what size light hps

ok im thinking of building a grow box and the demensions would be

5ft long
4ft tall
2ft wide


what size HPS could i fit in there?

how much can you cool?

well i was gonna have a outake fan hooked up and a fan to blow on the plants

jtmyzery2008 said:

ok im thinking of building a grow box and the demensions would be

5ft long
4ft tall
2ft wide


what size HPS could i fit in there?

Click to expand...

4 foot tall???????
What....are you growing miniature plants?

I'm assuming your going to be growing soil.
*So if your planter is 8 inches tall.
*And your reflector is 10 inches wide,
and it's going to be 2 inches away from the ceiling.
*The light has to be 18 inches away from the top of the plants.
That means you can only grow your plant's 20 inches high.

Damn man.....I get buds longer than 20 inches. What the hell kind of bud could you possibly produce on 20 inch high plants?

400 or 600

BongJuice said:

What the hell kind of bud could you possibly produce on 20 inch high plants?

Click to expand...

Hey BongJuice...

These clones were flowered at 3" tall...

7 weeks in the biggest one is 6" tall by 13" wide...

I think it's safe to say I got a dry half oz there... but I could be wrong...

Anyways.. these are miniatures...lol....

Cheers...

Gypsy...

i wasnt planing on putting a reflector

I think the best scenario would be to get a T5 satelite flourscent, it's cheaper, will allow more height, have less heat, etc.

It would be perfect for your setup.

VictorVicious is a member that has had great success with a t5, he now uses HPS, but if you do a search on him, you'll get some pretty good info.

T5 is perfect for your application.

thanks man for the advice im gonna look into it

It's a whole lot cheaper, energy bill wise too, and doesn't generate too much heat. Great for learning, you can torch your plants go light on the nutes.

thanks guys for the help also what is the best ventalation system i could get for a decent price

I have a real simple setup. I picked up some 6 dollar vinal air duct at Home Depot and connected it in the attic to two of my AC ducts and put them through the ceiling of my grow room. Then just attach one to the lights reflector hole. Then get a 240cfm in-line fan for about 70 bucks and attach it to another hole in the ceiling. Should be enough. At night I have to close the flange or it gets a little cold with the AC on low. Good luck.

Or, spend money!
-The Dude

If you go with a t5, you won't need a serious fan, you can pick up a booster fan at home depot for like 15 bucks. Being a grow cabinet, and the dimensions you describe, a t5 would be perfect. And affordable.

T5

Google- "T5 satelite flourescent".

A t5 satelite 4 tube system with bloom bulbs puts out 44k lumens.

A 400W HPS puts out around 50k lumens.

The fact you can get the plants much closer to the t5 means there are more useable lumens. The plant will have to be at least a foot away from the HPS, and can be 2" from the t5.


The t5 is 4ft long, and will cover your whole box, a 400W at best will cover 3ft x 3ft.
Since you will definately have heat issues with a HPS i think the decision is a no-brainer.

I have a 1000w hps i keep about 24 inches above the tops. It puts out 150,000 lumens in my 4ft by 2ft grow room. I veg my plants for about a foot and a half the flower in a SOG to reduce height. So you can have a lot of lumens and a GREAT light, in a little space, with cheap ventilation. Only problem with my system is the air needs to run for the majority of the light cycle in order to proved cold air intake. Exhaust fan makes up for the difference.

Good luck man. Use your imagination! I've seen plants grown upside down and sideways, in soil, in air, in water. The way I see it, If your gonna grow, do it right. Why de disappointed with your harvest; When you can step up your light and grow setup and only have to worry about storing all your green, instead of running out. Just my two sense.

Also, HPS bulb add a considerable amount of weight and potency to the buds. Floro's tend to make fluffy buds, with less resin. The more intense the light, the more the plant will try to protect itself, I.E. growing resin(THC). Good luck.

-His Dudeness

I commend El Duderino for being able to cool a 4ft x 2ft room with a 1000w light in there, but if you read the clearence of 4ft to the top of the box, you run into a shitload of problems man.

i don't know how experienced of a grower JT is and to recommend a 1000W light in that small box is ludacris.

the lumen output is what matters not the wattage, i stated earlier the output of a t5 vs a 400W, and cooling was an issue, so flourscents seem like a good idea. 44k lumens is plenty of light to grow some dank if you do the math on rates of light degradation over distance, the most useable light you can get from a 400W is near 40k lumens, with a cooled/vented hood, near 48k-50k lumens, not to mention that HPS bulbs themselves degrade over time, after a year of use, it's about half the lumens, so an old bulb on a 400W puts out only 25k lumens.

I use 600W HPS for bloom, they put out 100k lumens, they are great and more efficient than 1000Wers, heat and energy consumption wise.

you said you keep your lights 24 inches above the tops, I get the same lumens as you with a 600W sitting 12 inches away.

Tomatoe, Tomaatoe.

for cooling and learning, stick with the t5, it's way better than CFLs.

Granted my box is 17ft x 17 ft x 7ft tall.

So maybe I'm over estimating, I gave my input, I'm outta here, unless you have any questions.

no man thanks alot for the help and im seriously gonna check into those lights

It has been a bitch cooling the room off. I forgot to mention the door must remain open to the closet. I don't have to worry about roommates or anything though. I wish I could-of done more. But when money is tight, you do what you can. I'm saving for better equipment during my single cola-soil grow. If you don't have any money laying around it's a good temporary fix.

But your right, lumens are what's important. HID systems put out tremendous heat. Cooling them is a pain in the arse without the cash. I always recommend them because of their lumen output. You can have floros so damn close and no heat problems. I've been some serious plants done under cfls. It basically falls to how much money and space you have to spare. It you got money and enough space I'd still suggest the HPS or MH system. Space seems like your problem so cfls or floros seem like your only option.

Sure I don't have to tell you this, but, the more lumens the better. So if floros are your thing, cram as many as you can over the canopy as close as possible. Wal-Mart has some decent compact floro bulbs. I've found good prices on high lumen floros on the internet though. Keep in mind the difference between "cool white, and warm white" floros. Look for a kight Kelvin rating and lumen output. Typically, the higher the wattage, the higher the lumen and Kelvin ratings.

Good luck mate, stay safe all,
-His Royal Dudeness