So I've finally decided that I'm going to be using a 5 x 5 grow space for my first garden.I think I'm most likely going to be using two dimmable 600w light's over it and I wanted to ask two question -

1.Will my heat signature be something to worry about?I'm not sure how noticeable this will be by leo what temperature ranges do they normally look for?

2.I'm sure the amount of power I use will probably come into question by the energy company and was wondering if anybody could suggest an alternative power supply I could use for my trailer? it's in a neighborhood so generator's are out.The reason I'm asking is because I only have but maybe two or three separate circuits in this trailer at best,it's somewhat inefficient for the purpose I'm using it for,any suggestions?

Ample ventilation leading away from the room should help you be worry free enough, Two 600s isn't too hot. Sealed, vented hoods will help fix any heat signature problems I would think.

Circuits on your breaker box? just add a 15 amp and wire that to your timing box that should have lots of plugs on it. ;3
1600 extra watts isn't too much to be worried about imo. saying 1600 just for added power such as fans. Just minimize use around the house. Keep things off when they're not in use, ie; computer,lights,tv, don't do small laundry loads, wait to do big ones. Small things will help with the adjustment in added power.

Just make sure to pay your bill on time every month, and everyone will be happy ;3

thanks hoser...I guess since I need 2 fans that will carry 3-5 times the airflow to the room (which is about 10 x 8 x 9)= 720cf....so I need two fans capable of transferring a max of 3600 CFM each? or is the 3600 CFM between both of the fans? also wondering if this is overkill for a 5 x5 growspace or not?...awesome signature BTW ...."THAT'S RIGHT MONKEY,PLAY MY HEAD!!"

nevermind on that previous math...i was WAAAY off for calculating ventilation...thank god i googled it because i was having a very difficult time trying to find fans with that kind of cfm that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

oopsy, 30amp breaker is what you want.


haha yeah thanks, classic movie. I think a 6" inline fan with a Fanspeed dimmer on it would do fine for an outtake, and you can have negative pressure for intake (providing the area is air tight). So an intake fan may not be needed. then you'd need atleast 1 oscillating fan inside.

ok just revised the math that I had and got a whole new list of different numbers to use!I even re-measured the room and got a whole different set of numbers

for this calculation I used this pages formula,because it seemed to be very concise keep in mind I rounded all of these

http://www.bghydro.com/bgh/static/articles/0606_vent.asp

ok so here goes -

room dimensions -
130"(L) x 107" X (W) X 94"(H)

basically by my calculations that equates to 756.678CF

757/3 = 253 CFM

+ 2lights - 253 x .30 = 75.9
+ Co2 - 253 x .05 = 12.65
+ Scrubber - 253 x .20 = 50.60
139.15
+253
392.15 total CFM

in other words I need a 6" inline fan with a velocity of 400CFM for the exhaust with the carbon scrubber.So if I need to exhaust at least 3-5 times that,how big a fan do i truly need? still couldn't figure that out

It's a 5x5 bed so I'm probably going to be using two light fixtures over the growbed,one set being 2 400w MH for veg and the other being 2 600w HPS for flowering.I'm thinking of putting about 15 plants in there.

Well my room is 12L x 12W x 7H. I have on my exhaust a 6" inline fan connected to my 2.5ft carbon filter. She'll suck that room empty pretty quick. I've tested it! With a super hotbox. Granted my room is air tight, which helps abit.
I myself could probably use an 8" on my outtake, But I had a 6" lying around so, meh. It has no problem clearing the room of heat and humidity after 10 minutes of being on, That'll drop the room a few degrees and the RH by 5-10%

If you want a fail safe plan, Buy an 8" inline fan and also buy a Fanspeed Dimmer to go with it. You can turn down the 8" inline to 1/2-2/3 power, It'll have more sucking power than a 6", but it will be quieter than a 6" that is on full power all the time.
In any case, buy a fanspeed dimmer cause they are super handy.

Sounds like you have lots of light coverage for the area, How do you plan on growing those ladies? How long are you going to veg them? LST, or topping perhaps? what strain?

Glad to see you're thinking things through so much! preparedness is key.

Good Luck

I want to choose northern lights.I plan on using organic soil,and after a bit of thought I'm no longer planning on using the co2 for my first grow...this setup doesn't seem to particularly call for it.

for the soil i'm probably going to give subcool's super soil recipe a try,cus it seemed awesome!

for my nutes i'm probably going to be getting some cow manure compost from the farm right down the street,and some worm castings which are readily available from another farm a little further out but I think the drive will be worth it.

I'm not sure as to how much or what else I will put in the compost tea,probably some molasses,bat guano,and a variety of whatever else comes from my research that I can get at the local grow shop that's only about 20 mins away from me.

The bed I'm going to make out of lumber and plywood,it will probably be raised about 2 feet off the ground because of my knees.And I'm going to attach some 3/4" plywood "walls" if you will around the area covered with diamond mylar to make the most out of my lighting.

a few points I need to figure out ahead of time are how to hang the exhaust and lighting system without using the ceiling,as that's against my lease requirements.But I can still take off the window trim and the door trim as that's real easy to replace.There's no pain on my walls or ceiling it's just that wiered squiggely drywall stuff they put for decoration.

the window that I have(only one in the room) is a 37"(W) X 55"(H) that I'm going to seal with most likely plywood,i'm going to drill one 6" diameter hole to fit the exhaust flange into and probably a 12" diameter hole for the passive intake.

Any suggestions on how I can hang those without drilling any holes? I know it will probably be tough,but I was thinking of placing some lumber on the top of the "plywood walls" across the grow bed and screwing the fixture's on to that....the exhaust however still kind of stumps me and I was also wondering if there are any kind of window screens I would be able to buy to prevent people from being able to see the inside of my window? I'm going to leave the blinds down but I don't want them to see the blinds being pushed by the exhaust fan....any suggestions on that as well?

I just had an excellent idea....I could build a 25sqft wooden growbox inside the bedroom I'm planning on growing in.That way I would essentially be able to make any kind of modifications I needed for the lights and the exhaust because the grow space would have it's own walls,ceilings and floor,it would be cheaper to insulate,and be much easier to create an airtight seal in a smaller space.I would create a door for it so I can walk in there whenever I need to water,and it would make the materials more cost effective!WOOHOO!!! IM GONNA BUILD ME A GROW BOX!!!!