of fresh air all the time the lights are for proper photosynthesis, not one of those optional things. Most of us have passive inlets. By this I simply mean a hole in the space somewhere low that allows cooler fresh air to be drawn into the room. Ducting is connected to the hood and then to the fan and then probably more ducting. This is going to have to exit the space somewhere. I have my fan located outside of the grow space in the crawl space. So, I have my hood, then a piece of ducting that goes through the floor into the crawl space. The fan is connected to this and pulls the air rather than push it. There is ducting connected to the outlet side of the fan. In the summer, it exhausts underneath the deck. In the winter it ducts underneath the house. You NEED a centrifuge type fan for exhaust. A tower fan will work to move the air around in the space.

I hope that you can understand my explanation. Feel free to ask more questions.

 

[50bud]

You are most likely going to have to cut a hole (probably 2) somewhere--you need an intake and an exhaust. It is not an unnecessary hole, it is essential that the plants have a continual supply of fresh air all the time the lights are for proper photosynthesis, not one of those optional things. Most of us have passive inlets. By this I simply mean a hole in the space somewhere low that allows cooler fresh air to be drawn into the room. Ducting is connected to the hood and then to the fan and then probably more ducting. This is going to have to exit the space somewhere. I have my fan located outside of the grow space in the crawl space. So, I have my hood, then a piece of ducting that goes through the floor into the crawl space. The fan is connected to this and pulls the air rather than push it. There is ducting connected to the outlet side of the fan. In the summer, it exhausts underneath the deck. In the winter it ducts underneath the house. You NEED a centrifuge type fan for exhaust. A tower fan will work to move the air around in the space.

I hope that you can understand my explanation. Feel free to ask more questions.

I have the exhaust figured out, I realize how critical fresh air is for the plants. I'm going to put a 6" centrifugal fan at the top of the closet and cut a hole in the slideable panel giving access to the attic. From there I'll connect ducting to the fan then through the hole in the panel where the hot air will expel into the attic. My main concern at this point is what I'm going to do about the intake. I can cut a small hole on the bottom side of my closet which leads to my room, I have an entertainment center placed there on the other side of the wall, so it will hide the hole. Not to mention it would be an easy fix later whenever I need to repair it.
But what about cooling the light? I think the 6" centrifugal fan would probably be enough as far as keeping temps in the closet reasonable, especially with the small passive hole in the bottom of the closet, but now I am perplexed as to how to keep the light cool. I suppose I could put a small desk fan on it, but then that would completely defeat the purpose of having a cool tube.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Let me go over things again. One fan is going to do both.

You will need a passive intake as large as your exhaust, which should probably be 6". Remember that you can use things like register boots and put a register cover over any exposed intake. This is nice even if they are behind the entertainment center. The ducting that you plan on running up into the attic space will be connected to the outlet side of the hood. Then as you mentioned up through the access hole, with the fan in the attic. You should probably run more ducting to a gable end that has some ventilation vents. You do not want your attic getting too moist.

How this will work is that air will be pulled through the passive intake , then pulled through the light because the fan is connected to the light. This serves the dual purpose of bringing fresh air into the room and also cooling the light (if the intake air is sufficiently cool). An oscillating fan--a tower fan is a good choice--will move the air around. provided that the air you are bringing in is cool enough, this will keep the room cool. I pull air from my crawl space and air from the adjacent room and that keeps my space cool. If you run flowering lights at night it is also easier to keep your space cool.

 

[50bud]

Let me go over things again. One fan is going to do both.

You will need a passive intake as large as your exhaust, which should probably be 6". Remember that you can use things like register boots and put a register cover over any exposed intake. This is nice even if they are behind the entertainment center. The ducting that you plan on running up into the attic space will be connected to the outlet side of the hood. Then as you mentioned up through the access hole, with the fan in the attic. You should probably run more ducting to a gable end that has some ventilation vents. You do not want your attic getting too moist.

How this will work is that air will be pulled through the passive intake , then pulled through the light because the fan is connected to the light. This serves the dual purpose of bringing fresh air into the room and also cooling the light (if the intake air is sufficiently cool). An oscillating fan--a tower fan is a good choice--will move the air around. provided that the air you are bringing in is cool enough, this will keep the room cool. I pull air from my crawl space and air from the adjacent room and that keeps my space cool. If you run flowering lights at night it is also easier to keep your space cool.

You have helped me immensely, thank you for being so patient with me. I indeed do have a gable end vent on the side of my home which is on the same side of the house as my closet & really just a few feet away from the slidable attic entrance at the top of my closet. So I need to set the fan up in the attic as opposed to the top of the closet? I suppose that would make more sense, getting up into my attic will be the worst part of the entire process because I have to move a bunch of stuff to get up there but I suppose it has to be done.
Could I hook a carbon scrubber up to this in the future if needed?