Okay fellow growers, this winter, probably around the beggining of December, I will be starting my first full grow indoors.
We will be using an entire room. The room is about 9’x8’x7’ tall, but the plants will be in about a 6x6 area in the middle.
For lights, I’m going with a Vivosun 1000 watt mh/hps.
The plan was to grow 6 autos under the 1000w light in 5 gal fabric pots with Fox Farms Happy Frog soil with Dr. Earth tomato, vegetable, & herb 4-6-3 and Dr. Earth bud & bloom booster 3-9-4. Ph and ppm meters will be at hand. I’m unsure of all the strains we’ll be doing but I will be doing a White Widow x Big Bud Auto and a Gorilla Glue Auto.
My main question is, will I be wasting space and light with 6 autos under the 1000 watt light?
This is the first time I’ll be doing a complete indoor grow, so all advice is appreciated!
I don’t really mess around with the autos, but 6x6 is pushing what a 1000 watt hps will flower well. Usually about 20 square feet is as far people push them.
I guess 6x6 was a general idea. They’ll all be put as close together as the pots will allow under the light. I guess my main question was, will the 1000w light be enough for 6 autos?
I got the overall dimensions of the room yesterday, but the room is full of junk right now and has to be cleaned out before I can get dimensions for the actual grow space.
But the idea was to grow 6 autos.
You’ll get more mileage from 315W ceramic metal halide (CMH), they provide more of the light frequency plants need, therefore less wattage, and less heat per sq. ft… 315W generally covers a sq yard (3ftX3ft) and they come in 3,100 and 4,200 kelvin bulbs that are interchangeable to any 315W ballast, no more swapping ballasts to match the bulb it’s all plug’n’play choose your bulb (grow or flower). It’s said to be the most cost effective for limited investment funds. HPS and MH are old school parking lot lights! CMH was engineered for this purpose by Philips.
I know a 4x4 will hold 9 five gallon buckets. BUT…it’s crowded.
Your planned 6x6 should accommodate 6 buckets ok…the question will be can the 1000 watt light be enough for all?
IF your auto’s don’t bush out sideways, might be able to get a decent grow. I think you will find four closest to the light(under it) will be the healthiest best bud producers. The ones on the edge will be less so. Take the four fastest growing…place in center of light coverage, top if they get too tall(before flowering). Rotate plants every couple of days will also help.
Of course, more light would be the bestest solution. 
Thank you all for your replies. I’m going to need to do some reevaluation.