I want to set up a small stealth grow box in an apartment. I am looking for a dry yield of 6 to 10 OZ. per grow. Could anyone help me figure out how big a space I need for how many plants to obtain this yield? HxDxW? Also, what lighting will I need. Will CFL be good enough? And if so, how many will I need for the space? Do I want to go hydro or dirt? Which is best for result and ease of use? And, what size cooling and extraction fans will I need? Lastly, how do I naturalize any odors? Thank you in advance
Every question u just asked is already answered on the fotum. Yield is hard to figure alot more than genetics plays in that area. Size of room. Topping, fimming, and lst. Wattage of lights. Experience of grower. Proper care and general tlc. Lets say you do a soil grow (easier to start with I think). And you use a 5H'3L'3W'. 45cubic ft. 200 rated cfm fan for air flow ands carbon scrubber. Now toss a 400w hps in there with 4plants in 3gal pots. Assuming you grow perfect this setup should easily fetch more than you want. One plant can give off a pound if done right I've heated.
Thanks Mate. It's is all helping form the big picture. I am leaning towards dirt for my first go at it. I have gone through several threads and seen plenty of things that are simular; but nothing exact. And, the info I am looking for is in several different threads. Contributing to a dozen of more threads is overkill I was trying to place all the questions in one place and build a nice reference. A pound is a tad bit more than I need. One good plant with a half a pound would be perfect. It will cover my consumption plus xmas stocking stuffers for a few select friends . Would the carbon scrubber be placed inside the grow box? And, if I placed a small grow box inside a closed does there have to be an exhust running to the outdoors?
Like the guy before me said, it takes expierence and the right seeds to yeild high. I would do CFL for your first light you need to look up which ones you need, they arent all the same Go soil for sure. Fans depends on the size of your box you will need a carbon filter to natualize your smell hope I could help
I am thinking approx. 4'h X 2'w X 2'd grow box that will go inside a closet. So probably one (bushy a*s) plant for the first couple of grows before building something else (full cycle). Do you think these dimentions will give me a chance at the 6 to 10oz dry yield I am looking for? Obviously given the other factors being ideal.
Thats about the same size I am going for with my box. Maybe 5 feet though. Dont know yet, because I can never make up my fucking mind.
LOL. Since that guy said red diesel I have been checking out strains. Talk about not being able to make up my mind There is so much different information about lighting too. Every time I think I am making headway something else comes up and confuses me even more.
4' tall by 2'x2' how many watts do I want to fill that space? Cost and energy usage is not a concern. What type of lighting is best? Will CFL do the trick to max my plant out or, do I want to go with something else? Obviously I don't want to burn the babies.
I was thinking 4x42watters and 4x26watters. Maybe one less bulb. With proper cooling you can get the bulbs really close without burning the plant. Or use a 150 HPS. I think you can get away with that if you use a cool tube.
I've seen great results from cfls but it will b harder to achieve unless you pay close attention to light distance and heat stress. Rule of thumb is 100watts per plant and 5000lumens at 2weeks. Those are min requirements. I would use around 8 26watt cfls for 208 total Watts. Spread it across the plant when the time comes to ensure decent density and growth. You could get a 150-250hps which give great results compared to cfl(some say cfls can rival an hps if done right). If I were you I wouldn't buy any seeds yet, instead use bagseeds to get the methods down. Would suck to spend money and kill the plant. You really should go read a few if the stickies to get a better grasp on the light situation.
Which one runs hotter? So hps for an average better result? I see people changing lights to simulate summer and fall. How would these work? If I went with the hps would that be from begining to end? And, would I still be adjusting either the hight of the plants or lights as the plant grows? I know these are probably pretty basic question and I really appreciate everyones aid. As for the seeds great advice. I will be making a weekend trip to southern Holland before xmas so if I can get this thing together I might just give some bagseeds I have a try first.
Yes hps should produce a better average result. You will still need to move the light roughly 6"-12"I beloved. Any thing past 12" you will lose lumens. If you compare Lumens/Watt you'll see hps gains it superiority in the 250+range. If I remember correctly 150hps and 162watts cfls (6 26watters) the cfls will beat the lumen output but once u reach 250 I believe cfls lose that advantage. The spectrums are 6500k for veg 2100k for flower. With cfls you could use the entire spectrum. An hps is just 2200k. But I've not read anywhere how beneficial it is to use the entire spectrum. Some people flower and veg with hps...but would not work with cfls.
Ok that is really interesting. From what I have read I should expect the same yield from one bushy plant as two smaller plants in the same space. So I see no reason to grow more than one. If I only need 100 watts per plant I might be better of going with the 6 26 watt CFL's? Would this be optimal to max out yield? Is extra watt'age simply a waste or will it benefit the plant?
Yeah that should be plenty. Just make sure cover the plant. All nodes need light. If you just focus on the canopy it will give you ok buds up top maybe even great up top but the rest will be airy popcorn buds. I would start with 2-4 26watters. Then as the girl grows you can buy more lights to make sure you have good coverage. The yields of one bushy vs two plants can equal out. I've also seen like 16" plants with an oz attached to one small plant. Its goin to boil down to you. The effort, time, and money you put in it. Patience is also your best and worst friend in this type of hobby. Give them love, proper nutes, sufficient light, and nice environment and I'm pretty sure you'll be satisfied. Also there's alot more you need than lights soil and seeds. Don't forget about Ph, humidity. And IMO the more Watts the better it will b. I don't believe their is a Watt or lumen cap. But I did read someone saying to beware of light bleaching but I don't know what that is.
And how about a home made scrog screen? Or, clipping the top off, or both? Will either or both of these improve my yield? As for the Ph I found a great guide of beginners on the site. I will add a link for anyone else who is following this thread. humidity! ok now you're scaring me.
Never messed with scrog but I've seen some things around gc talking about it. I have topped not sure it increases yield I've read every time u top its like taking half of the original bud and seperates between two colas and stems now. Don't get scared just better to be prepared now then run into issues later (which is inevitable it seems) I'd recommend just jumping in. Experience is worth as much or more than what u can read. I've recently read of poeople trying supercroppinh and I'm unsure of what that is but may be helpful for what you want.
I checked out a few videos of super cropping and I will give it a try. I think it is time to start visiting local plant and pet shops for all my gear. Still not 100% sure of what I will use as my box, but I will decide that once I see a few options. I am sure I will go with dirt and CFL. I am thinking possibly a couple of 85 watt 5000k mixed with a couple 65watt 6500k for veg and maybe six 30 watt 2700k for flower. A small fan inside for intake and keeping plants cool and one or two pc fans at the top for exhust. Plas a carbon scubber connected to the outside of the exhust fan; is that right? What size pot should I use; thinking ten gallon? Lastly nutes, I will see what is available near by. Am I missing anything?
Well 1gallon pot = 1 ft plant. So 10 is waybtoo much. The lights should be ok. Your grow box depends on if u need it to be stealth...how big....etc. Don't use an intake fan just an exhaust. If you have two exhausts I believes you'll need two scrubbers. Just poke a hole at the bottom on the opposite side of your exhaust fan. That will create a passive intake and hopefully create enough negative pressure to contain the stench(which usually doesn't pick up until flowering) You'll want a small clip on fan or standing fan to blow the plant and help strengthen the stem. And help circulate air. A good starting place would be. Party cups for initial planting. Then depending on how tall u need them to get buy your other pots. I use party cup to. 2.5qts to 3 gallon.
I also meant to ask another question about exhaust/heat. I will be building a stealth cabinet that I will place inside a closet. So it wont actually be part of the closet. Will I need to keep the closet well ventilated or, can I keep the closet closed? The closet should be about three times the size of the grow box?