Critique My Grow Room

[DATAPAK420]

Okay guys first time Grower just about ready for my maiden voyage. So I was looking to see what everyone thinks of my setup so far.

Here is my 5x5x7 tent. I have 1 1200w Philzon LED light and another one on its way. You can also see my bottles of PH up/down and my nutes.



Here is my heater and humidifier. With everything off in the dark my tent was 18-20*C(64-68F) and 45RH. I have everything running right now and my last check the room was 26C(79F) and 44RH. Mind you this is without the 2nd light.


The last pic is of my Carbon filter that runs to my 6" exhaust fan.(I really feel like a 4" would have done the job just fine after running this I have it on the lowest setting all the time.) Also I thought this was a really nice spot to hide my power bar.



Also on the way and should all be in next week:

10 Trainwreck Autos from Crop King
1200watt Philzon LED light(previously mentioned)
5x 7gallon fabric grow bags
PH meter
Scrog net(for later grows)
Bud Microscope
6" oscillating fan
ProMix HP soil

Let me know what you think of my setup and if you think I'm missing anything. Thanks guys!

 

[fanleaf]

Well, the biggest thing I can see is the clear lack of enough light. Your 1200 watt LED is actually only 190-200 watts. So even with both of your lights you would be at a grand total of 380-400 actual watts. That's only 15 watts per square foot. That would be enough to grow lettuce but not enough lighting even with both of them to even think about growing weed.
To grow weed with purple LEDs you are looking for a minimum of 35 actual watts per square foot with 50 watts per square foot being optimal if you are going for high yields.
Another words, you would need five of your lights in there to do a marginally okay job at growing weed. You have 25 Square feet of grow space. 25x35=875 actual watts (5 of your lights) for minimum recommendations and 25x50=1250 actual watts for high yields. That would be 7 of those little lights.
There are much better LED options.

 

[fanleaf]

Also, once you do actually get enough light in that tent to grow weed you're humidity will plummet to 10% or less. That baby humidifier doesn't stand a chance once lights start creating Heat. You will need a whole house humidifier something that is rated for at least 2000 square feet. Running one single of those LEDs you have won't put a dent in the humidity but once you actually get enough light to really grow in there it will be a whole different ball game.

 

[fanleaf]

You asked for critique so here it goes. Another thing is it appears your first grow is going to be with autoflowers in 7 gallon pots. I would have highly recommended you start your first grow in 3 gallon pots simply because Watering your plants correctly in a large pot for a new grower is almost impossible. 3 gallon pots will be very tough for a new grower to feed and water right without causing issues. 7 gallon pots, good luck for even a lot of experienced Growers. 3 gallon pots would have at least made it a little bit easier on yourself and that way you could get a grow or two under your belt before you try to move up just something so big. Also cannot see what newts are in the pictures.

 

[DATAPAK420]

I do know there is better options out there and my plan is to invest in some QBs later but now they are just so expensive. I seen them for $400Canadian online. Which is a little out of my price range when having to buy everything to start so I'm hoping for this will help me get my foot in the door while I save up more money for better lights.

 

[fanleaf]

I do know there is better options out there and my plan is to invest in some QBs later but now they are just so expensive. I seen them for $400Canadian online. Which is a little out of my price range when having to buy everything to start so I'm hoping for this will help me get my foot in the door while I save up more money for better lights.

I understand what you are saying. There's also a saying on these forums that is, " if you go cheap you grow cheap."
I understand that you are trying to just get yourself started and I hope you don't take my critiques too hard but it is coming from someone who has been there and seeing others go through the same thing. In my opinion there's no sense even starting a grow with only one or two of those little lights in that tent. Especially in 7 gallon pots. You might isolate everything to one corner of the tent and put both lights nice and tight together and grow one or two autoflowers and do an okay job but there is no way you will have a successful grow in 7 gallon pots with autoflowers with only 15 watts per square feet. Those 2 work against each other. 7 gallon pots are for growing bigger plants and good-sized autoflowers however you have nowhere near enough lighting to do so which means the plants cannot get that big or yield that much. If I had both of your lights I would be comfortable growing one Autoflower in the corner, maybe two if I felt froggy.

 

[DATAPAK420]

Also you mentioned the nutes...

 

[fanleaf]

I would suggest grabbing a bottle of Calmag from them as well. You will need it for certain.

 

[DATAPAK420]

I would suggest grabbing a bottle of Calmag from them as well. You will need it for certain.

Thanks I'll order that right now it will be in with the rest of my stuff.

 

[fanleaf]

The six inch exhaust blower was probably a wise choice. You can get an adjustable speed knob for them. Once you get enough Lighting in the tent to really grow weed the 6in will come in handy.

 

[DATAPAK420]

Thanks I'll order that right now it will be in with the rest of my stuff.

It just seems to create alot of negative pressure/strain on the tent. I do not have a intake fan and I think that would be a big help as right now I just have a 6" port open to alleviate some of the pressure.

 

[fanleaf]

It just seems to create alot of negative pressure/strain on the tent. I do not have a intake fan and I think that would be a big help as right now I just have a 6" port open to alleviate some of the pressure.

You don't want an intake fan. Leave the intake passive like you have it. Negative pressure on the tent is not a bad thing. Especially if you want to control odor. If you add an intake fan it will just get over spun by the exhaust blower. A proper grow area we'll just use passive intake like you are. If there's another Port you can also open up for another passive intake that will help relieve a little bit of negative pressure but again you want a negative pressure. As you get enough light in your room you will use your exhaust blower in part to control what temperature your grow area gets up to. That's where a speed controller for your exhaust blower will really come in handy. I use these right here for my 4 in, 6 in and even my 12-inch blower.

 

[fanleaf]

You will also have to be sure that in your passive intake ports there are no light leaks. The cheapest and easiest way that I know to solve that problem is from any hardware store you can go get 6 in flexible soil type hose. Just like the dryer vent hose that is normally 4 inch. Just push the end of that hose from the outside of the tent in the tent just enough to seal the tents straps around the hose. Leave a few feet of hose outside of the tent and make a series of two to three sharp bends in the vent hose. Those bends that you put in the that hose will block the light from coming in.

 

[Jackalope]

One thing to mention. I don't know much about LED's and the wattages they run. I do know there is a major difference from one maker to the next.

It is not wattage that grows pot. It is the Lumens that they create. I know LED's can put out a lot more lumens per watt then HID lights. Efficiency is the key with them. For a tent that size. I would really consider going with HID. A aircooled fixture and a 1000 watt HPS is going to cost you less than a lot of people pay for their LED lights. Price to run and heat may be issues with HID lights. The buds big lights can give you can't be disputed.

Also after you put plants pots and soil in the tent. Heat and humidity will change. It will continue to change as the plant mass in the tent does. The bigger that they get the more temperature and humidity they are going to give off.

 

[fanleaf]

One thing to mention. I don't know much about LED's and the wattages they run. I do know there is a major difference from one maker to the next.

It is not wattage that grows pot. It is the Lumens that they create. I know LED's can put out a lot more lumens per watt then HID lights. Efficiency is the key with them. For a tent that size. I would really consider going with HID. A aircooled fixture and a 1000 watt HPS is going to cost you less than a lot of people pay for their LED lights. Price to run and heat may be issues with HID lights. The buds big lights can give you can't be disputed.

Also after you put plants pots and soil in the tent. Heat and humidity will change. It will continue to change as the plant mass in the tent does. The bigger that they get the more temperature and humidity they are going to give off.

One thing to mention. I don't know much about LED's and the wattages they run. I do know there is a major difference from one maker to the next.

It is not wattage that grows pot. It is the Lumens that they create. I know LED's can put out a lot more lumens per watt then HID lights. Efficiency is the key with them. For a tent that size. I would really consider going with HID. A aircooled fixture and a 1000 watt HPS is going to cost you less than a lot of people pay for their LED lights. Price to run and heat may be issues with HID lights. The buds big lights can give you can't be disputed.

Also after you put plants pots and soil in the tent. Heat and humidity will change. It will continue to change as the plant mass in the tent does. The bigger that they get the more temperature and humidity they are going to give off.

While I am a huge fan of LEDs I agree with you here. If the original poster is on a very tight budget and wants to get growing as cheaply as possible he could go with a 1000w MH / HPS to get started on a tight budget and upgrade to LEDs later as time allows with the wallet. Even a 1000 watt HPS wouldn't have great coverage in his entire tent it would allow him to get good yields on a budget. I would definitely be upgrading to LED as I would be able to afford them and eventually get rid of the HPS but you are right, that would be the most cost-effective way to get going.
Heck... 2 of the 600w mh/hps setups in that tent could kick butt and be very budget-friendly until he can afford to fill the tent with the correct amount of LED.
That being said, of course wattage does play a big role and is exactly how we figure out how much is needed per grow area. Lumens is a very poor judge of anything since 99% of light manufacturers don't even mention lumens. All purple LEDs are about the same efficiency as far as creating par per watt so we do go by wattage and it does work doing it that way. For blurple LEDs a minimum of 35w per square foot and optimal is around 50 watts per square foot will provide the par needed. For white cob LEDs that can go down to 30 watts per square foot with optimal being between 40 and 45 depending on that particular cob chip efficiency.

 

[fanleaf]

It is not wattage that grows pot. It is the Lumens that they create.

No, it is not! It is the photons and in the spectrum area that they are created in.
You can have a higher lumen output in a part of the par spectrum that is less important to the plants or not as efficient to the plants. Just because a light measures say 40,000 lumens for example does not mean it creates more par than a light with 35,000 lumens, the 35,000 lumen light may contain light in a more optimally used part of the spectrum and therefore grow plants better.

 

[Jackalope]

Wow that is a pretty fancy way to say plants need more red spectrum when they are in flower. Call or identify things however you want. Wattage percent is not the tell all when it comes to light output.

Everything you just said has nothing to do with wattage. That is my point.

 

[fanleaf]

Wow that is a pretty fancy way to say plants need more red spectrum when they are in flower. Call or identify things however you want. Wattage percent is not the tell all when it comes to light output.

Everything you just said has nothing to do with wattage. That is my point.

It's not a fancy way to say anything. It's simply saying that with blurple LED an actual draw of 35w per square foot minimum and 50 w on the optimal side will provide the par needed to successfully grow weed. This has been tested thousands of times and those figures work.
I never said wattage is a tell all. But unless you are going to go out and buy every member a good quality photon flux meter, my information will give them what they need to eliminate the possibility of simply not having enough light to grow a decent plant.

 

[Jackalope]

I agree LED's are the lights of the future. How they explain stuff these days is different then it was in my hayday. Lumens were the tell all. That is as long as they are in the spectrums needed.

It was easier then that is for sure. Now you have to go through all the math on wattage input and output. I have more trouble figuring out what a new lights can do and what they can't. Some are good some are worthless. All this makes it really hard for new growers to find the right light. My main concern with LED now is which one to buy. Tell I know for sure I am going to keep using this dinosaur light.

 

[fanleaf]

I agree LED's are the lights of the future. How they explain stuff these days is different then it was in my hayday. Lumens were the tell all. That is as long as they are in the spectrums needed.

It was easier then that is for sure. Now you have to go through all the math on wattage input and output. I have more trouble figuring out what a new lights can do and what they can't. Some are good some are worthless. All this makes it really hard for new growers to find the right light. My main concern with LED now is which one to buy. Tell I know for sure I am going to keep using this dinosaur light.

Kind of like computers, lights are evolving quickly but through scientific testing in light spheres you can't beat either white cobs (made with highest quality chips) which can be up to around 2.95 umol/j or the high quality Quantum boards which are hitting around 3.0 umol/j. These tests have been done with light spheres that cost as much as my house. For comparison of par levels I believe a Gavita DE hps is around 1.7 umol/j.
I agree, thousands of makers just mis-marketing to make a quick buck are everywhere but there are good lights out there to be had. Nothing wrong with MH/HPS though. They are proven too.