Grow Room Specs

[strainwreck]

Hello all.
I have decided to attempt my first indoor grow operation. I have had an outside garden the last few years but was not pleased with the quantity of quality of the smoke.

The space I have decided on is 25"x33"x66" (approx 2ftx3ftx5.5ft). This gives me a little less than 6 square feet.

I have read the grow bible and decided to go with a 400w HPS light. Here is the exact model I am looking at getting from a local supplier: Sun System 2 - 400 Watt HPS Enclosed Ballast Light System

The space is a spare bathroom shower stall. While I dont feel comfortable dedicating the whole bathroom to growing, I do intend to hide the door behind a wall covering to prevent anyone from wandering in.
My plan at this point is to build a box that will fit in the shower stall. I plan on using FoxFarm Ocean Forest as my growing medium (but im open to suggestions). I have not decided on nutrients yet but I assume 15-30-15 is fine for veg, and 0-10-10 will be good for flowering(someone also suggested liquid budswel).

The bathroom has an exaust fan on the ceiling that vents outside. My plan is to vent the box using duct out through this. Does this sound like a viable option for venting? I have no idea what CFM rating the fan has, but it is a 12" fan.

My main question is, do I have space for a SoG setup? In the Growers Bible it said its good to have 1-2ft between HPS lamps and the plants. Im not sure if 5.5ft vertically will accomidate 2 seperate areas. I may just build another small box for veg and clones use florescents.

My seeds are bag picked unfortunatly. I know a few are a purple variety, and the rest are a indica/sativa mix (judging by the buds I got them out of).

I also plan to use bottled water as the tap water in my area is aweful. Cheap bottled water from costco should be suffiecent, correct?

Finally, how much should I be concerned about smell? I assume everyone is gonna agree on the 1plant/square foot for flowering, so im looking at about 6 plants. Like I said there is already a vent fan in the bathroom that blows out above the house. I also have the option of venting into the attic and then letting the attic exhaust fan do the work. Suggestions are very much appreciated.

Like I said this is my first indoor grow so anything I left out feel free to remind me. Anyone care to guess at some average yields in this setup? Thanks.

[Pharm Girl]

The bathroom has an exaust fan on the ceiling that vents outside. My plan is to vent the box using duct out through this. Does this sound like a viable option for venting?

How many CFM's does the fan have? How about the intake.....did you mention it?

Cheap bottled water from costco should be suffiecent, correct?

Remove the lid and let sit 24 hours before use...I would.....and the ppm's should range around 60. Can you check on that for us?

Finally, how much should I be concerned about smell?

Always a concern......depends on the strain....have you looked into carbon filters (we have a DIY thread on making your own) a uvonaire (I prefer this one)

Gotta go put my apron on.....it's that time AGAIN.

I'll be back...

[strainwreck]

Originally Posted by Pharm Girl

How many CFM's does the fan have? How about the intake.....did you mention it?


Remove the lid and let sit 24 hours before use...I would.....and the ppm's should range around 60. Can you check on that for us?

Always a concern......depends on the strain....have you looked into carbon filters (we have a DIY thread on making your own) a uvonaire (I prefer this one)

Gotta go put my apron on.....it's that time AGAIN.

I'll be back...

urgh I guess my longwinded responce took too long and the forum logged me out, and i lost my message.

1) I have no idea about the CFM of the fan. It is a standard smell-evacuating fan. It came with the house. My box will only be 33 cubic feet so it should be able to swap out the air within a min or two. I was just planning on running duct from the top of the box to the fan mount on the ceiling.

2) I was unsure if i needed intake fans, some of the smaller builds I read online say enough fresh air gets in through the cracks and when the doors are opened. I do have 6x 80mm fans that could be used if needed

3) I read the DIY carbon filter. Smell should not be an issue for a few weeks Ive been told. It looks simple enough to build in a day. Hopefully not something ill need this week.

4) Ill have to look into the water.

Tonight I am going to germinate my seeds so this weekend I can start my build. I appreciate your quick responce btw. Thanks

[stoneric]

Those enclosed ballast lite systems get hotter than fuck. In a 6 sq ft room you'll have heat problems. I'd spend extra money and buy an air cooled system.

[farmergiles]

If you've got the money get a decent fan and carbon filter from a hydro store, rather than messing around. A good ventilation set up keeps temperature, humidity and odor under control. Do worry about the smell.

For your size cab and a 400w HID a 4" fan shifting 150 m3/h should be fine. Use an online unit converter if the units get confusing. Passive intake is fine.

Exhaust either under the ground floor (if you have suspended floors) or just into the house/flat itself. Exhaust to outdoors would be ideal but you've got to wonder about what it's going to look like through an I/R camera . Black/white sheeting to line the cab will stop the lamp itself showing up too much.

As stoneric says the light you linked is gonna get hot, best to have a light with the ballast separate so you can have it outside the cab.

Don't worry too much about SOG, plenty to think about getting some mj from seed to finished flowering.
6 plants should be fine. Makes things easier if you have plenty room though, maybe I'd go for 4.

[strainwreck]

Thanks for the input guys, im glad I found out there might be heat issues before I actually started..

Unfortunatly I was trying to setup for personal use. If I had the money, I would be buying all the stuff i saw in "Ultimate Grow". Unfortunatly, I am on a budget, most of which was being spend on the HPS lamp. I looked at Ballasts seperate, but then the total cost of lamp goes from ~250$ complete to 400$+ for the ballast, relector, assembly, and lamp. There was a similar model (250w for about 10$ cheaper, figured it would be better to have 150w more light for 10$) that is the same dimmensions. Do you guys think that might be a better option for this grow room?

Unfortunatly, the house is built on a slab, no under to vent to. The bathroom is right next to the laundry room, so venting into the house might not be too much of a issue as long as I keep people away from my laundry (maybe dirty clothes could help hide the smell lol). Do you think it might be worth it to reverse the polarity on that fan to make it a Intake then passively vent into the house?

The price of the light is really hindering me on this build. The complete system locally is gonna run me 250$. Is there a way to rig up some of my 80mm or 120mm fans to the ballast to keep it cool and get the all-in-one unit?

Maybe someone has a better idea for the space?

Basic Shot of the Area.

FAN



My measurements (5.5ft high) stop at the bottom of the shower head, I have all that space above but did not factor it in due to having strait sides on my box. The width measurements do take into account the shower handles! If anyone has any ideas your help if greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[farmergiles]

You should be able to get a 400w bulb, reflector and remote ballast for less than $200, google is your friend.
No reason why a remote ballast should be $150 more, the only difference is a remote ballast has a cable between the ballast and the light.

If you can't afford HID then consider flouros, there will be less heat issues that way.

Originally Posted by strainwreck

venting into the house might not be too much of a issue as long as I keep people away from my laundry (maybe dirty clothes could help hide the smell lol). Do you think it might be worth it to reverse the polarity on that fan to make it a Intake then passively vent into the house?

If you don't have a carbon filter and fan your house will stink of weed. Using a fan as an active intake will help humidity and temperature but will waft the smell of weed out of your growspace.

If possible you want an active exhaust with a carbonfilter. The fan lowers pressure in the growspace so clean air is being sucked in and the smelly air blown out through the carbon filter. So no smells get out.

I'd go for flouros and a proper fan/filter, rather than spend more on HID lighting and bodging the ventilation.

[strainwreck]

Ok thanks for the input farmer. Would this be a complete setup?

Lumatek 400 Watt 120 Volt Ballast

-OR-

Galaxy 400 Watt Electronic Ballast

-AND-

Agritech Reflector Sun System

Then all I would need to add would be the lights, ~30$ each. This setup would allow me to plug into a standard 120V outlet right? Are All the cords are included (I cant tell with the lumatek). The only reason I posted 2 ballasts is the galaxy says it works with Sun Systems, and the reflector is a Sun Systems. This setup will also allow me change between MH and HPS lights for veg and flowering, correct? for like 20-30$ cheaper I could get a 250w, would that be better for this application?

I am now actively looking into a carbon filter for the smell. My friend has supplied me with a 6" 130CFM fan. I am going to go with the homemade carbon filter. I plan on going with the passive intake, so would it be ok to vent the carbon filter right into the bathroom?

Seeing the space, do you think I need a box, I could almost build a door right over the whole shower stall. I read online its easier to control the enviroment in a box rather than a large room for the first timer.

I started my seeds germinating last night, hopefully ill get some sprouts by tommorow! Thanks in advance guys!

[farmergiles]

Something like this? 400w Lumatek HPS Lamp Xtrasun Wing Reflector Ballast - eBay (item 120483554519 end time Nov-20-09 17:25:23 PST)

You want a complete set up with the ballast, reflector and bulb. Google harder! I found a cheaper set up with the reflector and bulb included as well first try.

Lumatek are good but magnetic ballasts are cheaper.

Building a door over the shower stall should be fine.

You can vent into the bathroom but humidity may just circulate.

[strainwreck]

Thanks for the link farmergiles. I was tryin to avoid paying with my card for grow supplies, cant be too safe these days. Locally things are a little more pricey but I feel better being able to walk in and pay cash then putting my card out for the g0v to see. I know the stuff i posted is a little pricier than what you did, but is the sun reflector and the galaxy ballast what I will need? Thanks.

For a first time indoor grower do you think I could get away with a magnetic ballast? I was trying to plan for the future, i know the electronic ones allow you to use MH and HPS lamps in them. For personal use will I be ok with just an HPS and a cheaper magnetic ballast?

[Cerebro]

the magn ballasts are less efficient, so higher running cost
but, yeah, for 1st time perso, why not
well the reason why not is because if a shop offered you a trade-in of $500 for the gear you purchased 12m ago for $500, off your new bill of $800 say, you'd jump at it
you make your choice, we'll still like you
maybe you should invest in some decent peripherals, like fan, carbon filter, and do a fluro grow 1st up, then upgrade to hps with that notch on your bedpost
good luck

[stoneric]

I use my credit card all the time. I'm legal now, but for 5 years I upgraded my lights 5 or 6 times. If you don't deal and just grow for personal use, the chances of getting fucked with are slim. Not to say you shouldn't be careful but don't be paranoid either. Buying lights or other growing supplies, which are so plentiful online, shouldn't arouse any suspicion towards you.

[farmergiles]

Agree for sure getting a good fan and filter should be priority.

Been running a 600w Lumatek myself with no issues and good bulb life (far as I can tell). It runs cooler than a 400w mag ballast so there must be some energy saving there. I have heard of people having issues with certain bulbs and digital ballasts.
Anyway magnetic ballasts are tried and trusted technology and I think the energy savings of digital ballasts are small.

[stoneric]

A 250 watt system produces good bud. You can keep it real close with a fan between the lite and canopy. I didn't see any difference between a 250w and 400w other than the lower buds being a bit thicker.

[strainwreck]

So what a weekend..

I tried to install my box according to my first post, but that didnt happen. I realized afterwards that the door to the bathroom is only 2ft wide, and the box is too big to get in. There is not enough room in the bathroom to assemble the cabinet. So the whole thing has been moved to the spare bedroom closet. I ordered my light this morning, 400 hps system that will be here by friday. I also picked up the carbon filters, 3" vent, and fan. need to goto the nursery today and get my FoxFarm Light Warrior and mylar to line the box with.

So heres what Ive got so far..

Cabinet: 24 x 32 x 66 = 5 1/3 SQ/FT
Lighting: 400w HPS
Venilation:
-Vent Fan: 4in 130cfm fan raised 1"
-Intake Fan: 4x 60mm 20cfm fans w/ 4in passive intake
Odor: 3" vent stack to home made 3 layer carbon filter (2 carbon 1 dust)

Here are some rough pics of the cabinet, needs to be painted and mylar lined on the inside. The door, I did a slight miscalculation and cut the door to the full height of the box (instead of leaving a intake hole at the bottom), so I just mounted it higher up on the hinges to leave the gap, I may fix it later.

[stoneric]

I think you will have heat issues. I hope I'm wrong.

[strainwreck]

Originally Posted by stoneric

I think you will have heat issues. I hope I'm wrong.

think i need an even bigger fan? think some supplemental computer fans would help?

[v3d4]

130 cfm exhaust might be fine for that box with a 400w light, but i think id fire it up and see how things go before putting any plants in as swf says. did u got remote ballast? im not clear on what light you ended up with

[strainwreck]

v3d4: yes its remote, i got the exact one that farmergiles linked to.

what local stores carry inline duct fans? ive seen cheap 4" models on homedepot.com but not carried in stores, id like to pick it up before my light gets here.

[stoneric]

If you can conquer the heat issues, that's great but I'm wondering about the lumens per sq ft ratio. In the FAQ's it says to have 3000 to 5000 lumens per sq ft. With a 400w having 58,000, that's over 10,000 per sq ft. for youe cab. Maybe the more knowledgable growers here would have a better idea on whether that 5000 per sq ft number is accurate or not. Anyway, in the FAQ's it said you can bleach your plants with too much lite.