help design a grow room

[j6p]

OK so I have this friend and he's got the following;

(2) 1000watt HPS
(1) 400watt HPS inside a c-25 wardobe cabinet (20" deep x 30" wide x 5' tall)
(1) 150watt HPS inside a smaller u-2 counter heigh cabinet (15" deep x 30" wide x 30" tall)

For spaces he has the above two cabinets in a large room 10' x 14' in the basement used for storage. Inside that room he has built another room 5' x 5'.

He is also considering making a 10' x 10' room in his garage.

Now I'm wondering what y'all think would be a good setup for him. He's experienced grower but I would not say expert

so anyways I'm looking for ideas on what you would do with the space

keeping plant numbers lower is better preferably under 10

yield is key (income source for him)

wattage is not a big concern

noise/smell are concerns as always

access to water/drain is in basement room

So he's asked me to help him design a setup.

His thoughts were (traditional) clone in cabinet, veg in the 5' x 5' room under 400 or 600 watts, and then flower in new 10' x 10' room in garage with 2000 watts. Soil - tree style.

I'm thinking the following ideas...

clone in small cabinet - veg/moms in wardrobe - and then a vertical or stadium grow in the 5' x 5' area.

Would 2K be too much for a 5' x 5' area? (80 watts per square foot)?

Maybe 2 600s would be a better fit?

So let me know what you think...

IMHO I don't see the need for the 10' x 10' in the garage - and think he should use the basement for everything - garage means he has to move plants between basement and garage - garage also has more temperature variance - meaning no growing in height of summer/winter

I'd like to see him get to a perpetual setup where he's always turning a crop every 2 months in the 5' x 5' room - getting 2-3lb each cycle... seems reasonable to me - what do you guys and gals think

anything is open hydro/soil/soilless but ease of use is key here - so I'm thinking krusty buckets and aero setups are not a good choice for him.

[c-ray]

Would 2K be too much for a 5' x 5' area? (80 watts per square foot)?

yes
a 1000w mounted horizontal will light a 4x4 space
600w will light a 3x3 space, so you will have overlap
how tall is the 5x5 space?

[j6p]

c-ray

the 5' x 5' space is 7' tall with a drop ceiling above it.

[Lungus]

You could always go vert and stack plants on two opposing walls with a vertically hung 1000 watter aimed at each wall of plants. The biggest problem with two 1000W bulbs in that small of a space would be heat even with air-cooled lights.

[Lungus]

Oh Jeez, I need to smoke more dope. The best use of a vert would be to stack the bulbs vertically and put plants up all four walls (hey why waste walls). Of course this still doesn't help with the heat problem.

[c-ray]

you could stack 2 x 600w vertically in the 5x5 room and cover the walls with medium sized plants, if the ceilings were higher you could get away with 2 x 1000w but it would have to be closer to 9 feet tall

[j6p]

thanks guys - yeah I think the 2K is too much lighting for the room. I was thinking maybe a single 1000 watter hanging in the middle with 4-6 plants arranged in a circle around the edges of the room.

What would you recommend as for as medium - I'm hearing good things about coco coir as matching hydro growth rates but easier to implement than DWC or ebb and flow buckets. What's your thoughts?

Do you think 4-6 plants in 5 gallon containers - or should he go bigger with trash cans?

[j6p]

p.s. - it would be nice if he could trade the 2K for (2) 600s.. that would work well in there IMHO

[gisisi]

Whether he runs vertical or flat, a window unit ac and a little ventilation will keep the 5x5 room cool.

With 2000 watts in a 5x5 room kept at 80F it will be good grow however he does it.

Even if he just runs 1000 watts the climate control of AC will help optimize the climate and increase yields.

gisisi

[c-ray]

yes that is a good point....the best tasting most aromatic weed comes from a cool room 75-80 degrees with a nice breeze...I like big fans running on low speed

[j6p]

definetly good points - I will suggest building a A/C unit into the wall