New Grower Needs Some Help

Hello all,

Massachusetts just passed legalization for recreation and growing, yahoo!

I plan on purchasing an Apollo 5' x 5' x 80" grow tent. I'm building a DIY RDWC system to grow 4 plants. The plan is to use LED for veg and then 1000w HPS for flower. This is my first grow ever and need some advice on equipment. I'm not looking for top of the line equipment but I also don't want anything that is going to die 2 weeks into the grow.

1st Question - Is the Apollo 5' x 5' x 80" a decent tent to start with?

2nd Question - I know this one is a doozie and I'm sure there will be some back and forth about it but what would you suggest for an LED for just veg? Budget for this is around $500. I've been thinking about the following lights

1 - Three or four of Mars Hydro 600w
2 - Mars Hydro Reflector 192
3 - Viparspectra 1200w
4 - Meizhi 1200w

Or a combination like maybe a Mars Hydro Reflector144 with a Mars Hydro 300w on either side?

3rd Question - I'm trying to be quiet with the operation due to it being in the next room next to my bedroom. I was thinking of getting a 6" Vortex inline fan with a charcoal filter and speed controller. Is 6" enough or should I up it to the 8" so it can be turned down for silence?
Tent - 167.5 cubic feet
6" fan - 347CFM
8" fan - 728 CFM

4th Question - Does the charcoal filter have to match the CFM of the fan or the cubic feet of the tent?

I would like to thank people ahead for throwing your opinions in if you do take the time to share some of your knowledge and expertise with this newbie that is VERY excited to get into growing

Hello, Slip.

Imma put a little disclaimer here: the advice you are about to receive comes from someone with 0 formal grow experience. All advice is based on information acquired from Cervantes, lurking this forum, and reading a few different books and websites.

4- The CFM should match that of the carbon filter, otherwise you will be pushing out more air than it can handle to clean. Basically, you should take the CFM the filter can handle and multiply it by 1.25 (25% increase), because that's generally how much the filter will slow your air flow.
Based on that number (filter CFM x 1.25), you can get the right air flow with your exhaust and speed controller.

1- 5'x5' grow space is pretty big (but then again, you're somewhere where you ain't gotta be stealthy for shit). Idk, it just seems kinda huge for 4 girls in buckets. I have a 3'x3'x73" tent (still in the box, ) and I was only planning on growing 3-4 max at any given time.
Then again, with a 1000W HPS, you'd need more grow area to make the most out of your lighting/not let the air get too hot.
Would you split up that tent space to make a perpetual veg/flower section?

2 - I don't know what would be ideal for you in veg-light terms, but I do know that the Watt equivalency isn't there between LED and HID lights (600W HPS is not like a 600W Mars Hydro). Be sure to check the LED's efficiency and lumen output, if possible.
When I inquired about LEDs on this forum (never considered multiple LEDs simply because they are too expensive where I live -- 2x 300W basic LED would cost me over 1000 dollars), I was told to forget all these LEDs with full-spectrum, veg-bloom switches, etc. Basically all grow LEDs that glow purple.
I was told that because COB LEDs are the real hot ticket now and from the results I've seen online from COB grows, damn, are they right.
You can either make your own COB setup or buy one ready-made from this guy: https://www.tastyled.com/Tasty-T1-2100-LED-Grow-Light-p/t1-v196.htm

^^^ Unfortunately, they only seem to have the single COB lamp in stock.

Apparently, you can yield over 1g/watt with COBs (if you know what you're doing, I guess; like I said, can't speak from personal experience).
For more info on COB LEDs, check out Growmau5's channel on youtube.

SlipoftheKnife said:

Hello all,

Massachusetts just passed legalization for recreation and growing, yahoo!

I plan on purchasing an Apollo 5' x 5' x 80" grow tent. I'm building a DIY RDWC system to grow 4 plants. The plan is to use LED for veg and then 1000w HPS for flower. This is my first grow ever and need some advice on equipment. I'm not looking for top of the line equipment but I also don't want anything that is going to die 2 weeks into the grow.

1st Question - Is the Apollo 5' x 5' x 80" a decent tent to start with?

2nd Question - I know this one is a doozie and I'm sure there will be some back and forth about it but what would you suggest for an LED for just veg? Budget for this is around $500. I've been thinking about the following lights

1 - Three or four of Mars Hydro 600w
2 - Mars Hydro Reflector 192
3 - Viparspectra 1200w
4 - Meizhi 1200w

Or a combination like maybe a Mars Hydro Reflector144 with a Mars Hydro 300w on either side?

3rd Question - I'm trying to be quiet with the operation due to it being in the next room next to my bedroom. I was thinking of getting a 6" Vortex inline fan with a charcoal filter and speed controller. Is 6" enough or should I up it to the 8" so it can be turned down for silence?
Tent - 167.5 cubic feet
6" fan - 347CFM
8" fan - 728 CFM

4th Question - Does the charcoal filter have to match the CFM of the fan or the cubic feet of the tent?

I would like to thank people ahead for throwing your opinions in if you do take the time to share some of your knowledge and expertise with this newbie that is VERY excited to get into growing

Click to expand...

How are you today? 1st yes that tent will suit you just fine, you can divide it into spaces for different things and have plenty of room for plants. I run 8 3 gallon girls in a 4x5' space vertical bare bulb and I do very well. Plus it gives you room to take care of things instead of having to move anything.
2nd - Go to the LED section in the indoor section and read all the good and bad of the lights, I have just started looking into them and a USA made suppliers I am sourcing for my Crew.
3rd I would go 6" its perfect for the setup, figure out a way to hang it outside the tent from a strap or bungie - little to no transfer of noise - but you still have the fan humming all day so get used to it LOL.
4th- I like to match them to the cfms but I also prefer long filters with changeable end caps, you use it for a year - take the caps off flip it and get another year possibly- I did lol.
4 plants to start is a good goal, are they feminized or will you have to sex them, are you prepared to take and root clones, Do you have enough fans for air flow planned, one needs to gently blow over your canopy. I would suggest ratcheting straps over yo yos but that my preference not to have a light fall on my babies LOL. You didnt ask about nutrients so I will assume you have chosen those or are still researching it. Keep us posted!
MD

If anybody could let me know if this one could make it. Or if I should just start another one. It's been looking like this for a few days and the other ones are only getting bigger.

Hi Slip
Is there a reason you are choosing LED for veg and not Metal Halide? The reason that I ask is that swapping lights will be a much bigger ordeal than just swapping bulbs. If you're already purchasing a ballast and a hood to run HPS, all you would need to buy is one Metal Halide bulb for veg.

I have an Apollo tent and they are fine. Not the sturdiest, but not bad. They give you a liner for the floor and say you don't need trays anymore. That's bullshit. If you know the floor is going to get wet, go with a kiddie pool that has the top cut off.
Check craigslist for used equipment before you buy anything new. Two digital 600w HPS units would be more efficient and give you better coverage -- and you might be able to get them cheap. For veg, you could just dial the ballasts down to 400 watts and swap in some el-cheapo MH bulbs.

If you go with a square tent, my advice would be to get a square hood for your HPS. Throws a square light pattern. One highly recommended one is the Blockbuster 6 inch to give you an idea.

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-System-904650-Blockbuster-Air-Cooled/dp/B004JKFM14/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480183201&sr=8-1&keywords=Blockbuster+hood+6

1st Question -- Why go with a tent?? It is difficult to maneuver in a tent, makes it tough to move plants. Also, you will have more heat problems in a tent. My buddy is in a tent and has to keep 1-2 mini-fans on each plant.

I understand if its a function of security, otherwise tents are a pain.

Good luck, BigSteve.

Great thread.... on the same mission. 5x5x6.6 secret jardin DR about to arrive. 4) 5 gallon square/rectangular buckets in a RDWC. Vegging with 2) 6 tube t5 6500k florescent to start then switch to mh 600 watts then flower with a 600w hps in a cool tube with wide reflector. Missing fan and scrubber.

Get an aviditi 4 by 4 tent they are cheap I think I got mine for a little over 100. Forget the two different light set ups and stick to a 1000w digital ballast that will do 1000 750 and 500 watt adjustments, this way if you do have heat issues you can bring her down a bit.Start with MH for veg and switch to HPS for flower. Way cheaper and MH will veg the hell out of um. I would do 8in it really doesn't cost more and is better if you decide to do a bigger grow later. If you are worried about noise the controller is a good idea there is also silencers. For your first grow you may want to ditch the DWC and just go top water way more forgiving for the learning process but hey my buddy started with ebb and flow and he did good. Good luck.