So I have a few questions… and was hoping you could help. Me and a roommate are starting our first season indoors… well in general really. We have read alot of different things and have had alot of buddies that grow and we have learn some from them. So to start we did the wet paper towel in the bag germination process and we jus transported the seedling.Our set up is a little rough due to budget right now so we are running a 70 watt plant light with a reflecting lamp. It sits on a table and the lamp is suspended from the ceiling down to the plant about 5 inches from the top of the soil.
And my roommate thought it would be a good idea to put a grow box around it so he built one with three sides so one side was still open for access and then lined it with tin foil. Is that a smart thing to do??
And it gets a little to hot in the “grow box” says our temperature and humidity gauge. I know the plant does best around 75-76 degrees. And it’s getting up to 82 and with temperatures around the 80s and up your more likely to get spider mites. Or am I wrong??
How should we set up our room with what we have?? And what would you recommend we change or add keeping budget in mind??
I’d wait for more experienced folk to comment, but there are ways to tweak the temperature.
My ambient temperature runs from ~79 - 84 degrees, so I augment with fans and keeping the air moving during peak temp times. (During early afternoon, due to location, there isn’t really a way to drop below 84 degrees for a few hours; however, I’ve still seen decent growth using fans, ventilation, etc. )
For reflection painting the inside of the grow room flat white is better than foil , Mylar is another option , and you will need air moving in and out of the grow space .
Being very new to this myself I thought I would add what
I have learned while trying to keep the Heat down in a closet
grow using 600W HPS Enclosed 6" vented Lighting.
My first mistake was in the Heat Exhaust / Ventilation I set
up, Ran Exhaust Light Heat out window along with the Inlet vent
on same Window. Mistake being I setup the heat Exhaust duct
below the inlet duct in window, Heat Rises and I was pulling
the exhaust hot air back in through the inlet vent.
Second Mistake was choosing to run Lights on during daylight Hrs
Simple problem solved once I realized if I run them during the night
the temp will be lower due to outside temps being lower, this also
solved my problem of low temps during the night and could them
remove small space heater.
Another Of my mistakes was setting up the Inlet duct to high,
needs to be at bottom to ensure new fresh air is replacing old
stale Hot Air.
Still a little warm at 8 in. below lights / top of canopy (80 deg)
so will probably need a small water/ice cooled fan (can’t afford
to run air conditioner)
So far light cost was additional 15.00 a month using one
300W LED set-up for Veg. @ 16hrs On / 8hrs Off.
Now 45.00 a month using 600W HPS. @ 12hrs On / 12hrs Off
Cost of Tier 2 Elec. usage is 0.12275 and Tier 3-4 is 0.16726 KWH
Not sure if any of this is helpful but thought I would pass
along my mistakes in the hopes it can save someone else
the problems.
You will need more light for 1. 2 yoshi Is right get the foil out of it holds in the heat. 3 you need a fan to help cool and give the plant lots of air which it Needs.
You need to make , buy better lighting. CFL’s are about the cheapest way to go. Use 6500 kelvIn for veging. 2700 for flowering. I’m sure there is some lights the you can get that will work for the complete grow. Your 70 watt will work for a bit. I’m sure someone will jump in to help that knows more than me. Good luck.
Tom
