New Grower My (first) rubbermaid stealth grow journal!

[The Squid]

The 400watt HPS for that space may be a little overkill. Plus the heat in that small of a space. 250watt should be plenty for 2 or 3 plants. Lst could be a great benefit in this situation. Just make sure you have a proper ventilation setup for the heat either way.

 

[Muddy]

How hot does the attic get in the summer? Most are not insulated and can get very hot so HPS may not be the best option in that situation. I'd be more inclined to be looking at LEDs or T5s.

 

[The Squid]

This is true. Listen to Muddy, man. The Blackstar LED panel would be nice for that setup. It runs around $280 and is 240 watts. As well as any good T5 unit that would fit in there. I am about to receive my pl-l 55 Tek lamp from HTG. It is technically cfl because of the 'bent' bulb design but they consider them T5's. With Tek lamps you can fit a 4 foot bulb into a two foot space. So the one I am getting that would also be great for you is a 2 foot 4 lamp model. The bulbs are 55 watts each so that's 220 total and a whopping 20,000 lumens for that size of a light is badass. I am using mixed spectrum grow and bloom. Check it out. http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTG-Supply-2-Foot-4-Lamp-PL-55-Tek-Lamp.asp

 

[codebreaker1003]

Well the first thing i suggested to him was the 240w backstair but he doesn't have that kind of money and was hoping for something under $150. The ventilation will be fine because were gonna hook up a window A/C unit in his attic and have it on a timer, and were gonna attach a 4inch duct fan to intake air from his room and exhaust it out the side of his house. His attic isn't as big as i thought, so were planning on making a 4 or 5ft tall, 2.5ft deep, 3ft wide box out of wood and well line the inside of it with reflective tape like my set up. For the light I think were either gonna do the cheap 150w hps and maybe an extra T5 fixture, OR do you guys think we should just go for the 250w hps and well keep the A/C on for most of the day OR should we go for the 2ft 4bulb pl-55 TEK fixture? Thanks for all your guys help! were going to home depot soon to get the box set up! Ill start a new thread when we get the wood for the box!

 

[The Squid]

Hmmm. Not entirely sure as there is no wrong way. haha. The T5s and or Tek lamps will be much cooler than the HPS that is a plus. You could use the Tek lamp over the top and T5 on the side. That's what I am going to do. It's all preference when all the lights are good. Muddy will let you know what he thinks.

 

[codebreaker1003]

Ok so think im gonna just go with the 250w hps, i wouldve completely gotten the 2 ft 4 lamp tek but the grow box were building isnt 24" deep, and we need as much yeild as possible so the Hps is our best bet in my mind. I know temperature will be a major issue with summer coming up, but we checked his attic today and realized that it is fully insulated, so the a/c unit we put in there should keep the ambient temperature of his attic and the temp inside the box at around 75. maybe up to 80 on hot days but well just crank the A/C in that case. The box is gonna intake directly from the A/C unit, and it will exhaust out of his house so i think we got that situation under control! Thanks for the help guys! Ill start a thread as soon as we buy the wood for the grow box. Ill be updating this thread either today or tommorrow with new pics of the setup... I hooked up the new light and she grew about an inch taller overnight which is amazing! temps got up to 88 though, so im hooking up an exhaust fan for the area today.

 

[The Squid]

Cool. Sounds good. I didn't realize a 250 hps was that damn small. Good idea with the ventilation, but be careful with having intake directly from the a/c. There will be moisture and that changes humidity so just keep that in mind. 80 degrees is fine. Looking forward to seeing it all setup. Good luck.

 

[codebreaker1003]

Ill be sure to keep the humidity in check! So here the pic update! she grew a lot since i hooked up the new light!

 

[The Squid]

Those are some pretty ass plants sir. Good job indeed.

 

[codebreaker1003]

Heres a quick pic update again, she is growing ridiculously fast its crazy!