Newbie with Questions, happy happy joy joy! lol

and my first post here. nice community here. hope i can learn a lot, and educate a bit im my time here.

So im getting my card. and i want to do a personal grow, but maybe expand if the results are quality, and yield is plenty in that i have overages.


I ll be growing inside atm. I work out of town, so will be gone 4 to 5 days a week some times.

I have been reading reading reading in the last few weeks. getting my self educated and up to speed. so im about out of kindergarten, growingly speaking. lol

i have already decided on what lighting setup i ll be using.
Sun Systems Harvest Pro Elite HPS 400w Ballast
Sun Systems Yield Master 6 Superior Reflector/Hood
and a Philips CMH 400w bulb.

i chose the phillips bulb for a few reason. in my reading and further understanding of these type of lights (i have many years working with stage lighting up until the late 90s, so ive been out of the lighting stuff for a while. but have a better than general understanding of them.

So, back to the Philips. After much scrouing of the WWW, I found the CMH Philips bulb is what would basically be considered a full spectrum bulb. plenty of great Blue Spectrum for growing, and a wonderfully full Red Spectrum for bloom. I ll get a smaller CMH (120w) or a floresent for the mother and clones later when needed.

but due to being a full spectrum light (so to speak) i think its my best choice.
My area i ll be utilizing for now, is approximatly 3 ft x 9ft with an 8 ft ceiling. and that will be split into two seperate areas. one for bloom one for grow.

will be using a tub setup like a bubble system, but not doing a hydro bubble. Will be using Dirt/or Hybrid Dirt (most likely dairyDoo) so all i basically have to do is setup a watering set up with a submersible pump, and will have air in the water to kee it airated and moving so it doesnt stagnate while im gone to work. Someone will be in the house when im away, but they wont be having anything to do with the grow. so i have to make it as self sufficient as i can.

plat one larger tub, with 2 holes cut into lid like bubble setup.

2 planters full of dairy doo and a clone. submersible pump on a timer set to water for 1 mintute each day or 2 days depending on drainage. will put in grow for 2 to 4 weeks, then switch to bloom for 12 to 16.

not sure on what strain i ll be growing yet. i ll be doing 2 plants every 2 months.

now, what do i need to be aware of setting up? (besides leaks obviously, light height ect, that i got) what tips can anyone share on using the Philips bulbs to get the best results. i know i dont want to drown the plant or have to moist enough for mold, nor do i want it to really dry out. Does 1 minute a day sound like too much water? should i set it to a minute every other day?

any and all tips and information your willing to share would be most appreciated.


a good bud and day to all.

only thing i dont like the idea of is leaving a setup while away in 2 or 3 days plants can grow into the lights and youcant have lights too far away cos theyll stretch youll have to find a good distance

anyway you can set the system up and try it before you actually have to go away to work

youve also not mentioned carbon filters and ventilation or extraction what if the room gets too hot while your away i think youd be better off trying this system out while at home

i will be certainly checking things out, wont be just a setup and go kind of thing.

for instance, i ll get everything setup light wise, and run it for a couple days to see what happens. heat, humidity ect, in the room. ventilation wont be an issue, as i can just install a ceiling fan in the area (like in a bathroom) and vent into the attic or outside via tube, and pull up air from under the house easily enough. so i ll have a good hold on the room conditions before anything is grown, or i have to leave it on its own for a few days. ATM, work is slow, so im rarely gone all week, but up to 3 days here and thare atm. but if things go well, then i could be busy this summer. and while im a contractor, and can work/not work any day i wish (without worry of penalty), i could head home, but that is only reasonable if im not too far away from the job site. gas i pricey, and its way costy to drive my truck. lol


but yes, i will have things inplace and know what to expect. just wondering if i have all my bases covered. i do understand some issues like fast grow height in a day, water consumption and the need to keep it in check, ect...

just wondering if a single 400w CMH will be enough light for say 4 to 6 plants in bloom. and about the ave yield I can expect.

working on a 14 to 16 week grow, from rooted to harvest cycle. Ive read where some have seen 1/2 oz useable yield per plant, to others saying they are getting 2 or 3 OZ per pant.

if i caluclate things correctly, i can expect around 2 oz and more, from a good strain, and properly guided growing conditions. SO with the grow structure i plan to use, is this reasonable?
will be up to 6 plants, starting between 10 to 16 inches tall, under the 400w CMH in flowering conditons for 12 to 16 weeks. will i see less or more yield than 2 oz per plant, given i am doing things correctly.


trying to get an understanding of the ligts wattage and how it translates into more/less yield.

cant see you having a problem with your lighting if you keep your canopy nice and even maybe a little bit of lst to even it out so the light and get to all you bud sites you could possibly yield more than 1/2oz a plant

those CMH have been around for over 3 years yet nobody uses them still.
I'd wxpect you to get 1/2 oz per plant if you don't kill them first.
just sayin'

well, after a few weeks, i have a bloom room setup and ready to go, will have the veg room finished in the next couple days if i dont have to go to work.

Bloom Room is 4x6 with a 7ft ceiling. has the one 400W CMH setup in it, with ballast out side. room is built simple and inexpensively, using a 3/4 in styro press 4x8 sheets that have a reflective surface on them, cut to fit. 2x4 simple rough framing, and 3/8ths drywall exterior walls. sealing walls to ceiling/floor with duct tape to kill any light leaks. Used a 24 inch bifold and will use a flexable type flap to block light around the doorway. overall it works out pretty good. I ll have about 150 into the rooms including bifold doors, walls ect to make them seperate and light proof from eachother, and the main room.


SO i set up the bloom room first as its the biggest area, and turned on the light. i did that 2 weeks ago, been monitoring it to see how the enviroment was panning out. It had no ventilation except a bit around the doorway. Temps were averaging 86 to 94 in the day, and 78 to 85 or so at night. so i certainly needed to get some ventalation going and gain control of the temps.
I live in a single story home, and the grow setup is inside, in what used tobe a walk in closet. no basement, just a crawl space. Where its always around 55*

So heres what i did. I installed a 2x12 floor register, a 2x12 floor duct work adapted to a 6 inch duct. Added a 6in 90 adapter, then a 6 inch 250cmf inline fan set to blow into the room. added another 6inch 90, both of which are adjustable. cut my hole in the floor in a corner, then wired up the fan to a 3 prong plug. Fit the duct work together, then dropped under the house and installed it into my new hole in the floor. Then i came up, and installed a dust/filter over the ductwork and then installed the register. its a flush mount with a defuser. takes up zero room.

So after i got it all done, i shut the room up, and let it warm up with out the vent running. after about 40 minutes it was up to 87. Ive seen it as high as 96 in there in mid day. So after the room was warm, i fired up the fan. Opened the defuser full on the register for max air flow. it took about 30 minutes, and the room dropped from 87, to 67. so 20* loss and now i have controll of the temps by adjusting the defuser and limiting air flow. next up will be humidit control. but overall, i have about 30% H normally, but it gets humid here in the spring/summer. so i can see a de humidifier in my future maybe. but for now, it should be prett good to go for a few months.


As it warms up outside, i ll have to add a ceiling vent to aid in removing the heat higher up in the room. This will be vented to a Roof vent, that used to be on my LP gas water heater, but i now have an electric wh. so the roof vent is available, and 4 inch, so a perfect fit for a ceiling vent. should be able to help remove alot of critical heat in the top of the grow room as summer approaches.

In total i ll have 125ish into venting both the bloom and veg room with floor vents and the one ceiling vent for the bloom room. i have the current BR floor vent setup on a timer to kick on 30 minutes after the lights come on, to warm the room up some as well. if i need further control of the air flow and temps, i can get an attenuator, and redue the fan rpms for more precise control. should work out great and be overall fairly inexpensive.

SO overall i ll have about 300 to 350 into the entire Veg and Bloom room for structure can heat/temp controls. overall not too bad i think.


im trying to simulate Mother Nature as much as i can.

Dirt Grow, CMH 400w Philips bulb (closet light spectrum to that of the actual sun form what i understand) but with controlled light schedules of 18/6 for veg, and 12/12 for bloom.
I ll be using Riddlemes Making it Rain techique for watering. Infact, i have to send credit where credit is due.

after reading thru many of Riddleme's threads, and then being sent via his threads to read up on Uncle Bens threads, i've decided to follow much of what these two gentlemen growers preach. But i ll be trying some of my own tweeks for setup ect. and to keep in control of things with what i have available or have to buy, trying to keep things inexpensive as i can, but done somewhat correctly.


I have some pics, but its too late to dick with them tonight. i ll get them sorted and up loaded tomorrow to show a bit more of the setup. Probably after I finish the Veg area. that is if i dont have to go to work.


Speaking of Veg area, i have a whats most usefull light question?

veg area is going to be about 3x4 with 7ft ceiling. some clones. maybe a mother after a few but mostly for vegging. going for about a foot to 15 incher tall ladies before putting them into bloom.
so basically, im looking to keep them kind of short and fat if i can.

SO what light would suit my needs better? another 400w CMH? a 400w MH? or an 8 light T5 i can use 4 or all 8 lights with?

Only problem i see is the fact that you have an HPS Ballast and yer going to try to use a CMH bulb

no going to try to use, am using.
Actually, you need a HPS ballast to run the CMH bulbs. its not a Conversion Metal Halide, its a Ceramic Metal Halide. Different creature. It's been up and running for 2 weeks on an 18/6 schedule dialing in the room. you can check the philips site to confirm if you wish.