After 3 failed attempts with a "stealth grow" I'm going to "full-scale". I want to get a grow tent instead of building the room because a) I'm not that handy b) I may be moving in 6-8 months. I hope to be the last thread before my next grow but will keep it updated up until the seedlings pop…. Two variables I haven't decided on, yet, are seeds and nutrients. I don't think I want to try organics because Its easier for me and if I run into problems I should be able to provide ph as well as ec/tds readings. I have two "favorite" choices for nutrients: adv. nutrients - Sensi grow/bloom /w ph perfect Canna grow/bloom for soil. I have two sets of seeds I either got free from a seed bank or from the community. If I can't get them to "pop" I intend on buying a sative/indica hybrid from a seed bank. I'm only growing 4 plants at a time, no more than 6. 10x c99 / Cherry Bomb 10x "Mystery Seeds" (genetics unknown) The tent I was looking at is Secret Jardin dr2 120 - 4x4'x7' tent, going by the specs on their site I was looking at the following for hardware: 600w switchable/dimmable lumitek hps/mh digital ballast 450cfm 6' vortex fan Air-tight, cooled 6' reflector (SilverStar / Sunbox) Can Filter 50 - 420CFM I will be growing in sunshine mix #4 I already have a 4x 24w t5 fluorescent lamp for seedlings Hanna tds/ec/ph meter … Misc pots, temp/hum, etc.. These seem to be similar design/specs as several threads I've looked at. I'll need to choose my ventilation later on, and lighting. I saw some "controllers" at the hydroponic store today. One (grozone tv2) was a day/night temperature sensor that looked really cool. Has anybody from here had any experience with them? As always I'd appreciate any criticism or suggestions by the community. If I've neglected some information please ask. Thanks for viewing Geo
The tent is a good one, the lighting suggestion is wise, as is the ventilation. My suggestions though... 1. Swap Sunshie Mix #4 for Botanicare CocoGro amended 2:1 (33%) with Perlite. 2. Swap your nutrient choices for Botanicare CNS17 Coco/Soil Grow, Bloom, and Ripe. 3. Ditch the expensive air cooled reflector and get real efficiency from a vertical setup. Hang the bulb in the center of the tent with a vortex/cyclone fan (Honeywell fan at Target/Walmart) pointed up at it to create a kind of "invisible cooltube." Hang the Carbon filter connected to the exhaust fan from the top of the tent to collect and remove the heat (I did this with 1400w and had no problems on the same sized fan). Put one plant in each corner of the tent and train it a little to better utilize the space. Bulbs are round, and when used horizontally 1/2 the energy must be reflected back down. The result is inefficient use of the energy. By hanging the bulb vertically, between the plants, all 360 degrees of the lighting is directly available to your plants. This is especially useful also because instead of focusing the majority of the light on the uppermost parts of the plants the light is even through the middle and to the bottom of the plant. This results in less popcorn and more buds which are large, mature, and smokable. Good luck!
Cool One thing I never asked this new store is if they order items in. Probably can. I should see if that includes soil/soiless mixes as regular shipping costs an arm and a leg. One store online said he'd have to get a special quote from a courier. Yikes! Do you use, relatively, the same distance from plant top to bulb as the horizontal setup? That sounds like you could hang a cooltube vertically as well to achieve a similar result.. Minus the bottom lost for ventilation. I'll look into the nutrients and price them if available. They did have botanicare, but I'm not sure of that type. What is the main difference between the two if I may ask a stupid question?
[quote name='"mgjscdhl"']Cool One thing I never asked this new store is if they order items in. Probably can. I should see if that includes soil/soiless mixes as regular shipping costs an arm and a leg. One store online said he'd have to get a special quote from a courier. Yikes! Do you use, relatively, the same distance from plant top to bulb as the horizontal setup? That sounds like you could hang a cooltube vertically as well to achieve a similar result.. Minus the bottom lost for ventilation. I'll look into the nutrients and price them if available. They did have botanicare, but I'm not sure of that type. What is the main difference between the two if I may ask a stupid question?[/quote] You can find them all online without too much issue if your local business proves troublesome. You can keep the plants pretty close to the naked bulb with the fan underneath blowing upwards. My plants would sit about 6 to 8 inches from an exposed 1000w lamp. I recommend you run a search on vertical lighting. I am here to introduce you to the topic, now that you are aware of it, it is your responsibility to learn a little bit the old fashioned way. The answer to your cool tube question can be found with three words. Google. Vertical. Cooltube. Botanicare uses a one-part nutrient system designed for the stages of growth. Cns 17 has good ratios, good instructions, a fair price, and is very effective. If you follow their instructions, which can be found on their website (not by asking on here). Do some legwork. There is a lot of discussion on these items and you be best served with some self education.
awesome. thats all I really needed to know I can do some legwork for the rest. Google has been surprisingly effective since it filters the results from multiple forums... And I'll see what else I can dig up on botanicare's site. Thanks Geo