Opinions on my first setup

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by Distrex, Nov 7, 2014.

  1. Hey all,
    I have been hanging around on here for a while now reading everything I can to try and get my bearings.  There is certainly a lot of information out there and a lot of really helpful people on here willing to share that information.  I am wanting to start my first grow and I'm planning on doing a fairly small indoor tent grow, about 4 plants.  I was hoping I could hear some of your guys opinions on my plan/materials so far.
     
    So for the tent I was thinking about his guy:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H9NGP8C/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=G78DQXALNNFM&coliid=I26KYJHDZ4EBI
    • It's a pretty straight forward (5'x5'x6.6') light proof grow tent
    • Should give me plenty of room
    • Place to mount the lights and the fan/exhaust
    For the lights the price and output for this one seems about right:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004L3AQ1U/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=G78DQXALNNFM&coliid=I2MOU98B9U6U4F&psc=1
    • MH/HPS 600watts with a gull wings style hood
    • Should be plenty of light for 3-4 plants
    • My only concern with this one is it is not a vent hood, I just wonder if it may make temp control harder
    For ventilation:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KMUHWY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=G78DQXALNNFM&coliid=IGK0YZMEQBL3M
    • 8" 400cfm duct fan
    • Exhaust from the top with one of the DIY carbon filters I've found on here
    • The tent will be a in spare bedroom in the house, that I can exhaust out that rooms window
    Soil and pots:
    I would really like to start with the organic water only no-till methods that I've seen on here.  It seems like a really straight forward way of gardening that I would really enjoy and would be something I would carry over outside to my veggie gardens.
     
    I'm pretty sure I'm going to use the smart pots (not sure If I will go with the "smart" brand), but that style of pot 
     
    The soil mix I think I will go with one of the plenty of mix/amendment recipes I've seen on the "Easy Organic Soil Mix for Beginners" post by Ganga Girl.  Something pretty much along these lines:
    • 1/2 part peat moss
    • 1/2 part humus (1/2 EWC, 1/4 Horse Compost, 1/4 Mushroom compost) 
    • 1/2 part aeration amendment (1/2 rice hulls, 1/2 perlite)
    • 1 cup lime (per cubic foot)
    • 1 cup kelp meal 
    Amendments
    • dry organic fertilizer
    • Kelp Meal
    • Alfalfa Meal
    • Rock dust per cubic foot 
     
    Along with the soil I would like to do several teas throughout the veg and flowering stages
     
    That seems to pretty much be the main components that I would need.  I also have plans to pick up a couple of these:
    • Ph meter (I know I don't need it with organic but should still be good info)
    • Temp/Humidity meter
    • A Few CFL's for the sprouts
    • A jewelers loup
    • Micro blade snips
     
    Well that basically sums up what I've got planned so far for equipment.  If you have any info/input/comments/concerns please feel free to let me know.  And thanks for taking the time to rea through all of that. Haha
     

     
  2. Hiya!
    Ok....the tent looks good but the Appolo set is a little high in price. You can get that same set up with a cool tube for around 120.00 from a guy named 'low baller'. The fan will not be adequate as it doesn't have enough power to draw through a carbon filter....look for an in line fan from MTN for about 80 bucks. You need a fan that will create negative pressure in your tent as well and that one won't do either. Even though it is 400 CFM, that is made for a duct with no air flow resistance that you get using a filter.
     
  3. Travel2much,
    I looked around on amazon for "low baller" and found the items that he has listed on Amazon, but I didn't see the deal that you were talking about.  It just had the same type of tent and size for the same price.  Was there somewhere else I should be looking for the items he is selling?
     
    I thought that might be the case with that fan, but I figured with it being able to move that amount of air it might not be an issue, but I will definitely look into that fan you mentioned.
     
  4. Sorry brother.....I meant EBay!
     
  5. Travel2much,
    Ahh got it. Thanks man, I'll take a look. I've been looking around locally to see what prices are around town. Ebay and cl and gonna be my next places to look.
     
  6. Grimlockxxx,
    That definitely got added to the wishlist.

    I've got my seeds on order, time to get my stuff in order haha.
     
  7. I would skip the DIY filter and just spend the $ on a Phresh filter. The 600w will fit nicely in your 5x5, but depending on your ambient temps, you may need to go the air-cooled route. I agree that organics are awesome, but I would recommend a soil-less medium that can be easily flushed for your first time growing. That way, if you make a mistake you can reset the plant pretty easily. The easiest setup IMO would be Canna A&B in a good quality coco mix. You could still add earthworm castings and make some teas to get the hang of it. If you do use that supersoil recipe, make sure you do it correctly. I used it before and forgot the greensand and had some pretty bad potassium deficiencies. The problem with supersoil is that you can't really flush it that well bc the microbiology is "sticky" and it is difficult to get too much guano washed out. That's why I'd recommend something that flushes easy for beginners. Good luck, mate. You're about to start the best hobby ever.


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  8. Dukedogg76,
    I'm up in Oregon so I don't think ambient temps will be too much of a problem at least for the next several months. My house is usually maintained around 70f and the room I plan to grow in should be cooler than that for a while. I will have to keep my eye on the thermometer though

    From the way many of the posts made it seem, if you stuck with a solid recipe and paid kinda close attention to it, there shouldn't be many issues with the organic soil route. Does that not seem to be the case? I absolutely see what you mean about not being able to erase accidents as easily

    Thanks for all your input
     
  9. Cool tube or Hood with glass  600 watt will heat up but good
     
  10. I personally like the Millard tent the best. It was cheap, yet has held up this far for me! I've only had it a couple of months... : ) I bought a slightly larger size and it was right around $100... Plus, if you're a prime member, you can get it in two days with prime shipping. I also got my fan and phresh filter for right at $150 from Amazon and had them over nighted. I went with LED lights because I felt it was important to leave a lighter carbon footprint. I'm growing a few more plant and germinating some seeds, but similar situation. I feel like I have had really good luck this far! A little scared of overwatering and nutes, but coming right along! You'll figure it out... Maybe stumble a little, but you'll learn from it. ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415416820.522977.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415416839.056023.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415416854.954549.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415416874.010216.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415416894.258404.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
     
  11. Cozy2963,
    What draws you to this tent over the apollo brand? it seems like the phreash filters are the best way to go. How many plants do you think you could grow with no issues with odor?
     
  12. Hi distrex,

    I liked this tent first off at the price point. I bought it on Amazon and had the first one be a bust, but sent it back, re ordered a larger size and got a credit towards the second. I ended up paying $60!

    I currently have 5 teens that seem to be doing alright. 2 teens that are struggling, one seedling, and 4 germinating. ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717526.066866.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717540.018265.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717559.553229.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717578.276678.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
     
  13. #14 cozy2963, Nov 11, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 11, 2014
    Oh yeah... And just added my second tent for veg... The larger one will be for flower! I traded someone overages for it... So I didn't care about the brand! It cost me nearly nothing! I love the barter system!

    ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717641.760703.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717658.412000.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1415717675.745820.jpg


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  14. Sounds like you got an awesome deal on that. I've been keeping am eye out all over and those are definitely looking pretty enticing. I've been trying to look on cl. With measure 91 just passing up here in oregon, I was thinking there may be some cheap grow equipment on cl from people upgrading.

    I was talking to my wife the other day and she wasn't to interested in loosing 3/4 of one of our bedrooms for me jumping into a new hobby, so I think I have to go with a smaller tent haha. I'm thinking of getting a 2'x4' or 3'x3' tent. It'll be a little smaller, but will be a little cheaper so I can put a few more bucks into getting a good fan and filter. I'll also be more than covered with a 600w mh/hps light.

    I've been working 70 hr work weeks the last little while so it's been a little hard to get to the nursery around here but getting my water only soil mix is my first priority.
     
  15. if your looking to make one cheap just build yourself a grow box, made mine for practically with wood laying around put some holes in the top 4ft tall 4 ft wide 3 feet depth enough for 8 plants if i wanted heres a pic 
     

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  16. For my $0.02, I think you're going to be just fine with that soil mix. I'm a noob myself (first grow is about 1 week from harvest!), but I read everything I could in the organics forum and pretty much followed that same recipe. Just let it sit for a good 4 weeks after you mix it.
    So far I'm pretty happy, I didnt find organics too difficult of a learning curve. When I was researching about the standard nute growing I felt like trying to maintain the pH and buying nutes and flushing would be way harder.
    Definitely read everything on the organics forum if you decide to stick with it tho, there are some smart people over there.
    Good luck!
     
  17. I was thinking about doing that. But right now I just don't have much scrap wood laying around. All I really have right now is a few feet of leftover 2x4s from when I built my surfboard glassing/shaping stands. I would have had to bought to many things to make it cheaper.


    Troubleahead,
    Thanks for the vote of confidence. I've been reading everything I could get my hands on for the organic grow and I think your right. Seems like all the organic growers on here have really boiled it all down to a pretty repeatable recipe.
     
  18. I just wanted to pop back in here and give anyone interested a little update of how everything is going.

    I decided to go with a 3x3 tent. A 600w mh/hps digital balast, 6" carbon filter and I line fan. I've also got an oscillating fan to circulate air in the tent.

    For the containers I went with 3 gal smart pots. At first I just started with watering by hand, but have noe.moved onto noobwannabs ghetto sip setup. And it is working beautifully.

    Herr are a couple shots of what I have going right now. Feel free to pop into my journal if you want to see a little more info.

    http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1344971-First-Grow---Northern-Lights---600w---3x3-Grow-Tent
     

    Attached Files:

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