Finally a really reliable and honest hydro store!

vbp6us - Just to let you know, I've had extensive conversations with Bryon & would probably give him the keys to my house to babysit my dogs if I wasn't spending all my vacation money on grow room supplies. (and he didn't live 3,000 miles away)
My next purchase from Grow-a-Lot is gonna be the ValuLine 6" also. I found a way to exhaust from the basement up to the attic crawl space but have to run around 12' of 4" duct to get up there. Do you think this might be noisy with the 6" Fan? Bryon suggested it over the 4" ValuLine & I suppose I could put it on a speed controller to turn it down if I had to. The trouble is I have to run electrics up their too & figure out how to control it from the basement.
Who knew that these little plants were gonna turn me into a plumber/electriction/chemist/HVAC/lighting guy...

old yeller said:

vbp6us - Just to let you know, I've had extensive conversations with Bryon & would probably give him the keys to my house to babysit my dogs if I wasn't spending all my vacation money on grow room supplies. (and he didn't live 3,000 miles away)
My next purchase from Grow-a-Lot is gonna be the ValuLine 6" also. I found a way to exhaust from the basement up to the attic crawl space but have to run around 12' of 4" duct to get up there. Do you think this might be noisy with the 6" Fan? Bryon suggested it over the 4" ValuLine & I suppose I could put it on a speed controller to turn it down if I had to. The trouble is I have to run electrics up their too & figure out how to control it from the basement.
Who knew that these little plants were gonna turn me into a plumber/electriction/chemist/HVAC/lighting guy...

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So it is Byron? LMAO! If we're talking about the same guy, you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about! LMFAO!

I have personally known that dude forever, and he's no cop/snitch/thief/whatever.

Anyway... back to grow security. I agree with y'all here. You should be very careful about bringing people to it. But, a hydro owner isn't going to turn you in or be a cop. He's in it to make business. Why would he get rid of or cause trouble for a potential customer? A hydro store owner wants you to succeed and come back and buy some more - he doesn't want you busted. that's stupid!

but seriously, too funny. Byron and i go back. He used to run a few nightclubs in SD. I haven't talked with him since a little before i got shipped to the mid east. I have to look 'em up. Where is his store? And don't sweat it, that dude couldn't care less what you're growing - I remember how stoked he was when he got his doc's recommendation!

oh yeah, one more thing... for those that benefit from knowing him, pay attention. he definitely knows his shit!

Ya know, there's not too many people in the hydro business that will recommend buying cheaper items because they're better over the more profitable ones (Sunlight Supply vs HydroHut for example). Even tho he carries the Vortex line of fans (& can make more money selling them), Bryon said just go with the ValuLine - it's as good & he has a no hassle return policy. I'd still like to hear some more feedback on these fans - the local grow shop only has Fantech on display & at above retail pricing, so I'm willing to pay for the extra shipping & knowledge that Grow-a-Lot provides.
Plus, the competition is fierce in SD - Bryon said there's grow shops all over the place and one practically next door. He even said good things about the guy that runs HTG so he is not the kind of guy that will bash other people to get your business - He has my vote as the best, most honest store around.
Also, he told me he's finally gettin in the Philips CMH Bulbs & has a million more things than his website has listed - wish I could have home delivery!

old yeller said:

vbp6us - Just to let you know, I've had extensive conversations with Bryon & would probably give him the keys to my house to babysit my dogs if I wasn't spending all my vacation money on grow room supplies. (and he didn't live 3,000 miles away)
My next purchase from Grow-a-Lot is gonna be the ValuLine 6" also. I found a way to exhaust from the basement up to the attic crawl space but have to run around 12' of 4" duct to get up there. Do you think this might be noisy with the 6" Fan? Bryon suggested it over the 4" ValuLine & I suppose I could put it on a speed controller to turn it down if I had to. The trouble is I have to run electrics up their too & figure out how to control it from the basement.
Who knew that these little plants were gonna turn me into a plumber/electriction/chemist/HVAC/lighting guy...

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Hi Old Yeller:
I have met Byron in person many times now. I've been to his hydro store as well. He is the one of the nicest, most informative, and honest people I have ever met.

You could have it on a speed controller I suppose. I like to run mine at full speed so I don't have any experience on speed controllers. I will tell you it's more like a "hum" with proper ducting.

Who knew that these little plants were gonna turn me into a plumber/electriction/chemist/HVAC/lighting guy.

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LOL! I say that subconsciously everyday.

Up4anything said:

So it is Byron? LMAO! If we're talking about the same guy, you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about! LMFAO!

I have personally known that dude forever, and he's no cop/snitch/thief/whatever.

Anyway... back to grow security. I agree with y'all here. You should be very careful about bringing people to it. But, a hydro owner isn't going to turn you in or be a cop. He's in it to make business. Why would he get rid of or cause trouble for a potential customer? A hydro store owner wants you to succeed and come back and buy some more - he doesn't want you busted. that's stupid!

but seriously, too funny. Byron and i go back. He used to run a few nightclubs in SD. I haven't talked with him since a little before i got shipped to the mid east. I have to look 'em up. Where is his store? And don't sweat it, that dude couldn't care less what you're growing - I remember how stoked he was when he got his doc's recommendation!

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Byron is the man! He ran nightclubs in SD? He is very knowledgeable and chill person, word.

My girls: God Bud, GDP, Purple Trainwreck, and Super Silver Haze.
400Watt CMH. House and Garden Aqua Flakes.
DAY 23 (2 days ago):


Day 22 (I think. It might be 23 as well):



Major LSTing going on with the GDP, SSH, and most GBs.

vbp6us said:

My girls: God Bud, GDP, Purple Trainwreck, and Super Silver Haze.
400Watt CMH. House and Garden Aqua Flakes.
DAY 23 (2 days ago):

Day 22 (I think. It might be 23 as well):

Major LSTing going on with the GDP, SSH, and most GBs.

Click to expand...

Were those al planted at different times? Or, do you have a reflector that doesn't distribute light evenly? Looks like you have a batwing on one side (the short side) and nothing on the other so they stretch. If so, throw another batwind on the tall side and get some shorter, bushier plants.

Never mind. I just re-read it all and you're LSTing. Maybe the shorter ones are just pulled down more.

Where I live, the hydro store is on the same block as two cannabis clinics.

Really don't have to worry about the cops.

I feel obligated to share my expeirence I just had with HTG. I have not had any problems with that place. They acually surprised me with their commitment to customer service. I had a problem with a heavy pricey item. The item worked fine in the begining and I tossed the box. But in the first week something wasn't right. I emailed the place totally expecting that this would become a headache for me. It took a day or two to get a reply but the email said a replacement was in the mail and to just put the deffective one in its box, even paid for the shipping on everything. That place is definately on top of things.

vbp6us -

Love your girls & your extensive c-clamp collection...

Yup, I definately need a speed controller too, but naturally, I'm desireing the the most expensive one out there - a 3 amp variac ($75). We'll see - I still am gettin' my lights together - 2, 65w Fluorex's to tide me over untill a magic elf delivers me a 400w something or other. (Probably a CAP ValuLine switchable from Bryon).
Been constructing 3 carbon filter prototypes (The Mouse, The Bucket & The Real Thing) in order to understand odor control & will try & post some photos (If they'll let me) of the projects when they're done - finished The Mouse today - a mini scrubber with the fan built inside & so far, so good.
My UFO bagseeds were just put into 12/12 a few days ago so I can sex 'em & weed it down from 15 unknown's to hopefully 6 girls, but I might be flowering with the Fluorex's & a couple of T12 shoplights if the elves don't arrive with $250 - keepin' a photo log just in case I actually succeed.

free shiping!!!!wow

Prices seem high to me, but the local hydro store here has pretty good prices.


I just can't get over how much those fans cost. Maybe I am missing something but why spend $200 for an 8" inline fan there, when I can get an 8" inline fan at home depot for under $40? Also why spend 22 dollars for a 90mm 50cfm computer fan when I can get the same thing on newegg for like $3? I mean, I am new to all this and could be missing an important fact, but it seems crazy to me.

vbp6us said:

Well most hydro stores cater to all kinds of growers, not just cannabis. The one I frequent never assumes anything.

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Blah, hydro stores cater to one crowd.

lJamiel said:

Blah, hydro stores cater to one crowd.

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Yeah trust me those mofo's know what he hell you growing, Do you really think all these nutes and shit are for bigger tomatoes...Don't kid yourselves children, just like we smoke tobacco out of our pipes right?

Zekedogg said:

Yeah trust me those mofo's know what he hell you growing, Do you really think all these nutes and shit are for bigger tomatoes...Don't kid yourselves children, just like we smoke tobacco of our pipes right?

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Yea I know, Ill take some of that Sensi Bloom and Bud Blood for my tomatoes!

Puff said:

Yea I know, Ill take some of that Sensi Bloom and Bud Blood for my tomatoes!

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I never knew tomato plants stunk so bad that they needed giant carbon filters.

Hey all! I spoke with Byron at Grow A Lot and told him about this thread. He read it and got a kick out of it. In repsonse to some of the other responses up there, he had this to say - I'm parephrasing (or however you spell it).

As to him being a cop... he laughed.

As to the assumptions made about what is being grown... he says he doesn't make any. As explained to me, because his new location isn't up and running yet, the majority of his sales are to commercial growers. San Diego is a big agriculture area, so, from what he tells me, there are commercial orchid, pointsetta, and culinary herbs growers around. He also caters to organic fruit growers like avocados, citrus, and the like. he was tellign me that hydroponics (and particularly organics) is really becoming more main stream and that alot of the people coming in are growing to eat healthier/safer food. he also pointed out that the 20 year old wearing the bob marley t-shirt and reaking like weed is a pretty easy assumption to make.

As to odor control he said: YES! An indoor tomato crop, according to him, absolutely stinks, but moreso is the nutrients and organics used in there. He explained how 2,500 square feet of fish emulsion would make you want to die. Odor control, despite my previous assumptions, is more of a money maker with the commercial growers than the stoners.

If you ever talk to the guy, he can tell you all about his garden and how he uses almost everythign he sells at home in one way or another. An example he used was GH Floralicious. He says it's great for hydro and soil, but what he uses it on is that he mixes it in a bucket of water and uses it to activate his compost pile. breaks it down faster or something. He said that, right now, he gets more baby boomers growing their own veggies than medical patients growing their own weed. He's a med pt. so he's down for the cause - but siad he would prefer not to know if he's helping you break the law.

FYI - his company is developing a new product that is a hydro, soil, or foliar feeder and it kills fungus/mold AND most of the pests that plague us. He's going to let me be one of the dudes that tests it out. Anyone else that knows him/of him, ask him about it and see if you can get hooked up too. He doesn't know what they're going to call it, so I don't know what to tell you to ask for. I won't post his e-mail here (not sure he'd mind or not), but you can contact him through the website and just say you heard about it or something.

To Puff: He said for tomatoes, he would actually recommend Rare Earth, Floralicious, Sweet, and combine that with Happy Frog Tomato and Open Sesame. Said they'd be the best tasting tomatoes you've ever had.

The dude's pretty smart, so it wouldn't matter what you're growing, you can pick up some good info from him. He's the kind of guy that knows a little about everything and can talk to you about whatever topic you choose.

The guy at the local hydro store here caters to more than just weed. He actually gave me a dozen or so packets of seeds, none of them weed mind you.