400w MH used throughout a grow?

Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
I'm in the works of starting my first grow - i've purchased a 400w MH with ballast and reflector.

I'm thinking of using a small windowless bathroom for a grow area - it has a good ceiling ventilation fan and a tub/shower area that I hope to kinda close off and encircle with reflective mylar.

Any suggestions/ideas/comments on this setup so far?

Anyone out there used a small bathroom setup before and used the builtin ceiling-room fan for ventilation?
 
MurderAlley

MurderAlley

Well-Known Member
Dayzt said:
I'm in the works of starting my first grow - i've purchased a 400w MH with ballast and reflector.

I'm thinking of using a small windowless bathroom for a grow area - it has a good ceiling ventilation fan and a tub/shower area that I hope to kinda close off and encircle with reflective mylar.

Any suggestions/ideas/comments on this setup so far?

Anyone out there used a small bathroom setup before and used the builtin ceiling-room fan for ventilation?
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I thought about doing just that but i think it would be bad. Moisture could be a problem when u flower due to showering and such. I think u would run a higher risk of bud rot. Also its gonna suck if u need to take a shit during your dark cycle, but if u have another bathroom that shouldn't be a prob. Those vents are pretty good tho, thats what i have installed to vent my closet
 
Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the reply Murder... yeah, we have 3 bathrooms in the house, so if I go this route then this one will be off limits completely....lol. I'd like to use some movable shower-curtain rods to support my lighting as well - I think having the plants in the tub (not directly in the tub but inside trays in the tub) will be handy since they can drain very easily when flushing them etc.. =)

What are your thoughts about using the 400w MH for the whole grow through..? I may gets some flouro lighting as well during the grow for side-lighting.... can I get different bulbs for the 400w MH that work better for flowering?
 
MurderAlley

MurderAlley

Well-Known Member
Dayzt said:
Thanks for the reply Murder... yeah, we have 3 bathrooms in the house, so if I go this route then this one will be off limits completely....lol. I'd like to use some movable shower-curtain rods to support my lighting as well - I think having the plants in the tub (not directly in the tub but inside trays in the tub) will be handy since they can drain very easily when flushing them etc.. =)

What are your thoughts about using the 400w MH for the whole grow through..? I may gets some flouro lighting as well during the grow for side-lighting.... can I get different bulbs for the 400w MH that work better for flowering?
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Mh has the broadest spectrum so if u have to use a single bulb from start to finish it will do the trick.. The downfall is leafier buds and more stem growth... I beleive u can get an hps conversion bulb to fit the mh too. If not u could always throw a few 2700k cfls in with the mh for great resuls.. And as long as the bathroom is off limits it should be a pretty steril and constant enviroment for the plants...
 
MurderAlley

MurderAlley

Well-Known Member
MurderAlley said:
Mh has the broadest spectrum so if u have to use a single bulb from start to finish it will do the trick.. The downfall is leafier buds and more stem growth... I beleive u can get an hps conversion bulb to fit the mh too. If not u could always throw a few 2700k cfls in with the mh for great resuls.. And as long as the bathroom is off limits it should be a pretty steril and constant enviroment for the plants...
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i forgot the most important part... my friend went start to finish with a 250w mh security light and ended up with a 4 ft plant and 2 1/2 oz dry of some kill
 
Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
Good to know... this is my first time, so I'm just experimenting really. I could add some more lighting and/or change the lighting for the flowering stage - actually i'd like to use a more red spectrum during flowering. Can I get a special bulb to use with the same MH ballast that has a better spectrum (red) for flowering?
 
Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
Hey, that's awesome! I wonder if I can find a bulb like that around town somewhere without having to special-order one...? I agree, it is a bit expensive but it ends up being alot less than getting a whole seperate HPS setup. Even though i'd like to do that eventually, I'm trying to keep the costs low for my first grow.

Will I have any issues putting my 1-2" seedlings under the 400w MH and have them stay there for the full veg time? Also, should the seedlings be in a 18/6 light cycle at that stage yet?

Sorry for the noob questions.... i'm still learning lotz... =)
 
C

CuddlyBurrito

Active Member
how sick would it be if you grew hydro and used the tub for a resevoir, covering it with a pieace of plywood. and had a reverse osmosis hooked to the water...
 
dusty26

dusty26

Well-Known Member
well personally bud i would go with an hps the whole way if you had to use only one bulb... an agromax bulb... displays mh as well...
 
Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
wyteberrywidow: That's a great idea! I didn't even know there was such thing... can you possibly send me a link to one?
dusty: I'd like to get an HPS ballast/socket in the future, but I've already spent a large penny on the 400w MH, so i'm trying to make do with what I have
 
Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the recommendations!

I've read that the MH is a bit harsh on seedlings... is it risky to use the 400w MH straight from seedling into veg? I don't have any CFLs yet, but planned to get some later on to start some clones once the bigger light is needed for my bloom cycle, but if necessary I can get them now. I was thinking of getting the socket-splitters and putting 3 sets on one power-bar using those plug converters... can I put that many on one circuit?
 
dusty26

dusty26

Well-Known Member
Dayzt said:
Thanks for all the recommendations!

I've read that the MH is a bit harsh on seedlings... is it risky to use the 400w MH straight from seedling into veg? I don't have any CFLs yet, but planned to get some later on to start some clones once the bigger light is needed for my bloom cycle, but if necessary I can get them now. I was thinking of getting the socket-splitters and putting 3 sets on one power-bar using those plug converters... can I put that many on one circuit?
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any type of hid can be bad for seedlings if its to close... you have to have it a good distance away from your seedlings, cfl's or fluro tubes on the other hand you can have an inch away and they will be fine... but if you do have an hid just start them out by having a good distance between the tops and your hid , then slowly lower it as they grow into their veg state..
 
wyteberrywidow

wyteberrywidow

Global
There are plenty of people that use hid from seedling.I am 1 of them and my seedlings love it.I have a euro reflector so i start mine at 2 feet then lower it as they grow.If i see any signs of burning or heat stress i raise the lights but thats very unlikely.
 
Dayzt

Dayzt

Well-Known Member
wyteberrywidow said:
There are plenty of people that use hid from seedling.I am 1 of them and my seedlings love it.I have a euro reflector so i start mine at 2 feet then lower it as they grow.If i see any signs of burning or heat stress i raise the lights but thats very unlikely.
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Good to know - I'll most likely pick up some cfls anyway for putting my clone(s) and such under once there's plants under the MH in the flowering cycle.
 
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