Cheapest way to grow 5-6 plants

hey, it’s my first indoor grow, I’m finding it hard to understand lighting, I want to be able to grow 5-6 plants but I’m on a budget , could someone help me out , would a 1 metre square tent be appropriate or can I go smaller? Would a 600 watt Viparspectra be alright or would I need more? I also wanna know about carbon filters n stuff, I see full grow kits on eBay by green fingers but judging by the price I’m assuming it’s probably too good to be true.
I’m really new and no pre much nothing, I’ve only grown outdoors but wanna move inside so I can grow all year round.
Thanks guys

The 600w vipar spectra despite its title is a 270w-+ light and is good for about 2.5x2.5ft in flower at best.

A 1mx1m tent is fine for 5-6 plants, as long as they are not huge.
The cheapest option to light that would probably be a 400 or 600w HPS with an additional Metal halide bulb for veg phase.

You then need a 4-6" extractor fan (depends on how warm your climate/house is) and a filter to match the cfm of the fan, it can be higher cfm but doesn't want to be lower than the fan is rated as it wont properly clean the air.

Usually the whole kits they sell on amazon or ebay are a bit over priced and often ineffective or full of parts you do not need.
Mostly you can find better prices shopping for individual items.

You want something like this.
light
tent
fan
filter
ducting
duct clips
hygrometer
circulation fan (or a few)

You an aussie? Get yourself over to the aussie thread and get more details from what your fellow growers are doing/using for your specific environment.

coreywebster said:

The 600w vipar spectra despite its title is a 270w-+ light and is good for about 2.5x2.5ft in flower at best.

A 1mx1m tent is fine for 5-6 plants, as long as they are not huge.
The cheapest option to light that would probably be a 400 or 600w HPS with an additional Metal halide bulb for veg phase.

You then need a 4-6" extractor fan (depends on how warm your climate/house is) and a filter to match the cfm of the fan, it can be higher cfm but doesn't want to be lower than the fan is rated as it wont properly clean the air.

Usually the whole kits they sell on amazon or ebay are a bit over priced and often ineffective or full of parts you do not need.
Mostly you can find better prices shopping for individual items.

You want something like this.
light
tent
fan
filter
ducting
duct clips
hygrometer
circulation fan (or a few)

You an aussie? Get yourself over to the aussie thread and get more details from what your fellow growers are doing/using for your specific environment.

Click to expand...

Where is the Aussie thread? And

coreywebster said:

The 600w vipar spectra despite its title is a 270w-+ light and is good for about 2.5x2.5ft in flower at best.

A 1mx1m tent is fine for 5-6 plants, as long as they are not huge.
The cheapest option to light that would probably be a 400 or 600w HPS with an additional Metal halide bulb for veg phase.

You then need a 4-6" extractor fan (depends on how warm your climate/house is) and a filter to match the cfm of the fan, it can be higher cfm but doesn't want to be lower than the fan is rated as it wont properly clean the air.

Usually the whole kits they sell on amazon or ebay are a bit over priced and often ineffective or full of parts you do not need.
Mostly you can find better prices shopping for individual items.

You want something like this.
light
tent
fan
filter
ducting
duct clips
hygrometer
circulation fan (or a few)

You an aussie? Get yourself over to the aussie thread and get more details from what your fellow growers are doing/using for your specific environment.

Click to expand...

Thanks heaps , how can I get to the Aussie thread?

Leo_dean said:

Where is the Aussie thread? And

Thanks heaps , how can I get to the Aussie thread?

Click to expand...

Link = https://www.rollitup.org/t/aussie-growers-thread.250691/page-3956

For 1x1 m you could try a 400w HPS vertical grow.

600watt hps aircooled hood
3x3
6” fan and carbon filter
Dirt and 3gal pots.
5 plants.

Great place to start.

If you can get your LED cheap on ebay then try it. If you can't then an HPS/MH will be way way cheaper to get started.

You can run a 1mx1m tent great with 600w (400w for veg). Most tents in my world are 1.2mx1.2m (4x4ft).

If you go LED in a 4x4 tent you are going to want around 500 true watts (or more) to get the full potential out of the space. Ignore the wattage in LED light names, look for the current draw in their specs. That's how you compare LED lights, and how you compare them to HPS / MH. The catch with LED lights is they are mosly square, and shine streight down, not outwards much, so in a 4x4 tent you are much better off with x2 long rectangular LED lights of half the power each, to spread the light out more. Also bear in mind if you live somehwere cold then LED lights don't heat the tent up enough to keep the plants happy and also drinking water. (LED lights tend to be named by their total installed LED wattage - but they don't run at full power or they'd burn out - so a light with 100 x 5watt leds would be called a 500 Watt LED light , but the reality is that it would run at , say, 2 watts per LED, and thus really be a 200W led, when comparing it to other lights).

a 6" fan is massive for a 4x4 tent, but then I'm in England. Perhaps it's more viable in hotter countries. Even in 32 degree summer days my 5" RKV keeps my 4x4 tent under 34 degrees.

If you want to start cheap, buy a tent, a cheap HPS light and start from there. Even a cheapo 4" inline £15 fan from Screwfix will tide you over for a while (it'll be noisy). You can then upgrade as you go. All carbon filters work. No idea how much better the more expensive ones work vs the cheaper ones.

The starter kits on ebay (fan, pipes, filter etc) are fine to get your 1st crop done. You'll upgrade, I promise It's all great fun.

p.s. I clone and veg (until I outgrow the light footprint) with two dirt cheap Mars Hydro LEDs from ebay and they work fantastically (around £30 each). I then switch to 400W MH. Then 600 HPS

Blurple lights are a waste of money, please don't go that route or you will be disappointed.

Go with a 600w HPS set up, gonna run you ~$100. Closer to $150 if you get a set up with a hood instead of a winged reflector.

A 4x4 tent will cost you ~$80-$90 and typically requires a lot less troubleshooting than growing in a closet, spare room, etc.

Are your ambient temps above 80 degrees? If so, you'll need a source of cooling which will make things a bit more pricey. If temps are below 80 degrees, you can use an inline fan without a need for cooling. I run the lights at night to take advantage of the cooler ambient temps so I don't need to run an AC.

An inline fan with a controller will run you ~$110. I recommend oversizing to an 8inch fan, you can use the controller to turn the speed down if it proves to be a bit much. Better to oversize here than to undersize.

You'll also need some clip on oscillating fans too. The inline fan only exchanges the air and does not provide airflow like an oscillating fan will.

Aside from that you just need seeds/clones, pots, and some soil and you're on your way.

Funny opposites. I light overnight in the UK to keep the room temps up!

I have to pay to heat my tents during the day, you have to pay to cool them!

That being said, in the summer all is great. No heating, overnight growing to keep the temps stable. 5" fan never reaches 4 out of 5 on the controller.

Leo_dean said:

I want to be able to grow 5-6 plants

Click to expand...

What are you basing this number on. How big do you expect to grow each plant. Like how many ounces do you see each bringing...?
Small plants start at about 45cm across.

In practical and cheapest setup, you need at least 4x6 come flower time, unless you keep plants small, Get 2 decent 1200 w burple leds, (mine draw 300 watts).they stay cool, and fairly efficient, thought you will still need ventilation in a tent.

1st off... Let us know what your budget is...

2nd if it we're me and I wanted to do it right but I wanted the initial cost to be as cheap as possible... Here is what I would get.you you can run 1 light in veg and turn on the 2nd light in bloom.... Should work for a 3x3 or a 4x4 tent. You will want an inline fan and filter combo... And a good tent.