Hey whats up people. I know, this is my first post, and maybe these questions are stupid, but the last three days ive scowered the forums and learned alot, now its crunchtime and im in a pickle. this is my first grow. its all bag seed, but good seed at that. two of my seeds germinated overnight in less than 24 hours, so i am in a rush to get supplies (i would upload the pics, but their so blurry you cant really see whats happening). my grow box is just two 18 gallon rubbermaid totes, one flipped over the other. comes to like 33" high, and i can comfortably fit 3-4 pots. a novice setup, obviously, but im tryin to make it work. i have pots, soil, a timer, all that. what im really lost about is the lighting and the fan(s). i dont understand electrical theory at all. i dont know what the deal is with a "ballast" and all these different lights. i guess my question is, what is really all entailed in setting up lights and like a computer fan into a regular outlet? i DEFINATELY dont want to start a fire, seeing as i live in a large apartment building. to be more specific, how would i hook something like this up: http://www.e-conolight.com/Product/EProductDetail.asp?FGNumber=E-HC1H151Z and is that recommended? how many lights do i need in a box like that? i know i know, im new at this, but cant i just buy a light that i take out of the box and plug into the wall? same with a fan? what work do i have to do after purchase to get to that point?
A ballast is like a reflector on the light, I hear they increase heat. I would get a computer fan and find a converter from radio shack, 12v i think, and drill the fan and place it near the light, you'll probably want another on the side for the plants aswell. and you will need a carbon filter if you don't want it smelling up the complex and the feds to show up
for the time being you can just get some floro lights untill your ready to flower, veg them under 24 hours of light. then you might want something like a metal halide or a high pressure sodium bulb(hps) for flowering.
just go to a hardwar/gardening store (home depot is perfect) and get a couple plant lights. id get 2 and cut holes in the top of ur box to fit the lights. hell fanwise u can use anything right? regular old fan set on low would do fine wouldnt it.
How long should you run 24/0 flouros during veg for? I've got 4 one-inch tall sprouts under two 42w flouros in a rubbermaid lined with aluminum foil. When do you know to flower, and how DO you flower? I have a 50w HPS bulb for flowering, but plan to ADD this to the flouros, using all three bulbs for flowering.
False. A ballast and a reflector are 2 completely different things. The Ballast is a set of electrical components which converts electricity from your wall into a form that the bulb can use. They are available PRE-assembled, and built into a reflector unit, but I've only seen them for higher wattages - 600+. What many people do, including myself, is buy a ballast kit with the correct wattage of the bulb you intend to use, and then refer to VERY simple instructions available all over the internet the assemble it. Knowledge of 'Electrical Theory' is not neccesary. The steps involved in putting together a ballast are less technical than building a lego set. Also - for using fans. If you really don't want to do the simple task of splicing 2 wires, then you can just use a regular house fan, and figure out a way to mount it inside the box. If you want to use a computer fan - just find or buy a 12v battery charger for some electrical item. Cut off the plug-in end of both the fan and the adapter, and strip about a half-inch off the end. Twist the end of 1 fan wire with the end of 1 adapter wire, and do the same with the other 2 wires. bingo - a small, easily mountable fan that you can plug into the wall. whichever way you go - I would suggest just 1 fan for Exhausting the box, with the exhaust hole somewhere near the top. Cut some smaller holes at the bottom of the box, to allow fresh air in. its not rocket science. common sense will guide you
You veg for as many weeks as you see fit for your plant to start flowering, let them veg untill theyr about 2-3 feet high and sturdy, then switch to 12/12. make sure at this point they are all females, gotta kill any males.
http://forum.grasscity.com/showthread.php?t=77419 thats where im at now. EDIT - general blaze, im in philly also, you grow indoors? no probs with peco or the cops?