Narrowed down my options, but need some help deciding on a few things, fan/filter combos and grow te

alien_mice

New Member
This'll be my first grow. It's going to take place in a closet, 2' deep with max 5' available height. The end goal is some good personal use bud and grow experience.

Things I've pretty much decided on: (still open to suggestions if anything is a bad choice)

  • Plants: I'm leaning towards getting some clones from a local dispensary for the sake of getting this done by December. I'll probably grow 2 plants (maybe just one though), preferably a sativa or a sativa dominant hybrid. Right now I'm planning on doing some LST and FIMing when the plants are young to get them to spread out horizontally since they will have some room.
  • Lights: Mars Hydro 60*5W (300W) LED grow lights (~130W actual power). Found here for $65. This will give me ~33 actual Wpm^2
  • Pot/Soil: 1 3 gallon smart pot per plant with Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil

Things I have questions about:

  • Grow Tents: I've narrowed it down to really 3 contenders at this point:
  1. 247Garden gbox, 2x2x4 found for $75 on amazon. I'm a little hesitant on this one because I can't seem to find any reviews around, but I think that's just because they're relatively new. I like the size of this one and even though it does have the "half moon" door style, it seems larger than other tents I've come across which makes me think it will be less annoying.
  2. No name 2x2x4 grow tent found for $76 on amazon. This one seems on par with the gbox, but the door seems a little smaller which makes me think the gbox would be better
  3. Secret Jardin Darkstreet 2x2x5 found for $100 on ebay. Again this one seems about the same as the gbox, but there's an extra foot of height to work with. Will I notice a big difference between 4 and 5 feet? I'm not planning on growing any huge trees or anything, and the LED light takes up less space than an HID would but mainly just wondering if 4 feet will be really cramped.
  4. I'd also be willing to consider the Lighthouse Hydro 2.5x1.5x3 which is $100 on amazon but it seems like the other options would provide a better size/shape space for my needs
  • Ventilation Fans/Carbon Filters: I've narrowed this down to 3ish options as well. Since this will be in a closet in my bedroom and I live in an apartment my first two concerns are noise level and filter effectiveness:
  • Fan options first:
  1. 4" 105 CFM inline duct fan for $60 at Home Depot. I did my calculations and if I'm running a 130 actual W LED panel in a 2x2x4 tent I need only ~41 CFM to cool the tent by 10 degrees F. Now I'm aware that adding a carbon filter and ducting will decrease the efficiency of the fan, but I'm not sure exactly by how much.
  2. iPower 4" fan + filter combo found for $90 on ebay. I need to clarify that the inline fan is the one they are offering and not the booster but this seems like a decent option. If it's the inline fan it puts out 175 CFM which I think should be more than enough
  3. Active Air 4" 165 CFM fan found for $75 on amazon. This one's got some good reviews and seems to be a favorite but is pricier than the other options. I'd like to keep costs as low as possible since I'm not growing for profit but if the other options are shit I'd be willing to spend a little extra.
  • Filter Options:
  1. 4" VenTech Filter for $50 on ebay. Not much to say about this one, seems alright
  2. iPower Carbon Filter found for $50 on amazon. Seems like a top seller, it's included with the #2 fan package
  3. DIY Carbon filter as described here. This would cost me $15-30 depending on supplies. Definitely think this would be my favorite option but only if it would work well enough to conceal the smell (I'm in a legal area but don't want to disturb my neighbors).
  • Related Question: I've been looking at 4" fans because they are plenty powerful for the space I'll be using, but would I be much better off getting a 6" fan and cranking it down with a speed controller? I'd like to keep costs minimum but if it would make a significant difference I'd be willing to look into bigger fans
  • Nutrients:
  1. Since I'm going with the fox farms soil, I'm leaning towards the fox farms trio for nutes. Main question I have is have people found these for cheaper in a local shop? They're ~$40 online for 3x32oz bottles and I think there are a few stores around me that stock them, wondering if it's worth making the trip. Same question for the soil, I read somewhere that it's a lot cheaper to get locally than online, just wondering if anyone has any input about that.

  • Last but not least, general questions
  • This one's for anyone who has gotten the mars hydro LED panels, it says it comes with mounting straps, are these the adjustable kind or do I need to get those separately?
  • Ventilation Questions:
  • What's the best way to set up fans for an indoor closet grow to minimize smell/sound? I've seen that it's best for the fan to do filter -> fan -> exhaust but I've also seen that fan -> filter -> exhaust eliminates the smell better.
  • Should I keep the fan inside the tent or outside? Inside would keep noise down but would take up space.
  • I have a window just outside the closet, would it be better to dump the exhaust right out of the tent into the closet or to run 6' of ducting or so to pipe it directly to the window?
  • Do I need additional fans? Intake fans? Small clip-on fans for inside the tent to keep the air moving? Seems like the LED panels don't generate too much heat so that might be overkill for the light/space setup

  • Finally, my rough draft shopping list. Please let me know if I'm missing anything I might need or if anything I have is bad/unnecessary!
  1. Tent: One of the options above
  2. Light: Mars Hydro 300W LED Full Spectrum (130 actual W)
  3. Light Mounting Supplies: Found an adjustable grow light rope hanger on amazon for $10, only necessary if the LED panel doesn't come with one
  4. Seeds or Clones: From local dispensary
  5. Soil: 1 x 12 Quart (3 gallon) bag of Fox Farm Ocean Forest per plant (1 bigger bag if doing multiple plants, this is just for calculations)
  6. Pot: 1 x 3 gallon smart pot per plant
  7. Inline duct fan: One of the options above
  8. Carbon filter: One of the options above
  9. Ducting and clamps to connect the fan/filter/exhaust
  10. Humidity/Temp meter: $10 on amazon
  11. Plastic pot drainage saucers from Home Depot
  12. Nutrients: Fox Farm Trio? Open to other options
  13. Light Timer: GE Heavy duty light timer from Home Depot
  14. Fan Speed Controller: Active Air stepless fan speed controller, $20 on amazon
  15. Power Strip to plug everything into
  16. Extension cord to connect to the Power Strip
  17. PH Testers for soil/water/nutrient mix: Paper testers (test water, water + nutes, runoff)
  18. PH Up/Down solutions if necessary

Also just wanted to say thanks in advance for any help, can't wait to get started!
 
Back
Top