indoor Indoor Grow Room

[Teaks]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased a home and while I am remodeling the main level I was wondering what I should do with my basement - which is unfinished.
 
There is a small room, at the bottom of the stairs, I don't have exact measurements right now but lets just call it.. a 12ft L x 8ft W (x~7ft height) room perhaps. It also has an operational well pump in the corner which provides water to the outside pickets but also has an outlet for a hose to be hooked directly to the pump which is perfect for making a grow room in this area. 
 
My main question was if anyone had lighting recommendations. I intend to grow plants from start to finish in this room, but purely as a hobby/passion. So, anyone suggesting thousands of dollars of lights just isn't going to be possible.
 
Lets think, grow room on a budget. I was planning on covering the walls in the space blanket mylar stuff - I've seen a lot of people say you can buy sheets of the stuff fairly cheap on Amazon.
 
I was thinking some sort of shop light LEDs would be the easiest. For instance install the lights in rows so maybe one or two rows on each of the longest wall, 2x rows of 4ft LED shoplight fixtures would be about 6x 4ft shop lights on each wall. I think they were 2ft wide so if I did 6 of these on each side that would leave a walk space in the middle of the room about 4ft wide that would not be used for growing anything.
 
Can anyone make suggestions on what lights I could use for full maturity, start to finish, easy to install, easy to find/order, other tips/tricks I should think about when doing this?
I haven't even addressed humidity/air circulation, which hopefully someone can make a suggestion on as well
 
Thanks in advanced

 

[PexPeppers]

I know you don't want to spend a ton of cash but these are the best grow lights I have ever used. Very low heat and ultra bright. Don't fall for the blue + purple + red + white cheapy grow lights aka Blurple (think Mars Hydro, Vivaspectra, any of those). They dont say the actual watts, just the equivalent. its all marketing. These however do give you actual watts. one of those "600w" mars hydro lights will pull about 200 some from the wall. Anyways, here are the lights. You can also use T5HO lights.
 
I own 4 of these haha.
 
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/all/products/135w-led-board-kit
 

 

[juanitos]

white walls work just as well as mylar and don't look so crazy. 
you could do a couple of grow tents if you want isolated grow spaces.
 
shoplights work great for small plants / starts. not so great for full grown plants.
 
---
 
i would get this:
 
LEC/CMH kit or kit
- good light penetration
- great growing spectrum
- easy to setup, just 1 lamp, 1 power supply
 
wall mount fan amzn
 - push air around and strengthen plant stems
 
flood tray gh
- hold any over watering. You generally want fast draining medium so something to drain into is a good idea.
- can save time on cleanup as you can just take it outside / carwash.
- can re-purpose / use for raft or other hydroponic setups later
 
bags ebay
- cheap / easy to use / durable
 
coco coir amzn
- no bugs, inert, quick draining
 
perlite (find at lowes / walmart local)
- helps the coco coir not compact to retain its fast draining properties
 
nutrients amzn
- easy for first timer to use
- proven works with peppers by lots of grows
 
then every time you want to expand just get another set of above stuff.
 
as you get more experienced and have done a full grow and have $ you can upgrade to a reservoir / pump / timer to automate watering.

 

[Hafners]

It's hard to give a good recommendation on lights as there are so many options now, but hi grow and viparspectra make pre try good low cost lights amongst the led bar replacements for shop lights you mentioned. There's also a sticky post about choosing lighting.

As for the light control painting everything flat white is actually better than using mylar. Mylar tends to cause hot spotting if there's any wrinkles or bubbles and isn't really any more reflective than white paint.

You'll want plenty of air circulation, like fans in the upper corners blowing down at angles across the room, enough to make the plants wobble a little, but not enough to blow them over. You'll also want some fresh air exchange, possibly adjustable vents in the door if there's no other way to get fresh air in. It can be tricky to balance fresh air movement and maintain good temps and humidity, so a space heater and humidifier/dehumitifier may be needed, especially in a cool basement.

I'm sure more will chime in with some ideas and experiences, I'm still getting started with my basement grow tent, and I've got it figured out for winter weather, but next summers gonna present some new challenges.

 

[Teaks]

I know you don't want to spend a ton of cash but these are the best grow lights I have ever used. Very low heat and ultra bright. Don't fall for the blue + purple + red + white cheapy grow lights aka Blurple (think Mars Hydro, Vivaspectra, any of those). They dont say the actual watts, just the equivalent. its all marketing. These however do give you actual watts. one of those "600w" mars hydro lights will pull about 200 some from the wall. Anyways, here are the lights. You can also use T5HO lights.
 
I own 4 of these haha.
 
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/all/products/135w-led-board-kit
 

 
 
Internet is running very slowly so I couldn't actually get an image to load but reading over the description I saw a 3x3 grow area underneath this light - for that price a 3x3 area doesn't seem that big - unless I'm just confused.
 
I was looking at some T5HO shop lights earlier, it was 4ft dual bulb 6500k for $39. Does this sound like a fake one to you?

 

[PexPeppers]

 
 
Internet is running very slowly so I couldn't actually get an image to load but reading over the description I saw a 3x3 grow area underneath this light - for that price a 3x3 area doesn't seem that big - unless I'm just confused.
 
I was looking at some T5HO shop lights earlier, it was 4ft dual bulb 6500k for $39. Does this sound like a fake one to you?

 
yeah LED is expensive but the power savings (at least for me) are paying for it. T5HO are decent for vegging plants however you would need a good deal of them to grow any meaningful harvest. the CMH/LEC lights that Juanito's suggested are also very good for start to finish.

 

[Teaks]

white walls work just as well as mylar and don't look so crazy. 
you could do a couple of grow tents if you want isolated grow spaces.
 
shoplights work great for small plants / starts. not so great for full grown plants.
 
---
 
i would get this:
 
LEC/CMH kit or kit
- good light penetration
- great growing spectrum
- easy to setup, just 1 lamp, 1 power supply
 
wall mount fan amzn
 - push air around and strengthen plant stems
 
flood tray gh
- hold any over watering. You generally want fast draining medium so something to drain into is a good idea.
- can save time on cleanup as you can just take it outside / carwash.
- can re-purpose / use for raft or other hydroponic setups later
 
bags ebay
- cheap / easy to use / durable
 
coco coir amzn
- no bugs, inert, quick draining
 
perlite (find at lowes / walmart local)
- helps the coco coir not compact to retain its fast draining properties
 
nutrients amzn
- easy for first timer to use
- proven works with peppers by lots of grows
 
then every time you want to expand just get another set of above stuff.
 
as you get more experienced and have done a full grow and have $ you can upgrade to a reservoir / pump / timer to automate watering.

 
 
Hey thanks for this detailed reply, unless I just read over some stuff through the links I was wondering what the lighting area would be with something like LEC kit you linked. I'm also not a talented electrician by any means, so the discussion of wattage and amps etc etc is very quickly lost on me - however I believe a wattage that high would cost quite a bit on the electricity bill if I did a 16-8 lighting schedule.
 
I think this option is very doable, I just think that with a light as powerful and costly as that I would hope it could grow at least one side (or the majority of one side) of the room. If I need to have one of these lights every 3 feet that'll be an issue. Again, sorry if I read over this information.

 

[Teaks]

It's hard to give a good recommendation on lights as there are so many options now, but hi grow and viparspectra make pre try good low cost lights amongst the led bar replacements for shop lights you mentioned. There's also a sticky post about choosing lighting.

As for the light control painting everything flat white is actually better than using mylar. Mylar tends to cause hot spotting if there's any wrinkles or bubbles and isn't really any more reflective than white paint.

You'll want plenty of air circulation, like fans in the upper corners blowing down at angles across the room, enough to make the plants wobble a little, but not enough to blow them over. You'll also want some fresh air exchange, possibly adjustable vents in the door if there's no other way to get fresh air in. It can be tricky to balance fresh air movement and maintain good temps and humidity, so a space heater and humidifier/dehumitifier may be needed, especially in a cool basement.

I'm sure more will chime in with some ideas and experiences, I'm still getting started with my basement grow tent, and I've got it figured out for winter weather, but next summers gonna present some new challenges.

 
 
Mounting and running fans for circulation wont be an issue as the ceiling is exposed and all the walls are unfinished so its nice going into this with a clean slate. But I hear you about clean air, which I hope to just run an intake and exhaust out through the side.
 
White paint definitely sounds easier so I go that route.
 
My biggest concern is just getting the most efficient light for the space I have. A low cost LED is nice but if I need 20 of them it might not be the best light. I hope to get some pictures/measurements so hopefully that'll help narrow the choices down for anyone to further offer advice.
Thanks for stopping in and offering your input I hope your basement grow tent goes well!

 

[PexPeppers]

 
 
Hey thanks for this detailed reply, unless I just read over some stuff through the links I was wondering what the lighting area would be with something like LEC kit you linked. I'm also not a talented electrician by any means, so the discussion of wattage and amps etc etc is very quickly lost on me - however I believe a wattage that high would cost quite a bit on the electricity bill if I did a 16-8 lighting schedule.
 
I think this option is very doable, I just think that with a light as powerful and costly as that I would hope it could grow at least one side (or the majority of one side) of the room. If I need to have one of these lights every 3 feet that'll be an issue. Again, sorry if I read over this information.

 
large grow spaces require lots of light! with that much grow area packed with plants growing from start to finish you would need  around 3000 watts of light (10 of those lights)! Good thing they make light movers. If you just want to do a corner of it, why not make it into a room dedicated to a few plants. or alternatively get a grow tent or two

 

[Teaks]

 
large grow spaces require lots of light! with that much grow area packed with plants growing from start to finish you would need  around 3000 watts of light (10 of those lights)! Good thing they make light movers. If you just want to do a corner of it, why not make it into a room dedicated to a few plants. or alternatively get a grow tent or two

 
 
I'm starting to think only doing a small corner is the smartest idea.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Finnhomy-Hydroponic-Observation-Growing-Multiple/dp/B06W5X1DG4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1511808263&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=growing+tent&psc=1
 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SUEHYJ8/ref=psdc_3480699011_t4_B06W5X1DG4
 
Would either of these require more than 1 of the lights you linked, and which would you think would be best for growing a few peppers? Or more specifically which one could grow more at the same time.
 
Edit: I guess I should add, would I be better off with using T5 lights you suggested or would 1 of the LEC lights work better in a tent like these?

 

[PexPeppers]

you could light up that 5x5 (same size I have) with a 630 watt CMH or two of the LED I linked. with that 4x8 you could grow way more as its 32 sq ft instead of 25. A rule of thumb I like to go by:
 
50w/ sq ft HPS
40W sq ft MH
30W/ sq ft LED/COB
35W sq ft CMH/LEC
60w/ sq ft cfl

 

[Teaks]

you could light up that 5x5 (same size I have) with a 630 watt CMH or two of the LED I linked. with that 4x8 you could grow way more as its 32 sq ft instead of 25. A rule of thumb I like to go by:
 
50w/ sq ft HPS
40W sq ft MH
30W/ sq ft LED/COB
35W sq ft CMH/LEC
60w/ sq ft cfl

 
nevermind this was a brand you already said was not good (Vivaspecra or whatever)

 

[Teaks]

you could light up that 5x5 (same size I have) with a 630 watt CMH or two of the LED I linked. with that 4x8 you could grow way more as its 32 sq ft instead of 25. A rule of thumb I like to go by:
 
50w/ sq ft HPS
40W sq ft MH
30W/ sq ft LED/COB
35W sq ft CMH/LEC
60w/ sq ft cfl

 
 
Or, does this look legit to you?
 
$97 for a https://www.amazon.com/600W-Grow-Hi-Sdard-Connection-Adjustable/dp/B075N2BWPF/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1511810067&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=hi+grow&psc=1
Max coverage 4x4 at 24" so I probably could get away with using 2 of these if I pack everything in tightly and perhaps upgrade to another one down the road if I notice any stunted growth.
 
 
This is assuming I get the larger size tent I showed you, the 32sq/ft one
 
 
then you have something like this: https://www.menards.com/main/electrical/light-bulbs/led-light-bulbs/gt-lite-500w-replacement-high-lumen-bulb/p-1487834580445-c-7482.htm?tid=-3125442873803696760&ipos=1
Would I just need like 20 of these or what

 

[PexPeppers]

that's another blurple. 2 of those would work but if you're going LED you want either COB (this type: http://timbergrowlights.com/) or some of those boards. they are DIY type lights just so you know, so some assembly is required. I would either stick with 2x of those quantum boards, a timber grow light (or build your own), or a single 630w CMH. The multi colored LED's will lead to disappointment/more lights.

 

[juanitos]

 
 
Hey thanks for this detailed reply, unless I just read over some stuff through the links I was wondering what the lighting area would be with something like LEC kit you linked. I'm also not a talented electrician by any means, so the discussion of wattage and amps etc etc is very quickly lost on me - however I believe a wattage that high would cost quite a bit on the electricity bill if I did a 16-8 lighting schedule.
 
I think this option is very doable, I just think that with a light as powerful and costly as that I would hope it could grow at least one side (or the majority of one side) of the room. If I need to have one of these lights every 3 feet that'll be an issue. Again, sorry if I read over this information.

 
you can convert watts to killowatt hours (what power companies bill) it's pretty simple
(315 W / 1000)  | convert to kilowatt 
.315 * 18hours | how many hours a day
5.67 * 30days  | every day of the month
= 170.1 kWh
 
kWh rate in my area is $0.081 (8.1 cents)
 
$13.77 a month
 
====
 
a 315w for peppers can cover at least 4x4 (size of table i linked) (it is 3x3 for marijuana)
 
yes indoor growing is much more expensive than free sun outside.
Why are you trying to grow all indoor? can't you just wait and grow May-November like most of us?
 
since you said it's a hobby... 15$ isn't that much.. can spend more than that on a night out easy lol
 
if you are trying to grow weed then it makes sense because it is worth a lot more. if you can pull 6-11 ounces from a 315w grow light every 80 days or whatever the lighting cost means nothing =p

 

[Teaks]

 
you can convert watts to killowatt hours (what power companies bill) it's pretty simple
(315 W / 1000)  | convert to kilowatt 
.315 * 18hours | how many hours a day
5.67 * 30days  | every day of the month
= 170.1 kWh
 
kWh rate in my area is $0.081 (8.1 cents)
 
$13.77 a month
 
====
 
a 315w for peppers can cover at least 4x4 (size of table i linked) (it is 3x3 for marijuana)
 
yes indoor growing is much more expensive than free sun outside.
Why are you trying to grow all indoor? can't you just wait and grow May-November like most of us?
 
since you said it's a hobby... 15$ isn't that much.. can spend more than that on a night out easy lol
 
if you are trying to grow weed then it makes sense because it is worth a lot more. if you can pull 6-11 ounces from a 315w grow light every 80 days or whatever the lighting cost means nothing =p

I realised this would have to be a winter hobby.

I'm going between a greenhouse and indoor grow room. Growing only peppers unfortunately. Lol

I figure ill just use free sun during summer then move indoors and start a second growing season/ maintain my favorite peppers over winter so they're extra ready for another spring season.

I've just been using muy sunroom which is basically a greenhouse attached to the side of my house but isn't completely ideal.

Looking to have a year round crop basically.

 

[juanitos]

well you could do 2x LEC and push your growth a bit. probably can get close to half your room. like 8x5 maybe.
 
Even a cheap ass HPS kit can be fun to play around with and provides good results, it just costs more over time.
 
LED will be even more upfront cost but will be cheaper over time. but it will take like 2 years or so to make up the cost. 
 
After 2 years you might have a whole new grow room or setup you want to try out instead.
Just get something we recommend or is proven in someone's glog don't buy random stuff / cheapest option and you should have a fun grow.

 

[Teaks]

well you could do 2x LEC and push your growth a bit. probably can get close to half your room. like 8x5 maybe.
 
Even a cheap ass HPS kit can be fun to play around with and provides good results, it just costs more over time.
 
LED will be even more upfront cost but will be cheaper over time. but it will take like 2 years or so to make up the cost. 
 
After 2 years you might have a whole new grow room or setup you want to try out instead.
Just get something we recommend or is proven in someone's glog don't buy random stuff / cheapest option and you should have a fun grow.

 

With all the great feedback I've been given I'm going to mark this as the best just because I think the kit you linked for 100 bucks is pretty much what a beginner should start off with. The kit includes a timer and all the other stuff that I might not buy - trying to cut corners and save money - if I were to go another route.
 
I think I'll have to try this kit once I get a little more disposable income and maybe close out my current glog in order to start a beginners glog that someone who is just getting into indoor growing like myself can follow along and realize my mistakes before they go about making their own.
 
I just wish I had thousands of extra dollars to get the best of the best everything haha