Berginner looking for tips with buying and starting an indoor setup

Grow Weed Easy - Learn How to Grow Cannabis with Simple Tutorials

 

You can buy the tent with everything already in it. Just gotta get the beans and the indoor grow bible by Jose Cervantes.

 

I assume you mean Viparspectra. That light only draws 269 watts which won't be enough for a 4x4 - you would need at least 2 and possibly 3 for that space. Good luck and welcome to GC.

 

for the same price get 400 more watts with a 1000w hps(60 some watts per square foot). Don't forget to factor in the cost of a charcoal filter and vortex fan.

 

There is nothing wrong with using some well reviewed but cheap blurple LED's off of Amazon. There are better options out there, but the cheap LED's will work for your first couple grows. With more experience you can decide if you want to continue and invest larger sums into lights that will be 300% more expensive to add 10-15% to your harvest.

From my experience and research you want to have about 50 watts of LED light per square foot of plant canopy you are trying to grow. If you plan on having wall to wall plant canopy in your 4x4 tent that is 16 square feet so 800 watts of light. On LEDs you need to only count the wattage it uses at the wall. Ignore the claims of what it is equivalent to in HPS, and count what the light's actual electrical draw is. I use 2 LED's that draw 132 watts each, and one that draws 300 watts in my 4x4x7 tent. My last grow of 6 White Widow fem seeds netted me a hair over 14 ounces dry weight. Here is a link to my last grow as an example of what can be done with cheap lights..

Belated Grow Journal - 6 Fem White Widow

After the tent and lights, then look for a small exhaust fan and carbon filter combo to control the smell. 4" should be plenty for a 4x4. I bought a 6" fan and filter, and it is overkill. Then get a small 6" fan or two to circulate the air to simulate an outdoor breeze which helps strengthen stems to support bud weight, and reduce chances of mold growth.

I recommend cloth pots and lots of perlite (30% ish) in your soil to allow for good drainage, and whatever nutrients you use, I suggest you use them at half strength until you determine how your plants like it. Over watering and Over applying Nutrients are the most common mistakes that everyone makes in the beginning.

Good Luck and Happy Growing!

 

Other than the tent you'll need...
*An exhaust fan. Don't cheap out on this.
*A carbon filter. Don't cheap out on this.
*A circulation fan or fans.
*A light. 600w will be about right. HPS is a good simple cheap option. There are some good LEDs out there but be carful about what wattage they are because many manufacturers literally lie about how many watts they use.
*Plant pots.
*Soil/potting compost.
*Perlite. Your finished soil mix should consist of about 30% perlite. It's for the roots to breath. They can easily drown without it form watering too often
*Nutrients. At some point your plants will use up the available nutrients in the soil and you'll need to replace them some how. There are endless options for this. Most of them are fine. Pick one that contains the most elements and has a suitable NPK ratio Something like 4-2-6 is a good ratio. These are usually added to the water.
*Something to fill up with water and administer to the soil. I have a 45 litre bin and a pond pump on a hose. But it can be as simple as a bucket and jug

There are a few other things worth getting at some point but that's the basics to start off with

 

It mostly depends on how much you're prepared to pay

 

I’m relatively new to growing indoors as well, and I’ve went went the cheap China made LED lights starting out myself. And I’ve grown a few autos with the current setup, and they’ve done ok. If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased QB lights! Check them out on Amazon, and research them a bit. If it’s in your budget? My 1200W blurple full spectrum light was 119.00 (I’m aware- 2.3 watts at the wall) and I have a white LED as well, 600w I believe it’s rated (again, garbage at the wall) but it was around 89 bucks. Combine the cost of both lights and I would have had a great start in buying a QB. But, as above posted said, China lights will allow you to grow some bud.


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How can i find out exactly how many watts fer sq ft i have of lighting.. im using a 2.5x2.5 space.. running 300w of true blurple 12 band spectrum leds.. plz help

 

Ppl are finding these boards cheaper by the day.. yesterdays post about them said 15-$20 a hlg-65 with driver included.. try taking a look at the qb board threads

I just spent bread on these 2 lights less than a month ago & im thinkin of switching to qb already cuz we all know their better & they gettin so affordable now.. but then wtf i do with these couple 100 i just spent.. .. might wait to my next big run to upgrade to 2 hlg-65 3000k for max flower potential added to these 2 blurples & i should be golden then

 

Yeah, I’m wanting to do the same! I sent a direct message to “some old guy” on here and he explained his QB setup, and for me, especially being able to mount the drivers outside of my tent to keep the heat out, I’m gonna start saving my pennies and order the same setup he has. I just harvested a bud from one of my Jack Herer Autos, and was pleased with how fat, dense, and the trichome coverage. The “blurple” did the job


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watts per square foot doesn't quite work for LEDs as they make claims that they are "equivalent" to certain HID bulbs without being able to test their claim without buying it first. Not to knock the products they produce but just their marketing. For HIDs you want 50w/square foot. You have 6.25 square feet and I estimate roughly 400w of "equivalent" HID watts putting you slightly short of that 50w/square foot. I wish someone made a rule of thumb for PAR.

 

That's the reason you use actual watts out of the wall when figuring led's and not the equivalent. The rule of thumb for blurples is 40w per s/f and for QB it's 30w per s/f.

 

Whats the old guys user name??

 

Running 300tru blurple led watts in a 2.5x2.5 according to me thats 48w sqft.

Can you confirm or correct??
Thanks!

 

maths are correct Sypha