AFI420

Hello all this is my first post to this forum but I have been reading them for about 3 months now. You are all very helpful and I was just wondering if you guys could help me out. I plan to start growing in a few months after I have read all that I can about the process. I am going to build a box with vents and all the works but thats not my problem. If the dimensions are 4ft. high x 2.5ft x 2.5ft, how do I figure out the total square footage for my lighting? Is it 4ft x 2.5ft or 2.5ft x 2.5ft?? Also is this too much room for 4 plants? Finally, would a 400 watt HPS be good for this area?, keeping in mind that the heat will not be a problem because the box will be well ventilated. Thanks to everyone on this site for making it so informational.

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Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.

Slim

Your square footage is 2.5 X 2.5 = 6.25 square feet

(2.5 X 2.5 X 4 = Your Volume, 25 Cubic feet)

...That's perfect area for 4 plants, however, height could be a problem. The HPS will probably take 1 foot vertically, and you'll need at least another foot of height between your plants and the light to prevent burning them (even with very good ventilation, those suckers get hot!). This leaves you with 2 feet. Your plants maximum possible height would be 12-18"... Which isn't bad, you'll get a quicker grow with smaller plants, obviously. Adding an extra 12" to 2 feet of height could really make a difference in your potential plant sizes, though, so...what are your options?

Slim

AFI420

Hey Slim, thanks for the info! My options are extremely open as of now because I have not purchased or committed to anything yet. I wanna make sure I have everything right before I do that. I guess I could make the box 5 ft. tall if that would be better for the plants. If heat will be a problem what kind of fans should I get? I was planning on 2 75 CFM fans, 1 for intake and 1 for exhaust. The intake would be at the bottom and the exhaust at top near the light. Should I get some more powerful fans? Ive also heard that the intake should be more powerful than the exhaust. Any truth to that? Thanks!

__________________
Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.

Slim

Lesse, intake > exhaust, yes... and getting that intake fan to blow up and into the actual HPS bulb will keep heat off your tops.

Sounds like a good setup, but I don't know what you optimal CFM's should be. (I've never grown in that small of a space) I suggest you read around in the Construction sub-forum of the Planting Indoors forum, there are some great tips on building good grow boxes there.

Good Luck!

Slim