How much does it cost for a small grow?

Depends on the area and what your trying to accomplish. For a MH/HPS in a 2x2 with fans and filter 200$ or more. Cfls or floros are the cheapest tho but not recommended by me

 

i am growing four plants, i started with six. two turned out to be males, but i have only spent about 200 bucks roughly and my plants are doing great

 

When I set up a grow I spend roughly:
~60$ for ballast
~60$ for enhanced spectrum bulb
~120$ for centrifugal fan (can make do with an axial for $30)
~20$ for fan blowing on plants
~15$ for reflective material
~40$ for sheet metal, glass, rivets & other stuff to build & hang a hood & reflector
~15$ for buckets
~20$ on wiring & misc.
~120$ in fertilizers and substrates
0-130$ on climate control, depending on the grow area. Maximum for climate control would be thermostat ($20), heater ($30), a heater relay so any heater will connect to the thermostat ($30), and a used air conditioner ($50)

I think that's everything. Most of it gets reused in future grows, so doesn't need to be bought twice unless it breaks. So about $400-$600 when starting from scratch.

 

takes a oz $$$ to grow an oz.

and the first couple runs arnt the best either.

 

You can get a generic 400 or 600 watt setup real cheap. A refurbished magnetic ballast with reflector, yo yo cable, 2 bulbs, and a timer would be around $100, and a brand new digital ballast with that stuff would be around $200.

From there tear of the reflector so its just a socket and you can grow vertical, and put a $15 wal-mart honeywell fan directly below the light to control heat.

With the absolute basics (getting a 400 watt lamp running, cheap nutrients, cheap seeds or clones, pots and soil) you'd spend around $150-300. After that you can start spending a little at a time getting extra stuff for a full perpetual grow (clone, vegetation, flowering setup/spaces).

 

First off, what are the dimensions to your grow area mate?

I take it its fairly small considering your thinking of doing one plant ?

Technically i had the money to buy a 400/600w setup when i got my kit, but i knew my grow area was suited for a 250w hps max.

 

dude. dude. depending on your lighting, which if i were you i'd pick up the 150whps. most expensive part to the grow. but worth it. then order two 85w65k cfls, vegg out under that, then throw it under the HPS for flower.
just for that it comes up to be about 125$

and really, if time is a concern,
1 bucket, 1 fish tank pump, 1 length of quarter inch hose, 2 air stones.
your lookin at about 25 for all that. at the most
your at 150. pinch some more dimes on the mylar, get flat white pant. enjoy.

lookin at 155. pick up a TDS stick and pH reader for the hydro and your lookin at 200.

depending on your nute line, is how much more you spend.

120mm computer axial fan from radio shack putting out 75cfm. 10$ get two, make it 20$

lookin at 240 - nutrients for a bubble bucket grow.

very simple. stoner proof.

BTW you should get a pretty solid 2 oscars off one plant depending on space limitations, give or take, with this method if you scrog it out.

basically one grow, one plant - pays for itself, not to mention personal satisfaction.

 

Hey everyone, absolute beginner here as well. I noticed that a lot of you are recommending that he use HIDs instead of CFL's? Whys that? I thought CFLs were cheaper and cooler.

 

Welcome mate.
Short answer. Bigger, juicier buds and more dense.
Better answer http://forum.grasscity.com/lighting/263178-all-about-lighting.html

Yes they are, but the fact that hid's are more expensive not tell you something?
Cfls still kick ass though for the average indoor grower. Fact.

 

i agree with mr. drebin. yet i disagree in the fact that if you start out with a, say CFL grow. (as i have) and you grow and grow and whatever right? well you start to realize that all that wattage you are burning for cfls, for instance, i have 2x105w27kcfl+2x42w27kcfl+other spot lighting to do the job. all totals out to be around 20,000 lumens. or break it further down in to flux if you wish.
either or a single 150w HPS puts out about 16000 lumens, flux, candles, moles pick whichever measure you like and compare. all in all really the 150w hps beats out the TOTAL cfl wattage+lumen output. not only that, the HPS will stretch the light spectrum in the direction we want even further, with even more flux focused towards that direction.

therefore having a well lit garden by HPS overall combined with CFL lit spot lighting texture to a canopy could, would and shall produce large, dense sensuous medical cannabis.

~i'm pretty stoned~