Builing Veg Box, (Only CFLs) vs. (MH + CFLs)

[upinvapor]

Hi all, I have a closet that I am putting a vegetative box and a flowering box in. The closet is 5' x 4.5' x 9'. I am putting a 2' x 2' x 4' veg box and a 4.5' x 2' x 6' flowering box in the closet. I started building the veg box last night and went to look at CFLs for the grow. I have a 400W HPS that I am going to use for the flower box along with some extra CFLs for good measure. I was originally planning to use only CFLs for the veg box, but after looking around I am thinking maybe I should get a 250W MH from HTG Supply - https://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=48007 . What do you guys think? Should I just get a lot of the 26 or 42W CFLs or this MH and a few CFLs? I read somewhere that using a MH for veg instead of just CFLs would make the buds more dense in flowering, is this true? Also, the smell only comes with the flowering, correct? I want to make sure I do not have to filter smell for the Veg box.

Also, how much extra heat would this MH make for the room? I am planning on venting the Veg chamber with a speed controlled 120mm 90CFM PC Fan. Will this be enough if I also use the MH or should I increase it to 2 of these PC Fans?

Thanks for any help.

 

[night_neo]

Without reading your entire post, cfls alone work great for vegging. Thats all I use for veg

 

[upinvapor]

Without reading your entire post, cfls alone work great for vegging. Thats all I use for veg

Thanks, I just read somewhere that using only CFLs for veg makes less dense buds than HID lighting like a MH. The 250W MH is $117 while the 175W MH is $116 from HTG Supply, so I figured I would just get the 250W MH and use it as the main light for vegging and maybe a few 26w CFLs in there. With the space being as small as it is, it would be hard to fit 12 of these 26W CFLs in the veg box to get comparative lumens with the 250W MH. What do you think?

 

[night_neo]

yea if you have the extra money to spend on MH then yes go for it.

 

[upinvapor]

Awesome. Thanks. I am planning to go to HTG and buy one. I wouldn't need to air cool it would I? In a 2' x 2' x 4' do you think 1 or 2 90CFM PC Fans would do the trick? Anyone know how to carbon filter PC fans?

 

[MisterPeabody]

You can veg AND flower with the MH. You can veg with CFL's. On that subject, invest in a digital ballast and you can veg in MH, simply switch the bulb to a HPS and flower into the dawn!

Heat will be your biggest issue. If you can CONTAIN the heat within your hood and exhaust it out of the area you'll at least be on an even playing field. Depending on your method of growing, without maintaining the heat in as small an area as you (and I) have is a feat that is not for the weak hearted. Your CFL's and the heat generated by them can be handled with ease utilizing the pancake fans you spoke of. Exhausting your 400 watter is gonna take a little more than the PC fan in my humble opinion. Even IF you had the hood in glass and wrapped in a thermal blanket. If your doing it hydroponically, then you will probably have to address reservoir temps as well. I'll be checking in with you and look forward to hearing what you have decided, and as per se, Mr Peabody wishes you GREAT success in your grow. Man this stuff is fun! Peace...

 

[upinvapor]

You can veg AND flower with the MH. You can veg with CFL's. On that subject, invest in a digital ballast and you can veg in MH, simply switch the bulb to a HPS and flower into the dawn!

Heat will be your biggest issue. If you can CONTAIN the heat within your hood and exhaust it out of the area you'll at least be on an even playing field. Depending on your method of growing, without maintaining the heat in as small an area as you (and I) have is a feat that is not for the weak hearted. Your CFL's and the heat generated by them can be handled with ease utilizing the pancake fans you spoke of. Exhausting your 400 watter is gonna take a little more than the PC fan in my humble opinion. Even IF you had the hood in glass and wrapped in a thermal blanket. If your doing it hydroponically, then you will probably have to address reservoir temps as well. I'll be checking in with you and look forward to hearing what you have decided, and as per se, Mr Peabody wishes you GREAT success in your grow. Man this stuff is fun! Peace...

Man, I love that setup you have there. Good work! Wish I was handy enough to come up with something like that. Thanks for your advice.

I bought the wood and started building my Veg box. My 400W HPS allows switching to MH but since I have a seperate Veg and Flower box I will be using two HID lights. I am going to go to HTG and buy a 250W MH to use in the Veg box along with maybe 4-6 Cool White CFLs for extra lumens that will be closer to the plants. I was planning on using 1 or 2 PC fans to vent the veg box with a passive intake that is about 12" x 6" and the PC fans are 120mm. I was hoping 1 would be enough to vent it since it is a 90CFM fan. If not, I can use 2.

My current plan for my 4'(L) x 2'(W) x 6'(H) flowering box will be to have a large passive intake and then use the stanley blower for my main exhaust. I am currently planning to put a carbon filter on the inside of box then a short 6" duct run to the cool tube on my 400W HPS(I am still torn between the Euro air cooled hood or the cool tube but leaning towards the tube) then run 6" duct out of top of box then to the intake on the stanley blower since I have read that it is better to suck than blow with these fans. then the blower is just blowing air straight out above the flowering box into top of closet and if that doesnt work I would run duct from blower end of the stanley out into the spare room the closet is in. It is my house so I can use the room as I need. I wanted to hook up 2-3 of the 120mm 90CFM PC fans to help with exhaust in the flowering room since I plan to run the stanley on low. The PC fans will be on a controller so I can judge what speed to run in conjunction with the stanley to cool the box. My only concern is figuring out how to put some sort of filter on those 2-3 pc fans on the flower box so that the small amount of venting they do will not put smelly air out of the box. I know PC Fans do not allow for a lot of resistance, so I have been considering putting both fans side by side and use some kind carbon filter tube attached to the two of them so that both fans will be pulling air through the filter.