Hey Guys, As I think many have done when deciding on their first growth, I've researched, read and planned along the way. To say the least the more I read the more those plans changed. At one point, I'm sure the costs of my ideas were well over a few thousand and absolutely ridiculous. From LEDs, building my own space, buying complete kits to simply using an old computer case and some CFLs, I finally landed on the method and space I want to use. And, I think is affordable! Even so, I have some questions which seem too specific to search for and find answers to. I'm hoping that you all could give me a hand. Here is the set up. I have a 48x28x60 inch space. I really like the idea of the SIP system in which smartpots are placed directly on a bed of perlite. I'm only going to grow 2, as I've seen many who get good results from less plants and more direct care. I'll decide as I go, but I'd like to supercrop or fim, and I'd really like to monster crop in flower. Equipment: HPS/MH 400W dimmable/digital light/ballast/reflector 4" Carbon Filter/Blower 50"x25' Mylar 2-7 Gallon Smart Pots 2-6" Clip Fan 50/50 Ocean Forest/Happy Frog Mix potting soil 48x24x7 Plastic Flow Table (for perlite) 4 cubic feet of Perlite Big Bloom/Grow Big (1 Gal ea) PH Test Kit Digital Temp/Barom gauges Digital timers (maybe mechanical, not sure yet) I'll be using distilled water from the grocery store. The water here is super chlorinated and very hard, not sure if the costs of making it workable via reverse osmosis/distillers is less than simply using gallons of 2 dollar water. So, here are my questions: 1) Coarse Perlite? That's what all the places I could find seemed to list it as, which makes me wonder - is there a different grade that would be better used for wicking? 2) The FoxFarm Nutrients, are they added to the water that is added to the perlite or is it added at the top of the potted plant? 3) My grow room is 60" high, but its actually another 4 feet if I want it. Would it be silly to use that full 9 feet of space to essentially "outdoor grow" indoor? So, vegging 9-10 weeks before blooming? 4) Can I add 4, 12" air stones to the bottom of the perlite tray as a means of keeping the water being wicked up, cool and oxygenated? 5) I've considered adding a water pump and drip system to slowly refill the perlite table on a timed schedule every day in order to replenish whats been soaked up. That way I can leave it alone for longer periods of time. Is that dumb? 6) When I first started learning about growing, some years ago, the standard was 24 hours of continuous light during veg and then a 12/12 for flowering. I see a lot of 18/6 schedules. Is 24 hours still the preferred method? 7) Nutrients: I added those 2 gallons of nutrients to the list arbitrarily because I'm not sure how much of it I will need. How often will you go through a gallon of nutrients for 2 plants? Thank you for reading my post and hopefully I'll get to know you all as this journey finds its footing. - Informant
WELCOME TO THE FORUMS! While there are more than a few here that employ the SIP method, I don't think there is anyone who uses Big Bloom or Grow Big or anything of the sort. Pretty much all our 'nutrients' are part of the soil mix construct and the only thing added is water. So .... Either a different sub-forum might be indicated if you're set on using bottled stuff or, do some reading here and learn how to construct a viable, water only, organic mix. HTH Wet
I'm not where I can post links but I'd do the SIP a little different. The way you are describing there will be an ass load of Perlite exposed to the air and light. Nice recipe for algae. Which isn't a horrible thing, but I like to avoid it. I'm using a pot in a pot SIP. In your case get two 10 gallon smart pots and put about three inches of Perlite in the bottom of each. Then your 7 gallon pots with soil can sit inside that. The 10gal pots sit in the tray which gets flooded periodically. And like wetdog mentioned, read up on living soil. No bottled nutes, nothing but water and the occasional tea. Organic rules! Oh, and if you don't already have the light, I'd go for 600W for the difference in price. Sent from somewhere over there. No, not there...over THERE.
While I agree with wet' and his sentiments concerning the bottled nutrients, I've replied to your other inquiries in blue... Please feel free to hang out and learn how to build your own soil. The results are quite extraordinary... Hope this helps.
Thanks for the quick and helpful replies y'all! In regards to the Nutrients and Soil, I was under the impression that soil was all you needed to grow - but many posts I read seemed to suggest that the nutes in the soil wasn't going to last the entire time. But, now that you guys have said that I'm glad it's the case because those nutes are damn expensive lol. Thanks for pointing that out Wet. Making my own tea sounds kinda fun anyway. I read over several of the "how to make your own soil mix" and while appealing, I think those FoxFarm products are probably just as good as anything I would be able to pull off, and more convenient. Chef: That's an interesting way to do it. I didn't see any videos/pics/posts that specifically mentioned that method. That will probably be cheaper too. Do you fill the water in the tray to the height of the perlite in the buckets? Waktoo: Thanks for the perlite size clarification, now I can look for the right stuff! I do have a blower/filter set aside in my list, and since you think it's good to have the height, I'll just throw that sucker way up and raise my light to match. I think it'd be cool to have 7 foot plants in my apartment with my neighbors being none the wiser! I'll nix the lazy watering option lol. With Chef's method of SIP seems like it'd be unnecessary anyway. Thanks again for all the replies guys!
I'll throw a couple suggestions at you, if you don't mind. Soil Mix: 1/3 peat moss 1/3 quality compost/ewc 1/3 aeration pumice,lava, perlite etc. per cubic foot: 1/2 cup each oyster, crab, kelp, neem 2 cups rock dust Also I'm a sucker for growing in big beds with alot of soil. It makes life easier. Check it out.
Totally appreciated man. Some nice looking girls! Thanks for the soil mix recipe. I'mma add it to my growing collection. What's did you top your bed off with? Looks like crushed up dried leaves?
I would also avoid digital timers, for sure with any HID's, or any heavy amp application. Intermatic T-103 would be a good example. Wet
It's just some maple leaves right now. It's called mulch. It's an important part of keeping the soil alive, it conserves water and eventually will become food for the worms. People use straw, leaves, bark mulch, cannabis leaves, etc. etc. for this purpose.
What is the concern over digital timers Wet? A friend of mine has been using one w/ 1200w for over 3 years w/ no problems. I'm probably gonna hook up my PowerBox wasn't sure if I wanted to change the plug out though. I was planning on using a digital timer otherwise. I've had analog timers stop working in the past. I just haven't had a grow that a 15amp timer could handle in a long time. Would be nice for me to pull power off the 220 anyway so I can run a heater if I have to.
Looking at the Intermatic T-103, I don't quite see how it hooks up to the ballast? Shouldn't it have a female somewhere to plug things into? Also, with something of this size can you hook in more than one thing? Like the light and the fan?
Timers will be rated in both amps and in voltage. Typically if you buy them for 5-20 dollars at a hardware store they will your standard 120 volt and will be rated at 15 amps. 140 watts equals 1 amp. You need to leave a 20% leeway for line resistance. So for the sake of easy math I call it 100 watts per amp. So most cheap timers will allow you to run 1500w, assuming you are using a dedicated outlet.
