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Dimensions of MH+HPS Indoor Grow Room?
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Posted by phoam (My Page) on Thu, Jan 17, 08 at 22:50
| So I'm preparing to construct a grow room/area in the corner of an insulated shop (primarily for tomatoes). I will have two areas, side by side, each with a 600W MH+HPS light.
As of right now, I intend to use the existing (plywood) wall of the shop as 50% of the sides. The other will be a framed, non-insulated plywood wall to create a four-sided room. Mylar will be placed on each wall. The top will not be closed in.
The question is - if I expect to have a 5x5 grow area for each light, would it be ideal to construct a 5x5 area for each... or expand it out to greater dimensions for easier access and air flow? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Dimensions of MH+HPS Indoor Grow Room?
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| Not a dimension tip but this might be useful. I've run across references that say simply painting surrounding surfaces with a flat-white paint is a very effective means of reflecting plant lights. Flat-white paint (white whites better than off-whites) reflects light in a diffuse manner that is actually better for the plants than anything one can practically attain with shiny things like mylar, aluminum foil, mirrors, etc. Even glossy white paint is less effective than flat-white. Certainly is easier and less expensive. I painted the cement block walls around my plant area in the basement and it seems to be working well. |
RE: Dimensions of MH+HPS Indoor Grow Room?
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| I would definitely make it one room. There will be some overlap between the lights and that way you can take advantage of it. It will also be easier and cheaper to build, humidify, ventilate, and access. I used visqueen, which is a heavy plastic that is white on one side and black on the other, and tacked it to the drywall in the corner of my grow room. It works well and is water-resistant. I think it reflects more light than Mylar. The white paint advice you got is also accurate. |
RE: Dimensions of MH+HPS Indoor Grow Room?
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| i would agree with watergal and make it a single room because this will save you $ on ventilation and material costs, etc. although if you want tighter control you might want to consider isolating the 2 types of light i would not recommend mylar if you can get your hands on foylon; its basically plastic woven mylar, much more durable for cleaning/applying, the surface tends to diffuse the light more resulting in less hot spots. i stapled mine up, but would use velcro strips w/ adhesive if i redid it. white paint is a very cost effective solution. but not as much performance as foylon, just make sure you use the bathroom type paint for humidity/mildew concerns. also another consideration; if you only intend to use the MH for vegetative growth you might be able to get away with a much smaller bulb and space for a veg. room. rule of thumb i like is flowing area is 3X the veg area. this is assuming you will be growing mostly tomatoes or fruiting plants |
RE: Dimensions of MH+HPS Indoor Grow Room?
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expand it and make it one room. mylar = good.
Gavita or reflectorized 600W HPS = good.
pulse start Ushio metal halide = good.
Paul Mozarowski. |
RE: Dimensions of MH+HPS Indoor Grow Room?
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| Fwiw, went with an approximate 7'(L) x 7'8"(W) x 7'(H) room (for one 600W MH+HPS). Two sides are 8' walls (far corner). The other two are 7' (inner-room corner). I already had a roll of mylar, so all of the walls are covered with it. Have lined off a 5' x 5' area for plants beneath the fixture, leaving sufficient room for fan(s), access, air flow, etc. Looking forward to seeing how well these tomatoes and cucumbers can grow in there!? |
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