Closet Design Help

[F0iL]

Hey, all im kinda of new here. Ive been doing alot of research and finding out different methods of growing. I decided to do a grow of my own as a hobby. I decided I would do dwc, but i am deciding whether to do scrog or not. I have enough room and enough height so its really not a problem for me growing them at a certain height. So if I could get some opinions on whether to do scrog or not that would be great. I am not too sure how big the dimensions are of the closet but I am planning on growing around 5 or so plants. I am wondering whats the best lighting method to use during veg and flowering. I was thinking I would do MH during veg, and HPS during flowering, or just go HPS for both stages... opinions on that would be great. Also what wattage for the bulb would be sufficient enough to have a nice yield for 5 or so plants.

Thanks for all the help and I hope to share my experience with you guys. Also for cooling the room with all that heat i plan on having at least 1 fan for circulation and also having an AC unit inside the closet.

 

[F0iL]

any help anyone?

 

[F0iL]

bump!

 

[Sauce]

I feel bad you got no responses so I'll do my best to answer the questions. :smile:

So if I could get some opinions on whether to do scrog or not that would be great. I am not too sure how big the dimensions are of the closet but I am planning on growing around 5 or so plants.

Sounds good. Scrog is a method to maximize efficiency in the amount of space you are using. It works especially well when height is an issue because it keeps the plant height lower. Since you are not limited by height, it's really up to you whether you want to scrog or not. I will say it's a great method, but so is SOG (high plants / area), and LST (low stress training), or just standard growing. The main limitation of yield is the amount of light, so all methods can be equally successful if done right.

I am wondering whats the best lighting method to use during veg and flowering. I was thinking I would do MH during veg, and HPS during flowering, or just go HPS for both stages... opinions on that would be great.

You are correct, hps for flower, mh for veg. Fluros work well for veg though.

Also what wattage for the bulb would be sufficient enough to have a nice yield for 5 or so plants.

Well you could put a 25w fluro over 5 plants however they are going to grow small and not yield much. The amount of plants is really irrelevant, ultimately the amount of light and venting you need will depend on what your yield goal is. So tell us how much you want to get out of this (minimum of 2 months between yields) and we can help you with what size light to get. A 'nice yield' is a different number depending who you ask.

Generally people use a small mh or fluros for veg and a hps for flower. Since it sounds like you are going for a small personal grow, I would just use fluros or compact fluros for moms, cloning, and vegging and then use a hps for flowering. A mh is really not needed and will save you $ buying fluros rather than a mh light.

Sounds like you are aiming for a 250, 400, or 600w light but again yield is the determining factor is buying a light.

Thanks for all the help and I hope to share my experience with you guys. Also for cooling the room with all that heat i plan on having at least 1 fan for circulation and also having an AC unit inside the closet.

Sounds good. You probably want to get a vent fan to vent the light so you don't have the run the AC so much.

Glad to help you out.
Sauce

 

[cabanetforester]

I grow in cabinets and a closet. I have learned a bit along the way in the last several months.

1. I bought a 250 watt MH light for vegging.

I regret it.

2. I bought a 4 bulb t5 floro (2' model) for vegging/seedlings and my bonsai mums. I am very happy with this light for this purpose.

3. I bought a 400 watt hps for flowering in a 5 sq ft cabinet. Works great.

Bought a MH bulb for the 400 watt (hortilux blue) (digital ballast runs HPS or MH) for vegging my second grow and it works much better than the 250.

4. I made a 4' by 5' closet with 8' celing for flowering 4 plants. It's good, but 5x5 or 6x6 would be better for the size plants I want to grow. Plants large enough to yeild about 5+ oz each that is.

5. I tried SCROG and DWC both for the first time at the same time. It turned out ok, but was a bit much for me being only my 2nd grow.

6. I bought 1, 600 watt hps for the new 4x5 closet. I need 2.

7. If I were to veg and flower in one space, under one light for 4-6 plants, I would buy a 600 watt digital ballast and HPS and MH bulbs. For now I'll spend the xtra $ for the hortilux bulbs.

Still need a second area and second light for seedlings/clones/mothers etc though.

8. I will SCROG again someday but for now I am going to just grow larger plants. It's one less thing to manage- sort of.

9. You will want some kind of plan for cooling those DWC. Some kind of chiller. I made one from a water cooler chiller, with pump and all it cost under 200$ You could probably do it cheaper.

10. Don't skimp if you can afford not to. Get a decent EC/Ph meter if your doing DWC. Have the fans you need and get some thermometers that display RH also, some even have a memory of highest/lowest temp/humidity during a 24 hour period. They aren't expensive at places like walmart, get a couple.

11. Practice some "dry" runs with everythign set up and running. DWC, lights, fans, etc. Make needed adjustments to get the enviroment within parameters before sending in the babies

With a little effort you can achieve and maintain the optimum enviroment and you will be rewarded with less troubles and a more productive garden.

 

[Chronic Newfie]

Hey Foil good luck boss. I'm just as new as you are and I'm still learning and figuring stuff out. I'm in the process of building a clone/mother box and a modified c13 cab with a dwc and scrog setup. I know I'm in for a rough ride.

Thanks to Sauce and cabanetforester for the awesome posts. Man that helped me alot too. Gonna follow your advise for sure. Thanks

 

[Pipedream]

If you are growing for your own use and to entertain friends strictly as a hobby, don't start with a SCROG, SOG, or LST. Let the young ladies grow without any training. It's much easier for a first timer and you'll learn alot along the way. Besides, if you are not limited in height, there is no great advantage for the personal grower.

Check out the link in my signature and take a look at my set-up. I grow for medical reasons and do not use any training method. I get great results in a small area with only a 150w HPS.

 

[Chronic Newfie]

I've read your thread before Pipedream. I love your box dude. I have the same dimentions pretty much. Instead of hiding everything below your buckets I've added and extenstion. Look in my gallery for a design. I drew up a clone / motherbox and a main veg/flowering box. Its a modifed c13.

I dunno. I've been reading the c13club thread. And Krustytheclown is doing a scrog for the first time. I looks like its not going too bad for him. I'm gonna keep watching and reading. The more excited I get about it the more I keep reading for tips and stuff.

I just hope that when it comes to trimming and training I don't fuck the plants up too much.

I do have the space I guess to just let them grow fully. I dunno. I origionally thought I wouldn't have enough space.

This is totally just for personal use. I'm a daily smoker. I figure a I'd get atleast a 1/4 -1/2lbs for sure from 2 plants every few months. I've already built the scrog into the box so I'm kinda commited now. I'll get some pics soon. (i've been saying that for awhile hehe)

 

[Guest]

It definately takes a little (okay, a lot) fine tuning to get just where you want to be. Because there is such a difference in nature AND nurture in growing, what one person does won't work for another. This is because different strains grow differently and a grow's environment varies in such degree. Additionally, the grow method; soil, nutrients, temperature, humidity, air, etc.. Because of this, what one person's results are, will differ with another.

The best method I found, is what cabanetforester suggested. Do some dry runs with your set up. A method I used: like you, I didn't have any real restrictions in size either. However, I did want a cabinet to control the environment easier. So I build a skeleton sort of a cabinet. Basically a loosely screwed in frame made of 1x3's with heavy duty aluminum foil for walls and began growing my plants. As the plants grew and some of my methods changed, the skeleton cabinet was adjusted in size.

I did a couple runs in this and the end result was the size of cabinet I needed. Many things were changed from the norm that fit "me" as a grower. The way I hung my lighting, where I have my fans, etc. Even the dimensions are different from the original skeleton frame I built. Which is why I am glad I made it just a simple skeleton, instead of building a cabinet right away. If I had built the cabinet as I originallty thought it should be...it would be scrap now. Doesn't fit "my" grow style. Fits a few people here, as I used their designs to base my original design from. But the dry runs in the skeleton cabinet helped me design the cabinet the fits me.

 

[fatboyOGOF]

hey newfie. regards "I figure a I'd get atleast a 1/4 -1/2lbs for sure from 2 plants every few months." you're aiming a bit high there for 2 plants and being kinda new to the hobby. yeilds vary an alarming amount from grower to grower and genetic to genetic.

i've been growing indoors (soil) for 11 years. i'm happy when i average an oz per plant. when i'm dailed in and the temps are right i can double that.

hope for 1/4 lb per plant but i'd have your pot connection handy just in case.