Soon I’ll legally be allowed to grow 25 plants and im going to be building a flowering room to prepare for it. I currently have a 4x8 grow tent set up that I plan on filling with 8 plants. This grow tent will be dedicated to vegging once the flowering room is ready.
So for the flowering room I have a 7x10 space I can use. Only 6 ft of height in the veg and flower working in a low basement. There is a window in the room I can use for ventilation. I can also run ac to it pretty easily if needed.
Basically I’m wondering what you guys would recommend for lighting in a space this size flowering 8 plants? Also curious if you would go with LEDs or HID lights.
Ill be building a RDWC for the flower room like I did in my grow tent.
I only have experience with HID lighting but am leaning towards LED because of the low height. LED just seems very intimidating could use some recommendations on brands/models if I go that route for sure.
Since height is so limited, I’d do 10 x 315 CMH units. Arranged with 4 over each 7x5 area with one in the middle Tops can get within a foot of the bulb no problem. 630 is nice but needs more distance.
Easy to adjust, move around. Individually light, modular, easy to replace. Bulb or unit blows, not a big deal. Probably cost you around $2500 bulbs and units, cheaper if you get the Amazon version of unit and bulbs.
Relatively inexpensive. IDK how you’re gonna crawl around in the canopy though do you need an aisle of some sort?
im thinking id like some space to walk around the plants so i’d keep them in the middle of the room.
I was thinking something along the lines of 2x 1000w or 3-4 600w LEDS. Also i should mention i only really plan on growing indicas they are my preferred smoke so that should help with the height issue.I also plan on training them into a screen of green.
Good led due to the height restrictions but I’m running with air cooled hoods with the same height and I do okay. I would do scrog grows and manifold keep the plants height down.
Make it as easy to clean as possible paint with mold/mildew resistant paint. No cracks or crevices anywhere. Silicone everything up. Everyone gets all excited about lights and their dro setup but forget the basics and it fucks them hard.
Are you planning on running sealed or exchanging air?
Knowing most basements are cold in the winter I’d opt for the 315 cmh lights heat will be easier to control in the hotter season and be welcome in the cooler times.
I run a 315 in a 7x10 veg area along with a 6 bulb t5 ho with a 10 inch extraction fan and 6 inch fresh air intake summer months and in the winter I can run a 1000 or 630 cmh and the t 5 .
Led you could possibly have to run a heater or another heat producing light when it’s cold.
Also in that same room I’ve got a 3 ft tent with a single t 5 light in it but doesn’t produce any added heat .
Lots of options also depends on your style of growing .
With a 7 x 10 room most high quality LED light designs in 600+ watt range (~ 48" x 48") won’t use up your space efficiently. If you go for a compact, lower watt LED you can probably pack them in tighter.
I just grabbed a Volt VL-1 440w LED for $350. I’ve heard you can get an even cheaper unbranded version in certain grow stores. I fit it in my 2 x 4 tent with room to spare and it might be better suited for your space.
mold/mildew resistant paint is a good call thank you! I think ill be exchanging air, i might play around with c02 in the future but gonna keep it simple for now. I actually used this same space about 6 years ago with a 5x5 grow tent. I had no issues at that time running a 600w hid. pretty sure it was in the winter and I don’t remember heat or cold being a issue.
My bedroom is actually in the basement and ill be partitioning it in half for this flower room.
so if anything im pretty sure ill be fine in the winter temps wise but would like to not run a ac during the summer if its not necessary. (I do have a ac unit just incase)
I agree.
Your possible challenge may be humidity though. You might have to consider a humidifier and/or dehumidifier, depending…
If you have a choice of air intake locations you might be able to tap into the CO2 generated in the house.
Basement gets very humid in the summer without a dehumidifier, with a dehumidifier running I’ve been able to reach about 40% at the lowest. In the winter it’s the opposite and it gets very dry I definitely may need to look into a humidifier. On the plus side the whole basement is roughly 800 sqft and it doesn’t take a whole lot to control the conditions.
Dehumidifier runs to our Sump pit/pump which is convinent. It’s partially why I leaned towards hydroponics for starting. It’s alot easier for me to dispose of a bunch of water than it is dirt!
