My First Grow

Ok, ive been doing a lot of research, and i think i have everything Dialed in.

Basically i want all and any advice, within reason. I am working on a fixed income, so this will be built in two installments (2nd light fixture next month)

Room Dimensions :
Length : 78"
Depth: 26"
Height: 60"

Ive taken the doors out of it to grant an extra 2 inches. I will be building a wall out of plywood to screw on the outside edges of the closet. ( with piano hinges for easy opening)
This will allow me to easily control humidity/temp/odor
Will line all surfaces with mylar ( except floor (white visqueen)

Equipment :

600 watt MH / HPS system with cool tube and wing reflectors, ballast (electronic dimmable) and hanging equipment ($190 )
DWC Bucket system (homemade, 5 gallons) (~ $50)
Air pump thats rated for 60 gallons ( will allow me to branch the line up to 12 times for my 5 gallon bucket system) ($15)
Nutrients, i will have some either General Hydroponics, or fox farm
Hygrometer/ PH tester / TDS tester
8" 400 CFM inline fan ( $35)


Second light will be bought in a month ( Plants will be spreading out a bit by then)

Ill be doing 8 - 12 plants (12 will be tight, but doable with a SoG and Scrog setup, i think)

If i do 12 plants in this room, there will be almost no width growth availability. Will this be a problem? or is this what a SoG is?

Also with 12 fully mature plants, how bad do you think the smell will be? I have a prescription, and permission to grow, but i want to be concious of my neighbors (apartments, although small)

I plan to have atleast one 6- 8 inch carbon filter by the time i induce flower.

I will be creating 2 fresh air intakes ( on the sides) and 1 exhuast ( in the middle)
This way ill pull fresh air right onto the lights, and straight out the exhuast

Will start with the MH bulb, and sitch to HPS for flowering.

Dont have a camera, otherwise id post pictures of my closet and my cardboard cutouts ive made of everything.
Think ive said everythings that pertinent, but if not, speak up!
Ill be monitoring this closely!

Suggestions? Comments?

Only suggestion is to not use mylar, just paint it white if you can...mylar is expensive and a pain in the ass to clean and keep on smooth.

Unfortunately painting the closet is not an option. Mylar IS within my budget, and already planned. I have worked with it before as well, and ill have lapping ( like siding)

Thanks for replying tho!

I forgot as well, the closet will only be used 1-3 times, then a bigger room will be available ( will do a continuous cycle at that point)

Paint or panda plastic would be what I would use for that size. And with 2 600w lights you are going to want a larger fan. A 400+ cfm would be ideal. But if you already have your fan give it a try it might work good enough for you to save for the other. This will help with temps and smell.

Awesome advise. Ill look into Panda Plastic, and look for a new fan. By a little math, the 400 might just suck ALL my heat out, which would not be ideal. How often do you think a 400 CFM will totally refresh the closet? my intake will be straight from my room, so cold air isnt much of a concern. If i can find a compatible 400 cfm for not a huge increase, i will do it, with a controller.

Your not going to have a problem keeping temps up in there. So why would sucking all the heat out NOT be ideal? I used a 400 cfm with 1 600w in a 4x4x6 and temps would reach 90 fast with fresh air being 60. The more hot air you can suck out the better. And the faster you can suck it out the faster you refresh the air and that's always great.

Ok, Thanks, ill do some digging and try to find a good fan.

Room Dimensions :
Length : 78"
Depth: 26"
Height: 60"

6.5 x 2.2 x 5 = 71.5 cubic feet.

400 cubic feet per minute. 20 exchanges of air per hour x 71.5 cubic feet= 1430 cubic feet exchanged total per hour. 400 CFM fan x 60min = 24,000 cubic feet per hour. As you can see if your 400 CFM fan was strictly exchanging air in the room it can do it quite efficiently with such a small room.

Warlock1369 said:

Your not going to have a problem keeping temps up in there. So why would sucking all the heat out NOT be ideal? I used a 400 cfm with 1 600w in a 4x4x6 and temps would reach 90 fast with fresh air being 60. The more hot air you can suck out the better. And the faster you can suck it out the faster you refresh the air and that's always great.

Click to expand...

This is odd because I have no fan with air coming in at 72 degrees and the temperature barely hits 85 with 600W in a mother closet. Something isn't arranged correctly for that tents temperature to get so high especially with the intake air being so cold.

Thanks Indica, the math was there in my head, but not connecting the dots lol! I found a 400 CFM for same price, so will be using that now.

And thanks Warlock for pointing out this potential problem! This is what i want, and i would hate to lose a crop becuase of something i can prevent!

If i do 12 plants in this room, there will be almost no width growth availability. Will this be a problem? or is this what a SoG is?
Also with 12 fully mature plants, how bad do you think the smell will be? I have a prescription, and permission to grow, but i want to be concious of my neighbors (apartments, although small)

I plan to have atleast one 6- 8 inch carbon filter by the time i induce flower.

Well a true SOG is no topping, straight from clone showing roots or 1 week of veg then 12/12. The reason is because the plant has no time to put on side branching, it immediately starts flowering and focusing on its main cola. That is the fun, figuring out how many plants you can fit in and still maintain a good yield with healthy conditions.

nice thanks. I didnt go into my schedule, ill prob keep it a simple 3-5 week veg, 5-8 week flower, depending on strains im able to get my hands on. As of now, i have no clone availability, so ill prob have to do seeds, from an online vendor. I already have chosen Attitude seed bank co. I believe it will be the best bet for me atm, considering theyre running a special, and ill be able to get 10 feminised seeds for $48. hopefuly i get a 10/10 germination! (counting on losing half LOL)

I also have a germination station coming ( a basic 72 cell tray with dome and heating mat)

I plan on growing a lot of different plants as well ( Beefsteak tomatoes HO!)

(a lot of "i plan"s eh?)

Yeah lots of people have gone through attitude and I have had good experiences with them as well. The freebies are always nice, I actually am keeping the Eva Seeds Jamaican Dream I got as a freebie from Attitude. I think you should be fine, get your seeds and see how everything performs.

Thanks Indica. That helps my decision a little. Im on a time schedule (i plan on moving end of march, so i want my first crop done by then), and i think i will order from them. (holding out for some cuttings by chance, but eh)

Any new ideas from anyone?