150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......

[grumblez]

This thread had every bit of info I have ever needed for growing...or links to it...within the first 400 or so pages...wooo hoooo.

I say we elect a secretary and draft a manuscript of the "Official 150 Watt Grow Bible" and shop it for publication...

eheh...YEAH BABY.

By the way folks, got the chemdog DD at 29 days flowering and boy is it the prettiest plant I have laid eyes on...frost formed on her at 21 days...

 

[catman]

Here is Merlin's Magic at day 26.

 

[~pHaNtOm~]

If ya want things done and done correct...

 

[NEARTHEBEACHBOY]

Here is Merlin's Magic at day 26.

Damn,where did you get them pots and how much will they hold?

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Merlin's Magic - 21 days flower

 

[m00nchild]

Hey guys. I have a dilemma. My cabinet is finished being built. I was originally planning on using a 150w HPS in it for flowering, but some people have been telling me that I should go with a 250w instead, because obviously more wattage equals more bud. But my thoughts on the matter are that the small footprint is already going to limit the total amount of yield, just based on lack of space. Yes, I know that a 250 will penetrate a bit further down than a 150 will, but what about when I was planning on going scrog? Does penetration even matter then?

Here's the deal: the flowering space is 22"L x 15"W x 30"T. This is slightly over 2 square feet. After doing the math, I've decided I need to ultimately end up harvesting at least 4 ounces per grow in order to keep myself, my girlfriend, and her mom supplied. Obviously, this is towards the top-end of what a 150 can produce, although it should still be possible with scrog and fine-tuning. And obviously a 250 should be able to produce more bud than a 150. But in such a small space can a 250 really make that little bit of a difference?

I'd rather not have to cross my fingers and make sacrifices to the gods just so that I can achieve the minimum of what I need, so if a 250 in such a small space will be better, than maybe I should go with that. Ventilation should not be an issue, since I am using a 265 cfm dayton, and I got the cabinet sealed up nice and tight, so it's like a vacuum suction in there with the door closed!

Thanks for your help.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

You will not be able to keep up with the needs of that many smokers with a 150, IMO.
Although you may be able to grow more than you might smoke alone with a 150, you will need to be dialed in with no mishaps each grow. I sort of wince when I see newer growers start to figuring how much yield they think they will produce, because they will often times come up way short of their original expectations. Not to say they won't achieve it, just not usually until they learn their grow and their plants.
I would suggest that you maybe consider the 250 to start out. It is easily manageable in the space you have. Then once you feel more comfortable with things, nail together another box with a 150 for flower, or for a veg box. It is always nice to have two separate areas for flower and veg, that way you can set things up in a perpetual harvest.
Always nice to be able to veg out a few while others are flowering, and then when the flowering is done, fire up both boxes with 12/12 and have a big harvest a couple times a year.

 

[Pipedream]

Yep, what he said above me.

However, I'd like to bring up another subject.....namely, the "vacuum" like suction some newer growers have in their grow-space.

A slight negative pressure is both warranted and effective on several fronts. It assures good air through-put and helps contain odors when using a carbon type filter. On the other hand, excessive negative pressure is something to avoid, here's why. Vacuum level conditions in any air handling system tell us that the system is starving for air. When this happens several things usually take place. First off, your fan is working under a load that it was not designed for. The bearings will see excessive wear, and the motor coils will heat up. Both of these will lead to early failure. Also, unless your air intake hole is covered with a filter, the sudden drop in air-pressure that occurs as the airstream enters your box will cause anything held in the airflow to percipitate out. In effect your box will act as a factory dust-collector or Dyson Vacuum Cleaner sucking up all dirt in the space outside your box and depositing it on your plants. Also, while the ladies do enjoy a light breeze, living in constant wind will greatly stress them. And lastly, a strong airflow often creates both turbulance and dead spots . As such there are often pockets of air that will get exchanged much less frequently than others.

When opening you growbox door you only want to feel very slight resistance, not Bruce Banner on the other side growling and pulling back.

JMHO and some principles from the ASHRAE handbook.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Spot on, PD!

 

[m00nchild]

Hey thanks guys for your advice. I should go ahead and state for the record that this is not my first grow, nor is this my first cab. So I apologize for coming off like a noob, lol. What I'm a noob about is going this small. I've always grown outdoors, mostly, but I've also grown in cabs before. In fact, one time I grew under a 150, in a cabinet that was twice this size, just because I wanted to see what a 150 could do, and I got about 3 ounces from one SS Bubblegum plant.

But the truth is, yes, I do believe we will be cutting close with a 150, but I have every reason to believe I'll be able to achieve what I'm looking for. Also, the cab I'm using has a separate fluoro space for moms and clones, so I'll be able to keep perpetual harvests. But if a 250 in such a small space will give me an extra buffer of an ounce or so, I'm all for it.

Also about the negative pressure, I assure everyone it's not excessive. I've designed the thing to suck the doors closed when I close them, but it doesn't require He-Man to open them.

Really, I thank everyone for chiming in, and I'm sorry I gave the impression I was new at making cabs. But my real question is just, whether or not a 250 in such a tiny space would actually work out. My only experience with a 250 in the past was over a 6 sq ft garden, and it yielded me about 7 ounces per harvest.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[grumblez]

Chemdog DD x Chemdog - 34 days flower

Chemdog DD x Chemdog - 34 days flower

This is perhaps the prettiest plant I have seen.



there is tremendous frost on this bad boy already. it was pronounced at day 21.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

The only way I see having a failure in that space is if you have poor ventilation. The door sucking in is a sign of it being starved, as Pd explained. The optimum would be having just the ever so slight sucking in of the door. Barely detectable.
A noticeable sucking for sure means that you are not providing the exhaust with enough intake. You need at the very least 10% more opening than you have exhaust. If you have the same size hole coming in as going out, you are starving the system for air.
You can have three times the light of a 250 in that space, provided you are taking care of the air and environment accordingly.

 

[m00nchild]

Yeah, the suction isn't as bad as I must have implied. Sorry about that. I like there to be a little suction so I designed it this way specifically. I have much experience with cabinets in general, and negative pressure in general.

Obviously I'm going to just have to go for the 250. Now to find one cheaper than $120 that already has a reflector and remote ballast.

 

[AcroPhobic]

4 clones=2wks-12/12 + clones

4 clones=2wks-12/12 + clones

Great updates guys! Looking good!

Heres 4 clones - 2 of each. Stretching is done and LST is complete. Tallest clone bushed out is barely 11 inches tall, the rest are 8-10 inches tall with many shoots and side shoots.

With the plants all in the 12 inch penetration of the 150 with an even canopy <basically a SOG> and bulb 3 inches from tops, I'm forcasting a good harvest from this round. :yay:

Also heres 9 clones I took yesterday, 4 of 1 .. 5 of the other. These are going outside in a few weeks to become big bushy monsters.
And last but not least, I got gifted some StrawberryDiesel X StrawberryCheesil seeds from a friend in LasVegas. Overnight delivery rocks! I soaked 15 seeds and in under 24 hrs ALL of them busted out a taproot, so in soil they went. I thought it was in order to place them in an empty Strawberry container.

I sent her, my friend, yes thats right HER <a chick who grows 24/7> over 300 of my crossed seeds that I made from an unknown Vegas bagseed female plant I kept alive for 9 years and a WhiteWidow male. My prior harvest, plants now and new clones all came from seeds from that cross.

 

[m00nchild]

Hoosierdaddy, I want to thank you for engaging me and offering me advice. You rock, brother! I just completed the cab and placed it in its permanent location, and it is just perfect! There are no vibrations due to the judicious use of foam weather stripping around the dayton, and the sound of the whooshing air will be easily masked by a nice oscillating desk fan on top of the cab.

The suction is ever so slightly stronger than I want it to be, but I am 99.9% sure that once I add the carbon scrubber to its intake, it will constrict the airflow just enough to make it perfect. If I am wrong, then I will simply hook up a solid state controller to it, to dial it down appropriately.

I will create a journal thread for this cabinet real soon, so be on the lookout for it. The inaugural strain for this cabinet is going to be Hashberry! I can't wait!

 

[~pHaNtOm~]

http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=17220&pictureid=352778

 

[hoosierdaddy]

You are most welcome, moon. Best of luck with the new cab.

 

[vintner]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to grumblez again.
Stay safe n

 

[grumblez]

well isn't THIS a love fest on a Saturday?

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to vintner again.

 

[piosh]

Hai .
Wanted to share some photos with ya guys (2x 150 Watters). Last grow totally failed - had some serious issues , even suspected offgassing (bought kinda cheap white tent), anyway I ended with like 20g dry bud per plant - black despair..... Decided to run once again in it and check to be sure before I build new box....
Everything seems to be fine how ya thin guys?

they looked like that at 10th day veg

16 days later , at last photo I was switching to 12/12:

And now , its exactly 10th day since first preflowers spreaded on the plants:

hoping for good result(or at least better than last grow) this grow cuz after last I almost doubt in myself.