Hi all, forgive me if i'm being a bit thick here,as per the name a very new grower here.
I've been reading hundreds of posts on growroom building & growing and just wondered if there was a file for each i could down-load?
If not,here's my scenario,i've just grown 10 seedlings in soil in my loft with a 400w hps,these have grown a bit leggy due to having my light too high & not having an enclosed space mylar'ed out etc (many thanks to the members for the advice) so now i need to remedy this, i have a fair bit of room to play with but 1.5 x 1.5m by about same height would be no problem, have i too many plants for my light? can you advise best size before i go ordering 50 yards of mylar  
venting into rest of loft no prob,but venting outside is sadly, so i'm ready to invest in air freshners!
Also if you don't notice my other post B&Q have some 4amp inductive timers would these be ok with my light?,i know the usual 2amp timers would fry but as these are double the rating and only 7.98 for 2???
Many thanks for helping a plank like me,wish i'd found this group weeks back!

Hey Dude.....

I am new to this too although with these guys help I am about 2 weeks from my first harvest!!!

Just a word on those timers...
I used the B&Q ones and they fried....!!! I ended up getting one from growell that has 8amp inductive (I think).

I think 1.5m x 1.5m would be fine for a 400W hps but I'd wait for someone with a bit more experience if I were you.....

Good luck

1.5m x 1.5m is 600W-KW territory, take it down to 1m x 1m max for a 400W (you want about 50W per square foot ideally so just under 9sq ft)

I run a 600W in a 1m x 1m whiteboard box

I'd make an enclosure with the mylar - like a curtain - stick a rail up - so you can surround the plants - but also get easy access for watering, pruning etc.

50w per foot is the standard rating - but many use about 30w - myself included - if your reflective surfaces are good (flat white paint on the floor and above the light, and mylar) then you can stretch the light's capabilitiy. I have about 18-20sq/ft under a 600w for flowering.

No standard file - if you're growing in soil in the loft - usual problems will be wild fluctuations in temp - it will be very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Secondly - you might want to get a small clone stock - which means building a clone-mum cabinet  - and a fluoro veg area... but these are likely to be future upgrades - rather than pressing needs at the moment.

snoop about and think about what you want - lots of smoke and often? enough to keep me going? high quality personal stash, some to sort me and my friends out?

Once these priorities are down- it becomes easy to decide what you want to do... (everyone wants lots and often - but that means extra cost, extra difficulty, extra maintenance, extra risk etc....) not everyone can afford those costs....

wise words HP as usual

mylar is +tech for bustability though  

the only thing I'd add is make sure your loft's structure is up to having plenty of extra weight up there, plants near harvest after their last watering in soil are gonna weigh in

my boarding bounces and sways

Thanks a lot fellas,i'm getting there, i think i got a bit too giddy with my seeds i've now got 11 on the go & i don't think i'll have the room! i was guessing prob half would be male & get scrapped, but from the sound of things i should've just started 3 or 4, now what do i do with a load of 8" high seedlings?
Also this is prob a really daft question,(i'm good at those), i've got myself one of those digital thermo/hygro units for about 25 quid,but how do i get an accurate measure inside my growroom? if i leave it in the full glare of the light it's miles out?
Not sure what you mean,icanebud, about the mylar,do you mean more professional so more severe penalties?? i'm already nervous,the 2 or 3 people that knew i was trying i've already told i screwed up & have given up,call me paranoid but...

Anyway thanks for the info so far i'll keep on pestering you all till i get it about right

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, i think i got a bit too giddy with my seeds i've now got 11 on the go & i don't think i'll have the room! i was guessing prob half would be male & get scrapped, but from the sound of things i should've just started 3 or 4, now what do i do with a load of 8" high seedlings?

This is cool, you will be able to tell their sex before potting them on to their main containers for flowering and 11 should give you enough females for a good crop under that light (5 or 6, if you get more keep them on veg under cheap fluoros for cloning)

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Also this is prob a really daft question,(i'm good at those), i've got myself one of those digital thermo/hygro units for about 25 quid,but how do i get an accurate measure inside my growroom? if i leave it in the full glare of the light it's miles out?

Not daft at all, the consensus seems to be under the canopy somewhere accessible where it won't get mashed up.  Short term just leave it where it is cos there's no canopy and you might as well know how hot the full glare is on the plants

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Not sure what you mean,icanebud, about the mylar,do you mean more professional so more severe penalties?? i'm already nervous,the 2 or 3 people that knew i was trying i've already told i screwed up & have given up,call me paranoid but...

Yep, it's all about calculated risk, the authorities aren't that clued up so something bright, shiny and space age that they've never heard of gets them excited but in the overall scheme its not that significant, hydro is a bigger +tech factor

hi ICB ta for the info typical re the mylar,ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law,unless it's the law being ignorant!

Anyway just been up to check on them and now can hardly see to type i'll have to leave some welding goggles nearby, leaving the therm' in the full glare inside my tin foil tent it's reading 98 with 30% humidity, seems too high so i've opened the back up a bit & put a 12" tray of water in to incr the humidity a bit, i have just noticed the top of some of the plants are going sort of pink in the stem is this ok? Otherwise they look healthy as owt! new leaves a sprouting etc the fan does seem to be making them toughen up a bit from their spindly beginings, thanks to ya all cedar,hemp & yourself fella it's great to know someone else is out there with a bit more knowlege to fall back on