SomeGrowGuy
Member
Hi all!!
First thing I'd like to say is thank you to everyone who has contributed to this wealth of information. Every little post counts in some way (well.....MOST posts count
)
While this is the first post under this username, I have been a member for a few years although I would not use the term 'active' - Ive been lurking in various forums for a few years so its about time I contributed. The only way a lot of this info is going to get out is if people like us do write ups about it.
So this is my first grow in a few years. Finally got all the various road blocks out of my life that prohibited such activity, but now the circumstances have allowed me to do the thing I love!
EQUIPMENT LIST:
1 x Indoor Elements 1.2mx1.2mx2m growtent.
1 x 600w Lumatek digital dimmable HPS/MH ballast
1 x 400w conversion (retro) globe (allows me to run a MH light in a HPS ballast - more on this later)
1 x 125mm cooltube
1 x 125mm Ezi air centrifugal fan
1 x Ezi Air fan speed controller
1 x
Something like this - Ill call this my 'Intake fan'.
1 x Pedestal fan
6 x 15L pots
Canna Coco
Canna Coco nurtients
Canna Rhizotonic
Now Ill talk about the specifics. This is going to be pretty detailed (in case you couldn't tell already!) as I found information about these particular products to be hard to find. In the part of the world that I live, its often not cost effective to buy the familiar brands that a lot of you in Europe or the US can get at. So, we must hunt for cost effective solutions that offer equal performance to the known brands that get talked about.
INDOOR ELEMENTS GROWTENT
This is my 1st growtent, although I have gone around and looked at quite a few. Admittedly, I settled on this tent on the vendors advice. I was originally looking at the 1m2 HomeBox, but when I found this tent for a little cheaper (its a locally produced brand). When discussing my options with the hydroshop salesperson over the phone (who I actually trust for a lot of their opinions) I asked about the quality difference. She said while the HomeBox was a little more 'polished' in terms of refinement and attention to detail, she advised that I would get 99% of the actual performance from the Indoor Elements brand at a slightly cheaper cost.
It was pretty easy to set up overall, but you do have to read the instructions to make it easy on yourself. Me and my buddy had to abort half way through as we were just making it really hard on ourselves by flying blind. Its not that its complicated - its just theres a certain order that it all must be done in otherwise you will be fighting the tent. Great tent overall, but it was not 100% lightproof. It wasn't horrible but there were defiantly some holes left from the sewing of the various panels. Also the occasional pin-hole for no reason. I would have slammed it for this, but as this is my 1st grow-tent that I have actually had a HID light inside of to see the holes, I have nothing to compare it to.
Covering the holes was a bit of a task, but was achieved using some silver roof tile tape that was surprisingly the same color as the mylar the inside of the tent is made of. It also sealed up REALLY well after this. The zippers are great, and they all have flaps on them to keep the light out, but I have yet to see a design that will allow you to keep them in a bright room during lights off without getting light leaks.
Apart from that its got a handy removable floor, has plenty of duct holes although the material used to wrap around the ducting and tightens with the drawstring is a very thin sleeping-bag fabric that offers almost no light protection.
Luckily, my tent is situated in a room where there is no traffic and my 12 hours lights off is at night so as long as no one disturbs the room when the lights are off, there shouldn't be any light leaks.
Overall, Id give the tent a 7/10 - I really feel like bumping that score up, but I have to keep reminding myself that it was a roll of silver tape and about an hour inside the tent that made it as light-tight as it currently is. If you are in a similar position to what I was in, and you dont mind a little modification with some tape, and want to get the most out of every dollar then I would go for it. I would have to get some feedback about the homebox tents as I have not seen one of these with a HID light to check for leaks but I imagine it would be a little better.
SOME INFO ABOUT MY LIGHT SETUP
My original plan about 2 years ago when some of this equipment was purchased was to use a 400w JB HPS ballast and a 400w MH conversion bulb (was going to use a MH for veg then get a HPS for flower). I tested this light when I got it for a few hours and left it at that. Got the tent, installed the light and it looked like it was all working. Got home to a black-out and when I started everything in the house back up, I got BIG SPARKS from the JB ballast. It was fucked! Was planning to upgrade this light after a grow or 2 anyway to a 600w. So I was stuck with an almost brand new 400w MH conversion globe and I was about to drop even more money on a replacement ballast. I ended up going for the Lumatek 600w Digital dimmable ballast. Expensive, but as far as I can tell its worth it! There is a lot of confusion as to what you can and cant run in a digital so I am here to confirm that YOU CAN RUN A 400w MH CONVERSION (RETRO) GLOBE IN A 600w LUMATEK DIGITAL DIMMABLE BALLAST AS LONG AS YOU NEVER TURN THE DIMMER PAST 400w
I really like this ballast - Makes no noise (as advertised), does not get too warm, is very well built from what I can see and feel, and sparks the bulb well.
I now no longer have to purchase a new ballast when I upgrade - I simply purchase the 600w globe and bump the dimmer knob up to 600w
EZI 125mm FAN AND EZI FAN SPEED CONTROLLER
Im pretty sure that the Ezi is also a locally produced brand although I could be wrong. All I know is that they are available where I am located and they seem to be on par with the pricing everyone else gets for quality fans. Its encased in a solid metal housing and moves plenty of air for its size. I have mine set up to pull through (I know not the best for fan life) my vertically mounted cooltube that also acts as the intake for my room exhaust. It was pretty loud though as I'm certain pretty much all fans of this kind are.
I have invested in an Ezi fan speed controller - It was almost 1/2 the price for the other options I found. I had my worries about how effective it would be, and if there would be any 'humming' from slowing the fans down as I had heard so often. I am pleased to report that there is absolutely no sound from the controller even when slowed down 100%. The fan is not making any unusual noises as a result and the reduction of noise it has resulted in is remarkable! I am running a tent so my growroom walls are not going to block a lot of sound so this drop in fan volume was impressive. I now have the regular $10 pedestal fan making more noise than the 125mm centrifugal! NICE! I highly recommend the fan speed controller and the Lumatek digital ballast, although I have only been using these items for a short amount of time and do not know how they will perform over the long run.
If anyone has ever had good/bad experiences with any of the above mentioned items, has any feedback, or would just like to share any similar thoughts, please share them. The more info we get out there, the easier it becomes for the whole community to purchase quality equipment without having to resort to harsh exchange rates/import taxes/shipping charges (which are often more expensive than the actual item you are trying to get!).
Congrats on making it this far! Hope it was helpful
First thing I'd like to say is thank you to everyone who has contributed to this wealth of information. Every little post counts in some way (well.....MOST posts count
)While this is the first post under this username, I have been a member for a few years although I would not use the term 'active' - Ive been lurking in various forums for a few years so its about time I contributed. The only way a lot of this info is going to get out is if people like us do write ups about it.
So this is my first grow in a few years. Finally got all the various road blocks out of my life that prohibited such activity, but now the circumstances have allowed me to do the thing I love!
EQUIPMENT LIST:
1 x Indoor Elements 1.2mx1.2mx2m growtent.
1 x 600w Lumatek digital dimmable HPS/MH ballast
1 x 400w conversion (retro) globe (allows me to run a MH light in a HPS ballast - more on this later)
1 x 125mm cooltube
1 x 125mm Ezi air centrifugal fan
1 x Ezi Air fan speed controller
1 x
Something like this - Ill call this my 'Intake fan'.
1 x Pedestal fan
6 x 15L pots
Canna Coco
Canna Coco nurtients
Canna Rhizotonic
Now Ill talk about the specifics. This is going to be pretty detailed (in case you couldn't tell already!) as I found information about these particular products to be hard to find. In the part of the world that I live, its often not cost effective to buy the familiar brands that a lot of you in Europe or the US can get at. So, we must hunt for cost effective solutions that offer equal performance to the known brands that get talked about.
INDOOR ELEMENTS GROWTENT
This is my 1st growtent, although I have gone around and looked at quite a few. Admittedly, I settled on this tent on the vendors advice. I was originally looking at the 1m2 HomeBox, but when I found this tent for a little cheaper (its a locally produced brand). When discussing my options with the hydroshop salesperson over the phone (who I actually trust for a lot of their opinions) I asked about the quality difference. She said while the HomeBox was a little more 'polished' in terms of refinement and attention to detail, she advised that I would get 99% of the actual performance from the Indoor Elements brand at a slightly cheaper cost.
It was pretty easy to set up overall, but you do have to read the instructions to make it easy on yourself. Me and my buddy had to abort half way through as we were just making it really hard on ourselves by flying blind. Its not that its complicated - its just theres a certain order that it all must be done in otherwise you will be fighting the tent. Great tent overall, but it was not 100% lightproof. It wasn't horrible but there were defiantly some holes left from the sewing of the various panels. Also the occasional pin-hole for no reason. I would have slammed it for this, but as this is my 1st grow-tent that I have actually had a HID light inside of to see the holes, I have nothing to compare it to.
Covering the holes was a bit of a task, but was achieved using some silver roof tile tape that was surprisingly the same color as the mylar the inside of the tent is made of. It also sealed up REALLY well after this. The zippers are great, and they all have flaps on them to keep the light out, but I have yet to see a design that will allow you to keep them in a bright room during lights off without getting light leaks.
Apart from that its got a handy removable floor, has plenty of duct holes although the material used to wrap around the ducting and tightens with the drawstring is a very thin sleeping-bag fabric that offers almost no light protection.
Luckily, my tent is situated in a room where there is no traffic and my 12 hours lights off is at night so as long as no one disturbs the room when the lights are off, there shouldn't be any light leaks.
Overall, Id give the tent a 7/10 - I really feel like bumping that score up, but I have to keep reminding myself that it was a roll of silver tape and about an hour inside the tent that made it as light-tight as it currently is. If you are in a similar position to what I was in, and you dont mind a little modification with some tape, and want to get the most out of every dollar then I would go for it. I would have to get some feedback about the homebox tents as I have not seen one of these with a HID light to check for leaks but I imagine it would be a little better.
SOME INFO ABOUT MY LIGHT SETUP
My original plan about 2 years ago when some of this equipment was purchased was to use a 400w JB HPS ballast and a 400w MH conversion bulb (was going to use a MH for veg then get a HPS for flower). I tested this light when I got it for a few hours and left it at that. Got the tent, installed the light and it looked like it was all working. Got home to a black-out and when I started everything in the house back up, I got BIG SPARKS from the JB ballast. It was fucked! Was planning to upgrade this light after a grow or 2 anyway to a 600w. So I was stuck with an almost brand new 400w MH conversion globe and I was about to drop even more money on a replacement ballast. I ended up going for the Lumatek 600w Digital dimmable ballast. Expensive, but as far as I can tell its worth it! There is a lot of confusion as to what you can and cant run in a digital so I am here to confirm that YOU CAN RUN A 400w MH CONVERSION (RETRO) GLOBE IN A 600w LUMATEK DIGITAL DIMMABLE BALLAST AS LONG AS YOU NEVER TURN THE DIMMER PAST 400w
I really like this ballast - Makes no noise (as advertised), does not get too warm, is very well built from what I can see and feel, and sparks the bulb well.
I now no longer have to purchase a new ballast when I upgrade - I simply purchase the 600w globe and bump the dimmer knob up to 600w
EZI 125mm FAN AND EZI FAN SPEED CONTROLLER
Im pretty sure that the Ezi is also a locally produced brand although I could be wrong. All I know is that they are available where I am located and they seem to be on par with the pricing everyone else gets for quality fans. Its encased in a solid metal housing and moves plenty of air for its size. I have mine set up to pull through (I know not the best for fan life) my vertically mounted cooltube that also acts as the intake for my room exhaust. It was pretty loud though as I'm certain pretty much all fans of this kind are.
I have invested in an Ezi fan speed controller - It was almost 1/2 the price for the other options I found. I had my worries about how effective it would be, and if there would be any 'humming' from slowing the fans down as I had heard so often. I am pleased to report that there is absolutely no sound from the controller even when slowed down 100%. The fan is not making any unusual noises as a result and the reduction of noise it has resulted in is remarkable! I am running a tent so my growroom walls are not going to block a lot of sound so this drop in fan volume was impressive. I now have the regular $10 pedestal fan making more noise than the 125mm centrifugal! NICE! I highly recommend the fan speed controller and the Lumatek digital ballast, although I have only been using these items for a short amount of time and do not know how they will perform over the long run.
If anyone has ever had good/bad experiences with any of the above mentioned items, has any feedback, or would just like to share any similar thoughts, please share them. The more info we get out there, the easier it becomes for the whole community to purchase quality equipment without having to resort to harsh exchange rates/import taxes/shipping charges (which are often more expensive than the actual item you are trying to get!).
Congrats on making it this far! Hope it was helpful