Indoor newbie

[American Grower]

I've grown Cannabis before, but it was at least 10 years ago and outdoors. I've a few questions about my potential set up before I start spending money.

I'm thinking about separate vegetative and flower spaces. I've been looking at the LED panels sold on eBay (55 watt) vs T5 fluoro tubes for the veg space. Which would you folks recommend? It's an approximately 2ft x 2ft space.
The potential flowering space is about 3ft x 2.5ft. I'm looking at a digital ballast that fires 360w, 400w, and 600w lamps. I'm thinking about going with 600w unless that's overkill. Hydrofarm's 6" cooltube is what I plan on using to house the bulb, and a 6" inline fan to cool it and ventilate the space. (300cfm)
My local garden center sells Pro-Mix BX, Pro-Mix HP, Sunshine Mix #1, and Sunshine Mix #4. Is one better than another?
Plan to use a simple one part organic fertilizer (2-3-2).

All comments are welcome.
Any strain suggestions for the first go round?

 

[Blimey]

600W would probably be overkill in 7.5 sq ft.....over 50W psf....you get less bang for the buck ("diminishing returns").

As is 6" extraction for a space that size....although you didn't say how tall the space is....divide the fan's cfm rating by the cubic footage you have.....that's how many times a minute all the air will be exchanged (theoretically).....3 to 5 times a minute should be plenty.

As for strains.....go for something cheap first time round.....just in case....but more importantly....get something you are going to like smoking. Probably best to avoid pure tropical sativas until you get used to the setup....

 

[zymos]

.....3 to 5 times a minute should be plenty.

In that huge Ventilation 101 thread, they are talking more like the inverse of that: 3-5 minutes per exchange. Not trying to start an argument, just wondering which is right, since I also see lots of folks shooting for numbers closer to what you mentioned...

 

[Blimey]

That's a good question......to be honest.....I don't see the plants sucking out all (or down to the level where the ppm is too low for photosynthesis) the CO2 in a matter of seconds.

But I think my temps would get waaaay too high if I only exchanged once per 5 minutes.

I suspect the "right" answer is different for every garden....

In the interests of disclosure.....I run a single, uncooled, 400W HPS in a DR120W (4ft x 2ft x 5'4")....with a 4" extractor....not sure of the exchange rate.....probably more than once per minute.....but I struggle with temps this time of year. If I keep below 90F, I'm happy.

 

[American Grower]

Thanks guys!
If 400w will cover the space well, then I'll go with it. I thought I had read 60w to 80w per sq. ft. was optimal, but I've read a lot lately. I'm sure a few things didn't stick.

The flower space is 4.25ft x 2.5ft x 8ft, 85 cu. ft. overall. About a foot of space on one side will house the ballast , timers, and an oscillating fan, so the grow foot print will be about 3ft x 2.5ft. I've covered the walls with mylar to a height of about 4.5ft. 300CFM will provide 3.5 exchanges per minute, so looks like that's about right. ... This space is also enclosed, as long as the temp under the light stays within 10º of the temp outside the enclosure I should be alright. At times that would mean 90º under the light, but mostly high 70's to low 80's.