Help Me With My New Years Resolution - Grow Room Advice...

Well I have decided that 2011 is going to be the year I start growing my own Marijuana. I mainly want to do it so I can get some new strains. Living in BC, Canada I have access to some of the best weed in the world but want to do this for myself and have wanted to do it for about 10 years now. Finally money and space wise it works out to get a good personal grow going.

I'm pretty new to growing, however, I have done some research reading books (Marijuana Grow Basics, Growers Bible, Marijuana Botany, etc) also watched a few DVDs (Ultimate Grow DVD & Higher Times How to Grow DVD). I've also been bugging growers that I know for tips but it seems there are so many ways to do things it becomes over whelming. Plus these growers don't seem to want to give up too many secrets. But I think I have a set up I can achieve with my budget and my space.

I have three areas I'm going to grow, one is a closet area and the other two are in a cabinet beside the closet:

Clone/Seed - 22"W x 13"D x25"H
Vegetating - 22"W x 13"D x 49"H
Flowering - 40"W x 40"D x 80"H

The Clone/Seed/Veg area are all one cabinet with a door that is slightly out so are can move freely between the two areas. There is also an opening at the bottom and top to allow fresh air in, used air out.

Clone/Seed Area: 22"W x 13"D x25"H

- This is going to be a basic area with a T5 fluorescent tube on top of a humidity dome. I will have a 6" fan moving air around the area as well.

Vegetating Area - 22"W x 13"D x 49"H

- I'm going to hang a 200W compact fluorescent with a 6" fan to move air around. I'll be transplanting plants into 4" pots in this area from the clone/seed area. At this point I will probably grow them 12-18" tall then flower them.

Both of these cabinet spaces will be controlled by the same light timer and thermo/hygrometer.

Now this is the big part where I'm stuck. I have two options with this room, 1000w vs 600w, and it seems like I can't go wrong with either choice but I'm not sure if the extra cost of the 1000w now will be worth it for the yield difference.

Flowering Area - 40"W x 40"D x 80"H

Setup A)
- Lumatek 1000w Digital Ballast
- Sunmaster 1000w HPS Bulb
- Can Fan 6" High Output (Exhaust) Fan
- Can Filter 50/38 Special Carbon Filter

or Setup B)
- Lumatek 600w Digital Ballast
- Sunmaster 600w HPS Bulb
- Can Fan 4" High Output (Exhaust) Fan
- Can Filter 33/38 Special Carbon Filter

And with either light/fan set up...
- SilverStar 6" Air Cooled Reflector
- 6" Axial (Intake) Fan
- Adjustable Light Hanger
- (2) 6" Clip-on Fans

I'm going to White Poly the whole room and cabinet areas as well. This will help me keep it clean and use the light better. I'm going to use a soilless mix (Pro Mix) as my growing medium throughout the process.

I'm also in the process of designing a rotating floor for the Flowering Room so I can rotate the plants easily and get to them from the closet opening without having to move them in and out. I will be starting with 3-4 plants with eventually growing 5 plants total in the room.

Would you go 600w or 1000w in that room? Money isn't a huge issue but I could probably save $200-300 on initial setup but if I lose out on yield I'd rather spend the money now. How much green will I lose by the time I crop comparing the two lights?

With the carbon filter could I exhaust the "used" area into another room? Like a laundry room or hot water tank room? Or is going outside ideal?

Any help or suggestions would be great. As a newbie I'm open ears to all experienced growers who want to share their opinion on my set up. Once the room is setup I will post pictures and I'm hoping to keep a blog of some sorts to keep track of my progress.

Thanks!

Accepted rule for lighting is 50 watts per sq. ft., you have just under 12 sq. ft which = 600 watts

600 watt is also the most efficient bulb, that's what I would do.

If the air is already scrubbed with the carbon filter, dump it in the house to recover the heat.

UkeeBudFAN said:

Accepted rule for lighting is 50 watts per sq. ft., you have just under 12 sq. ft which = 600 watts

600 watt is also the most efficient bulb, that's what I would do.

If the air is already scrubbed with the carbon filter, dump it in the house to recover the heat.

Click to expand...

I second that. A 600W bulb makes the most efficient lumen / watt and meets your space requirements. I would consider it.

Check out the grow log I just started i have a 600w hps in a 6x6 tent(case I wanna run a 1k) but seriously 600w is the shot closer light and the best lumina/watt ratio. I'd go lumitek too, but get the 6" fan(I like vortex) and mountainfresh has one for 150$ a 8"x20" google shopping lasts like 3 years if used right. But check out my ghetto 2x2 I made bit a veg/clone room would fit nicely too in one. Check my sig.ight help

Thanks for the replies!

Will I notice a difference in yeild between the 1000w vs 600w in that room?

I understand the 600w is the most efficient but if I'm going to gain 7-14oz (using the .5-1g per watt equation) by using the 1000w wouldn't it be worth the initial purchase and setup?

The shop I'm purchasing my equipment from said I could purchase the 1000w or 600w equipment and then exchange it if I change my mind in 30 days. Would it be worth trying the 1000w to check on heat and then switch if it doesn't work out?

I'm really torn on this as it seems 600w is the most efficient but 1000w seems to give people a bigger yield in the end. If I'm cropping out every 2-3 months that's an extra 4-6lbs a year, no?

Decided to go with the 1000w setup and everything is working perfectly. Temperatures are between 77-81 during the day and 65-67 during the night without any plants in the room and only one small intake fan, soon to be 3 with better air flow coming from side of the house and will turn fans off during the night so temps don't drop too much more. Started with one (free) 5" clone which is now about 9" tall and looking healthy and 4 seedlings, 3 are looking good the other looks like it won't. Took the clone only because it was free and gave me something to play around with and it's looking really healthy under the 250w CFL light. Seedlings are under a 25w florescent set in a humidity dome and look to be sprouting nicely. Couldn't be happier with the set up and so far enjoying taking care of the little ones. I'm crossing my fingers on the seeds being female!!!