MeatRo

Ok, so I've decided I'm going to do it. I've been reading and reading about it, learning as much as I can about growing hydroponics and I've got just a couple of questions...

I've never grown indoors before, originally from the hills of Humboldt County, so you know I can turn out some outdoor, but you put me in the city here and I'm at a loss. Anyways, here's what I've got...

2.5' W x 2' D x 5' H

Constructed of PVC, lined and sealed with reflective mylar. Small fan with allergen filter attached along the bottom pumps in fresh air. 3" exhaust in the top running through dryer vent to the ground where it's pumped out through a 4LB activated carbon filter. Entire structure is sealed so that the only air coming in is through the filtered fan, and the only air going out is through the carbon filter. Except when the Velcro sealed door is opened for watering/maintenance.

Growing is done in 5gal. buckets with net pot lids, elite 802 pump, verm/perlite, Flora series from GH. I've pretty much been going by the book as much as possible. But I can't find anything really specific about lighting and space needed by each plant.

And now the questions:

1. Lighting? I don't want to screw them up with too much light, and I don't want to grow pussies because of too little light. What type of lights should I go with, I'm looking for the biggest crop output in this small space, if needed I can make the grow area WIDER only. I've been trying to decide between 250W and 400W HPS lights. Suggestions?

2. How many plants can I fit into this structure? I would like 4, but I think for that I will have to make the structure wider. About how much space indoors does each plant need? The structure can go up to 2' wider.

I'm thinking of having a nice little Dutch Passion vs. The Greenhouse
competition in my closet. Blueberry (DP), Mazar (DP), Arjan's Haze #1 (GH) and Hawaiian Snow (GH)... Just need a little help in the right direction on a couple of topics (or feel free to throw in some random tips.)

Thanks.

bluecheese

Welcome to CG MeatRo!

I'd say go with the 400W, especially if you make your structure any wider. The rule of thumb is 50W/sq ft as a minimum. The main impediment is heat - but that can be controlled with adequate ventilation.

Again the "rule of thumb" is a square foot per plant. Seems to me though that the number of plants is determined by the number of DWC containers you can get in there. Four sounds reasonable.

There are others here that know much more about DWC than I do, so I'll defer to them.

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cheese

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MeatRo

Thanks, I was pretty sure the 400W was the best choice @ 75W/ft compared to the 250W's 50W/ft. The only thing I'm not completely sure about now is how much space each plant will need to grow. In the chamber as it is, they'd have 1.25sq/ft with 4 of them, which is what I'd really like to do.

Also, what is the average yield for an indoor? It's much smaller than outdoor, I'm sure of that. I'm thinking about 115g- maybe 150g on a good crop. (Dry)

....I can't wait to get this going.

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Hey, MeatRo... welcome to the Garden!

I'll echo cheese on the light... 50W/sq ft is a good target. You can still get decent results with 35W or 40W/sq ft but you'll be losing some yield on the outer edges of your grow.

My grow space is about the same as yours, albeit shaped a bit different: 20" x 36", and about 4 1/2 ft of vertical. I run a 400W HPS and had good results after I got my temps under control.... DO NOT forget to control your reservoir temps as well. They can do more damage at 75° than ambient cab temps of 90°.

Right now, I'm about 20 days into flowering, doing ScrOG & DWC, and my cabinet is overstuffed with just two plants. I'd love another 2 sq ft, but it's not an option right now. OTOH, they vegged for about 2 months while I was waiting for the flowering cab to free up.

Good choice on the DWC. It's a simple yet powerful grow method. Keep your rez temps inline (I shoot for 65°, no more than 70° - this helps keep pythium and other root zone infections at bay), take it easy on the nutes to start, and let your plants do the work.

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MeatRo

Well what I'm going to do first is (since this is my first hydro attempt) try just one plant and I'll figure space needed from there. If I can fit 4 decent plants in there, it would be nice. But if I can fit 2 badass plants in there, it'd be just as well.

What about keeping the resevoir cool? I was thinking wrapping the buckets in insulation then wrapping that in some reflective mylar. I thought that would do nicely, kinda like an ice chest and that could hold the temp down until it was time to top off.

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What works well is reflective bubble insulation, sold under the brand name of Reflectix and others. It's pretty much a layer of bubble wrap sandwiched between sheets of mylar. It insulates the rez while lightproofing it at the same time. Good stuff.

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