New grow box built. What light System Do i need?

ok i just built this box yesterday. its 5 1/2feet long, 3feet high, and about 2feet deep of growing space. what i wanna know from yall is what exactly am i gonna need for lights(2 250watt, 2 400watt, 1 1000watt system?) and a proper ventilation system? input is necessary please help!




i allreay cut some holes in it for fans.... why i dont know but i did anyway, at least i can use some for cords or something and cover the other holes up that aren't necessary.
THIS BOX HAS BEEN TESTED AND KITTY APPROVED!

Lol. Box has been tested and kitty approved indeed! (My wife raises and adores cats) This may sound odd but I'd recomend (3) 150 watt HPS in line spaced about 24" apart for good light distribution. The 3ft height would pose problems with any higher wattage HPS lights. And you'd have to stay with a SOG setup where the plants are forced (12/12) either right out of seedling stage or as soon as they root if clones. And that way you'd get maximum yield in a small box like yours. I'm a big fan of SOG and I feel it's the only way to go for maximizing results in any small space with the shortest time frame. Chosing a short and fast finishing strain like NL#5 would be a good idea as well. All because of that mere 3ft height limit. (2) 12v PC fans located near the top corners at the back would work fine for ventilation. Just enlarge the two holes near the upper corners to about 3 1/2" dia. And you'd only need 3 of thse holes in the back at the bottom (the two near the corners and the one near the center). Otherwise cover or patch the rest. Always a good idea to keep light leaks to a minimum because of the bloom stage if nothing else of stealth concerns are req'd. Good start otherwise, and my wife approves as well

Mabye stand in up so you have 5' in height. Then you could probally run a 400watt as long as you cool it, with up to six plants. Scrog would work nice.

420forme said:

Mabye stand in up so you have 5' in height. Then you could probally run a 400watt as long as you cool it, with up to six plants. Scrog would work nice.

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Did consider that except he'd have to modify doors/hinges, or replace as one door. And yield potential would be reduced overall relative to the 5ft height advantage. Even though a 400w would be cookin' bright in just 2 X 3ft. It's a toss up because 3ft is almost too little to work with effectively. While 4ft would be closer to ideal.

3 foot height isn't enough. My first box was 4' tall, and after light and pots, I had about 18" to grow in. Talk about reducing yields. Also heat was always an issue.
But first hand experience is invaluable.

The potential available canopy of buds that are exposed to adequate light is much greater in a 5 1/2 X 2 ft space than a 3 X 2 ft space. More available height doesn't necessarily translate into a greater yield of desirable product if the canopy in a small cabinet blocks out the needed light penetration. Sure, smaller plants don't produce as large or long buds. But in the space he has to work with he could produce more potent bud overall than standing his box on end. And using the right hydro setup w/just 6-7" deep root tubs and vert. 150s where the plants can get closer to the bulbs without causing problems, he'd still have about 18" efective height to work with. Plenty height to yield a phat SOG harvest that would outperform what he could yield otherwise.

That why I said scrog. But whatever. I would do 2x3 screen, 6 plants, 600watt hps, 6" fan, you'll pull a lb.
The other way, I don't know, I doubt a lb though.

Wha? An elbow off 6 plants in a 3 X 2 space with just under 6 ft of height? I don't care if you could manage a 1000 w HPS in there. No way an elbow, no matter the strain used. Consider that that it's regarded as over the top to get anywhere near 400 grams (Lb = 448 gr.) per sq meter under ideal conditions. Not possible in that box.

Jar Man said:

Wha? An elbow off 6 plants in a 3 X 2 space with just under 6 ft of height? I don't care if you could manage a 1000 w HPS in there. No way an elbow, no matter the strain used. Consider that that it's regarded as over the top to get anywhere near 400 grams (Lb = 448 gr.) per sq meter under ideal conditions. Not possible in that box.

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That just shows how little you've searched this forum. There's folks doing that and more in less.

Awesome! ill get 3 150watt setups from HTGsupplies and some decent fans. what do you all think if i slammed like 8-10 lowyder plants in there
then thigh wouldn't be an issue???

Oriah said:

That just shows how little you've searched this forum. There's folks doing that and more in less.

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And many here like to stretch the truth too. Anyone who says such is possible is full of it. Been at this since the early '80's and know better.

warrengjustice747 said:

Awesome! ill get 3 150watt setups from HTGsupplies and some decent fans. what do you all think if i slammed like 8-10 lowyder plants in there
then thigh wouldn't be an issue???

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You could effectively run 12 (2 rows of 6) SOG style plants in there. Lowryder or any autoflower strain would work well. One advantage to the 150s is mounted vertically you can get the bulbs closer to the tops without burning 'em. The higher the wattage bulb, the further you have to keep away from the plant tops. Reducing your already tight height restriction. No need for a hood. Just paint the whole interior ultra flat white and the small box acts as it's own hood as well. I've used those security style 150s from a builders supply. I just strip out the guts and mount the porcelain socket to an adjustable large flat washer by drilling small bolting holes in the washer to match the socket, and another two where a piece of bent coat hanger wire attaches with a lightwieght chain so I can move the bulbs up as the plants grow. The large hole in the washer is where the extended cord passes through. The ballasts, a major heat source, are mounted remotely outside the grow box on a wall. It's quite easy to reconfigure the wiring from those little 150 HPS units to suit what you need. Just dont run your leaders to the socket more than about 30".

Oh, almost forgot. Yields should range between 20 to 35 grams dry (3/4 - 1 1/4 oz.) per plant. Depending on strain and how well you can tweak your setup as you gain experience. Yeah, I know the upper end sounds like close to a Lb. But not every plant will yield 1 1/4 oz., and most will be an oz or likely less.

One final word on SOG. Plant count asside, there's simply no other technique that yields more top notch potency and less airy duff per m/sq. faster and more consistently than SOG. Unpinched, that single spear top cola by far produces the highest quality and heaviest cola on any plant regardless. While any degree of pinching or other manipulation diffuses the most concentrated growth hormones at the spear's top and slows things down as well. So it's almost a no brainer to figure out that a sheer micro forest canopy of these single spear beauties delivers the best results faster than any other method.

Jar Man said:

You could effectively run 12 (2 rows of 6) SOG style plants in there. Lowryder or any autoflower strain would work well. One advantage to the 150s is mounted vertically you can get the bulbs closer to the tops without burning 'em. The higher the wattage bulb, the further you have to keep away from the plant tops. Reducing your already tight height restriction. No need for a hood. Just paint the whole interior ultra flat white and the small box acts as it's own hood as well. I've used those security style 150s from a builders supply. I just strip out the guts and mount the porcelain socket to an adjustable large flat washer by drilling small bolting holes in the washer to match the socket, and another two where a piece of bent coat hanger wire attaches with a lightwieght chain so I can move the bulbs up as the plants grow. The large hole in the washer is where the extended cord passes through. The ballasts, a major heat source, are mounted remotely outside the grow box on a wall. It's quite easy to reconfigure the wiring from those little 150 HPS units to suit what you need. Just dont run your leaders to the socket more than about 30".

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What this guy said is spot on and i typed out pretty much the same thing just LST and FIM will help you increase your yield get photo period beans that way you can run a veg light cycle so anything more then 12/12 hours per day like 18/6 20/4 and 24/0 for the first 4-7 weeks and train them to be short and bushy with the two methods i listed above. This will double the yield off each plant if not triple it use one gallon pots and fit as many as you can in there could also have them all different ages so you can harvest every couple of weeks one or two plants just use something to raise the younger shorter plants up to the lights that way you dont have 3 or some months in between harvests. But your first run i would just do them all the same age cutting down on chances to fuck up if this is your first grow simple is the best way to go about it.

Well 3 150w lights would be like the most aesome possible setup for that area I can agree, but I would think that would be kinda pricey...but probably the best idea and way to utilize that space...

Yeah around $300 if you buy the 150's already setup and wired but if you get DIY kits or rebuild kits that would cut your cost in half just looked and HTG got rid of the 150 rebuild/DIY kits so a home improvement store would be your best bet like the guy above me stated security lights would work just fine but you will need extra hardware to be able to mount vertically and wire them up remotely. He sounds like he knows how to do it and would be a damn good person to help you wire them up and place parts and tell you what you need.

Let me know if you decide to make this your grow thread or if you start another i would like to sub up and watch this grow.

wow thanks for all the advise everyone, i will keep up on this thread the whole grow.
just got this thing up in the area i want it and put some latches on it. might take a couple weeks till i get started growing but BE SURE its gonna be epic.

while im at it, i have another box that measures 3 feet tall, 20 inches deep and 2 feet wide. i started some bagseed in late Dec. and just switched the light cycle for flower. theyre showing sex now and it appears i got lucky because all 5 are females. im realllly tight on space and dont have anywhere else available to finish them.. i know generally less plants the bigger the harvest but i dont wanna pull anyone!!!
would it be best to wait a couple days and choose the runt or pull someone now?

I would say run em till you run out of room then figure out how to fit them still dont cut any down save them hahahaha Lst the tops down like on the taller one so you have a even canopy and just run with it man worse come to worse you can always get some shop clamp lights and flower it out in the new box with some cfls might not be the best yield but you will have something to smoke on from all of them

Very healthy looking plants, warren. Appears you know what you're doing well enough. Before pulling out any of those bagseed ladies, try bending the taller one's tops over to try and keep an even canopy of branches in there. If it just get's too crazy crowded in there go ahead and sacrifice one of the smaller and weaker females. Don't knock the bagseed. I've seen plenty dynamite bud come from bagseed, It's just that you don't really know what you've got. Assuming the seed banks are honest about where their stuff comes from as well.