StonedBlownSkiller
Well-Known Member
So youve decided to grow and have a place in mind do ya? Now its timme to spec out exactly what your going to need to make it happen. Heres a guide to setting up a conventionally ventilated indoor garden on a budget. Im going to show the different ventilation requirements for a 2 and 6 light grow in the same space.
"Big rooms need lots of lights with high powered ventilation system whereas a smaller room will need less lights and a less strong ventilation system"
#1. All of the equipment your indoor garden will need comes down to the size of the room. So the first thing you need to do is measure your room. You will need the length, width, and height of the room. The example shown has the dimensions of;24 x 12 x 8.2
Now before you go filling this area with lights and fans you have to consider the grower and experience level of the grower and also your budget. A confident and experienced grower might fill this whole space with plants, but lets not bite off more than we can chew ehh. First lets create a smaller room inside the larger room. This gives working room more suitable for a beginner. This next example shows the inner dimensions of grow area seperate room. 12 x 8 x 8.2
You might be asking yourself "What are the benefits of sectioning off the room?" Why cant I just hang the lights in the corner? Well by creating a room within a room you gain better control of the environment. With the sectioned off area you make best use of the available light by having walls lined with reflective sheeting. This promotes a bright well lit environment for productive growth. You can use various materials to section off this room, but the more insulated, the better.A well insulated room will immediately lend itself to far easier environment control. If you have no interest in building your indoor garden, or your not too confident with your DIY skills, then dont worry, you can purchase grow tents which are excellent for any level of grower. There are many different size and shape tents to suite your needs.
#2. Lighting.
Now that you know the size of the room you wil be working with, you can best calculate how to illuminate it. The most widely used light source for indoor gardening is HID (High Intensity Discharge). They are widely available. The two types of lamps to run on a HID setup is MH or Metal Halide, Or HPS, which is High Preasure Sodium. HID lighting is available in different sizes but the most common sizes used in indoor gardening are the 400, 600 and 1000 watts. Each light is suitable to cover a certain amount of floor space. Here is some examples;
One thing to bear in mind is that the more powerful the light, the farther away from the tops of the plants it needs to be. This means if you have low ceilings you may want to consider using lower wattage lights. The example room has a 8.2 FT ceiling height so we can use the 1000w light as long as the plants dont get bigger than 5 feet. Most indoor gardens want to be short and wide to make the most of the light in the area. The distance between the light and the canopy that most growers follow is as follows;
400w=24-16 inches
600w=31-34 inches
1000w=39-31 inches
"Please bear in mind that the above info is for horizontally placed lamps in normal, open, or closed hoods."
So the floor space in our room is 12 ft by 8 ft. You can try and squeeze in as many light as possible but our goal is to make a comfortable environment for your plants to grow in. Also it is easier for the grower to access and maintain plants if you have a 2ft walkway around all sides of plants.
"Big rooms need lots of lights with high powered ventilation system whereas a smaller room will need less lights and a less strong ventilation system"
#1. All of the equipment your indoor garden will need comes down to the size of the room. So the first thing you need to do is measure your room. You will need the length, width, and height of the room. The example shown has the dimensions of;24 x 12 x 8.2
Now before you go filling this area with lights and fans you have to consider the grower and experience level of the grower and also your budget. A confident and experienced grower might fill this whole space with plants, but lets not bite off more than we can chew ehh. First lets create a smaller room inside the larger room. This gives working room more suitable for a beginner. This next example shows the inner dimensions of grow area seperate room. 12 x 8 x 8.2
You might be asking yourself "What are the benefits of sectioning off the room?" Why cant I just hang the lights in the corner? Well by creating a room within a room you gain better control of the environment. With the sectioned off area you make best use of the available light by having walls lined with reflective sheeting. This promotes a bright well lit environment for productive growth. You can use various materials to section off this room, but the more insulated, the better.A well insulated room will immediately lend itself to far easier environment control. If you have no interest in building your indoor garden, or your not too confident with your DIY skills, then dont worry, you can purchase grow tents which are excellent for any level of grower. There are many different size and shape tents to suite your needs.
#2. Lighting.
Now that you know the size of the room you wil be working with, you can best calculate how to illuminate it. The most widely used light source for indoor gardening is HID (High Intensity Discharge). They are widely available. The two types of lamps to run on a HID setup is MH or Metal Halide, Or HPS, which is High Preasure Sodium. HID lighting is available in different sizes but the most common sizes used in indoor gardening are the 400, 600 and 1000 watts. Each light is suitable to cover a certain amount of floor space. Here is some examples;
One thing to bear in mind is that the more powerful the light, the farther away from the tops of the plants it needs to be. This means if you have low ceilings you may want to consider using lower wattage lights. The example room has a 8.2 FT ceiling height so we can use the 1000w light as long as the plants dont get bigger than 5 feet. Most indoor gardens want to be short and wide to make the most of the light in the area. The distance between the light and the canopy that most growers follow is as follows;
400w=24-16 inches
600w=31-34 inches
1000w=39-31 inches
"Please bear in mind that the above info is for horizontally placed lamps in normal, open, or closed hoods."
So the floor space in our room is 12 ft by 8 ft. You can try and squeeze in as many light as possible but our goal is to make a comfortable environment for your plants to grow in. Also it is easier for the grower to access and maintain plants if you have a 2ft walkway around all sides of plants.