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lighting First Indoor Grow - Help With Lighting

TheLonelyHab

TheLonelyHab

Hello everybody. It has been a while since I last posted. Long story short I had to take a break on the indoor grow to do real life stuff. Anyway I am back and I am starting my first HID indoor project. I have a 4x4x8 ft grow tent coming in the mail next wednesday. I have just started my seedlings which I will put into the tent and start on cfl's. Once they get ~3 weeks I will put them out on the balcony.
 
Basically my idea is to be fruiting in deep winter. I live in a north facing apartment (WHY DO I ALWAYS GET STUCK NORTH FACING!!!!) so I don't get any direct light. Last summer I was able to grow some big habs on the balcony but they didn't fruit very well. My idea for this season is to veg on my outdoor balcony and then bring in the plants and put them under 400w HID (MH or HPS) to get some nice big pods. Also since it is winter I will use the lights as a heat source to heat my apartment! WIN-WIN.
 
Now my tent is from amazon see this http://www.amazon.com/MarsLG-Hydroponic-reflective-Cabinet-MARS484878/dp/B007ZW7R7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394503249&sr=8-1&keywords=4%27x4%27+grow+tent. I know this is a cheap tent but I think I will be surprised by the quality. The canvas should be decent and I am going to reinforce the structure to hold extra weight.
 
And I want to put an Apollo 400w see this link. http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK400GW19-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B004YXDHX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394936363&sr=8-1&keywords=apollo+400
 
From my research Apollo is entry level stuff but they have so many good reviews. The new ones come with RF shield and run for a while. Anyone have any suggestion on the grow light? I might put the 600w version in instead, what do you think? Is 400w good enough for about 9 full size peppers? I want to get pods, BIG PODS :D.
 
I will post pics once all the stuff gets here :P. Happy growing.
 
400 watts is sufficient for a 4x4 tent. 600w is good too. I would probably go with the 400 though. Get a couple 6" clip on fans. One to circulate the air within the tent and one to draw fresh air in. I am running two 300w leds in a 3x5 tent. They put out plenty of light and ran me about 150 a piece are light weight and don't put out no where near as much heat as a 600w ballast type light does. I am going to do the same thing you are talking about next winter.
 
400w should be more than enough for a tent that size. 600w wont hurt, more lumens the better, just gotta watch the temps in there, make sure your fans are going properly and I'd make sure that I have it wired to a thermostat just in case your out and a fan quit. Last thing you need is a bbq in the tent. I use my hydrofarm heat mat thermostat acting as a safety cut off switch after germination, there good for 1000w and temps up to 108f so I max the temp on the thermostat to 108f, just in case it ever climbs it will cut the lights. 
 
I'd at least get 600 also.. I've been running a 400 watt the last full year and not much luck for pods. I must say its great for growth tho! The tepin x podded but goats weed and super chilli only threw one or 2 at a time whilst the reapers and ow primo never set one. I moved them under 1000 watt and goats weed and super chilli are podding like crazy.. The reaper and primo are just starting to get more mature buds and are producing pollen after a couple weeks. I'm sure there are other variables that could be at play but I believe it comes down to the plant and how much light the variety wants..
 
smileyguy697 said:
I'd at least get 600 also.. I've been running a 400 watt the last full year and not much luck for pods. I must say its great for growth tho! The tepin x podded but goats weed and super chilli only threw one or 2 at a time whilst the reapers and ow primo never set one. I moved them under 1000 watt and goats weed and super chilli are podding like crazy.. The reaper and primo are just starting to get more mature buds and are producing pollen after a couple weeks. I'm sure there are other variables that could be at play but I believe it comes down to the plant and how much light the variety wants..
Click to expand...
 
From what I have seen reapers and primos don't need as much light as other varieties. At least when they are in the seedling stage. But yeah you could run a 1000w in there if you wanted to as long as you have sufficient ventilation. I think 400 watts is good for a 4x4 though. I use to run a 250w in a 3x3 years ago and that was plenty for flowering.
 
I'd go for the 600 as well, but keep good ventilation! Go to Best Buy and buy some cheap computer fans and get those going. I use them in the greenhouse!
 
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