Need help on growing setup

cant take pictures right now cause im not at my house with the setup but ill give a mental picture and need to know what else id need.

I have a setup in my closet with a 5 ft by 2.5 t tubaware container.
gotta fan hanging from wall that can be blowing in there
i got a 600w hps with reflective hood and ballast
i covered the whole inside of the tubware with reflective tape.

Do i need to try to enclose this or will it be fine to leave it open?
Im probly going to get some mylar to hang around it so the light wont escape.
Am i going to need more then 1 fan its pretty large fan and rotates.

I havnt bought seeds soil or any of the containers yet.
I was thinking i could fit 5 plants in there so will probly order 5 femanized seeds.
I was thinking Snow White seeds of nirvana.com
What kind of soil should i get i was suggested foxfarm.

Im probly going to start of the plants under 3 or 4 cfl lights in a smaller enlclosed container will this be fine and when should i switch it to larger box under the hps and cfl lights?


My first grow was working pretty good and had 2 plants a little over a foot high with kind of the same setup but with not as good lighting. I had to end the plants tho because i was leaving town for a few weeks and had no one to take care of em
sad day haha

Any suggestions would be greatly apprecieted.

Would it be easier to grow these plant hyroponicly or with soil too??
and i need to get a ph tester any links on stuff to add when ph is off?

except for the fan do you have exhaust fans?

No is a cheap way i could make one??

hmm you can buy cheap PC fans and use them as exhaust.. but im pretty sure that it's going to get extremely hot in there with the 600W..

Yea man your room needs to be light proof, if its not your plants will get stressed and most likely hermi. With a 600 in that space your defiantly going to need an exhaust fan at least a 6" vortex and depending on where you live your going to want a carbon filter as well. Hydro vs soil is a matter of preference and PHup/PHdown is available pretty much everywhere if your in a bind try the fish section of your local pet store. As always keep reading and good luck.

hmm well my closet is longer then the grow area is going to be will that help it be cooler i will probly just drill a hole and maybe add like 2 pc fans would that work??
Also will mylar be enough to enclose it. Or do i need to enlcose it fully?? i think if its not then it would be alot cooler right?

The mylar might not be enough but as long as it is always 100% dark in the dark hours you'll be fine but if any light at all gets in your going to have problems. Unfortunately with a 600w no PC fans wont be enough. Lights and ventilation are the 2 things you really just cant skimp on if you want a successful grow, just no way around it. *edit* Also I wouldn't want unused space in my grow room, the larger the room the more lumens your going to lose from your light.

hm any cheap alternatives then to buy a vortex fan i really dont got the cash for that ??

Also what do u perfer hydroponics or soil??

ther might be a few days every once and a while i wont be able to aid to the plants so would hydroponics be the choice???

i can dark proof it forsure cause its like a side of my closet

yea im going to trap the light in the area im growing in

don't think there is an easy way for keeping the temps down..
you will probably need a cootube for that lamp..

Well if your hydro system is dialed in then its pretty reliable, I prefer hydro but it has its downsides, power outages, pump failures, ect. A lot of beginners like to use soil but many start in hydro as well, you'll really have to just way the pros and cons for your situation and what you feel comfortable with, maybe check out the Hempy Bucket thread. As for a fan no sorry man, if your CFLs are powerful enough then you can veg under them for 2 weeks or so and in that time do your best to scrape together $150 and get a vortex. Get at least a 6" youll be able to get a controller for it and run it slower and trust me even at 80% its 1/2 as loud. A 4" is gonna be loud as hell running full load trying to vent your grow.

damn im not sure what to do cause i gotta buy something to keep it cooler.
Seeds
and soil or hydro system
ph tester and stuff to mess with ph

but i probly only got around 200 bucks max to spend what would you do?

save a little bit more money and then start...
or make a simple grow with only CFL's...

I use single inline duct fans. 6 inch diameter from ebay $25. 1 is good for a 600. Carbon filters require a stronger fan, ONA gel is good for odor and cheap also from ebay.

As others said 100% darkness is vital. You can buy cheap mylar tents, or panda film is cheap and you can make a door with stick on zippers also on ebay.

Hydro with soil less mix, like promix, is easy to do. Its hand watered like soil. There are alot of cheap nutrients, meters, and supplies online.
I have a Checker ph meter by Hanna, i got on ebay for $30 shipped. A tds meter for $20. Grow bags are cheap and discreet too.

You can get organic nutrients that im testing out now, that are cheap, can be used with promix, and dont require ph adjustments.
General Organics Entire line from plantlightinghydroponics.com is $120.

Good luck!

also i use a single 42w 6500k CFL per plant during veg. they are $9 each on amazon.com and i get reflectors with clamps for $11 at home depot.

check out pictures in my grow.

hmm well arnt the yields alot greater with the 600 hps?

If i get a vortex fan will that be all i had to have or do u have to buy more stuff to make the fan run??

Also for hydroponics how do u start off the plants?? If theres minimum roots do u just hand water it until the roots grow out?

with 200 dollars i would focus on getting nutes, pots, medium, and seeds.

You dont need to worry about total darkness for the first month.

200 just wont cut it, you can build a simple DWH hydro setup for 50 bucks in parts no biggy but then you need nutes at least 75. Add in a PH tester 40 and a good genetic will cost you anywhere from 40-150 depending on what you want on top of misc items like thermometers. I personally would finish my grow room before I started growing, will save you alot of headache. Jus build your stuff now and save up a little more in the process. Only thing you'll need for the fan is ducting and that wont set you back more than 15$

damn haha..