First Wilma grow, setup advice?

bump. ow, damn my head
what the hell was that?
oh, its that thread
I posted a while back
lookin so skinny I walked right into it

Originally Posted by kaos.underwave

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be growing with a homemade Wilma system in a stealth cab,
and I thought I'd check ppl who know what they're doing b4 I jump in...

I'm going for 200/250w envirolites, since the cabinet will get way hot with anything else. Was thinking 2 blue 4 veg/ 2 red for flower, for dimensions 1m long x 50cm deep x 30 cm high [growing room not including wilma system or pots or lights].

Its just possible for me to fit 2 bulbs in there at once, but I'm reluctant to due to temps...earlier in spring the temps averaged 34-5C sometimes 39! in the light at soil level, with just one 200w red, although the ventilation was pretty shoddy at that point [one £3 pc fan extracting]. This time round I'm using an input from a hole in the skirting to use the [much cooler!] air from the walls to the bottom of the chamber, and a decent extractor [95.63cfm] at light level. Cab volume something like 17 cf.

Thing is, can fit either 21 pots [4.5l] or 8 [6.5l], so I was going for 21 plants.

My point is, will two envirolites be enough for 21 plants in a half square metre?? Do you reckon it would be cooler with one 250w HPS than 2 200/250w enviros?
I've heard that WILMA systems keep the rootzone cooler compared to soil because of regular watering and oxygenating...this true to a significant degree?
Also any basic guidelines 4 coco feed ppms? or does this depend on brand? [using canna coco]. Is it worth getting an air infusion pump to oxygenate the reservoir before feeding?
As for watering times, 15 mins every 4 hours was recommended, should this be increased as plants get older/ built up to while they're small?

A lot of questions, I know, any advice appreciated, sure I'll figure out most by making mistakes as I go but I wanted to prepare a little. All the guides on wilma I've found so far have been very general, and lack personal experience. Any offhand tips? cheers yall

Questions aside,
I'll be covering the tops of the pots and every other surface with diamond mylar, growing in coco, with a basic coco nute setup, vegging for 1 month, flowering for 3, growing fem. arjan's haze #3, fem. skunk #1, + some white widow,
Cabinet lightproofed with weatherstripping, fans are 24db max, and and making a device over the summer from magnetic intrusion detectors, monostable circuits and AC relays to turn power off for 15 mins if any sneaky landlords pop in while I'm out [paranoid]

thanks for taking the time, nice community here, I see lots of big buds when I'm lurking!

first off that won't be enough light for 21 plants unless your doing a sog grow. put your hid in there then run it to see what the temps run. you might need to add an othewr fan for the heat. if you keep the heat from building up at the top it will help keep your box cooler. best advice is to use common secence (sorry bad speller). gl on your grow. may you be cursed with many buds.

Originally Posted by kaos.underwave

Do you reckon it would be cooler with one 250w HPS than 2 200/250w enviros?

Absolutely; it would also give you more lumens and save you money on your electric bill. (And if I'm not mistaken, it wouldn't even cost you much more on startup fees -- Envirolites are pretty expensive).