CFL vs HID for 2x4 tent

[AfricanGrower]

>>>I had no idea your ceiling 7 feet, you shouldn't have a problem at all lmao.

Voltrom had you scared there didnt he haha! Temps are going to be relatively fine as long as positive air pressure remains in the cooling hood. But, I have also faced a slight rise in ambient air temperatures outside the grow room when venting out into the room. I have dealt with this by taking a shallow bowl and filling it with ice then placing the bowl in front of the fan and as the ice evaporates, it cools the air. You can even trap cool air in you room by closing windows when the sun is up and out and opening them at night! (You can even build your own makeshift AC out of a few cheap parts, let me try and find that article I read on it). How big is the room that your tent is going to be in? (sorry if you had mentioned this before )

HERE'S the article on a DIY fan AC

>>> I figure a fan muffler should help out.

Note that a fan muffler will reduce CFM, and drastically depending on how much it slows down the air (ie. how big the muffler is).

 

[Tarkus]

>>"How big is the room that your tent is going to be in? (sorry if you had mentioned this before )"<<

I don't believe I did mention it. I don't know the exact measurements, but suffice it to say it's a small bedroom. Central a/c and heating only. The shallow bowl with ice sounds like a good idea, but with the fan it seems you would have to continuously be changing out and refilling the water. In any case, unless the exhaust from the tent can be vented directly out of the room somehow, I can't see keeping the room closed up for long periods. Otherwise the exhaust air from the tent would just build up in the room.

I've learned a few things from this coversation. Very worthwhile and much appreciated. We'll see how this setup works out. At this point I know just enough to be dangerous. So I suspect I'll have a lot more questions as I progress through my learning curve.

 

[rivirobo]

Since the convo is about venting, lighting, etc., I have a question: do I still need inside fans? My scenario:
This is my fourth indoor grow. My first 3 grows were a primitive setup: inside a temp controlled bedroom that is sealed so no light peeps anywhere. Using a 250W HPS. Using grow bags and Fox soil. 5 plants per grow. And a oscillating 8in fan. The grows produced buds, dried, and jarred. Just a few oz's per grow, didn't use a scrog or bending. Auto flower and landrace types. I am beginning to start a veg for my fourth grow. I now have a 2x4x6 tent. I plan to do bending this time. I have 2 - 4 inch inline vents for inlet and exhaust. I will be using the 250HPS and maybe add a 150HPS I just got. All the advice or knowledge I have gotten so far came from these forums and is much appreciated. So the question is: do I still need fans inside since my venting system is in place? And should I add the 150HPS and 250W in the tent along with a spectrum LED 45W for flowering? I primarily got the 150HPS for vegging outside the tent, so that the tent can be full of flowering at all times.

 

[MochaBud]

Holy crap!! 10-20 oz/plant. Well I really don't have a good frame of reference but that seems pretty incredible. And I did read that thread about CFL lights. What I took away was that CFL can be a viable light source, but all else being equal; the HID set up is superior at getting the desired results. But I have no means of quantifying that difference to be able to judge whether it would be worthwhile. I'm sort of looking at it as a trade off. I can put up with the extra heat and higher power bill and get a better yield, or use a less effective but cooler CFL setup that costs less to operate, at the cost of some productivity. As hosebomber points out, CFL becomes less efficient as the grow area increases. In my case that would be 8 square feet. Not alot. The CFL set up I'm looking at

is 3' x 20". In a 4'x2' tent the fixture alone would take up over 65% of the surface area. For what it's worth they claim the coverage area is 8'x6'. So if surface area is more of a limiting factor for CFL, then it doesn't seem like it should be a concern in my case. But then what do I know? Otherwise I wouldn't be asking.

But if I were to go the HID route, my question is still whether 600w is overkill for a tent that size, or if a 400w would make more sense. I do have a 400 cfm fan/filter combo if that helps.

To answer your question, I'm leaning toward a hydro setup. I just need to make sure I know what I'm doing first.

WOW!!! I knew I should have patented that idea!!! That's "My Fucking Hood!!" I built it 10 years ago...

 

[MochaBud]

Since the convo is about venting, lighting, etc., I have a question: do I still need inside fans? My scenario:
This is my fourth indoor grow. My first 3 grows were a primitive setup: inside a temp controlled bedroom that is sealed so no light peeps anywhere. Using a 250W HPS. Using grow bags and Fox soil. 5 plants per grow. And a oscillating 8in fan. The grows produced buds, dried, and jarred. Just a few oz's per grow, didn't use a scrog or bending. Auto flower and landrace types. I am beginning to start a veg for my fourth grow. I now have a 2x4x6 tent. I plan to do bending this time. I have 2 - 4 inch inline vents for inlet and exhaust. I will be using the 250HPS and maybe add a 150HPS I just got. All the advice or knowledge I have gotten so far came from these forums and is much appreciated. So the question is: do I still need fans inside since my venting system is in place? And should I add the 150HPS and 250W in the tent along with a spectrum LED 45W for flowering? I primarily got the 150HPS for vegging outside the tent, so that the tent can be full of flowering at all times.

Well a fan should be kept blowing on your ladies at all times to imitate a breeze for strengthening their branches for flower time, IMO. And if you add another HID or 2, are they air cooled tubes? And are they going to have inline fans? I would say yes to a fan inside blowing on the girls and inline fans on all HIDs...

 

[rivirobo]

Well a fan should be kept blowing on your ladies at all times to imitate a breeze for strengthening their branches for flower time, IMO. And if you add another HID or 2, are they air cooled tubes? And are they going to have inline fans? I would say yes to a fan inside blowing on the girls and inline fans on all HIDs...[/QUOTe\
cool thanks