Upgrading the grow... from 1 plants to 4 plants

I currently have been running a 150 watt HPS over one plant at a time for the past year. Now that it looks like i will become a legal patient in my state i want to be able to supply myself constantly with my own bud.

The goal : 1.5-2 Ozs a plant ( I think I am low balling but thats okay for now)

The possible tools:
1. 400 watt HPS
I found one on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Light-System-Cooled-Growing/dp/B003JJ1HJM) what do you guys think? Legit or not... if it is determined that light would be suitable for my situation i would also obtain the air ducts that they are selling in the bundle right above the ratings at the bottom.

2. 2x4 Tent
Sadly my closet is a bit on the small side and being its the only place for me to conduct business it will have to do. That being said there is a lack of 2x4 tents i have discovered but there are a few that i did seek out and I think im sold on one of them. http://www.monstergardens.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-vmshopgreen.tpl&product_id=353&category_id=71&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=91 Secret Jardin seems to have what would fit my environment well.

I was originally scheming to make a homemade grow cabinet with all the bell and whistles.. but since this place where i live is not permanent for more then a year i am worried about the hassle of trying to tear down some mega wood structure.

3.Soil

I really want to use subcools mix, the idea of only watering from start to finish is one of the best selling points i have ever heard in my life. Although i do find myself in a bit of a confused state at the moment. The original recipe would of course give me copious amounts of soil but i think i would only need a portion. The main concern is that i do not trust myself to try to make it with smaller ratios. Ive searched up,down,left and right for someone else asking this question about is there a solid smaller ratio recipe out there?

4. Filter
I am clueless so far as to this and i will be looking into it sooner then later. The idea though is going to be trying to find one that fits that tent which I'm kind of unsure on how to go about figuring that one out.

Edit* I have found a DIY filter through several searches, it looks promising but should i make my own or buy a finished product?

Method: undecided.........

I have been immersing myself within the world of scrog/sog. It looks very promising with several grows ive seen receive a gram per watt. Tell me if im wrong but im thinking for constricted spaces this is the best for quality buds in good quantities.
I am open to other suggestions as well.......

Perpetual.... i want it.
The difficulty i see here would be with a scrog would be having to make the screen permanent on a 5 gallon bucket.



The other thing i could do would be in addition to having the 2x4 going, i could put a fifth plant under the 150w hps in the smaller tent and just have some fun with that one. Maybe a auto to supplement the other tent.

I would use the 150w to veg your girls, then use the 400w to flower. I use a 400w to veg, then a 600w to flower for my perpetual and I am satisfied, plus there is no sense in leaving that light unused

Yield- 8 oz's total from a 400w (4 plants ideal) is definitely doable, so that should not be an issue.

Light-The light setup you are looking at would be sufficient, but I personally like sticking to certain brands so I will refrain from any criticism since I am not too familiar with using that equipment. (I use Lumatek Ballast, Hortilux Eye bulbs, and Hydrofarm hoods).

Tent-The tent is definitely something I wish i would have done. Instead, I built my own structure which works fine, but after it was all said and done and the way I wanted it cost the same amount of money and was much more of a hassle than it was worth. I would go ahead and go 4x4 since the 400w can handle that area, and it will give your plants more room to grow.

Soil- I personally just use a mix of foxfarm ocean forest and light warrior with some hydroton on the bottom for better drainage, but I also use nutrients. I cannot give you any soil mixtures because so far it has not been an endeavor I have chosen to pursue. Wish I could be of more help.

Filter- I personally use Active Air brand which are distributed by Hydrofarm. My fan and filter both are this brand. I originally did a DIY filter, but trust me, the quality is not sufficient. It is definitely better to buy a pre-fab filter and a good fan. For either size tent, you wouldn't need much. Ideally, you want to recirculate the air in your area 5 times a minute. For this, you would need about a 250cfm fan/filter (a little extra for cooling the light assuming the 2x4). It isn't absolutely necessary to go that large, but it will definitely keep excellent circulation and odor to a minimum. If you got the 4x4 tent, I would go 400cfm. Some may disagree with me, but I like to have over rated rather than under.

I have never done sog/scrog so I can't offer any insight beyond the fact that I have seen some amazing results with doing it here on RIU. I am sure if you got on the right thread you could find some excellent info and someone willing to give you some guidance.

If I can be of any more help or answer any other questions you have don't hesitate. Let me know what you decide and good luck! Happy growing.

Thank you for the reply i appreciate the time you put into responding. +rep
Unfortunately my room is limited I cannot expand except for width. Working with a tent the first couple of legit grows I've had is something I'm happy I did it's just so convenient though it does have some flaws but not many. I was also iffy on the light but I thought maybe it would be the best for keeping temps down but I would love to hear some other ideas on lights in the 400 range. I will also look into the filters.

Thanks brother. No problem.

2x4 will be plenty sufficient, just use smaller pots. I sometimes forget that everyone is not me lol. I like to use 2 1/2 to 4 gallon pots so that could be adjusted to accommodate.

A 400w light is gonna put out a lot of heat, especially in that small of an area so you will want to have a good fan, especially if you are not running a/c. What other ideas on lights did you have in mind?

The equipment I have suggested is definitely not the cheapest, but I am the type to go for the good stuff at first so I have less variables. I'm sure there are other great brands out there for good prices (especially on the net) so don't let me bias you in any way lol. Someone else may be able to offer some better advice for alternatives.

I was going to use 5 gallons I was thinking that's what I've been doing with these Sufi lowers with decent results.

If you went 5 gallons, you could do 2 plants and get 4 oz's each rather than doing 4 smaller plants.

yeah you can pull 11/2 per plant just going 12-12 from seed with a 400.............with a 600 you can pull 2-3 per plant 12-12 from seed.

I did end up finding a smaller batch recipe for the super soil i think 1/3 of the quantity. ]

I am also thinking of the contraption i will have to make to create a drain pan for under my buckets to take care of excess water. could be pretty simple i guess couple two by fours and a shelf like setup with no top so the water could just fall into a small rectangular tub maybe...

also found a all in one 400 hps/mh lamp any suggestions comments?
http://www.greners.com/grow-lights/hoods-reflectors/hoods-with-built-in-ballast/sunburst-400w-hps-mh-convertible.html

I own that hood. I use it for vegging my girls. One thing about it, it uses a magnetic ballast (so it is not the most efficient) and since the ballast is so close to the lamp, it gets hot as hell. I keep a blower fan blowing directly on mine to keep it cool, so if heat is an issue in your space you may dodge this one and spend the extra cash to get a ballast and hood separately.

Good deal on the soil recipe I might have to get that from you for my next grow.

The drain pan will be better left to you. You know what your situation is and stuff a lot better than me. I just use the saucers that typically go under potted plants to catch water and dump them if needed. Cheaper

Heat will be an issue im assuming so the search will continue for a lamp.

The soil recipe in short is: (hopefully it is what it is supposed to be but from the looks of it things look very good)


->1/3 Batch (4 cubic feet)

2.7 - Large bags (1.5 cubic ft. ea) of High quality Organic soil with Mycorrhizae
(i.e. Roots Organic)

8-16 lbs. Worm Castings
1.7 lbs. Steamed Bone Meal (0-10-0)
1.7 lbs. Bat Guano (Fruit Bat)
1.7 lbs. Blood Meal
1# Rock Phosphate
1/4 cup Epsom Salts
1/3 cup sweet lime (dolomite powder)
1/3 Cup Azomite (Trace Elements)
2 tsp. Powdered Humic Acid

Soil - 3 Bags Roots @ $19 ea = $57
Worm Castings 30 lbs. @ $17
Bone Meal - Happy Frog Steamed Bone Meal 4 lbs $7.99
Bat Guano - 2.2 lbs $8.00
Blood Meal - 2.75 lbs $4.99
Rock Phosphate - 10 lbs $8.99
Epsom Salts - 48 oz. $2.99
Sweet Lime (dolomite powder) 5 lbs $7.95
Azomite 2 lbs $6.00
Powdered Humic Acid 1 lb $8.25

Total for amendments only: $72.16
Roots Soil (3 bags) $57
Total = $129.16



And on to the drain pan i figured if i am going to do a scrog usually movement is limited because of the screen. So unless i can figure out a more portable solution which is possible i will be thinking about tubs but they do rob me of a few inches if i did use that

Cool man I appreciate that soil recipe. Definitely going to look into it.

I would recommend an air cooled hood in your case, and in most cases. They make a cool tube with a wing reflector that would be great for a 2x4.
Something like this wouldn't be a bad idea:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=cool+tube+with+reflector&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6037800345513232249&sa=X&ei=E0rtTd2bMaeN0AG4v4mlAQ&ved=0CJIBEPMCMAk4Cg

You will need to get an inline fan for that hood, but you will already need one for your carbon filter so you can run them both on the same fan.

I forgot about you wanting to do scrog. I have never done it so I have no frame of reference to go by. Definitely go check out some threads on that for a setup solution if you need some ideas.

Yea scrogging is definitely looking like a very nice solution to get the most yield per plant. I was poking around on the huge scrog thread and there were a few people with 400w bps that got 3-4 oz. I can't wait to try it out.

I hear ya man. I will definitely give it a shot in one of my next few grows. Amazing the things we can do with such a beautiful plant lol

So is it suitable for 3-4 plants to be scrogged or should I keep it 1-2?

Only read the first page and my comments are. If you can cool it go with a 600watt HPS for flower. The cost difference in the 400 and 600 are very minimal. The 600watt is the most economical setup and gives you way more lumens. You will yield a lot more for the few extra bucks of electric per month.

Your on the right track. I just use Fox Farm soil ocean forest or happy frog and mix in about 20% perlite or 20% earthworm castings.

I went with a 600watt digital greenhouse ballast kit. It came with bulb, air cooled hood, 600w digital ballast, cordset etc. for $230 shipped has the same warranty as lumatek brand ballast and have had no issues with mine.

www.htgsupply.com


Good luck and happy growing.

Also htgsupply sells their products on ebay and can get really good deals could buy a 1000watt dimmable and put on lowest setting and put in a 600watt bulb and can upgrade to a 1000watt if you wanted to in the future. If you are dead set on a 400 then go with that but I wanted you to know you will benefit a lot with the 600 (if you can keep it cool which I'm sure is achievable).

If you are going to use your 150w, stick to two plants.