Two questions about setting up a grow room

I've been doing a lot of research and am starting to design my room. My grow room is about 5' W x 7' L x 7' H. I plan 4-5 plants at a time.

1. Strapped for cash so am making my own hanging lamps out of sheet metal and spare parts for now at least. The sockets I bought are rated for 400 watt max. Will two 400 watt HPS lights be sufficient and not too much for this space?

2. The room is currently uninsulated. I'm planning to insulate using the R-board with the silver backing. Will that silver backing be good for the walls or should I cover with plywood and paint matte white?

I think that's it for now. Thanks for any help you can give a noob.

Hi TDND,

As a 'general rule of thumb' you should aim for around 50w per sq foot of floor area (though some experienced growers (BOG) have reported great results with from 35w per sq foot). I would recommend partitioning off an area to suit this (16sq ft), or run 1800-2000w of lighting in your area of 35sq feet. The best configuration in my opinion would be 3 x 600w lamps. Regarding the insulation board, I don't know too much about the science of the reflective surfaces they are covered with however if it's highly reflective foil (mylar) like - I would presume that it would be better at light reflection than white paint, so it should do the trick fine. You will find there is plenty of information regarding lighting if you use the search feature Good luck!

Perfect explanation, man. Thanks! I can partition easily in a few different ways, so I guess the next question is about how much square footage do I want for 4-5 plants?

2 400w lights will be plenty to do 4-5 plants and get a nice yield from them. How much square footage they will need all depends on how big you want to grow them. You could line them up all in a row about 6 feet long with the 2 lights spaced evenly overhead.

I'm wondering about the sockets you bought. Are they just standard sized light sockets? HPS lights use a big mogul socket and have to run from a ballast.

freddiemoney said:

2 400w lights will be plenty to do 4-5 plants and get a nice yield from them. How much square footage they will need all depends on how big you want to grow them. You could line them up all in a row about 6 feet long with the 2 lights spaced evenly overhead.

I'm wondering about the sockets you bought. Are they just standard sized light sockets? HPS lights use a big mogul socket and have to run from a ballast.

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They are mogul base. These are the ones I bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0034G64G6

I'm not aware of having to wire a ballast, but it sounds like I might be glad you asked? It sounds like I can't just wire a plug?

TheDudeNextDoor said:

They are mogul base. These are the ones I bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0034G64G6

I'm not aware of having to wire a ballast, but it sounds like I might be glad you asked? It sounds like I can't just wire a plug?

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no u cannot just wire a plug you are gona need a ballest like this to run your lightshttp://www.amazon.com/400w-Galaxy-Digital-Ballast-HPS/dp/B002JLA3N2/ref=sr_1_10?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1304231622&sr=1-10

stoneyhomer said:

no u cannot just wire a plug you are gona need a ballest like this to run your lightshttp://www.amazon.com/400w-Galaxy-Digital-Ballast-HPS/dp/B002JLA3N2/ref=sr_1_10?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1304231622&sr=1-10

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Hence the high price. I don't suppose something like this would work: http://www.amazon.com/Medium-Mogul-Enlarger-Socket-Extension/dp/B000V5347A/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I52MJEC1G9GGN&colid=30JRD4AEFWX08

Should have known there wouldn't be a cheap way to a light setup. Had been gearing up to do indoor/outdoor pilot grow, but it sounds like I'm back to pure outdoors until fall unless anyone has a tip for a cheap light setup. By the fall, I will have the money to do it right.

Looks like 150 is the highest wattage for medium base. Would I still need a ballast with a medium base bulb?

TDND,

Nope, no cheap way to light up the area like you want - even using large CFL's will cost a bit (the globes cost some) - however with larger CFL's you can use the sockets you bought and wire straight to the mains, if you flat broke why not do a micro grow using small CFL's? I've seen some great threads with great results with as few as 4 bulbs!

There are some deals around the net on ballasts etc. If you're handy with wiring and can figure out the diagrams, a lighting supply company will have the components cheaper than if they're being sold as grow lights. A junkyard can also be a decent place to look for components. (Old street lights and industrial lighting.)

Alright, back to the drawing board. You guys just saved this noob a ton of frustration. It's amazing how much there is to learn about this. It's a bit overwhelming but also a lot of fun.

I will definitely plan an outdoor grow this season and look into your suggestions, Timekeeper and freddie, with the plans of doing it right in the fall. Thanks to you both!

Good luck on the outdoor! With a good season you should have no problems picking up a couple of 400s in the fall.

TheDudeNextDoor said:

Alright, back to the drawing board. You guys just saved this noob a ton of frustration. It's amazing how much there is to learn about this. It's a bit overwhelming but also a lot of fun.

I will definitely plan an outdoor grow this season and look into your suggestions, Timekeeper and freddie, with the plans of doing it right in the fall. Thanks to you both!

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there is alot of ways to grow indoor and save money and cut corners by having a little ingenuity....if u have the space already painting the walls white is way better than that plywood with the aluminum sheeting glued on one side, u can also do ventilation cheaper if u know what ur doing and how much air transfer u need for ur particular space, the one thing u can NOT cheap out on is your grow lights, i highly recommend NOT using CFLs because u will have all this time and money invested in your grow and your gonna have some weak airy buds, just save up some dough and get a HPS light from an online distributor for like 120 (ballast, light and hood)..just plug and go...u can easily do 4 plants off that, although i wouldnt recommend any more than 4...i got a cabinet from lowes and PC fans and just one grow light from htgsupply.com and im extremely happyt with my results, if u want a rundown on how i did it, u can private message me and ill send u some pics and ideas and help...welcome to RIU

Thank you mazand, and great link! I may be able to scrape $120 right now. These are better prices than I have seen elsewhere.