Starting a set up....

[Unhallowed420]

Hey all,

I've been thinking about doing a small indoor grow set up in either a closet or part of a room and i'm debating on how i want to do it..I would like to set it up over the next coming weeks and have a progression thread...

I have been seeing a lot of low cost CFL set ups that do well, but then im thinking after all the small costs and labor, i could do a 400 watt plug and play HPS set up for close to the same cost with better yield. Also looking into hydroponics...should i wait for experiance before?

Basically i'm looking for recommendations on which route to go, and if possible, detailed help on box set up, brands, accessories etc. I'm quite handy and have a pretty good amount of tools, but this will be my first grow project, and any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[minitrkn420]

nothing beats a 600 or a 1k. long as u run a fresh bulb, you can maximize what you do.

i recommend you getting a magnetic ballast off craigslist. a name brander (preferably switchable for future fun)

run it, run a proven recipe. buy a ph pen, buy correct products, and keep it consistent.

i dont see you not failing. only way to fail imo is run cfl's, or run tiny lights.

its impossible to get ahead when u run small rigs. electricity n costs are far to expensive to run small rigs n yeild 0.

also messing up causes alotta unpleasant times. run a proven recipe n u cant fuck up.

thats my 2 cents lol. good luck brotha

-mini

[YukonBikerGuy]

I wouldn't choose hydro for a first grow myself. Stay away from the CFLs and stick with HID lights. 600W ballasts are the most efficient in terms of energy used vs lumens produced, and the 1000w's produce the most overall lumens for maximum rock hard nugs. Florecent light is ok for clones, and some mother plants will also do well with it, but for main growth and flower production, HID is the way to go.

Magnetic ballasts wear out. Getting a used one of unknown quality is a good way to NOT maximize your efforts. If yer gonna use a magnetic ballast, do yourself a favor and buy a new 1.

Panda plastic makes good 'walls' for sectioning off part of a room. Ventilation is important, plan on having a good exhaust as well as a supply of fresh air. Cannabis gardens have a particular odor, so a carbon filter on the exhaust or set up in the grow as a scrubber is a good idea to help maintain stealth. In an intake/exhaust style garden, plan on exchanging all the air in the grow space once every 3 minutes or so. (ie a 100 cubic ft space needs about 30cfm fan on exhaust, a space 10 X 10 X 10 is 1000 cubic feet, requiring approximately a 300cfm fan)

You need to monitor temp and humidity in the garden, you can get a simple analog gauge, or a nice digital thermometer that records daily max and min temps and phones you when there are problems, and several models in between.

Most gardens have a way to raise and lower either the lights, or the plants, or both to maintain an even canopy the correct distance from the light source. Hold the back of your hand up to the light, if you can hold it there for 5 min without burning, then your plants can live at that height too.

This thread so far has a lot of general information, and so do most books on cannabis horticulture, I would suggest getting a good 1 or 2 and cover the detailed basics that way. You can see that there is too much information possible to just lay it all out in a quick post. Asking very specific questions about issues as they arise may be of more benifit.

Good luck with your setup. Grow grow grow.

YBG

[Unhallowed420]

Thanks for the responses.

I have been doing extensive reading into growing, and i'm not necessarily worried about failing, more so about set up. At first I was thinking about the CFL with clones route but now for sure im thinking HPS/MH interchangeable set up. I'm going to be buying all of the gear new, that way less chance of equipment failure.

What would be a good box size for 2-3 plants and how would a 600 watt HPS/MH do with it? Is it worth it to go for 1000 watt, IE electric bills? Would you say its worth it to have both bulbs or just go with the HPS? Looking to hang the light on chains so that i can adjust light height throughout the grow. Im looking into digital ballasts as well, worth the extra money from what i can see, correct?

Also, does anyone have a good idea for a home made carbon filter, or know an efficient one for a good price? Im thinking about getting like a 5" flex tube and putting a high flow computer fan or something at the exit of the plant box pushing the air out into a box with an access lid filled with carbon, then out of a piece of hose in the other side. Any thoughts on that? As for air intake, was thinking it would need a personal sized fan pushing air in from the outside. And of course an intake/exhaust for the light set up.

Would lining the box with reflective stuff rather than painting it flat white be beneficial?

What nutes/chemicals would you recommend I buy? I'm thinking Fox Farms soil 50/50 with vermiculite for my growing medium.

Again, Thanks for all the help and responses, much appreciated

[Bongwater420]

i beg to differ with mini, if ur crammed then grow ina small space it;s better than nothing there is allways lst,toppin,supercropin to increase yield, but if u have the space go big, just depends on ur personal preferance

[minitrkn420]

digital ballast str8 out suck. never would i own one yet. there just not consistant enough for me to wanna dick with em. they break so often its unreal.

ive owned like 10 magnetics, all used. never have i had one burn out. just flick it before u buy it. if it humms real loud, dont buy it.

also go with a name brand. all my ballasts came from craigslist. i know a fireman who gets em after raids n sells em there. u can find incredible deals man.

go big or go home. otherwize its not worth ur time imo hahaha
n dont forget the golden rule to growning. LESS IS MORE...


-mini

[YukonBikerGuy]

The only way to tell if a magnetic ballast is any good is to plug it in, wait for full intensity, and rate it with a lumen meter. A 'loud hum' is inherent in a magnetic balast, and not just an indicator of age/wear. Yes burnt out ballasts shows they are broken, but you cant really spot 'failing' by eye. Just because it 'still works' does not mean that it still works WELL. I know many people swear by cheap equipment off CL, but personally I wouldn't make that choice.

Digital ballasts produce more lumens per watt. The digital balasts are much cooler to run than magnetic, and can be located 65 feet from the bulb. Digitals reach full intensity much faster, and start up much quicker. My digital ballasts came with a 5 yr warranty, I haven't seen a warranty on any magnetic ballasts. Probably because the design starts to wear out as soon as you plug it in as part of regular use. Hard to warranty regular operation. After 12-18 months, some magnetic ballasts can loose up to 30% of thier lumen output, while digital balasts start out with %30 more lumens/watt right out of the box. BTW, can you tell that I like my digital ballasts? :) My old mags are now 'emergency spares'.

A 600W or 1000W even with a vented reflector may be too much for a 'box' style grow, they put out a lot of heat. And thats a lot of light for 2-3 (big?, huge?) plants to be using efficiently, do better with 6-8 mediumish sized ones, or a buttload in a SOG.

I gave up on soils. Along the way I found that vermiculite can retain a lot more water, and when it does, it doesnt aid much in drainage. I find that perlite holds zero moisture and adds excellent drainage to most mediums. My own medium is either pro-mix or #4 sunshine mix with 1/3 perlite added, and a sprinkling of worm castings for flavor. My 'base food' is GH hydro nutes, and I supplement with CAL+Mg, extra N, some fish poop, and other things depending on the stage of growth. There are many many 'boutique' type nutes, both organic and chemical salt based available for sale. Choose 1 you like for your 'base food' and follow the manufacturer's directions on mixing. If the strain you are growing seems to need higher levels of 'something' than is provided in your 'base food', then you may tailor it a bit by adding some supplements, but if you get too far from the 'base food' recipie, your crop might prefer a different brand to being overfed a random mix of nutes. Far easier to just stick with the mixing directions on the bottle.

http://www.progressive-growth.com/can_filters_carbon_filters.php A whole page of carbon filters, the odorsoks seem quite cheap. Just for reference, I have never personally used that site.

Panda plastic is white on one side and black on the other, opaque to light. I have used it to line walls, and to create walls for grow spaces. Stapling it to the wall was easier than painting for me.

Tired of typing now.....

Good luck,
YBG