Best lighting solution for 1.5 x 2.0m grow space

[Sensimilla]

Hello beautiful people,

I am a first time time indoor grower and after hours of research am still a little overwhelmed by all the lighting options. I have a 2.8 x 3.2m room which I have painted with flat white paint and plan on partitioning a 1.5 x 2.0m corner with roughly 1 meter high plywood and coating the interior with mylar to use as the grow space. I was just in the process of ordering some lights (2 x 4bar 240w LED lights) from onlinegrowshop.co.za but decided to check some reviews before I forked out the dough, and I was lucky enough to stumble into one of the forums of this website. Turns out that onlinegrowshop.co.za doesn't seem to have the most sparkling reputation to say the least... Needless to say, I will not be getting lights through them, but I was hoping that I could get some advice from some experienced growers on which lights to use and who to source them from. I don't mind spending a fair amount on the initial outlay but obviously hope to achieve the most efficient results with regards to running costs, taking into account Eskom's proposed tariff increases, energy efficiency is paramount! Therefore, I am looking at quantum boards and LED bar lights, also I would like to use the same light(s) for veg and flowering and just lowering the lights closer to the canopy for flowering, if that isn't a huge blunder? I wont be using CO2 supplementation at this point but may look into it in the future. I have not yet partitioned the room, so if 1.5 x 2.0m is an awkward size that can be changed. I have a lot of other questions but will restrain myself to the lighting for now in hopes of getting a definitive answer. Please let me know if you have some advice. 

Stay safe     

[GGG]

For lights you can have a look at@growopz and @Light It Up ( hope I spelled it right). They very helpfull, good product and service. You roughly need 300-400 Watts of QB's per square/meter.
Did I read right, your grow space is just going to be 1m high, if so that's to low in my opinion.

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk
 

[PsyCLown]

Welcome!

 

We have a few vendors on the forum, some have really good pricing on lights. They're tried and tested and reputable companies.

 

Quantum Boards vs LED strips, I have used both but I personally prefer the Quantum Boards due to their form factor and density of diodes.

Both are great options, provided you get some good diodes - The Samsung LM301B/H diodes are fantastic and offer exceptional value for money as well as performance and efficiency. There is a reason they are some of the most popular diodes used for growing cannabis.

 

A few retailers sell lights which can be dimmed, this is a nice to have feature but I know not every cares for dimming their lights but it can help save electricity in the long run. If you like the idea of being able to dim your lights, I feel it is a good idea to be able to monitor the watts you are dimming your lights to otherwise its a lot of guess work. I have not seen many retailers who offer a way for you to check the power going to the lights, in fact only one retailer that I know of who offer this - but if you have no desire to dim your lights it is a waste.

 

 

As for the grow area, well, a concern I have is whether the room itself is light proof? When the lights go off for the dark cycle, since the grow area will be partitioned with plywood upto 1m high, it can allow leak to shine through from a window or the rest of the room depending on what else you plan on using the room for.

Also 1m is a bit short IMO, I'd suggest 1.6m tall with mylar or white paint. Taller could work well too.

Keep in mind you also need to make provision for air circulation in the room (normal fans are sufficient for this) and then you will want to extract air out of the air and ensure fresh air can get into the room. Plants consume CO2 and you want to ensure the air in the room is being replenished with fresh air and this will also help keep the humidity and temperatures under control.

 

1.5m x 2.0m is 3sqm which is a decent sized space. Optimally you would want around 1200W of LED lighting for this area, however you can get away with less if budget is an issue. Later on you can simply add more lights as funds become available.

[Sensimilla]

@GGG& @PsyCLown Thank you for the responses, the idea for the partitioning is that the whole room is already painted in flat white paint that is quite reflective already I believe and then I just wanted the extra reflectivity of mylar for the partitioned corner (I will also put mylar all the way to the ceiling of the original walled sides of the corner) and still be able to access the plants fairly easily and have easy circulation. If it is gonna make a big difference I guess I should raise the partition higher but then, I suppose, I would need to make a little door. With regard to light pollution and air intake/circulation I am having a flat blackout blind cut for the window which will still allow circulation through the two open windows (1.3 x 0.5m each) but block out any ambient light. I will also use fans to improve circulation, more so during the flowering stage, where I stay it can get rather humid I am hoping that fans will be enough to drop the RH during flowering but I may try other things too. The partitioned corner is on the opposite side of the window. I don't know if its a good idea to line the inside of the blind with mylar as I still want air circulation?

Do you think this set up will work? If not maybe I should just end up getting a tent and exhaust system. And just enjoy the blinding white of the room I painted lol. 

When it comes to lighting, I would prefer to get Ideal coverage and intensity for a smaller area rather than suboptimal lighting for a larger area. Also during load shedding I would want the lights to be able run off a 2kw - 2.5kw generator (I have been speaking to a friend about putting a delayed resistor on the system to handle the spike - dont ask me too much about it cause i' a total noob when in comes to electricity). So for example, if I reduced to area to 1.5x.1.5m (2,25sqm) do you think two, three or even four 240W Quantum Board LED Grow Light (Additional Diodes) from @Light It Up would be ideal, considering that I will not be supplementing any additional CO2?

Again thank you so much for the responses I really appreciate the guidance.

 

[Sensimilla]

 

 

49 minutes ago, Sensimilla said:

@GGG& @PsyCLown Thank you for the responses, the idea for the partitioning is that the whole room is already painted in flat white paint that is quite reflective already I believe and then I just wanted the extra reflectivity of mylar for the partitioned corner (I will also put mylar all the way to the ceiling of the original walled sides of the corner) and still be able to access the plants fairly easily and have easy circulation. If it is gonna make a big difference I guess I should raise the partition higher but then, I suppose, I would need to make a little door. With regard to light pollution and air intake/circulation I am having a flat blackout blind cut for the window which will still allow circulation through the two open windows (1.3 x 0.5m each) but block out any ambient light. I will also use fans to improve circulation, more so during the flowering stage, where I stay it can get rather humid I am hoping that fans will be enough to drop the RH during flowering but I may try other things too. The partitioned corner is on the opposite side of the window. I don't know if its a good idea to line the inside of the blind with mylar as I still want air circulation?

Do you think this set up will work? If not maybe I should just end up getting a tent and exhaust system. And just enjoy the blinding white of the room I painted lol. 

When it comes to lighting, I would prefer to get Ideal coverage and intensity for a smaller area rather than suboptimal lighting for a larger area. Also during load shedding I would want the lights to be able run off a 2kw - 2.5kw generator (I have been speaking to a friend about putting a delayed resistor on the system to handle the spike - dont ask me too much about it cause i' a total noob when in comes to electricity). So for example, if I reduced to area to 1.5x.1.5m (2,25sqm) do you think two, three or even four 240W Quantum Board LED Grow Light (Additional Diodes) from @Light It Up would be ideal, considering that I will not be supplementing any additional CO2?

Again thank you so much for the responses I really appreciate the guidance.

 

Oh, btw I think I should make it clear that ceiling of the room is pretty high, the two sort of half walls in the corner i want o put in are just there to capture more light refraction and to have a clear grow space boundary.  

[PsyCLown]

2 hours ago, Sensimilla said:

@GGG& @PsyCLown Thank you for the responses, the idea for the partitioning is that the whole room is already painted in flat white paint that is quite reflective already I believe and then I just wanted the extra reflectivity of mylar for the partitioned corner (I will also put mylar all the way to the ceiling of the original walled sides of the corner) and still be able to access the plants fairly easily and have easy circulation. If it is gonna make a big difference I guess I should raise the partition higher but then, I suppose, I would need to make a little door. With regard to light pollution and air intake/circulation I am having a flat blackout blind cut for the window which will still allow circulation through the two open windows (1.3 x 0.5m each) but block out any ambient light. I will also use fans to improve circulation, more so during the flowering stage, where I stay it can get rather humid I am hoping that fans will be enough to drop the RH during flowering but I may try other things too. The partitioned corner is on the opposite side of the window. I don't know if its a good idea to line the inside of the blind with mylar as I still want air circulation?

Do you think this set up will work? If not maybe I should just end up getting a tent and exhaust system. And just enjoy the blinding white of the room I painted lol. 

When it comes to lighting, I would prefer to get Ideal coverage and intensity for a smaller area rather than suboptimal lighting for a larger area. Also during load shedding I would want the lights to be able run off a 2kw - 2.5kw generator (I have been speaking to a friend about putting a delayed resistor on the system to handle the spike - dont ask me too much about it cause i' a total noob when in comes to electricity). So for example, if I reduced to area to 1.5x.1.5m (2,25sqm) do you think two, three or even four 240W Quantum Board LED Grow Light (Additional Diodes) from @Light It Up would be ideal, considering that I will not be supplementing any additional CO2?

Again thank you so much for the responses I really appreciate the guidance.

 

You could probably make the room work, but a tent is going to be easier.

 

You want to forcefully push air out of the window, so ideally have ducting running to the window with an exhaust fan - it will obviously look suspicious if anyone is able to view that particular window.

Also it won't be 100% light proof, at least it will be difficult to achieve this.

In terms of RH, you will never be able to drop the RH below the ambient RH - so whatever the RH is outside, is the lowest you will be able to get it in your grow room without a dehumidifier or similar as the fresh air being pulled into the grow room will be of the ambient RH.

 

If you went for a 2.4 x 1.2 tent (2.88 sqm) then 4x 240W QB's would be optimal in terms of PPFD.

For a 1.5 x 1.5 tent then 3x 240W QB's would be optimal in terms of PPFD.

If you are at home / wherever the grow is just about all the time, when load shedding hits you can also simply dim down the lights a bit to reduce the load on the generator and allow you to run other electronics during load shedding. This will keep your plants cycle in place.

 

 

Going back to the room, you will need to figure out a way to hang the lights from the ceiling or something. Might be another challenge which is once again made easier by using a grow tent.

 

I hope this helps, but ultimately the choice is yours as to whether you want to try make the room work or whether you can justify buying a tent and using that, regardless I am sure members on this forum will continue to assist and guide you  

[Sensimilla]

@PsyCLown Thank you again for the advice, I had mistakenly thought that having an 'open air' smaller grow space in a bigger room would mean that I wouldn't need an exhaust system.  But if one is necessary anyway, its looking more and more like I'll have to admit my mistake of painting the room and get a tent. Anyway, feeling a lot more informed on whatever route I decide to take. Much, much appreciation!    

 

[Sensimilla]

Have been looking at a 2.4 x 1.2 tent run with four 240w QBs or two 420w LEDs. I plan on using a standard inline axial 6" fan with ducting going into the ceiling for the exhaust system. I would like to know at what point, if ever, an intake fan is necessary or can I rely on the on passive intake? Also, I recently moved to a much more humid and damp climate, I have been battling with white mold for my outdoor plants (especially approaching harvest time sadge), feeling forced to harvest slightly prematurely to avoid looming budrot. Do you think I would I encounter the same problems with an indoor setup? I imagine that, if I control the RH of the room the tent is in, that I should be fine right, right...?  

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend, as always, I appreciate any advice or suggestions.

[Prom]

One in, one out... simple rule for ventilation. Keeps the pressure the same inside the tent.

Tent gets the climate from the room it stands. You have that in the right RH range, only to little ventilation can give your plants a issue. Beware the dark times... run a log for RH, so you know you stay below 68% all the times.

I would go 2 x 150mm inliners... one in, one out. And count 4 oscillating fans to vent plants and lights. If you use your intake clever, 3 will do. Hang em, no loss in ground space

 

Light wise you should be fine. I work with 410 to 480 watt per 1.2x1.2 section. No complains harvest wise 

[PsyCLown]

So the thing with passive air intake, where exactly is it going to draw fresh air into the tent from?

Through the zips? Very small gaps and not a lot of air gets sucked through the zips - Secret Jardin make "light diffusers" or "light baffles" which can be used as a passive air intake with a built in filter - that is an option but they do need to be cleaned from the dust. Works well, I have used it in the past with success.

Alternatively, intake and exhaust fan to keep the pressure in the tent neutral and to increase the amount of airflow.

 

As Prom has pointed out, the RH in the grow room will determine and affect the RH in the tent. So control the RH in the room and that will help, but one will require an AC or dehumidifier in order to achieve this and be able to control the RH. Temps are also important, do not want the temps to be too high otherwise it will affect the grow and particularly the bud if temps get too high.

 

480W per 1.2 x 1.2 section is good. Therefore 960W per 2.4 x 1.2 tent is good. This will lead to the optimal PPFD if you are using Samsung LM301B diodes. I have 4x 240W Quantum Boards in my flower tent and I am happy with this setup and the results so far.

 

As for oscillating fans, I use 2x box fans in my 1.2 x 2.4 tent - works very well, a 3rd could be added if you really wanted to but I do not feel it is necessary in my tent.

You can check out my grow thread to see how I hung them in my tent.  

 

 

White Powdery Mildew and budrot can definitely affect an indoor grow, prevention is better than cure. So airflow, RH and temperatures should be kept in check and controlled as best as possible. Alternatively and/or as an added precaution it is not a bad idea to adopt an IPM regime - not only for pests but for PM (powdery mildew / white powdery mildew). I personally like to spray with aq sf as a preventative measure, I add a bit of bio impilo to the spray mixture as well.

If you do end up with an outbreak, then there are other products which might work better (quicker) at containing the outbreak - sulfur or copper soap are two good options but definitely do not use copper soap in flower.