I just recieved 15 holland hope seeds.. and i am trying to set up a grow room with limited space..i have a 400 watt HPS/MH light.. i did some measurements the other day and its about L4'xW1.5'xH6'... Whats the maximum number of plants i could fit inside this space?? Also the closet has no type of ventilation...I need some suggestionns Pleeeassee
Growing In a Small Closet
- Thread starter bigPapi49
- Start date
That much lamp will burn your plants. No ventalation would force you to leave the door open all the time.
Try 1, maybe 2 plants on a 175 watt MH or a 2 ft. flourecent grow light or better yet LED grow lights.
A 5 or 7 LED array that I sell on eBay would work great for a closet.
Search for "L.E.D. Monster Grow light Array 7-168 LED Red-Blue" to see one of the designs. I also make custom LED light arrays as well.
PM me and I can do a rollitup.org deal.
I have a new light weight PVC model but have not field tested and rated it yet. It should be great for your application.
You will still need to leave the door open for as long as possible during the grow. Or a spray bottle of no-sodium carbinated water (Club Soda) for timly spraying will keep them green if you can't provide ventalation. They need the CO2 for food production.
Try 1, maybe 2 plants on a 175 watt MH or a 2 ft. flourecent grow light or better yet LED grow lights.
A 5 or 7 LED array that I sell on eBay would work great for a closet.
Search for "L.E.D. Monster Grow light Array 7-168 LED Red-Blue" to see one of the designs. I also make custom LED light arrays as well.
PM me and I can do a rollitup.org deal.
I have a new light weight PVC model but have not field tested and rated it yet. It should be great for your application.
You will still need to leave the door open for as long as possible during the grow. Or a spray bottle of no-sodium carbinated water (Club Soda) for timly spraying will keep them green if you can't provide ventalation. They need the CO2 for food production.
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xochi
Active Member
leds really aren't that good, it requires so many more lumens than they are capable of producing. it'll grow, just don't expect high yields. sun systems makes 100$ 100watt hps or mh kits with sheilded reflector.
check out hydroponics.net they sell mcmillan exhaust blowers, http://www.hydroponics.net/c/16 in very affordable prices. I use 2 265's, for your light spend 200 get a pair of blowers, seal off the growroom with a tarp zipper and 4 mil b/w ployfilm run one to a carbon filter outside the closet, and one pulling cooler air in. make sure you can remove the heat off the bulb, or your plants will die or herm into males.
check out hydroponics.net they sell mcmillan exhaust blowers, http://www.hydroponics.net/c/16 in very affordable prices. I use 2 265's, for your light spend 200 get a pair of blowers, seal off the growroom with a tarp zipper and 4 mil b/w ployfilm run one to a carbon filter outside the closet, and one pulling cooler air in. make sure you can remove the heat off the bulb, or your plants will die or herm into males.
specialkayme
Well-Known Member
It's not like you are advertising your own products or anything on here.
I saw your 'monster LED' on ebay, and in my opinion it's shit. Just my two cents though. I've grown with LEDs before, and those PAR lights are crap. You need like 20 of them for just one plant. I'm sure you know much more about electronics and lighting than I do, but that monster array is just some bullshit that you are trying to sell off, in my opinion. Prove me wrong and I would love to hear it (literally, not trying to be an ass). I'd love to grow with LEDs, but they just arn't practical yet.
Second of all, he told you what he had, and how to use it. NOT what to go buy. Give the guy a break and try to help him, not sell him something.
I personally have used a 400 watt HPS in a L2'xW2'xH6' cab just fine. Just make sure you get an exhaust fan for it. Look into a S&P Mixvent fan. Do a search on it, there is a thread on here about them. They are small, super quiet, and move lots of air. Hook that up to a homade cool tube (also has a thread on here about how to do it) and you'll be good to go. As far as how many plants, I have fit up to six in my 2'x2'. I personally would recomend starting with three or four, then see how it goes. Just be prepared to LST, ScrOG, or SOG them, because 6' height including the conainer and the light is not a whole lot of space.
How much experience do you have? What method of growing? Hydro or soil?
drdawson
Active Member
Very nicly said... + rep
EDIT for more info:
I am going to use a 400 watt hps in a space 3 ft x 3ft by 4 ft. this space is tiny for one of these things but i am going to do some major lst. heat will be an issue in both of our grows. ive made an air cooled hood though... thats what i suggest you do (or cool tube as suggested). any light can be used in any space. but the amount of ventilation needed rises exponentially. there is a thread somewhere ( i think it might be in the grow facts ) that has a very nice table of temp differences with different wattages of lights and fans. check it out.
peace and happy growing.
desertrat
Well-Known Member
my baked 
answer is not needed but maybe wanted. cool tube lets you keep the light closer to the plants in addition to cooling the whole room. downside is you might have to vent the area in addition to the coooltube.
i cannot be hel d accountble forthe cntents of this nte
answer is not needed but maybe wanted. cool tube lets you keep the light closer to the plants in addition to cooling the whole room. downside is you might have to vent the area in addition to the coooltube.i cannot be hel d accountble forthe cntents of this nte
It looks cool and that's about it...not to be a dick...but you actually expect to make $350 off that? The occasional noob impulsive grower might say yes....or they could buy like a 1000 watt switchable hps/mh with both bulbs included for under 300 lol...or 350 with 6 inch ducts and perfect airflow.
Sorry to tweak your senses. I wish I could make $350 off the 7 lamp array that would be sweet! Try pricing it out yourself, take a trip to Loew's or Home Depot for the metal parts. You were on eBay, you must know they don't give the bulbs away.
I made up the 7 lamp array for the closet grower. I expected that it would support two plants in small closet with mylar walls (or due to the low heat aluminum foil will work with out burning).
The costs associated with the array are:
7 bulbs at 25.00 each (plus shipping). I have been offered 30 bulbs for 450.00 but not ready to dig that deep yet.
Mechanical parts are running about 75 - 80 plus gas and running around.
So over 230.00 just in material.
Painted, assembled and tested runs the cost to about 270.00.
On the eBay they charged me 4.00 for a the placement.
I started the sale at 300 to make about 25 bucks (unless they are bid up). I was going offer a deal through Rollitup members for the 270.00 material costs.
Anyway the point of my reply was to indicate 400 wt will burn the plants with no ventalation - period. Can't be done. To totally hide your grow you will need Flouresent or LED. I was wrong on the club soda, it has salt (sodium) in it. It is Selzer Water that you want (read the lable).
I have been growing and finishing with LEDs for 6 months. And yes you need at least one array for each plant. I use the 5 array per plant and have a overhead 2 ft. flouresent for a little better coverage. I am testing the panels out but they don't have the penitration that the spotlight bulbs have. My electric bill has been reduced by 60-70% over the four 1000 wt MH and HPS that I used to run supporting 3 medical MJ patients. 6 plants are always in budding 12 in flowering. 18 are in clone/starters. Wtih LED's the grow rooms are never over 70 degrees. CO2 gas for summer and CO2 generation for winter. The pests are under control. Little bastards like the higher dry temps. I will need some more running time with the LED's but so far they are doing what I had planned. Good buds, low heat, low electric footprint. I have not used them on hydro plants but others that are hydro growers have and report satisfactory results.
NOT BETTER just cheaper to operate.
I don't say that LED's are better than high wattage setups but I get similar results with LED's and the other costs associated with growing are greatly reduced. I need to water less, electric bill is kinder and pests are under control.
Have them send them to me. I can always use them. Please have "anyone" contact me. I will pay for the shipping. Thanks in advance xochi
specialkayme
Well-Known Member
I don't mean to harp on a point here or anything, but either way you are profiting off of this. Don't make it sound like you are giving it to RIU members for 'at cost'. You estimated that it costs you $40 to 'paint, assemble and test run'. I doubt that. I would immagine it would cost you about $10, if that to paint it. It would theoretically cost you NOTHING to assemble it, or to test it. That right there would be an estimated $30 profit to you. You said that you were selling it on ebay for $25 more than it cost you ... leaving you a $55 profit on each one made and sold, more if bidding goes up.
Not that I in any way have a problem with this, by all means go for it. Everyone needs to make a living doing something, and if you can assemble shitty LED lights to people that want them and are willing for you to pay for it, props to you, you're making others happy. Just as long as you understand that we all know you arn't trying to sell it 'at cost'. You can say that you are the 'LED Robin Hood', but we all know better.
I would agree with you on the first part. No ventalation in such a small area would certainly create an oven, not a grow box. but to say that you need Floresents or LEDs to totally hide your grow, completely erronious.
I have had alot of success with using a c22 style cab, an S&P Mixvent fan, a cooltube, some weatherstripping, a carbon scrubber, and some fatmat (to hide the noise from the ballast and the fan). Go in my room and no one can tell what's up. Don't tell people that it can't be done when you arn't trying. He CAN do it if he wants to. All of the supplies that I listed doesn't even cost that much, but it's kinda up there for the novice.
The first part of that statement at least I can agree with you. I will leave your growing experience and past success as a mute point. I can't confirm or deny any sucess that you have had, and you can't do the same to mine, so I'll leave that where it is. But to say that you have had 'similar results with LED's' is total bullshit. You know it, we know it, everyone that has ever tried using LED's knows it. They are cheaper to opperate, and it's nice not having to worry about the heat, but you can't get the same results, not even close. So don't try to bullshit any of us.
As far as the costs being reduced, watering less, less noise, less exhaust needed, lower electric bills .... all of these are why I keep my eyes on those UFOs and Procron (whatever they are called) lights. But the initial cost of purchasing them still outweighs any savings you might get in electricity, while also deminishing your returns. I did the math one time, and you would need to operate one of those UFOs for almost 22 years before the power savings outweighted the benefits of using an 400 watt HID.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. LEDs will be amazing SOME DAY. But that day is not today, and untill the technology catches up, just keep an eye on it. And please, don't try to sell me your POS LED array. Sell it to those who don't know what they are doing. (not even to mention that you are using the wrong kind of LED's, I'll leave that discussion for a later time).
P-ce
i just need some help on how to set up this cool tube and exhaust fan through the light..which im probly going to use that pyrex tube used for baking bread for my cool tube...if anyone has done this before could you please give me some detailed instructions on how to set this up??
The poor guy/gal can't get a straight answer from the lot of you. Some are very quick to dismiss the fact that he can't string any ventilation. And it seems all of the suggestions offered include ventilation of some kind. The key to growing it tight spaces 4x1.5 is to reduce heat load. LED's and flourescents offer the advantage over HID. That is all. "Similar" is not the "same as", you will get some stem elongation but they will bud. Commercial growers know LED's are not viable at this time. But for the hobbyist and space limited they can work. If you can set your girls in open sunlight for periods of time that can help. With that small of space this will not be any world record crop by any means.
Maybe four plants in 8" pots that as soon as the area is filled with folage you turn them. I suspect a wet oz or two at most would be had. Maybe a two-three month cycle. I haven't done seeds for awhile but 4 clone's would fill that area in about two months or less.
Good luck with what ever you come up with.
specialkayme
Well-Known Member
If you actually read the whole post you would realize that I already answered this question, and said the exact opposie that you have. So in case I wasn't clear, let me repeat myself:
You don't NEED to use LEDs. I have used a 400 watt HPS in a 2'x2'x6' space very successfully with the use of an exhaust fan. I recomend a Mixvent fan. I also suggested starting with 3-4 plants.
Once again, don't tell someone how to do something that you don't know how to do. Don't advise people on growing with LEDs in small spaces when you don't know how to use an HID and don't know if it would work.
Lastly, a wet oz off three plants? Are you kidding? I would guess you could get that off 3 plants with LEDs, with HPS you can get so much more than that.
Sparko
Active Member
I have a very small closet and use a 400watt interchangeable also. I just got a cool tube. But before then I took the door off put up curtain rods and hung a blanket controling the temprature from my light with the existing occilation fan and moving the height of the blanket up and down on the rods.
morrisgreenberg
Well-Known Member
just go to the thread tools and search, DIY cooltube it seems easy, you will definitly need incoming and outgoing air for the tube, as for fresh air for the room, u will need a fan and if its that small and you can open it a few times a day that should be ok, more plants will need more consistant fresh air though