grow box setup questions

I am in the process of setting up a 4'x2' grow room, and am wondering what lighting I should use. Heat dispersal and height is not an issue. I am planning on using a 150w HPS, to cover the canopy, and two 48" t12(maybe t ballasts running horizontally along the center of the grow box's longer sides (to spread some lights on the middle and bottoms of the plants).
So what I would like to know:

1. Are the lighting sources, and placement of fixtures, decent as far as potential bud production?

2. Is there a better way of setting up these two simultaneous light sources to make the process more efficient? (should I run the two t12 ballasts vertically instead of horizontally)?

I am not planning on using anything higher than a 250w HPS, but would really like to stick with the 150 HPS and Fluoros. Thanks, in advance, to anyone who responds. Also, I am planning on putting 6-8 plants in here and vegging them until they are anywhere from 14-18 inches. Will this work?

1. Use T8's NOT T12's. If money is not a problem, go with T5's.
2. If you are planning to flower 6-8 plants under the 250Watt it will not be enough. 6-8 plants require a 600Watter... GL !

TommyHobby said:

1. Use T8's NOT T12's. If money is not a problem, go with T5's.
2. If you are planning to flower 6-8 plants under the 250Watt it will not be enough. 6-8 plants require a 600Watter... GL !

Click to expand...

So are you saying I would only need a 600watt HPS, or are you sayinhg I would need the 600 watt hps and the 140 watts of fluoros? I have read a lot that tells of people flowering under Fluoros only, when the plants stay small (12 inches or so). How many plants could I flower (at 15") under:

1. 250w HPS by itself?
2. The 250w HPS with 140 watts (13,000 lumens) fluoro secondary lighting?
3. The 150 HPS with 140 watts of fluoro secondary lighting?

I am not sure which way to go? I may just flower less plants under a 150w HPS with the fluoro secondary. Does anyone know how many plants, at what height, could be flowered under this option?

Also, I thought I only needed about 3000 lumens per sq/ft, and could add as many plants as I wanted to that square footage? Sorry I am asking so much, but opinions are quite varied and I am trying to narrow down a "most likely" answer.

I would recommend stepping up your HPS wattage and forgetting about the flouros. The flouros may not even show a noticable difference, where as, spending that money & using that space to utilize a more powerful HPS will greatly increase lumen output, leading to heavier/more potent yields.

Best of luck!

happymedicine said:

So are you saying I would only need a 600watt HPS, or are you sayinhg I would need the 600 watt hps and the 140 watts of fluoros? I have read a lot that tells of people flowering under Fluoros only, when the plants stay small (12 inches or so). How many plants could I flower (at 15") under:

1. 250w HPS by itself?
2. The 250w HPS with 140 watts (13,000 lumens) fluoro secondary lighting?
3. The 150 HPS with 140 watts of fluoro secondary lighting?

I am not sure which way to go? I may just flower less plants under a 150w HPS with the fluoro secondary. Does anyone know how many plants, at what height, could be flowered under this option?

Click to expand...

Before I answer your questions I'll give you a brief review of what my cab does. I have a 400w HPS for 2 plants. My cab is 3'x2'. I vegged my plants to about 14 inches, and they will get to be about 2 feet (indicas). The lower branching is growing well but mostly is in the shade due to not enough light penetration.

Ok, your questions:

I think you should drop the idea of growing 6-8 plants. 3 is more reasonable for your space. I wouldn't use anything less than a 400w HPS for those 3 plants, but I suppose you could use a 250w HPS with the T8's as side lighting.

As for using solely flouro's, they have much less penetration than HID lighting, so you would want to flower at about 6 inches, not 12-15.

Ok, I guess that didn't really answer your questions... here we go:

1. 250w HPS by itself?
Using the 250w by itself, I would grow 2 plants vegged to 12".
2. The 250w HPS with 140 watts (13,000 lumens) fluoro secondary lighting?
With this setup, you could veg the plants a bit taller, maybe 15". This is because you are adding additional penetration below the canopy so the buds can grow bigger.
3. The 150 HPS with 140 watts of fluoro secondary lighting?
I'd only grow 2 plants vegged to 12".

purplehazin said:

Before I answer your questions I'll give you a brief review of what my cab does. I have a 400w HPS for 2 plants. My cab is 3'x2'. I vegged my plants to about 14 inches, and they will get to be about 2 feet (indicas). The lower branching is growing well but mostly is in the shade due to not enough light penetration.

Ok, your questions:

I think you should drop the idea of growing 6-8 plants. 3 is more reasonable for your space. I wouldn't use anything less than a 400w HPS for those 3 plants, but I suppose you could use a 250w HPS with the T8's as side lighting.

As for using solely flouro's, they have much less penetration than HID lighting, so you would want to flower at about 6 inches, not 12-15.

Ok, I guess that didn't really answer your questions... here we go:

1. 250w HPS by itself?
Using the 250w by itself, I would grow 2 plants vegged to 12".
2. The 250w HPS with 140 watts (13,000 lumens) fluoro secondary lighting?
With this setup, you could veg the plants a bit taller, maybe 15". This is because you are adding additional penetration below the canopy so the buds can grow bigger.
3. The 150 HPS with 140 watts of fluoro secondary lighting?
I'd only grow 2 plants vegged to 12".

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, Purplehazin. I was wondering if doing utilizing a SCROG method would allow me to use the 250 watt HPS lighting to flower more plants? Could I use 150w HPS and the four 48" fluoro tubes? I only keep bringing up the fluoros because I already have the fluorescent lighting over 6 new transplants and some clones that are rooting.

Thanks

purplehazin said:

Before I answer your questions I'll give you a brief review of what my cab does. I have a 400w HPS for 2 plants. My cab is 3'x2'. I vegged my plants to about 14 inches, and they will get to be about 2 feet (indicas). The lower branching is growing well but mostly is in the shade due to not enough light penetration.

Ok, your questions:

I think you should drop the idea of growing 6-8 plants. 3 is more reasonable for your space. I wouldn't use anything less than a 400w HPS for those 3 plants, but I suppose you could use a 250w HPS with the T8's as side lighting.

As for using solely flouro's, they have much less penetration than HID lighting, so you would want to flower at about 6 inches, not 12-15.

Ok, I guess that didn't really answer your questions... here we go:

1. 250w HPS by itself?
Using the 250w by itself, I would grow 2 plants vegged to 12".
2. The 250w HPS with 140 watts (13,000 lumens) fluoro secondary lighting?
With this setup, you could veg the plants a bit taller, maybe 15". This is because you are adding additional penetration below the canopy so the buds can grow bigger.
3. The 150 HPS with 140 watts of fluoro secondary lighting?
I'd only grow 2 plants vegged to 12".

Click to expand...

After a lot of research and consideration, I am going to end up with a 400w HPS. I have heard that the "batwing" style is not good for growing, but those are basically all that are in my price range. i found this setup on ebay, and was wondering if:

A.) The batwing setup will be ok for a scrog grow?
B.) If there might be a way to make the reflector more efficient at reflecting usable light evenly?

I can't afford a 250 dollar setup, and forget about the 400 dollar setups. I would just like to know if I can produce some tight resinous flowers with this thing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/400-WATT-HPS-DIGITAL-GROW-LIGHT-SYSTEM-400W-SUN-LAMP-CE-/160475190583?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255d111537

Just bought the same setup for my grow. You did not mention how tall your grow area is. Assume it is tall enough for the distance HPS needs. My plan is to supplement as I feel is needed with Y splitters and 26W CFL which I have a cheap source for locally. I am just going to put them on regular cheap table lamps or maybe clamps with the hoods removed.
Sometimes you just need to jump into the deep end.

YEah. I am constructing a cabinet that is 40" x 24" x 56"H. the screen I will use will probably only be around 3ft. But I could change things as I construct.

So, how does the light setup look? Does it seem like it will work well?