First time grow questions

Hello fellow stoners.

I am soon going to be attempting my first grow and I have been reading a lot of information over the past few weeks, but am still uncertain on a few things.

First off my grow space is going to be around 3 x 2.5 x (anywhere from 3-5 feet). Any suggestions on spacing will be appreciated though.
I was thinking of fitting six, five gallon buckets into that space space but I recently watched a video of a grow setup using numerous small plants.

I am pretty set on using T5's but if you have any better ideas please let me know. I was considering something along the lines of http://www.amazon.com/8lamps-DL8408...qid=1444076236&sr=1-3&keywords=t5+grow+lights

How reliable are fixtures like this? Would I be better off buying the fixtures and bulbs separate or should I order them as a set? And can anyone recommend some different setups I could use?

Should I be growing numerous smaller plants due to the poor canopy penetration of Fluorescent lights?

Would heat be an issue in a space like this using T5's?

Does fresh air have to be pulled in from outside or would air from the room that the setup will be in be fine?
Does the air have to be vented outside or could it be blown back into the room?

Sorry for any stupid questions, as I have just started learning about this and did not expect this complicity. So please don't be to harsh.

Thanks to all who answer.

imo if ur set on atleast six plants id go a little bigger on room size unless ur not vegging in which case u dont need t5s or five gallon buckets..2 gallons would be fine ..... if you go with a 4x4x6 u can go 6-7 plants with a 3 week veg S.O.G grow.....or 10-12 plants with no veg.... id go with hps for flowering ... i got 1000w hps in my 4x4 room over 8 plants sum i vegged 1 week sum two weeks sum 3-4 weeks .i also have a few cfls hanging to kill shadows and hit the backs....t5's would be good for veg and in my opinion u dont need a special room for that as long as u can find a semi closed in area like against a wall that way u can have new vegged plants ready to go in flower as ur pulling flowering plants out... i use cfls for vegging....what ever u do dont get the 8u cfls they suck and blow halfwway out within a couple months.... here is a pic of my veg room.... oh yea and if you have a big enuff room u dont need to have ur exhaust outside....or your intake coming from outside... my flowering room is in my basement... i just run a 8inch 500cfm duct fan for exhaust , 6inch 90 duct fan also for exhaust , 12in hole cut in bottom back wall of my grow room with a screen to keep bugs out (passive intake) and a 6inch 90 cfm fan for intake ... i also have a 12 fan blowing between the 1000w hps and my plants pushing the hot air towards my exhaust/// heres a pic edit: thats is my flowering room not my veg room my mistake

as for your space if your measurements are length x width x height then go 5 feet high 3 will not be enough for five gallon buckets in my opinion.

I use t5 h.o. lights for veg and then switch to h.p.s. for flower. ive uses t5 for flower but I prefer h.p.s.

for that space you may end up with heat problems if your fan is small. I know that in my 2x6x8 closet a 4 bulb t5 h.o. 216 watt fixture brought my temps up to 90+ with a 200 cfm exhaust fan (in the summer). now I use 2x 400 watt air cooled h.p.s. in there with 400 cfm fan and it stays at around 80 (low 70's if I have the 200 cfm fan on as well).

as for where to vent it depends on afew things. is the rroom outside your area going to be lit up? if so this could be a.factor in keeping your room light proof.
is it hot in the room outside your area? if it is you will probably not want to pull air from there, however you could probably get away with dumping it there.
I personally dump outside and pull air from a room that holds my vegging plants.

btw how do u plant on fitting 6 5gallon buckets in a 3x2.5 lol

I appreciate the answer.

I was not planning on having separate rooms for flowering and vegging, and was hoping to be able to use the same light fixture but just replacing the bulbs for the different color spectrum. What is your opinion on buying a 1000w hid ballast that comes with the MH light and HPS light? Would the MH be superior to T5's for vegging? Or should i use T5's for vegging and then purchase a HPS for flowering?

mh is gonna set ur small ass room on fire lol... they run hotter then hps does... really quiet the overkill for vegging imho although myne came with it but ill never use it ....

and only go with the 1000w hps if ur going bigger then ur original idea , i think for a 3x2x atleast 5ft u would be ok with a 600w hps AT THE MOST , probly be good with a 400w honestly and thats less heat ....

Alright so if i move my area to closet with a window in it, (probably about 6 x 3 x 9) could i get away using the MH for vegging and only ordering one of those HID kits as my lights? (Maybe add some CFL's over time budgets kinda tight right now)

here is a lighting calculator to tell you what u should atleast start with http://www.cannaversity.com/calculators/lighting.php

Well how many plants would you recommend under a 400w? And would i be able to use the metal halide in that space?

yea if your flowering in that room also tho gotta make sure ur not getting light from ur window or room but that would be a nice size space and best place for a setup

Sir Smokalot420 said:

Well how many plants would you recommend under a 400w? And would i be able to use the metal halide in that space?

Click to expand...

i was saying that u shouldnt use a mh in the 3x2.5 foot space.... and depends on how big u want to veg them.... 4-5 plants at no veg 2-3 plants at 3week veg... wouldnt try anymore then that as its gonna get tight

Ok so if I went with the 3x2.5 if i wanted to veg i would need T5s also? And are you saying you can start with a 12/12 light cycle and use the hps throughout the complete grow?

yes.... techically u can veg ounder hps if u decided to veg...

I got one of these kits to get started :
http://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLSETX...F8&qid=1444080412&sr=1-2&keywords=600w+ipower

600w is perfect for 3'x3' and it comes with MH and HPS. It seems like a good fit for your situation, and you can always set up a separate veg area later for a perpetual. I'm very happy with mine, I vegged my first grow with the MH then when I switched to HPS for flower I built a veg tent with Panda film and filled it with CFLs. Works fine so far, maybe will get a 400w ipower kit for veg tent though....

Ok so i probably wont veg and use 4 plants as you suggested....what size pots would you reccomend?

Thanks for all your help man sorry for so many questions.

I think 1000 watts may be too much heat for that space without a lot of ventilation I think you'd be fine with a single 400w hid kit if you want to go mh/hps. really you dont absolutely need both. one or the other will work fine. ive flowered under mh and hps, my findings were that hps all the way through flowrr yielded a tad more amd mh gave me a bit frostier buds (I'm no pro with a perfect environment by any means).

Ok thanks dude ill keep that in mind.