Well, if you're not tired of just me yet... tons of pics of cabinets on here, best way to find them is use google, the search function on these forums(all forums) is terrible, just in case you don't know, you can go to google and do this:
"grow cabinet" building site:www.rollitup.org
and it will bring back individual posts from this site(or whatever site you put in there) instead of whole threads, I use quotes for the search term because it looks only for that exact phrase
this looks like a pretty good deal to me if it stays under 150(cheap shipping too)
http://cgi.ebay.com/400-Watt-Digital-Ballast-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-400W-System-/220640764457?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335f36e229
that would probably take care of what you have now
stick that in a 4x4x6 cabinet with a couple intake fans and mylar on the walls(spray adhesive, stuff will knock you out without good ventilation while you spray it though )(also ebay about 30$ a roll, get the 2 mil thickness) and youll be moving
Again, just from regular gardeing principles(a good tomato plant in square foot gardening can be done in 3-4 square feet and pot doesnt produce 1 pound fruits..though that would be nice) , yes I would think 4-5 plants is doable in a 4x4 box and yeah on the seperate boxes, thats how Ill go after I get better at it, especially if you get into cloning and stuff but definitly 2 boxes so you can have vegging and flowering at the same time(the vegging box could be smaller though, assuming you dont veg longer than a month maybe) and then a seedling box or for cloning or something, just wish I was legal, it does simplify some things, trust me
Lighting is a big conundrum, even Im struggling with all the options and I have ballasts and cfls all over the damn place... Ive seen on here 4-5 plants done with MH/HPS and with CFLs and combos of both, honestly though, people argue constantly about what is best and tempers flare sometimes, I think any way you go, as long as you pay attention to your plants any lighting set up(within reason) will do a good job as long as you watch the temperatures(air temps) and they get a good amount of light
As for color temperatures of the bulbs themselves, well, again on here you can find about any combo and they all work to some extent, its generally considered blue(6500K) for veggin and 2700K for flowering(CFLs even at wal mart has those numbers on them) and theres every variation on times on here too, generally 18 hours on, 6 off for vegging and 12/12 for flowering is standard though
I just keep telling myself, that its just a plant, its not a nuclear reactor, have some fun growing them and dont stress too much... some light, some water, a little fertilizer and pay attention to them ... but we'll see how my grow goes I'm growing mine mostly for medical use for my wife so I might stress a little... but at 400 an oz around here with no guarantee of quality, a 400-500$ investment and some care should easily pay for itself with plenty left over, just read all you can here like Im doing and go for it, the worst thatll happen(barring disaster) is youll get a few grams off a few plants and decide if growing is for you or not, personally I had fun just building the box and watching my bagseed grow for the last 3 weeks.
"grow cabinet" building site:www.rollitup.org
and it will bring back individual posts from this site(or whatever site you put in there) instead of whole threads, I use quotes for the search term because it looks only for that exact phrase
this looks like a pretty good deal to me if it stays under 150(cheap shipping too)
http://cgi.ebay.com/400-Watt-Digital-Ballast-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-400W-System-/220640764457?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335f36e229
that would probably take care of what you have now
stick that in a 4x4x6 cabinet with a couple intake fans and mylar on the walls(spray adhesive, stuff will knock you out without good ventilation while you spray it though )(also ebay about 30$ a roll, get the 2 mil thickness) and youll be moving
Again, just from regular gardeing principles(a good tomato plant in square foot gardening can be done in 3-4 square feet and pot doesnt produce 1 pound fruits..though that would be nice) , yes I would think 4-5 plants is doable in a 4x4 box and yeah on the seperate boxes, thats how Ill go after I get better at it, especially if you get into cloning and stuff but definitly 2 boxes so you can have vegging and flowering at the same time(the vegging box could be smaller though, assuming you dont veg longer than a month maybe) and then a seedling box or for cloning or something, just wish I was legal, it does simplify some things, trust me
Lighting is a big conundrum, even Im struggling with all the options and I have ballasts and cfls all over the damn place... Ive seen on here 4-5 plants done with MH/HPS and with CFLs and combos of both, honestly though, people argue constantly about what is best and tempers flare sometimes, I think any way you go, as long as you pay attention to your plants any lighting set up(within reason) will do a good job as long as you watch the temperatures(air temps) and they get a good amount of light
As for color temperatures of the bulbs themselves, well, again on here you can find about any combo and they all work to some extent, its generally considered blue(6500K) for veggin and 2700K for flowering(CFLs even at wal mart has those numbers on them) and theres every variation on times on here too, generally 18 hours on, 6 off for vegging and 12/12 for flowering is standard though
I just keep telling myself, that its just a plant, its not a nuclear reactor, have some fun growing them and dont stress too much... some light, some water, a little fertilizer and pay attention to them ... but we'll see how my grow goes I'm growing mine mostly for medical use for my wife so I might stress a little... but at 400 an oz around here with no guarantee of quality, a 400-500$ investment and some care should easily pay for itself with plenty left over, just read all you can here like Im doing and go for it, the worst thatll happen(barring disaster) is youll get a few grams off a few plants and decide if growing is for you or not, personally I had fun just building the box and watching my bagseed grow for the last 3 weeks.