What light is recommended for flowering in my small grow box?

[Mr.Hush]

Made a decent little grow box...Dimensions are: s 31 inches tall x 15 inches deep by 25 inches long... Roughly 2.6 Square foot of grow space... It's insulated and has intake/exhaust/circulation fans... My problem is that I recently was told by some experienced growers that the LED light I was planning to use for flowering (GALAXYHYDRO 138W UFO LED 2nd Generation) is useless for anything but veg. stage...

Anyone have any recommendations for lighting in this size space? I plan on growing 2 plants... Thanks much!!

 

[Joe Blows Trees]

A 150 watt hps may work.

http://www.growweedeasy.com/mh-hps-upgrade-guide

 

[nomofatum]

That light isn't worthless for flower. It's only actually about 60-70w though. They are listing the watts at the max rating of each LED and running them at 40-50% (running these cheap LEDs higher makes very little increase in light, mostly heat.) That light actually has pretty decent spectrum for flower, it's just too small. I would keep that light up top and add 24" T5 fixtures to the 4 wall corners. Get 6500k bulbs and 2700k bulbs for the T5's and swap from 6500k to 2700k for flower.

edit: instead of T5 fixtures you can just get a ballast and florescent bulb holders from local hardware store.

 

[Tim Fox]

Looks great first of all, second, that light will flower. Two plants, sure if you scrog it and flip to flower fast so the plants dont get to big, you may pull two ounces, side lighting like some cfl would help

 

[dopeleader]

not a bad little box mate, good work on the construction.
as for the lights, are you set in your ways on the LED's or are you open to options?
I would personally recommend a 130W CFL and as others have posted just bang a 3 light fixture either side of that with a few small globes they probably wont require a ballast.

 

[rkymtnman]

is the room that this grow box going to be in going to be completely dark during 12/12? if not, you have lots of light leaks. and if you can see the glow of the LED from the outside, any light in that room will also cause a slight glow inside the grow box too.

to your question, that led will work for veg and flower.

 

[Mr.Hush]

A 150 watt hps may work.

http://www.growweedeasy.com/mh-hps-upgrade-guide

I think I am going to go with the hps...good lookin out man...

 

[Mr.Hush]

nomofatum, thanks for the info...but im thinking about using a 150hps for flower...seems like the best/easiest/cost effective option...

 

[Mr.Hush]

not a bad little box mate, good work on the construction.
as for the lights, are you set in your ways on the LED's or are you open to options?
I would personally recommend a 130W CFL and as others have posted just bang a 3 light fixture either side of that with a few small globes they probably wont require a ballast.

Thanks! I am open to whatever will produce the best buds in a small space, lol!! im still changing some things here and there to get things just right. If I run out of options I may have to go with a large CFL. not a bad idea!

 

[Mr.Hush]

Looks great first of all, second, that light will flower. Two plants, sure if you scrog it and flip to flower fast so the plants dont get to big, you may pull two ounces, side lighting like some cfl would help

Thank you! I am aiming for two small bushy ladies. I am assuming if LST'd properly, and flowered prior to being a foot tall would get good results... Am i on the right track? Alot of info/variables to consider...

 

[Tim Fox]

your a winner either way you go,,, the 150 watter is a good choice, the large CFL will work , and just the lonely ufo will do the job, here is the thing, some lights need more head room than others, thankfully your ufo is a small led and you can probably get away with 8 inches deep in flower, the cfl's let you get closer,,
all of them have differant temp ranges, but in your small box, you will be adjusting fans to keep it where you need,
I dont worry to much about light leaks, it has to be severe to mess with flower and veg cycles, I have seen guys grow bud outdoors right under street lights at night, and thier buds came out great,,
have fun with this,, I hope your going to show us the whole grow

 

[Tim Fox]

Thank you! I am aiming for two small bushy ladies. I am assuming if LST'd properly, and flowered prior to being a foot tall would get good results... Am i on the right track? Alot of info/variables to consider...

you are on track,, most strains will stretch for about 2 weeks after light flip, so if you save some space in the scrog, or around your LST area, you can continue to train them sideways for 10 more days, after that let them rise up, if your out of space because veg went too long for your space, you can expect them to at least double insize, if not a little more with some strains, so resist the urge to over veg,,

EDIT, I should ad if you continue to lst and train for 10 days, then they wont double is size, because some stretch is going sideways not up, after the 10 days you will end up with cola's anywhere from 6 to 10 inches tall above the scrog/lst area

 

[Mr.Hush]

is the room that this grow box going to be in going to be completely dark during 12/12? if not, you have lots of light leaks. and if you can see the glow of the LED from the outside, any light in that room will also cause a slight glow inside the grow box too.

to your question, that led will work for veg and flower.

Appreciate the response.The box wont be in an enclosed space...But, I am policing up the leaks as I go. I do remember seeing somewhere there can be no light leaks because it stresses the plant...I also have plans of painting it black to ensure no bleed throughs.

I am thinking im going to use the led for veg with cfls, and then flip to a 150w hps...Thoughts?

 

[Tim Fox]

I have seen some guys get Hermie plants when switching back and forth with the light types,,

edit,, but only once, did I see it, and that guy switched lights around several times

 

[Tim Fox]

I am thinking you could get away with a 250 hps, boat loads more light, especially if you made a simple heat tube out of a glass vase

 

[Mr.Hush]

SORRY about the spam, guys - didnt realize I was posting so much...a newb to the forum, obiously...still learning everything. lol...

TimFox...I really appreciate the feedback/tips...definitely going to be looking to you for more help, since you have been chill and seem like you have done this a time or two...lol, and yeah i can keep this thread update with progress...Might be my best idea so i dont fuck up too bad! I have never grown...so LST will probably be a challenge, lol.

So I am on day two of veg, waiting for them to break the soil. I took a tip from NVCLOSETMEDGROWER's how to grow series on youtube by adding one drop of clonex to the hole, and buried them a little deeper to promote good rooting.

They are 3 regular Blueberry and one Female White Widow. The medium is FoxFarm Ocean Forest. I WILL NOT ADD NUTES FOR AT LEAST 6 WEEKS...lol My water is 6.78 at tap but i have the essentials to ph if need be.
Changed the lighting a little today, the pics are most current edition.

 

[Tim Fox]

I use this chart for ph setting

Also several of us have completed grows lately using FFOF and they are mixing that soil really HOT now, nothing to wrong with that, just take note, I would not put a date on your calendar 6 weeks out and then just start adding nutes, I did that and I got over fert really fast, and nitrogen tox, it wasnt fun, some quick reaction time helped limit the damage and it went on to harvest,
Here is what everyone who grows in FFOF is pretty much saying right now, you can go start to finish with just water, especially if you UP pot along the way, for instance many people grow in a smaller pot while they are small, and then before flower they up pot into 3 or 5 gallon size containers with fresh soil,, now your plants are good to the end with just water, because the ffof has enough in it already,,
lastely if you feel you have to ad ferts,, wait,, wait and wait until you actually see under fert isssues, a lack of something, then add slowely and carefully, hopefully you have a PPM meter,,( cheap on ebay),,

 

[Tim Fox]

sent you a private message / conversation, just look up at the top of the page, on the right, refresh if neccasary

 

[nomofatum]

nomofatum, thanks for the info...but im thinking about using a 150hps for flower...seems like the best/easiest/cost effective option...

A 150 HPS will do fine, but note there is a pretty big disadvantage to using a HID in that small of a space. A HID or a high power COB has a significant disadvantage in small spaces. They emit the light from a single source, this means the plants can't get too close without heat issues or light bleaching. That means you make your already small grow box even smaller by making a hot zone they can't live in. In small grow spaces small LEDs and florescent (CFL or tube) have the advantage since plants can touch or almost touch the lights without heat or bleaching issues.

 

[rkymtnman]

Appreciate the response.The box wont be in an enclosed space...But, I am policing up the leaks as I go. I do remember seeing somewhere there can be no light leaks because it stresses the plant...I also have plans of painting it black to ensure no bleed throughs.

I am thinking im going to use the led for veg with cfls, and then flip to a 150w hps...Thoughts?

the only issue you are going to run into is height in the box. you'll need about 6" from the hps to the plant tops and then the height of the light itself. then add the height of the pot and the plant itself and now you don't have much left over.

i had a 150hps with built in ballast a long time ago. there was a small flange that you could hook a 4" fan to get rid of some of the heat.

if i were you, i'd go this whole grow with the led. after the grow is over, it will be easier to see what worked and what needs to be improved.