A little help with plant, light and room size mathematics? :P

Hi, I'm an extremely nooby grower. I don't really know too much to be honest just a few basics about nutritions etc, but I am going to learn as I go (That's the type of stubborn person I am haha but hey it's all about learning)

Right, I have a cupboard in my bedroom which I have measured and it is 1.5ft x 3ft x 5.5ft tall. I am going to paint it brilliant white tomorrow. Anyway - Could I just fit two plants in this? Or 3?

Also, I know that you roughly need 10,000 lumens per mature plant am I right? And roughly 2,500 or more lumens per plant in vegetative state and the lights need to be roughly a foot away?

What I really want to ask is this. Do I JUST need 10,000 lumens per plant or does this also depend on the size of my cupboard? Would I need more light than that?

What wattage light would you put in a cupboard this size, with just 2 or 3 plants? And would I be better off growing the two rather than the three? (For yield)

I think I am also going to LST them.



PS - If I put a 2,500 lumen light a foot away from a plant in early vegetative stage in there right now would it keep it going? Lol.



If I haven't given enough information about something just let me know but that's pretty much all I can think of asking right now.

Any answers given would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

IMO veg four plants until they are about 10-12 inches tall under a High Output 2 ft 4 bulb T5 in 1 gallon containers then top them, transplant to 2 gallon containers and flip to flower 1 week later. This would be a nice cheap starter set.

enfamil said:

IMO veg four plants until they are about 10-12 inches tall under a High Output 2 ft 4 bulb T5 in 1 gallon containers then top them, transplant to 2 gallon containers and flip to flower 1 week later. This would be a nice cheap starter set.

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Ok cool, which 4 spectrums would be best to go for? Thanks.

DejaVuDejaVu said:

Ok cool, which 4 spectrums would be best to go for? Thanks.

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you need to do some more research. but anyway what kind of light you thinking about using cfl/HID/led al you said was 2500 lumen light

grorite said:

you need to do some more research. but anyway what kind of light you thinking about using cfl/HID/led al you said was 2500 lumen light

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This is basically why I'm here, for advice. I have read a lot of people saying different things. But I want to figure out what I need for my space.

From what I have read I would prefer HPS to CFL due to more lumen per watt in a small space? I don't think I will be using LED this time as I haven't read much on LED yet. Just being honest.

What wattage HPS would you use in a 1.5x3x5.5 space with 3 or 4 plants? Could I veg with a T5 and then move onto a HPS later or would a constant HPS be better? What would you do?

You see, I have some plants that I planted mid june which are in veg stage (awkward time I know) and they are growing Ok as the weather has been great but I'm afraid they won't reach flower. I also have security issues with this area. And the garden isn't too secure. I know bringing them from outside to inside could f**k them up big time but if I have to I will. This is sort of why I'm trying to get ready in case. Plus it will just be handy to set up.


If it makes any difference at all they are in 1 gallon pots in just John Innes #2 compost which is 6.5-6.8 PH if I remember right. And have bought garden lime in case I need it, and blood fish and bone in case I need that in the future. Like I say, I am just learning as I go lol.

Go with cool bulbs during veg and warm during flower. HPS are great but produce more heat. To be honest if you enclose that space the T-5 will heat it up. Honestly until you learn the basics I'd suggest going this route and when you graduate to HPS use the T-5 for clones and Veg.

enfamil said:

Go with cool bulbs during veg and warm during flower. HPS are great but produce more heat. To be honest if you enclose that space the T-5 will heat it up. Honestly until you learn the basics I'd suggest going this route and when you graduate to HPS use the T-5 for clones and Veg.

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Ok I think I will do that this time round until I get the jist of things. I try rush into things too fast lol. I have seen the kit you mean. When I first Googled it it came up with a kit in the US that had like 4 - 8 different spectrum bulbs etc you could choose from that's why I asked about the spectrums Do you think it will produce enough light for the 3 or 4 plants? If 4 struggle I can just take one out I suppose

IMO if not enough light the buds will be airy instead of dense.

enfamil said:

IMO if not enough light the buds will be airy instead of dense.

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Yeahh that's what I gathered. I feel so nooby man haha. Got to start somewhere though I suppose. My fault for rushing myself into it lol. Anyway - how far away from the plants would you keep the T5? A foot? 2 foot? Do you think a 250w HPS would heat up that cupboard like a b_tch? I will figure things out I'm sure

And you can defo get different spectrum bulbs for them T5's. What would be the best 4 spectrums to use? Two cool and two hot? And then change it to 4 hot during flower?

Less than a foot for the T-5. Use the good ole hand test but the T-5 can be really close. Personally I think a 250w HPS would be too hot but I can't say for sure. I've seen some 150w and 250w HPS that use coolers to help with the heat. Not sure on the cost or efficiency.

I will buy a t5 for now then it looks Ok for the money and have read a few people have had fair yields. Will probably get the lower and mid spectrums for veg and also buy some of the stronger ones for flower. Can always buy an extra light if needed.
Anyways I planted them 17th June they were growing just a couple of days later and they are vegging Ok. I have LST'd 4 out of 6 of them and going to Top then FIM the top of the others and might play around with some supercrop just for practice. They are in gallon pots right now in John Innes #2 compost which has a nice amount of different nutrients to keep them going and slow releasing nitrogen. Also thrown the tiniest amount of lime on the top for good measure but not much as my tap water is slightly more alkaline. Not going to mess about feeding them things they don't need just yet. I might leave them outside for as long as poss still though as I read that mid june is a fine time to plant and they still have plenty of veg time. Just makes me paranoid haha. Will go out and buy some tall garden plants and stuff I think, just a few things to mingle in lol.

Any advice on anything else the plant might need? Don't want to over do it during veg though.

Thanks for advice (and answering) by the way man

if i was going to do this, i personally would go with something like a 135w LED from blackstar, it WILL give you the growth and buds your looking for as well as keep you needing only minimum ventilation for excess heat, LEDs rarely get over 80 degrees, if the ambient temps outside the box are around 70 then the interior will remain around 75 for example. Look at my current journal in my sig and you can see what 1-135w led will give you in less than 30 days veg

HankDank said:

if i was going to do this, i personally would go with something like a 135w LED from blackstar, it WILL give you the growth and buds your looking for as well as keep you needing only minimum ventilation for excess heat, LEDs rarely get over 80 degrees, if the ambient temps outside the box are around 70 then the interior will remain around 75 for example. Look at my current journal in my sig and you can see what 1-135w led will give you in less than 30 days veg

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It's all good now I have got a Secret Jardin DR90II (2013 version) it's a little bigger so I can stick a 400 above them. I have ordered a Lumatek 400w dimmable, so I can switch it to super lumen for 6 hours a day, and can also dim it to 250 for veg It looks so niiiice I can't wait

DejaVuDejaVu said:

It's all good now I have got a Secret Jardin DR90II (2013 version) it's a little bigger so I can stick a 400 above them. I have ordered a Lumatek 400w dimmable, so I can switch it to super lumen for 6 hours a day, and can also dim it to 250 for veg It looks so niiiice I can't wait

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Messing around with the adjustments on the ballast will probably shorten the life of your bulbs, considerably adding to the cost of your grow and you don't need to dim it for vegging, its the blue end of the spectrum thats important.
I use sylvania grolux bulbs cos they're mixed spectrum and will do both.
The stronger the light, the better the growth, the higher the yield.
Balance the heat with ventilation, if you can't use a fan coz of noise, use passive hooded vents at 400w max.
Just an opinion for what it's worth.
Roll on, Bruv!

Y0da said:

Messing around with the adjustments on the ballast will probably shorten the life of your bulbs, considerably adding to the cost of your grow and you don't need to dim it for vegging, its the blue end of the spectrum thats important.
I use sylvania grolux bulbs cos they're mixed spectrum and will do both.
The stronger the light, the better the growth, the higher the yield.
Balance the heat with ventilation, if you can't use a fan coz of noise, use passive hooded vents at 400w max.
Just an opinion for what it's worth.
Roll on, Bruv!

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Why, are the fans really that loud? Can you not buy quieter fans as I would rather spend the money on a quieter one I don't mind a little bit of noise as long as it's not loud enough for next door to hear etc. I'm buying the pieces for inside the tent bit by bit so I can try and afford a little bit better equipment.
And these lights that I was going to get with the ballast say they are dual spectrum too, 'enhanced with blue spectrum' so will this do the job just as well as the light you mentioned? I'd rather get the same brand as the ballast really lol.
It said on one of the websites that a 400w is recommended for that tent, so if I put 4 plants in there (3x3x5.5 I think, maybe a bit taller) do you think that a 400 would be sufficient?

This is the light

http://www.amazon.co.uk/garden-outdoors/dp/B00AC0MRKE

Thanks for the reply by the way man

DejaVuDejaVu said:

Why, are the fans really that loud? Can you not buy quieter fans as I would rather spend the money on a quieter one I don't mind a little bit of noise as long as it's not loud enough for next door to hear etc. I'm buying the pieces for inside the tent bit by bit so I can try and afford a little bit better equipment.
And these lights that I was going to get with the ballast say they are dual spectrum too, 'enhanced with blue spectrum' so will this do the job just as well as the light you mentioned? I'd rather get the same brand as the ballast really lol.
It said on one of the websites that a 400w is recommended for that tent, so if I put 4 plants in there (3x3x5.5 I think, maybe a bit taller) do you think that a 400 would be sufficient?

This is the light

http://www.amazon.co.uk/garden-outdoors/dp/B00AC0MRKE

Thanks for the reply by the way man

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It all sounds good to me, bud. You can buy silenced fans , but of course they cost a fair bit more. Don't forget a filter, they will smell even at the pre-flower stage. 400w should be fine in that space for four plants.
Best of luck.

Y0da said:

It all sounds good to me, bud. You can buy silenced fans , but of course they cost a fair bit more. Don't forget a filter, they will smell even at the pre-flower stage. 400w should be fine in that space for four plants.
Best of luck.

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Great Sorry just one more question (I made a thread about it and I shouldn't have I don't think lol), what size fan would you go for again for this kind of set up? Sorry lol. And I think this ballast is supposed to be a little cooler than metal type one's.

DejaVuDejaVu said:

Great Sorry just one more question (I made a thread about it and I shouldn't have I don't think lol), what size fan would you go for again for this kind of set up? Sorry lol. And I think this ballast is supposed to be a little cooler than metal type one's.

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Try and keep the ballast outside your growspace to minimize heat, I would have thought a 4" fan would be fine. I've got a 9" inline fan in a space 12' x 12' x 8' and the negative pressure is huge, very hard to shut the door.

Y0da said:

Try and keep the ballast outside your growspace to minimize heat, I would have thought a 4" fan would be fine. I've got a 9" inline fan in a space 12' x 12' x 8' and the negative pressure is huge, very hard to shut the door.

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Yeahh doesn't seem like I'll need larger than 4 inch. I have a 4 inch fan here that was going to be put into the bathroom but turned out it never even needed to be replaced. It is just a 'wickes' one. Would that be Ok to put the other end? At the inlet?