Hey guys, first post here and nice to meet all of you. I have been searching the forums trying to look up everything myself but I am just too much of a newbie to all of this. I was going to buy the superlocker 3.0 and decided to back out at the last minute due to the number of bad reviews compared to good ones lol they almost got me. But I decided since I have a nice space closet I will use that. Since I was going to buy superlocker I guess I have that much to spend even though you guys say it won't cost near that much. I plan on setting up 4-6 plants and needed help on pretty much everything else lol bear with me. From lighting to ventilation to nutes (looking to go hydroponically) if you guys could recommend anything it would be fuggin awesome.
I would suggest going with DWC or Deep Water Culture. You have a ton of control over the variables, and it yields amazingly per plant. All you need to know about DIY Deep Water Culture & growing in DWC is right here pretty much: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxqP0ADX5jwH-b8uVG-CPM257j0FGBoym I spent ~1600 on everything I needed to get up and running completely for 4 plants (2 x 5 gal DWC buckets & 2 x Coco). Mind you I built it around the space I had available to me, so depending on the size of your space you may be able to use all DWC buckets. If you are feeling fancy, you can always upgrade to Recirculating DWC or RDWC: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxqP0ADX5jwFCo7V39mQDNscvd4mGSmo1 Keep in mind DIY is quite a bit of work, but in the end you get alot more bang for your buck and a quality setup. PS: Check out my setup in my siggy, I'm posting a ton of pics all the way through my first grow. It may help you get an idea of how to set your own up. I cheated and modeled it after Hygro's setup a little bit haha.
I have seen a couple good threads on getting everything you need. Personally i would not go hydro for you first grow for the exact reason dwc4life says to do it. You need to control every aspect in hydro, soil is much more forgiving and you will have enough on your hands on your first grow. Basics on what you will need 1. Lighting, for 4-6 plants you will want 400w or 600w mh/hps . I would say get a 600w dimmable ballast with a cooltube 2. Ventilation, this will depend on your space but i would get a strong inline fan(not a duct booster) with a speed controller and carbonfilter. You can get these as a combo on ebay 3. A tent that fits, this is optional but will make it much easier to be light tight. 4. Decent soil, i use fox farms ocean forrest, not as good as making your own supersoil, but a easy wat to start 5. Nutrients, i like thr fox farm trio, its an easy way to start and has a clear schedule for feeding. 6. Container. I love fabric pots, you should have a 1 gallon and a final pot of 3+ gallons, ww.geopot.com are good, have Velcro that makes transplanting super easy 7. Circulation fan, helps strengthen stems and prevent mould. I think that's about it, and now my thumbs are killing me ;^)
As hbbum said, it will not be easy to do hydro for your first time. The only reason I'm doing it for my first grow is because I've studied into all of this for so long now that I know how closely I have to watch EVERYTHING. If you aren't familiar, go soil as he suggested. Soil is less maintenance and monitoring, but less yields as well. Better taste though :3
DWC4Life good shit on the YouTube links I'm getting very excited. Watching the first video. With what he expects to get from those plants I could definitely just go for 3-4 plants instead of 4-6. You say DIY is a bit of work? No problem for me as I am home pretty frequently so I could watch the plants all day. I will definitely check you out. Hbbum I respect you for recommending something simpler since its my first grow lol. However I am just set on DWC and want to really see those result (with practice first I'm quite sure) so I may as well get started now. If u wouldn't mind tho I would like you to elaborate on 1 and 2 from your list. I know I need veg lights and flowering lights (cfl for veg right?). As for flowering I heard HPS lights produced a looooooot of heat which brings me to my next question about ventilation. For some reason it's the only part I don't understand (maybe will watch DWC recommended links). I know the fans are supposed to clear the room but how exactly do I bring air into the closet? Will I have to mod my closet door? Lol While I may be a beginner, I'm sure keeping up with hydro won't be too complex for me once I get more familiar with the processes of everything, I can get a lil obsessed with getting something down to a sweet science which I think will work out great overtime lol
MH (Metal Halide) is for veg, HPS(High Pressure Sodium) is for flowering. You may use florescent lighting can be used, and often is for seeding but MH/HPS are easier to get better performance. HPS does put out heat, generally you will pull air out with the fan and you will have a passive intake to pull air in, if you get a tent the include exhaust vents in the top and intake vents near the bottom. If you check out my grow thread I have some details on my setup if you would like. I built my own cab for inside. Jedi OG Kush grow (Harvest Complete)
You sound alot like me when I first discovered DWC haha. If you think you can keep up with all the variables you should def go for it! YES, converted yet another person to DWC lol. Chemistry and Biology were the only classes I ever really did quite well at in school, so I've got a scientists mind I'd say. Glad you are getting excited about it, it seems like even though its quite a bit of work, it will be greatly gratifying at the end My door is quite crooked, so there is plenty of space at the bottom to pull air in with the negative pressure system I have set up. Not really concerned about a little light leakage since the room will be covered in mylar shortly.
I definitely am excited and looking forward to this. I have decided to go with a carbon filter/fan and duct to extract the heat and smell from the room. However for the passive intake that @[member="hbbum"] mentioned, does that mean I would cut another hole into the door at the bottom for ANOTHER fan? Or have I misunderstood? (The noob in me is really showing about now lol) P.S. you guys are really kicking ass with all this help btw
No problem brotha! Glad I can help. You could cut another hole in the door and mount a fan to the door to pull in air, but that would be more investing into this project then. I only have one fan/filter, and thats all I need for right now. If you have the tools you could cut a rectangle out of a wall going out the space (to bring air in) and pop in an air conditioning grate to make it look nice and more sneaky haha. How you bring the air in is totally up to you. As I see it you could do it multiple ways and have it work. Best way would be to do the grate setup, but also the most work. If you don't give a shit about what the door looks like, then notch out a slot to let air in.