new hydro setup

Hey guys

I recently wanted to grow and went to my local hydro store to get my supplies. After I got my tent and lights I decided to hold off on the other stuff as I felt it was overpriced.
So now I'm working with a growlab 80, a galaxy ballist with 400w mh's. The dimmensions are 2'7" x 2.7" x 5.11"

Any ideas on the hydro system? I was looking at ebb and flows

You should check out the thread that is titled "harvest a pound every three weeks". I ended up doing that set up and it is working out well

afm said:

Hey guys

I recently wanted to grow and went to my local hydro store to get my supplies. After I got my tent and lights I decided to hold off on the other stuff as I felt it was overpriced.
So now I'm working with a growlab 80, a galaxy ballist with 400w mh's. The dimmensions are 2'7" x 2.7" x 5.11"

Any ideas on the hydro system? I was looking at ebb and flows

Click to expand...

Ebb n flow is a good way to go. Just get yourself a 24x24 tray, fill and overflow fittings, pump, tubeing, timer, and a resivoir. good to go.

pinspot said:

Ebb n flow is a good way to go. Just get yourself a 24x24 tray, fill and overflow fittings, pump, tubeing, timer, and a resivoir. good to go.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your replies, I was wondering if you guys had any experience with the specific tent (or similar working space) and what equipment you have been successful with. Also any one know any ebb and flow starter kits?

afm said:

Thanks for your replies, I was wondering if you guys had any experience with the specific tent (or similar working space) and what equipment you have been successful with. Also any one know any ebb and flow starter kits?

Click to expand...

If you don't allready have a location, such as a closet you can work with, then the tent should be fine. Just keep your plants reasonably short since theres not alot of virtical height in the tent. I't is still larger than a lot of guys use for a grow space.
As for Ebb n Flow starter kits. It's much cheaper to piece it together yourself.
A good basic air cooled reflector, Hydrofarm, sun systems. Even better for your space would be a cool tube.

Decided to go with 4x4x6.4 tent for more room and a turbogarden and had a few questions

1.Will the 400w hps with the 2x2 reflector still be adequat ?
2.The turbogarden has room for 14 plants but I doubt filling all 14 is a smart move so how many plants should I consider ideal
3.the tent will be in a bathroom and I'm going to have to funnel all the ventilation into a vent. How much heat do these lights actually produce
4.how much time will I save by using clones for my first grow as upposed to seeds for my first grow

afm said:

Decided to go with 4x4x6.4 tent for more room and a turbogarden and had a few questions

1.Will the 400w hps with the 2x2 reflector still be adequat ?
2.The turbogarden has room for 14 plants but I doubt filling all 14 is a smart move so how many plants should I consider ideal
3.the tent will be in a bathroom and I'm going to have to funnel all the ventilation into a vent. How much heat do these lights actually produce
4.how much time will I save by using clones for my first grow as upposed to seeds for my first grow

Click to expand...

Definitly better with the larger tent.

1. The 400 hps will work fine. It looks like your reflector is about the same size as your flood table, so it should cover it well. You could probably get away with a 600hps if you wanted, But unless you plan on running a air cooled reflector, as well as room ventelation, you may be fighting the heat issue.

2. Dont really know the turbgarden, but as long as you only veg for a short period, then stick them straight into flower, the plants should stay pretty compact. Some guys will go straight from clone to flower. Experiment with it. try 7.

3. They can get quite warm. If you run a air cooled reflector with a inline fan, you will remove almost all of that source heat.

4. All depends. Starting with clones you'll already know you have a fem, and it's already established and rooted. Starting with seeds, you have to wait for rooting and a couple few weeks of veg. Then you still wont know if thier male or female untill your in flower for a week or two. So if you have the option, you should always start with clones.

pinspot said:

1. The 400 hps will work fine. It looks like your reflector is about the same size as your flood table, so it should cover it well. You could probably get away with a 600hps if you wanted, But unless you plan on running a air cooled reflector, as well as room ventelation, you may be fighting the heat issue.

Click to expand...

The reflector has the option to use a 6" fan which I will utilize. How much benefit is the 600 over 400?

afm said:

The reflector has the option to use a 6" fan which I will utilize. How much benefit is the 600 over 400?

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The extra lumens are always better in my opinion,We will never be able to match the benifits of the sun. all we can do is get as close as we can.
You have to have total control over the heat. Just make sure you can pull cool air into your reflector, and exhaust it out of the grow space. You'll also need to vent the ambient air from the tent with some kind of passive air intake . possibly with that bathroom fan. To do it right you could end up spending as much on the ventelation as you do on your lighting.