Grow tent advice needed for an extremely new newbie

[franco7598]

I want to get into this and have been doing a ton of reading on this forum and others... also some stuff on the web etc.

As a newbie it is extremely overwhelming and it makes this seem like it’s impossible to do. I want to get a tent big enough for 2 plants . This is just for personal use and I usually go thru about a pound a year. My main concerns are lighting options. I’ve read about all sorts of models but not sure what the best ones are. I always though LED was top of the line and would like to hear what others think. Money is not an issue, I’m not trying to cut corners. I want top of the line. Then when I was reading about led lights I started seeing quantum boards but it is all in abbreviations. I’m no stranger to smoking, I’m 43, but have very little technical knowledge on this stuff. This forum is unbelievable with information but it is hard to find on here. I was wondering if anybody has a good suggestion for a setup they use for a 2 plant setup. I was thinking 2x2x6.... thanks in advance .... be easy on me.... I’m new here lol

 

[Weouthere]

Welcome to RUI and growing man!! There is tons of info and it is a lot to go through, but if you feel you know enough to get started, that’s the best way to learn more!

I’m on my first “real grow” , calling it that because I tried and failed to grow before with no knowledge at all.
Anyway I’m running a 2’x2’x4’ box I built from plywood. Painted the interior white and cut a hole in the lower right corner for intake, and one in the upper left for exhaust.

I’m currently running a Horticulture Lighting Group (HLG) 100v2 at 3000k. It’s good for vegging in a 3x3 space but for flowering it’s only good for a 2x2. They run about $160 and was well worth it. They sell bigger lights as well and have very good reviews and I honestly couldn’t be happier with mine..

I’m only running one plant currently. I grew it for 6 weeks before flipping the lights to 12/12. (I’d use the clones for size reference, the one in the back is a 2 liter bottle with the bottom cut off)
No way I could fit two plants in there with that timeline. I COULD fit two if they were smaller, which is something I have yet to experiment with yet.

I would go with a little bigger space for two plants; 3x3 maybe even 2.5x2.5.
HLG has some great lighting options for this size space, you could run one bigger quantum board OR two or three smaller ones with different k values to cover your lighting bases.
I’m just taking a VERY ROUGH guess but I’m thinking I’ll maybe get 3-5 ounces from this plant. For my first grow great, but obviously not as much as I would like.

Hope this helps man, Sorry for the ramble I’m smokin some dank Tropical Cookies..
much love and happy growing!

 

[hellmutt bones]

Going Led my self after about 11 years of HPS and mh. Dont forget the carbon filter and inline fan.

 

[diggs99]

Welcome to riu.

2x2x6 would be fine for 2 plants., you wont be able to veg very long tho.
Gorilla tents are top dawg
Secret jardin also good
Apollo horticulture I found was best bang for buck

Personally I'd either throw 185-240watts of proper led in there or a 315 cmh would do the trick nicely. a cob fixture from timber grow lights would also rock that space and @RainDan is a member here and a legit good dude to deal with.

A 315 cmh can be bought on amazon for a good price and are a perfect fit for a 2x2, CMH lights grow very good ganja . If you go the led route, I'd stick with the legit companies like HLG , cutter electronics, timber etc...Also a good bud of ours @Prawn Connery is selling the highlights uantum boards, they are as good as it gets when it comes to QBs or leds in general.

We're here to help you out bud, ask as many questions as you want before making any purchases, there's a very good group of growers around here who enjoy helping others.

Take care and best of luck.

 

[franco7598]

This forum is awesome...... I’m gonna continue reading as much as I can before I get started. I’m in the initial stages of figuring out how it even works. I truly never knew this was as sophisticated as it is. The problem is the verbiage people on here speak is on an advanced level so I’m constantly googling words lol..... I think this is gonna be figuring it out by mistakes as weoutthere suggested..... should be a fun journey..... Thanks everyone for responding and as I read more I may (definitely will) have some more questions .... have a great day everyone

 

[franco7598]

After thinking about this I don’t think 2x2 will be big enough. Space isn’t an issue but discretion is so I don’t want to advertise what’s going on. I have a big basement where I can tuck it into a corner and throw some shit in front to obstruct it a little so that’s why I wanted to go for as small as possible. Also the wife isn’t a huge fan of this idea of mine so I don’t want to be obnoxious about it.

I have so much more to learn so I have a lot more reading to do in just the basics. Do u guys have any recommendations on a good website for instructions from A to Z . I think I can do it just from reading along the way but I want to be as prepared as possible before mistakes and surprises start popping up because then it becomes a clusterfuck.

I tried the frequently asked questions link here because a lot of my questions were on there but the links were expired. It’s hard to trust the internet websites because u never know who is just steering u towards their products.
I have some really good ideas though on lights and setup to look up and this is really great knowing that once I do get it up and running this place is here for advice.

Any other forum on any other subject is nothing but a waste of time since u have assholes with smart ass answers every time. I really appreciate this guys!!

 

[twalte]

After thinking about this I don’t think 2x2 will be big enough. Space isn’t an issue but discretion is so I don’t want to advertise what’s going on. I have a big basement where I can tuck it into a corner and throw some shit in front to obstruct it a little so that’s why I wanted to go for as small as possible. Also the wife isn’t a huge fan of this idea of mine so I don’t want to be obnoxious about it.

I have so much more to learn so I have a lot more reading to do in just the basics. Do u guys have any recommendations on a good website for instructions from A to Z . I think I can do it just from reading along the way but I want to be as prepared as possible before mistakes and surprises start popping up because then it becomes a clusterfuck.

I tried the frequently asked questions link here because a lot of my questions were on there but the links were expired. It’s hard to trust the internet websites because u never know who is just steering u towards their products.
I have some really good ideas though on lights and setup to look up and this is really great knowing that once I do get it up and running this place is here for advice.

Any other forum on any other subject is nothing but a waste of time since u have assholes with smart ass answers every time. I really appreciate this guys!!

Try www.growweedeasy.com. Instructions from start to finish, plus an excellent resource for anything you can imagine.

 

[TravisG13]

I personally like my 2x4 floor space for 2 plants but other people probably know better than I do. I like using hoT5 flourescent 6500k lights for my veg and although I only just started using the 3000k HLG 132 LED lights for flower I can already tell they do a good job.
Grow weed easy is a good source

 

[Smoknkush_420]

growing with viparspectra 450w reflector LED under one plant at a time in a 3x3 tent yeilding around half P strain dependent.

 

[TravisG13]

I suggest you dont go with viparspectra, I have 2 of their "600 watt equiv" lights and my hlg 132's are growing denser buds at lower watts

 

[HashBucket]

I have some general advice for you:

Since you are just starting out (we all been there) I want to let you know that the number one problem that us newbies have or have had is ... loving your plants too much.
You can kill your plants with kindness.
Too much fertilizer, too much water, too much ... too much, too much love.
Then you go online with pix's and some expert tells you to spray it with This Stuff, or a half solution of this Magic Sauce, then another one says top feed with this Amazing Blend and balance the blah blah blah ...
And, all these things cost hundreds of dollars a gallon, "but it's well worth it because you will double the weight and ..."
Snake oil.
Half of that chit is snake oil.

For right now, just learn the basics.

Make sure they have enough light.
Make sure they get fed, but not too much (follow the directions on the bottle)
Better to have your girls complaining about being hungry, than overfed.
Let the medium dry out once in a while, or almost dry.
IF you try something new, just try ONE thing so you know the cause and effect relationship.
Get yourself a cheap PH pen. Amazon $15. Get two of them, they only last a couple of months.
Get yourself a cheap PPM pen. Amazon $20. Get two of them, same reason as above.
Learn how to use those pens, and why.

That's it. Let em grow. They do all the hard work. Watch.
Read everything you can about this amazing plant - and take what you read with a giant boulder of salt.
Understand that there are many ways to achieve the same goals; we are all on different journeys.
Understand that there are many different growers: Organic, hydro, outdoor, LED, light dep, etc ... Some grow for a living, some of us grow for love, most of us are hybrids; and that will make a difference on how and what we grow.
It's going to take a year before the light bulb comes on.
If, where you live, there are 'grow stores', get the know the guys behind the counter. They are a wealth of info ... but, be careful that they don't just try to sell you the newest fad, the $100 quart of snake oil that will solve all your problems.

This is quite a list, I know. And, it's not even the beginning.
Enjoy the ride. Have fun.

 

[Tormentedangel420]

I started with a 4x4x7 tent. Tucks nicely into that dark corner of the basement. Small enough for discretion but large enough to grow decently.

I went with a "crap led light" due to money issues. Still managed to yield 8 ounces on my first grow. Not amazing by any means but enough for my personal head until the next run.

Mistakes WILL happen. Just learn fron them. Like said above, don't over love them. I watched mine like baby children but was very careful with watering and used 1/2 the recommended doses of nutrients.

Happy growing and welcome!

 

[franco7598]

Thank you all for the responses....... I’m currently on hold until I get wife approval. I really thought she would come around so I started the research..... I may be switching to outdoor research lol. I love in the woods so the options are there. Awesome responses though and will have my situation figured out tonight which way I’m gonna go.

 

[Tormentedangel420]

Convincing the wife was the hardest part. Took me years. Even with her agreeing, she was wanting me to quit half way through.

She was a MUCH happier camper come harvest time and now she's actually bugging me to start my next round! Thank goodness for small favors

 

[franco7598]

Ok guys.... all is good and just about everything is ordered and on it’s way. I used a lot of the advice from this thread and I thank u guys. Once again this is my first grow so I’m gonna be learning as I go no matter how much research I do prior. It’s a 4x4 tent. Do u guys have recommendations on soil? I’ve done research on dwc and that seems really easy to operate but as a newbie I’m thinking it’s possible that I’m ignorant to what I don’t know and don’t see the difficulty in that. Would u all recommend soil or anything else that would be easy.? I’m not looking to harvest 50 pounds. I’m just looking for success on the first round then I’ll figure it out further.... also if u so recommend soil which brands do u prefer? Thanks guys..... hope all had a great holiday

 

[HashBucket]

Do u guys have recommendations on soil?

You gonna get fifty answers, all different; and all right.
That is really a matter of personal preference, and only experience will guide you there.
Personally; I like CannaCoco.
But, its NOT soil.
IF you decide to do canna ... read up on it.
In fact ... No matter what you decide to do ... read up on it.

 

[twalte]

Good advice above!
If you decide to do coco, read the tutorials www.cocoforcannabis.com and www.growweedeasy.com. I’m a soil grower and I start my seedlings with Fox Farm Happy Frog, then I transplant them into Fox Farm Ocean Forest (hot soil). If I could start over again, I think I would start with coco. Faster growth, fewer bugs, and coco is less expensive than soil. I’m moving to coco after this grow.

edit.....I also use 1/3 perlite and 2/3 soil in my mix for extra drainage.

 

[Hust17]

Good advice above!
If you decide to do coco, read the tutorials www.cocoforcannabis.com and www.growweedeasy.com. I’m a soil grower and I start my seedlings with Fox Farm Happy Frog, then I transplant them into Fox Farm Ocean Forest (hot soil). If I could start over again, I think I would start with coco. Faster growth, fewer bugs, and coco is less expensive than soil. I’m moving to coco after this grow.

It’s actually so great and so easy, you’re going to enjoy it!

 

[franco7598]

Coco it is..... I’m gonna read the websites above on it but sounds like that’s the way to go.... so appreciative of the advice guys!

 

[ComfortCreator]

My setup without cost restrictions but still being reasonable would be
a 4x4x8 tent $125
2 of HLG triple slate with Rspecs $600
2 Meanwell "b" power supplies, 320watts wach, or 480watts that you will dim
6" exhaust with carbon filter
Oscillating fans
Mostly organic soil grow

When you read about people vegging 1 or 2 plants in a 4x4 its real. Easily 1 can fill a 4x4.