Hey guys, I'm new to this whole growing thing, but am about to make my attempt to get into it, because I'm sick of mexi-shwag and refuse to pay local prices. I want the EASIEST to use box with HIGH yields. Cost isn't a huge issue, (looking for a bargain, but willing to spend money) because I have a decent bank roll from other endeavors. I have looked at many many websites such as http://www.homegrown-hydroponics.com and been very impressed with their setups, but I almost ALWAYS find bad feedback on any of these on the forums. I would preferably like to hear first hand knowledge on an automated grow box that I can purchase online. I am willing to spend anywhere from 1-$4,000 depending on yield potential. I have no time to learn the ins and outs of growing (full time job + grad school + I'm an Amateur bodybuilder, which is a job in itself) so this is the option I have chosen. I am also not very handy, nor own any tools, so building my own would almost be out of the question. If you guys help me find a good one, I will post a blog or something to show you guys the progression.
fuck those sites. Its just people building boxes and selling 'em for inflated prices. Go to home depot, or search craigslist or garage sales for nice cabinets and boxes and build one yourself. Its just fans, timers, thermoters, drill a few holes.. Easy as hell and you save yourself a few thousand dollars
Well, what is easy to most of you guys is not so easy for me. I have friends that could definitely do it for me, but I don't want ANYONE to know. Money is important to me, but I figure it'll pay itself off over a few months anyway, so whats the big deal. It's kind of like a long term investment. If any reputable board member would like to make an offer to build something for me, feel free to PM me. I know I just joined, but I have anonymous ways to get you cash so you don't have to be all paranoid bout me knowing your identity.
Would you be able to build something that monitors PH levels and keeps them stable? I need a very low maintenance system. I'd like to just add water and nutrients and let the box do most of the rest. I'm not some retard or anything, but am focused on so much other shit right now that I don't have time to grow traditionally or build my own box. Like I said in my previous post, this box would be an investment. It would most likely pay itself off in half a year then start yielding major profits via friends.
it would probably be a good idea for you to use soil, given your requirements. its a lot easier to work with and requires much less maintenance. and as far as building a box goes, it's not an easy as people make it sound. i am just finishing up my own box that i have been building. it has taken several days worth of work and i have spent probably $400 on it. i have my own large, well equipped workshop and even then it has been a lot of work to do it right and end up with something nice instead of slapping some junk together. without a big work area, tools, and time to dedicate, building something like this (and keeping it discreet) is pretty much out of the question
Obviously a large grow room will not be peaches and cream. However, it looks like what you're looking for, you aren't going for tons of plants. There are a few things you're gonna have to compromise on though. First, it sounds like you want to have all these delicious home grown buds, all while putting no effort into it. You're gonna have to spend the most time getting started, but if you'll stick it through, you'll be glad you did. Couple things I'll ask is, this is for just you right? Are you always smoking up your friends? Ballpark how much would you want a month? The good news though is, once you suffer through setting up the cab, you can have it where the only maintenance you'll need is a quick glance at the thermo/hygro, and the 10 seconds it takes to water, and this can be done every 3/4 days or so. There's no setups that are plug and play, and even the closest ones run around $4,000. You should bear down and set yours up. It can be as easy as buying a cabinet at wal mart, home depot or wherever, a few lights, a thermometer/hygrometer (fish shops i think, i ebay'd it), a timer, soil, and voila. You could have it all done by noon some morning. Alot of people over at icmag use this soil mix created by moonshineman (it's just a mix of 3 name brand soils), which makes the only necessity you need to provide the plant = water, for the duration of it's life. I'd go into details, but there would be no point if you aren't gonna do it anyways.
Yo if you're planning on sitting back and having something grow cannabis for you....then why not just buy weed. dedicate yourself to the process, and then you'll turn up with nice buds. Otherwise just don't even waste your money. It's not an extremely simple process...and it will take a bit of practice.
I want the most simple setup, it doesn't have to be a "just add water and watch it grow" type of thing, but I can only dedicate MAYBE an hour a day. I'm obviously going to have to read up on shit and get advice from people who've grown. My main concern for automation is temperature and PH control. I want it to automatically stay spot on, if thats at all possible. For example, if the temp goes a lil high, the fans kick up an extra notch. The reason I don't want to do this myself is because I have no electrical background or ANY kind of tools. I'd be afraid my box would get too hot or something stupid. And to answer the dude about the yield. I'd like at least an ounce a week for personal, plus a little bit of personal to sell to help with some bills.
I came across this site today and realized its not a far drive for me. Does this look like a good deal? http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=50828 If I bought that for my "box" and build it up by investing money in different things, would it be easier than building from scratch? Also seems like a bargain at $334
you have a very distorted view on how you think weed is grown. its not like a bread machine where you just throw ingredients in the box and plug it in and in a few hours you'll have weed, or bread. in order to get a constant ounce yield every month, you'll probably need to give up body building because it takes about that much time.
I'd give up smoking before I gave up bodybuilding, lol. I'm going to do some more research when I get the time. I do have a fiance that could help with things, cuz she's the one that smokes more than me anyway. I'm totally new to this whole process but I have done other time consuming and probably much more complicated things (chemistry related without a chem background). I had a lot more time to research and shit though when I was undergrad. And I doubt growing takes as much time as BBing, lol. Preparing meals and eating every 2 hours is hard enough to do while working and such, let alone the hours of cardio and training every week.
getting the seedlings started, established, and into the vegetative stage is what takes the most time. then when they are transplanted into the final containers and well established, they dont require much work or time unless something goes wrong. then when harvest comes around it takes some work and time to get the buds cleaned up, dried, cured, etc.
Just my .02 You can easily build a similar box to the ones your looking at without spending even half of what you would on a prefabricated one and with almost little to no prior building knowledge. But... if money just is not a concern at all, and you do not care about how many years it's going to take you for that thing to pay for itself, then go for it. There would be no reason not to just throw a few thousand into a box if you have that kind of cash laying around.... that's also assuming that you would have the extra funds for the stuff that needs to be replenished as well.... like nutrients, hydroton, water (RO Machine), etc etc. I'm not sure how those "fully automated" boxes work, but growing marijuana is a very "touch-based" hobby, meaning no strain that you encounter will react the same way as another. This means that even though you could set your desired pH range, nutrient and water levels, it would still require a lot of attention to make sure the plants are getting what they need and if adjustments need to be made.... I think adjusting a button and pouring liquid into a reservoir has about the same difficulty level. IMO do some research and don't just jump in head first buying something that's expensive, heavy (you can't make one of those disappear in a day), and uneconomical.. once you start to get the hang of things and realize a big portion of growing marijuana is for the love of it, you'll regret dumping so much cash into something that doesn't produce as much as you want and can not be modified as it's in a sheet metal container. For the money that your looking to spend on the linked box, you could setup a full sized room with 2 sections, and have a 4 lb harvest every 2 months.... Now THAT'S a good investment. -Herbal
Now thats what I'm talkin about! Haha, anyway I'm not jumping into this real real soon... still going to research some things. But it seems like I'm going to bite the bullet and build something even though it won't allow me to get started as soon as i would like to.
I bought the Cultivator Pro from Homegrown Hydroponics about a month ago and just started my grow in it. http://www.homegrown-hydroponics.com/newcuprofuau.html It is the sickest grow box I ever seen as it adjusts the ph and nutrients for you automatically. I am not a DIYer and this thing is pre-build and ready to go. I had no problem spending the $$$ as it will pay for itself over time. I am very optimistic about this product as I could never build one of these myself...
Your kidding right? You will spend your $4000 and find out you still have to learn EVERYTHING. The only hands off grow system is, to buy your fully grown plant from a real grower. Good luck.
