Biggest and newest noobie to rollitup :)

Im sure you have all seen me around here the past two weeks making little comments and asking noobie questions. I am about to start my first indoor closet grow and have really been studying up(mostly on this site) and preparing myself for this first grow. Before i begin, i have a couple different questions that will require the expertise of you experienced growers. Im setting this up in my closet in my one bedroom apartment. Im really gonna need your help to guide me through my first grow .I think i will be fine im on the top floor in a corner and in the 4 months ive been here and only 1 maintenece visit so far (with a two day notice). I will be updating with pictures as soon as i start this week or so.

This is what i have purchased so far.

1 20 in hood with reflecter
400w-125w Ballast with MH/HPS
1 400 w MH bulb
1 400 w HPS bulb
1 20 x 48 x 56 in Hydro hut(fits perfectly into my closet)
Emily's Garden Hydroponic System(comes with Flora grow and Flora Bloom nuts)
1 pretty big carbon filter ( bought it from hydro store cost me $250!! )
2 decent size oscilating fans
10 skunk #1 seeds from Nirvana
5 supergirl feminized seeds from Nirvana

First Q : is the 400watt MH too much for seedlings and vegging for 2-3 plants? should i use a couple of CFL's until like two weeks into vegging?

Second Q : i recently moved from NY to MD and am getting adjusted to a extremely anti-marijuana state. Will this carbon filter eliminate the odor's completely? i've heard both yes and no answers.

Third Q : Will the nutrients that came with the hydro starter kit be enough for my entire grow, or should i purchase more?

Fourth Q : I reviewed the section on here on electricity. I have completely broken everything down. my light and ballast - 456watts everything else running 100-200 watts? my monthly charge for kWh is .1057 per kWh. How much extra kWh will my system be adding to my electrics? is the 400 watt hps/mh too much? should i go get the lower voltage?

Fifth Q : Im doing this in a closet. Im not looking for yeild but just good good bud. My area an oz of good bud is RIDICULOUS. so im only growing 2-4 plants total every 3-4 months. Is the setup i have a good one? How tall should i let the skunk plants get before flowering them? 13-17 inch? or should i do my first grow with CFL;S? lighting and eletricity are my main issues.

Well my fellow tokers i hope u could read this baffled nobbies questions and come up with the best answers! Thanks for all your help! sorry if it sounded like i am rambling im still

400w fine for veg and flower but too much for seed or clone. You should get like 20w fl. The whole apartment thing has always made me nervous. I had a water heater break and flood the apartment below me. Shit happens be careful. Not sure about your nuts but you could always get more when you need them.If you spent over 200 on filter should be enough but you will need to worry about airflow to not over heat in closet.Unless you are real tight on funds electric isn't a problem. 1000w and balast is about 50 or so a month. you with whole setup should not be too bad. Most plant doulbe in size but some not so much genes. make sure you flower before you run out of room to raise light. test with hand if too hot too close. 400w about 12 to 18 inches from tops. Keep temp no more than 85 or groth will slow or stop if too hot.And don't put seedling in light until you see good size root mass started and good new growth let the plant tell when it is ready. They tell you everything you just have to pay atention ok sorry i need to put the pipe down. Hope this helps you out.

sounds good to me. get the cheap flouros for seedlings. nutes, buy more when you run out. get a pH meter and pH up/down. dont tell anyone about it and get a lock maybe. check back for all your problems

you def have sir. I was thinking the MH for VEG and the HPS for flower becuz of the blue light the plants like. Yea height was one of my problems. The hut is actually 64in which is 5.3 ft. I was thinking veg the plant until tis like a foot - and then start flowering. Then hopefully the plant wont get over 3 and half feet high total. I have been reading around and see people flush out the grow nutes before they flower and put the plants in 24 hour dark for one day? Is that good? for airflow i was thinking having 3 fans running in my room 2 in my closet and 1 by my window to vent the humid air in/out during the night time .THANKS for your advice im going to go buy a 20w FL tommorrow and get these seedlings going! And for the Odor will the carbon filter be enough? or should i go to further lengths?

the carbon filter takes out most of the odor. somedays it takes out all of it, and some days odor still is apparent. if you are worried about height maybe think about LSTing your plants. or even a SCROG. this or topping your plants will help them grow out and not up. also, vegging until 1 ft sounds ok but if they can double or triple in size than they may be up to 3 ft tall in the end. make sure this will clear that lamp since it isnt air cooled it WILL burn them if too close. dont want that. can you air cool your reflector btw? sounds like you did good research

this is the exact light i have Cool Tube Horizontal HID Plant Grow Light Lamp Reflectors at Home Harvest Garden Supply

didnt buy it from there but yea its a cool tube

seems like i didnt do enough research - what exactly is LSTing and SCROG?

yea i was def gonna top them so i get two growths

some people told me with that cooltube that i can lte the plants even touch the light? is this true?

a 400watt mh is fine for seedlings as long as you keep it atleast 2feet above them!i know from personal experience!

don't let anything other than fl touch you plants even a 400w light puts off enough heat to burn you plants. Try the hand method, too hot move it up. watch how the leaves act they will not lay flat but more v trying to push itself away if they are too hot. you'll see when you get to that point.

The MH will be fine for your plants as long as it's at least 2' above them. I personally use 65w multi-spectrum CFL's until they get about 6" tall. I have three clones that are about 8" tall that go under my 400w HPS for 12 hrs then they come out and spend the rest of the 24 under the CFL. Here is what you need to control the odor; it's cheap and very very effective. IONIC BALL AIR PURIFIER IONIZER CLEANER W BREEZER OZONE - eBay (item 220190168196 end time Jan-09-08 18:15:00 PST)
I'd suggest Ionic brand nutes; they are very simple, effective and easy on the wallet.

potpimp said:

The MH will be fine for your plants as long as it's at least 2' above them. I personally use 65w multi-spectrum CFL's until they get about 6" tall. I have three clones that are about 8" tall that go under my 400w HPS for 12 hrs then they come out and spend the rest of the 24 under the CFL. Here is what you need to control the odor; it's cheap and very very effective. IONIC BALL AIR PURIFIER IONIZER CLEANER W BREEZER OZONE - eBay (item 220190168196 end time Jan-09-08 18:15:00 PST)
I'd suggest Ionic brand nutes; they are very simple, effective and easy on the wallet.

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Wow thanks so much! how many of those do you have would 1-2 eliminate the odor of 2-4 plants? and how long do they last? do you refill them? Im going to go ahead and purchase two right now! Thanks for the advice

LOL, you won't believe how effective one of them will be. They come with a little can of scent but you don't have to use it. I haven't had mine but a few weeks but Nongreenthumb (moderator here) turned me on to it and he uses two for a huge grow. You'll be tickled I guarantee.

Yep, already ordered an on the way! Thanks for the excellent advice. I've recieved better answers to my questions than i could ever ask for! Looks like ill be starting soon ill keep everyone updated through pictures. Only one more question.. i am using the Emily's Harden hydro system. Its a wick hydrosystem and i was wondering they are only 1 gallon pots for each plants.... When my plant is flowering and about 3-4 ft tall am i gonna haveto refill the resevoir about every day?? and i will be using that much nutes?

Your setup is looking great and you are definitely doing a lot of great research. The only thing I'd still worry about is the heat. I could be wrong, but I believe that the "cool tube" doesn't do anything to cool it by itself; it needs a fan and vent system attached.

You definitely need venting of some sort, cause a small area with a 400 watt light is gonna become an oven really fast. Fans only blow the air around, they don't remove it.
Good luck though. You're definitely off to a great start.

Yea im thinking your right. Im gonna look into a ventilation system strait form / or around the cool tube and vent it up to maybe the attic or window outside. Suggestions would be great.

I would vent through the cool tube up into the attic, for starters. That will help negate the heat generated from the light itself. You may want additional vents to and/or from the windows to circulate more air in general. That would help with temperature, humidity, air movement (no bud rot), and getting enough CO2.

i think that venting HID lights over 400 watts is imperative. i dont even know where i would begin to keep my room cool enough if my 2 600s werent vented.

anyone have any ventilation setups with a cooltube?

i have 2 ultra cool xl reflectors hooked up to a 270 cfm can fan. there are plenty of people who use cool tubes on here.

and oh yeah, your not to big of a noob man, seems like you know alot more than some of the stupid people on this site lol. so i'll hook ya up with some rep!