First grow- 16 plants! few questions...

Its taken me months to get to the stage of buyng anything to start growing, because there is so many different ways to do it I got really confused, but here is a 'basic diagram' of how my set up will be:

Ahemm... You can probably guess with all those colours and smileys that I'm a girl lol. So yeah, please excuse the 3 year-old style drawing! Oh and I know most people probably work in dollars, so just ignore the prices lol, they were for me.

Anyway, that is my 'bubbling system' which i based almost exactly on the one by a man called Lawless on UK420 , each 2 plant box looks like this:






Im growing in an sort of large stone shed outside (like an outhouse?). Temperatures here are on average about 40deg farenheit in the day

So in this shed, its going to be 40 farenheit. I intend on building a large wooden frame which I will cover with black&white plastic, and put the plants inside.

I will use an extractor fan and carbon filter, but since it is in a big stone shed i didnt think I will need a sound muffler.

I have a few questions though:

-How big should i make the frame for the tent? What would be ideal? I would be using 8 x 5gallon /22 ltr pots.

-Will I need to heat the tent? Or is there some amazing insulating sheeting I can staple on the frame that will keep the tent warm despite it being 40 degrees around it? Cuz I figured with the fan circulating cold air, it just wont stay warm enough inside. Or while the light is on, will that heat the tent enough?


-I am thinking of buying one 600w metal halide light, would this be enough? Also, do I need to buy red spectrum lights for flowering or can I just use this light on the 12/12 cycle? I dont have a huge amount of money...

Sorry for all the questions! I'd really appreciate any help .

Thanks,
Sarah

anyone?

yes you will need heat and probly aquarium tank heaters for the pots.
ive never seen a 600 watt MH unless it was a conversion bulb.

Thanks .
You can get them on ebay. Would one 600w be enough for 12 plants? I've read into it more and it seems like I may even need 1x 400w metal halide... Also I was thinking about heating the room around the tent to the right temperature, then when the air circulates into the tent it wont be too cold. Maybe install a radiator. Can any experienced growers tell me if this will work?

Thanks!

sherbert47 said:

Thanks .
You can get them on ebay. Would one 600w be enough for 12 plants? I've read into it more and it seems like I may even need 1x 400w metal halide... Also I was thinking about heating the room around the tent to the right temperature, then when the air circulates into the tent it wont be too cold. Maybe install a radiator. Can any experienced growers tell me if this will work?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

yes if you heat the area around the tent, your exhaust is vented to outside, and your passive intake will be taking in air from the heated room. you still may need a radiator if you cant heat the area around the tent enough. once you get set up do a dry run with everything running and see what your temps are. then make adjustments. and dont forget that 600 w bulb will through off alot of heat.
a 600 w is generaly good for a 4'x4' area, and a 400w for a 3'x3' area. i use a 400w MH for veg. and 400w HPS for flower. i wish i had a 600 tho.