grow box setup help please!

gonger

Active Member
I'm in the process of converting my old seed starting box to a good grow cab.

My dimensions are 35in tall, 19in wide, and 22.5in deep.

I was thinking about using a 400wmetal halide ballast with a 400w metal halide bulb. then for my fans i wanted to order some HVAC TD Series. Does this sounds like a good start? I've got the reflective mylar, just waiting to install it so i can cut the right holes for fans/electrical. any suggestions? will the box get too hot? is it enough space? what kind of strain would work best there? how many fans should i get?

help from experienced folks is appreciated, i'm new at this.
 

gonger

Active Member
should i consider going down in wattage? or do you have any suggestions to the light that might work best in that area.?
 

shrxhky420

Well-Known Member
well heat might be the issue, but if you get your intake and exhaust right you might be ok... make sure the air you bring in is cool and that you exhaust into a completely different room. intake at the lower part of your box and exhaust at the top. you can always lst, suppercrop, or scrog to keep the height of the plant down. I don't want to discourage you from the watts that you use, I know when I first started i kept looking for more watts. good luck stay high
 

gonger

Active Member
i'm a total newb and don't know what any of that meant ... lst, suppercrp, scrog>? and yeah i should probably get a air cooled hood
 

shrxhky420

Well-Known Member
low stress training, supper crop, screen of green
all different ways to keep your plants short... do a little research on these techniques and figure out which is best for you. You can find a lot of info on these techniques almost everybody is doing one of these. stay high
 

Dutchmast3r

Active Member
ur gunna need a hood and a damn good inline for tht small area..u shud prob get a 250w less heat and will cover ur area fine..i run a 400w in a 3x3 tent and my temps are in the 80s..i got a 300 CFM inline without an aircooled hood..its hard too keep it cool without the hood. next harvest ill have an aircooled hood
 

shrxhky420

Well-Known Member
Are you planning on using this mh from beginning to end? Do you have another light for flower? If you're using one light for your entire grow I would get hps instead. Remember it's not about how well you veg it's how well you flower. Stay focused! Stay high
 

Dutchmast3r

Active Member
i agree the only right thing is the lumens..i dont think its for cannabis...the sq footage..and distance from canopy are whacked
 

phillipchristian

New Member
i agree the only right thing is the lumens..i dont think its for cannabis...the sq footage..and distance from canopy are whacked
I don't even know why they rate bulbs in Lumen Output. So many guys running aroung the forum talking about lumens per square foot and all that. Lumens are pointless and don't mean anything when growing a plant. Should be using footcandles and PAR value to rate bulbs. They should look up the definition of Lumens and see what it really is.
 

shrxhky420

Well-Known Member
SSSSOOOOORRRRRYYYYY.... sheesh... ok so here is some more shit that I found, at least i'm trying... what good info did you provide?... so here is some shit I found take it for what it's worth... everyone has an opinion but bottom line everyone has to adjust for their own grow space and environment.
[h=2]High Pressure Sodium - HPS[/h]High pressure sodium bulbs emit an orange-red glow. This band of light triggers hormones in plants to increase flowering/budding in plants. They are the best lights available for secondary or supplemental lighting (used in conjunction with natural sunlight). This is ideal for greenhouse growing applications.

Not only is this a great flowering light, it has two features that make it a more economical choice. Their average lifespan is twice that of metal halides, but after 18,000 hours of use, they will start to draw more electricity than their rated watts while gradually producing less light. HPS bulbs are very efficient. They produce up to 140 lumens per watt. Their disadvantage is they are deficient in the blue spectrum. If a gardener were to start a young plant under a HPS bulb, she/he would see impressive vertical growth. In fact, probably too impressive. Most plants would grow up thin and lanky and in no time you will have to prune your plant back before it grows into the light fixture. The exception to this is using a HPS light in a greenhouse. Sunlight is high in the blue spectrum which would offset any stretching caused by HPS bulbs.

HID Light Output
Primary Growing Area
Supplemental Growing Area
100 watts
2' x 2'
3' x 3'
250 watts
3' x 3'
4' x 4'
400 watts
4' x 4'
6' x 6'
600 watts
6' x 6'
8' x 8'
1000 watts
8' x 8'
12' x 12'
HID Lighting Helpful Tips
Hanging height: Due to the heat that is emitted from these types of fixtures, you should hang them according to size. Smaller wattage systems (100 and 250) should be hung about 2 to 3 feet from the top of the plants. Medium wattage systems (400 and 600) should be hung around 4 feet from the top of the plants. High wattage systems (1000 and up) should be placed at least 4 to 6 feet from the plant tops.
How long should lights run? This depends on the type of plant. Most plants and vegetables need about 10 to 12 hours of light to promote growth. Plants that produce fruits or flowers will show improvement with up to 16 hours a day of supplemental light.

And another light chart that I found on this siteFC-Chart-HPS.jpg good luck stay high
 

phillipchristian

New Member
SSSSOOOOORRRRRYYYYY.... sheesh... ok so here is some more shit that I found, at least i'm trying... what good info did you provide?... so here is some shit I found take it for what it's worth... everyone has an opinion but bottom line everyone has to adjust for their own grow space and environment.
High Pressure Sodium - HPS

High pressure sodium bulbs emit an orange-red glow. This band of light triggers hormones in plants to increase flowering/budding in plants. They are the best lights available for secondary or supplemental lighting (used in conjunction with natural sunlight). This is ideal for greenhouse growing applications.

Not only is this a great flowering light, it has two features that make it a more economical choice. Their average lifespan is twice that of metal halides, but after 18,000 hours of use, they will start to draw more electricity than their rated watts while gradually producing less light. HPS bulbs are very efficient. They produce up to 140 lumens per watt. Their disadvantage is they are deficient in the blue spectrum. If a gardener were to start a young plant under a HPS bulb, she/he would see impressive vertical growth. In fact, probably too impressive. Most plants would grow up thin and lanky and in no time you will have to prune your plant back before it grows into the light fixture. The exception to this is using a HPS light in a greenhouse. Sunlight is high in the blue spectrum which would offset any stretching caused by HPS bulbs.

HID Light Output
Primary Growing Area
Supplemental Growing Area
100 watts
2' x 2'
3' x 3'
250 watts
3' x 3'
4' x 4'
400 watts
4' x 4'
6' x 6'
600 watts
6' x 6'
8' x 8'
1000 watts
8' x 8'
12' x 12'
HID Lighting Helpful Tips
Hanging height: Due to the heat that is emitted from these types of fixtures, you should hang them according to size. Smaller wattage systems (100 and 250) should be hung about 2 to 3 feet from the top of the plants. Medium wattage systems (400 and 600) should be hung around 4 feet from the top of the plants. High wattage systems (1000 and up) should be placed at least 4 to 6 feet from the plant tops.
How long should lights run? This depends on the type of plant. Most plants and vegetables need about 10 to 12 hours of light to promote growth. Plants that produce fruits or flowers will show improvement with up to 16 hours a day of supplemental light.

And another light chart that I found on this siteView attachment 2114988 good luck stay high
Hey bud, i'm not trying to be a dick or call you out. Just pointing out a few facts. Your numbers are still way off and that chart you provided is incorrect too. I've done tests with light meters and this is the closest chart I've found to the actual truth.

 

shrxhky420

Well-Known Member
There you go providing some input... I didn't make the charts so i'm not offended... it's just what i have seen and continue to see...
anyway... stay high
 

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
I use an extremely high focus bonnet. The 1000w/hps mounts horizontally and I raise it approx 4' from the side of the bulb so it covers the bed.
 
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