Is this light good for this grow room?

Hey, thanks for the tips, your tutorial is extremely informative however unfortunately I'm in a situation where I can't cut holes in the grow room AND I'm on a limited budget. Still hoping to make this work though.

In your opinion would this work?

I can have the grow room doors open, so I can blow fans inside to circulate the air and hopefully keep the room cool enough with the 400 watt light. Also depending on how odorous the plants are I'll be taking them outdoors to catch sunlight during the majority of the daytime, cutting down on the time I'd be using the room and the HPS....

Now the big issue I understand is what to do when I get to the 12/12 cycle and I need total darkness.

Well I have two other rooms, both of which are far larger than the grow room, the biggest being approximately 14 by 11 by 9, it has a ceiling fan and a vent connecting it to central air. I could run the air before bed and when I wake but unfortunately keeping it on all night wouldn't be an option because it turns my roommates room into an icebox at night and we're trying to keep the AC costs down...

So with this info do you think that would work, growing in the grow room with doors open and fans blowing on it? Then moving to the large room for the dark cycle? I know it seems like work but I work from home and will have the time to do it all.

Thanks very much for your input, it is appreciated.

Hey there Jondomon, I just posted this but I wanted to get your attention and see what you think so I'm reposting as a response to you.

In your opinion would this work?

I can have the grow room doors open, so I can blow fans inside to circulate the air and hopefully keep the room cool enough with the 400 watt light. Also depending on how odorous the plants are I'll be taking them outdoors to catch sunlight during the majority of the daytime, cutting down on the time I'd be using the room and the HPS.... The doors themselves are wide and encompass the majority of the width of the growroom too so I think that would create a good opportunity for air-flow.

Now the big issue I understand is what to do when I get to the 12/12 cycle and I need total darkness.

Well I have two other rooms, both of which are far larger than the grow room, the biggest being approximately 14 by 11 by 9, it has a ceiling fan and a vent connecting it to central air. I could run the air before bed and when I wake but unfortunately keeping it on all night wouldn't be an option because it turns my roommates room into an icebox at night and we're trying to keep the AC costs down...

So with this info do you think that would work, growing in the grow room with doors open and fans blowing on it? Then moving to the large room for the dark cycle? I know it seems like work but I work from home and will have the time to do it all.

Thanks very much for your input, it is appreciated.

With fans inside and a fan outside blowing shouldn't this cool things down significantly?

No it will not be sufficent, your plan of moving the plants is unworkable and you are setting yourself up for failure. You have to remove heat from your growroom not just move it around inside. I have 8 - T5 HO, 1 - 125w CFl and a 400w HPS. At 10am just befor the HPS goes out the temps in the flower cab are 76* 2 hrs after the 400w HPS turns off the temps are still at 76*. OP if you can explain why this is then you may be ready to tackle your grow room.

Your plan probably wont work as you will inevitably end up with pests from putting them outside then inside then outside.

Your plants will also stress out from being in different lights all the time.

Its a simple fact that if you use an HPS light in small enough area you will have to ventilate it.

If you plan on moving them to a different room that is larger you will loosing alot of the usable light from the HPS due to the added amount of space.

One thing i will say is if you could channel the AC into your growing space this would help keep temps lower.

This is the last post i will make in this thread as you dont seem to grasp how much heat an HPS light creates.

Even after everyone posting you messages about how you will have to ventilate.


I wish you the best of luck on your journey with growing MJ.

J

Bonzi Lighthouse said:

I have 8 - T5 HO, 1 - 125w CFl and a 400w HPS. At 10am just befor the HPS goes out the temps in the flower cab are 76* 2 hrs after the 400w HPS turns off the temps are still at 76*. OP if you can explain why this is then you may be ready to tackle your grow room.

Click to expand...

me/ gets popcorn

Why is moving the plants to another large room unworkable? The room should not be that hot, especially if I work the air conditioning at night and first thing in the morining.

Is moving the plants that much in itself too stressful on the plant? I asked others for advice on this board if moving them in that fashion was a problem and was told it shouldn't be. Were they wrong in telling me this?

If I could swing an air controlled hood would this help significantly?

Is there an option here that would not require holes in the walls?

Not sure what or who you're referring to when you use the term "OP".

Thanks for your two cents.

OP - original poster

This is now my last post

J

I'm sorry man, but you keep saying you want to run a 400W HPS, but have no money for ventilation. This is not a good idea. You NEED an exhaust fan taking the hot air out of the room; and not just some PC fan. You need a high CFM centrigugal fan to move air out of the room. $100 shipped for a 700CFM centrigual.

Either wait until you have enough money for a proper HPS grow, or use CFL's and PC fans. No arrangement of box fans and ceiling fans will help with the HPS light. They get HOT.

Cool, thanks. It's not that I don't grasp the heat issue it's that I've been hoping that with certain unique conditions it might make my situation different than most and I see now that's not the case so I won't push it.

I'm not sure if you understood though what the big room would be for, that would be exclusively for the dark cycle so I don't think that the issue of it not getting the usable light would be a problem.

I hope you have the patience for one last question.

Would it just be best to leave the plants on my porch and forgo the grow room altogether and just get them as much sun as I can?

I would like to go the cfl route but if you really think the pests would inevitably get me and the light change would stress them too much then I suppose I shouldn't risk it. Just so you know when I say outside I mean a screen enclosed porch, maybe that would make them less suceptable to pests...

The light stress is a bit confusing to me though because plenty of people do this sort of thing in greenhouses, with sun during the day and artificial at night.

I understand, it would be a good temporary solution. But you really dont want to be moving your plants twice a day. Not only would they get heavy, but it causes unneeded stress to your plants.

The CFL route is the best route in my opinion. You could use 42W CFL's and not have a heat problem. I use 6 of those (for a total of 252W real watts, not equivalent) and they do put off some heat but of you have a fan blowing over them it will be fine. You'll want 3 of those per plant, or about 5 23W CFL's per plant once they get bigger.

Im not a big fan of putting plants on the porch, unless you live out in the middle of nowhere or are legal. It's easier to control your plants when they're inside under your supervision and under a constant light source. Remember for veg you're going to need at least 18 hours of light per day, so you'll need lights anyway.

Cool, I've gotten it that the 400W Hps is unworkable. It's not just that I don't have money for ventilation, it's also that I can't make holes in these walls. So I guess if it seems like the right thing I will go the cfl route after all.

Now that the HPS is off the table I'm trying to figure out some other issues jondomon brought to the table though and maybe you could shed some light on the issue.

I've been keeping them out in the sun during the day, mostly in a screen enclosed porch although at the crack of morning light I have them on a table outside to get the sun before it hits the porch. According to J taking them back and forth will make them very susceptable to pests. Will this still be the case if I just leave them in the screened area? Also he seems to think changing up the lights will stress the plants. In another thread I was told that shouldn't be the case but I don't know how knowlegable that person was... It seems to me though that they should be able to handle it as I know in greenhouses people often have sunlight during the day with artificial at night type situations...

If you think you have any ideas on this please share... My other option is to take these to my friends yard when they develop enough, he has a very large enclosed place that he's volunteered as a grow space but this to me is the last option as I will only be able to check on them once a day and have not yet checked the area so I don't know if there are spots where it would get excellent sunlight...

Thanks for your time.

Honestly I would avoid keeping your plants outside. Yes, pests are a problem, but if they're in a screened porch it's not much of a problem. Still, if I were you I would just get CFL's and use your closet. Better yet would be to use a dresser, so that you can achieve the dark period all in one place without having to move your plants twice daily.

DO NOT bring your plants to a friends place. Even if you're legal, it's a bad idea. I'm legal, and I tell NO ONE about my grow. Period.

Hey, this is my second attempt at a grow, the first was a month and a half ago and was a bust. Crappy seeds and crappy soil did not produce good results. So far though my plants (which are close to 2 weeks old now) are thriving compared to the other grow with great color, bushy leaves and new leaves forming just about every day. So so far the moving hasn't shown signs of stress but do you think that would increase as time goes on and they are placed in bigger pots? And are they more susceptable to pests as they mature?

I've understood that sunlight is the best light source so I'd hate to not be able to take advantage of the sun...

Oh I totally agree that the sun is infinitely better than any HPS setup, within reason. It has to have access to direct sunlight for the full 12 hours, so if you can achieve that, then rock on. Remember though, if you're going to keep the plants outside, then move them indoors every night, it will put some stress on the plant. So just make sure you watch them. Also, if the plants are kept inside the porch, they shouldnt be as prone to getting gnats or flies or anything.

dielaughing said:

The light stress is a bit confusing to me though because plenty of people do this sort of thing in greenhouses, with sun during the day and artificial at night.

Click to expand...

But you dont smoke the tomatos

Ok just to help a little here ... Plant get stressed at things that dont make sence to us ..coz we are not plants ... But none the less its a fact .. Plants get stressed pretty easy .... Changes in temps ( to high to low ) ...Moving them from one pot to another ....or one location to another ... To much or to little of " anything " the plants just dont like it man ...and they dont e-mail you to tell you ... they just die or worse still change into dudes ....

In the wild ... They like to be left alone to grow as best as it can untill its ready to complet its cycle .. flower and produce seeds and spread

We are altering that , We supply a nice enviroment to be left alone to grow ,Feeding it ..makeing sure its warm / cold enough ... Being indoors we need to exchange the air in the room ... Using the Lights as the sun ... plants convert carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars and oxygen ... so you need to supply it with Co2 and be removing the warm Oxygen rich air at the same time .... As pointed out HPS lights give off a lot of heat ... So you need some kind of device to regulate not only temps but allso to bring in new Co2 .

Bottom line is this .... If you want to grow ...you will find a way ...and end up with " Something " .... what most of the guys here want you to do is produce quality and quantity ..... So whatever way you decide to play it ....you will produce weed .... How much and how good it is depends on how you filter the advice and use it in practice .

Stressing your plants even in the slightest can end up with a load of time and cash wasted... and all you have is a room full of dudes .


EDIT : I was writng this while you had decided to pass on the HPS set up ... So ... CFL grow it is ... Can you build a room inside your closet ?.... you can light it ... vent it ... darken it ( timers ) and genraly control it a lot better .... Basicly .. a smaller box in a room gives you lots of control .

Look at tent grow systems .... I know you say cash is an issue .... This is not a race fro you to grow weed ....Save up .... Buy a tent system or build a room in a room ( can be done very quick and cheap ... check my journal )... Then you will have everything needed in place to do an indor grow with far better results .



Good luck ...whatever you decide to do

Thanks for your awesome advice and for not being as harsh as some on this thread, your time and patience and knowledge is VERY appreciated!

Thanks for the info, man. As for these babies becoming dudes five of them are from feminized seeds, so they shouldn't grow ballsacks I don't think but do you think it would be just as likely that they'd become Hermies with this ritual?

Not that it might change your mind but just so you know all of these plants have been developing really nicely considering that they haven't been subject to ideal conditions. Great color, thick bushy leaves, stems developing nicely, and new leaves sprouting almost every day I think all without stretching too much... Are they less inclined to show stress when they are youngens?
As you said they won't email me but could they be getting stressed and show no visible signs of being so?

Hey there desertrat, just wanted to post something to you saying never mind the questions I asked in my last post to you. The issues have been addressed and I'd rather not waste your time. Thanks.

I mean it depends on what KIND of stress they are getting, if there is a lot of heat stress certain signs will show (Yellowing/crisping of leaves) as with any other kind of stress.

But a very shitty irreversible effect of stress is balls growing on your babies or balls and hairs (hermi). It's good you have fem seeds tho you're much more likely to get females but I've heard of some fem seeds being bunk and ppl still getting males.

Hey, just want to make sure that I'm looking for the right CFL. 42 watt, 6500 k, equivalent to 150 watts. Is that correct? And is there anything else I need to know to get the right bulbs.