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Newbie searching for tried and tested HID lights


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Hi everyone, I'm new and live in the Sydney metro area, howsit goin?

 

I'm researching a grow room and would appreciate some advice re lighting and what people have had success with.

 

Obviously I'm budget conscious so don't mind if I don't have the top of the line Rolls Royce model, but don't mind spending some bucks to get the lighting job done first time right time.

 

Probably looking at your standard 2 door chipboard cupboard approx: 1800mm x 900mm x 500mm.

 

Grow room lighting calculators suggest optimum power of 260watts, this seems a bit under done to me (calculator doesn't specify CFL or HID lighting, I suspect the former) anyway I think choice comes down to 400w or 600w HID fixtures, am I on the right track?

 

Can anyone recommend suitable wattage and a good brand that wont break down in 6 months?

 

I would consider an online or shop purchase.

 

Thanks and kind regards in advance .

 

Dimmo

 

 

Edited by Dimmo
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I wouldn't recommend anything under a 1m x 1m floor space unless its impossible for you to go that large.    Going with around half that space like you want will do really well with a 400w light but you won't need to buy anything extra like a bigger extraction fan if you had double the floor space and you will be able to grow twice as much with the same light.

 

As for brands I can't really recommend any as I'm using cheapies off ebay with son-t globes.  I'd probably go with solis-tek though, their lights comes with tons of great features but are prohibitively expensive for me.

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Hey,

 

That is pretty much the space I have but mine is even shorter!

 

I have a solis-tek 400/600 ballast with a 400w Son-T globe and a cheapish cooltube reflector. I think 600w would be a bit much for that space.

 

I got that ballast so if I get a bigger space in the future all I need to do is flick the switch to 600w and just need to buy a 600w globe.

 

Like all electronics, I think luck plays a big part. You can have a good brand die in a year and a cheap brand last forever.

 

Go to your local hydro store and ask for a quote for a setup. My guy discounted so much it was pretty much internet prices anyway, yet so much easier than waiting for 20 parcels off ebay.

 

With that small space as DrWho said, you wont need any hardcore extraction fan so save your money there. As I said my space is similar and I now use 1 x 150mm ezi air inline fan ($30-40) sucking air out of the tent and that creates so much negative pressure inside I hade to add extra braces to the walls. I have a fan on the intake but its not necessary, it spins like its on when its unplugged from the air sucking in so I just removed it. I would recommend the cooltube though, they work well for small spaces.

 

Good Luck

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Hi Doctor,

 

Thanks for the advice, 1m x 1m is not out of the question, the jury is still out regarding the design of the grow room, my thinking was that a cupboard is good for stealth.

 

I also have a couple of large bits of plywood sheeting that would make a nice fake wall. As I live in suburbia stealth is important, especially considering that sometimes my kids play with my keys and accidentally raise the automatic garage roller door!

 

I saw your diary and noticed everyone excited about the c99 strain, that's promising for you. I have Super Lemon Haze seeds in transit and really hope they make it here (fingers crossed) It's a sativa dominant cross that's supposed to be good for anxiety without putting you on the lounge for the day.

 

Am also planning to post a diary, partly to give something back to the community as well as for my own reference.

 

Am thinking of going with matt white paint for the internal walls rather than the foil, just remember being told that the reflective qualities are better (6 of one 1/2 doz of the other maybe?)

 

I see you're doing an organic crop too, I think that's a great idea, am mulling the idea of doing the same myself, but must admit I have zero experience and not much knowledge in that field though.

 

Anyway, good luck with your room.

 

Dimmo

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Hi Jez,

 

thanks for replying in this thread, that's very useful info, do you mind if I ask where you sourced your fan from or if you know the model number?

 

You can really drop some money on fans, some of the advertised prices seem quite inflated compared to what you got yours for.

 

Best regards,

 

Dimmo

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It's been mentioned, but I'll amplify... best 400W HPS for a magnetic ballast is the Philips Son-T-Agro... it's an HPS with added blue so it can be used to both vegetate as well as flowering.

 

On the paint v's foil... paint wins hands down. Flat white paint... cheapest is usually a ceiling white... ceiling white is usually quite thick as it is designed to hide imperfections in ceiling plaster and this makes it perfect for our applications. If you live in a very humid area I would suggest adding a mould retarder/killer to the paint. 

 

One thing to remember about extraction fans... if you want to control odour via a carbon filter - you will need a fan that has enough grunt to suck air through the filter.

 

Oh, and the light calculator is talking about watts of HID lighting, rather than CFL.

 

All the best Dimmo :D

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Hey Dimmo,

 

I got the fans, ballast, globe, test stuff etc from the hydro store in a bundle so the guy gave me a discount. I really would suggest going to a store, its so much easier when you can see physical sizes of stuff etc.

 

Had a look online for my fan, this is it https://simplyhydroponics.com.au/component/k2/item/680-6-150mm-ezi-air-in-line-axial-fan-ball-bearing-black.html , maybe it was more than $40, but ive lost the sheet he gave me with the individual prices, It definitely wasn't $90. You don't need the same, I just don't think you will need a big powerful centrifugal.

 

This is a diagram of my setup . Louise, there isn't enough space for my filter to go inside the tent, I suck the air from the tent through the cooltube and and out the carbon filter, works well. (my filter is a 160mm Can-Lite)

 

post-52506-0-00087600-1390532157_thumb.png

 

 

 

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Hey all,

 

Awesome replies, very helpful, nice diagram BTW too Jez.

 

In the interest of stealth I'm definitely looking into carbon filters, so I might have to upsize the fan to a higher CFM to compensate.

 

Looks like DIY carbon filters are a fairly straight forward option too, which is one way to save a few bucks.

 

Also to maintain stealth am planning to install fans inside the room.

 

On a side note, anyone had an opportunity to sample Super Lemon Haze? It's what I'm hopefully sourcing for my first project and just curious to know what people think of it.

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Louise, there isn't enough space for my filter to go inside the tent, I suck the air from the tent through the cooltube and and out the carbon filter, works well. (my filter is a 160mm Can-Lite)

I couldn't make that work here, apart from mid winter... it's just too bloody hot. I have a centri with carbon filter attached to exhaust the tent (they are inside the grow space and the exhaust is ducted to an external window) and then have an inline running the cool tube which is also ducted out the same window. I can blow air through the cool tube in either direction depending on how much heat I need to expel from the room.

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Louise illuminates an important and I'm sure very common problem relating to grow rooms, it's one thing to extract the hot air from the grow room but for some people especially in suburban areas it's not often possible to vent the hot air to the outside.

 

My situation is a challenge, the grow room will be in the garage of a split level house, it's impossible to vent out the window without giving the game away, can't vent into the roof and out through the whirly birds because the garage is on the bottom level.

 

Unless I'm overlooking another solution, the only possible option I can think of is venting out of the grow room and into the garage. The main problem I can predict is that this is going to raise the ambient temp inside the garage. Seeing as this is already an uninsulated area, in the summer it's going to get quite hot possibly affecting the temp in the grow room as well.

 

Not being experienced I'm guessing that whilst it may not be that difficult to control humidity in the grow room the temps might get a bit too high. (I have built a couple of small recording studios which pose a very similar set of problems)

 

Anyway I can sense a bit of trial and error might be around the corner, but making the most of the available situation want to do it first time right time :)

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