New to everything, a few recommendations?

Hey guys,

I'm brand new to this stuff, basically I ended up with a 2 bedroom because I couldn't find a single bedroom where I was moving too. I figured I would turn the second bedroom into a new hobby.

Here are some pics of the room (give it some time):






The whole room is about 8'X12'
The closet is about 2'X4.5'
The ceiling is 8'

Alright so now that you have some background, I'm wondering what my best setup would be. As you can see there is a vent on top of the doorway (good or bad thing I'm not sure?)

I wanted to go the SOG method, seems to make the most sense to me. Also I would like to have a few stages of growth. Example - small clones/vegetating/flowering. I would also need a place to keep a mother for cloning.

As you can also see there are a few shelves in the closet. They are both just a little over 1' in height. Not sure if I can use these for anything.

Now getting to my questions:

1. The room seems really open to me. When I see other setups they seem to be closed in with some reflective/white material (probably to keep light from being wasted I think?) Anyway, would I have to build some kind of mini room with walls or would I be able to just put a table in the room and set some trays on it and hang the lights from the ceiling?

2. What is the best use I can get out of this closet? This is also concerning me because if I have the lights in the closet going 18/6 or just 24 then it is going to be difficult to block all the light.

3. What can I use to block the light from the window, and my door. Do I have to block the vent on the top of the door?

4. Should I buy one of these "grow tents" or do you think I can get this going without spending that money?

5. I live in Canada. Are there any good websites that I can purchase this equipment from that will ship here?

Thanks for any help that you guys provide. I hope I have enough information here for you to run with and get me started!

Looks like a great place to start a garden. I would use the little closet for clones and a mother and use a couple 1000 watters in the bed room. Use some sheets and plywood or that insulated board. Whatever you do make it look like its not covered from the outside. Anything that has cracks in it can be sealed off with liquid foam. Or you can bisqueen the whole room. I wouldnt bother with a tent. Too small and not worth the money. Most websites on the net will most likely ship to you.

Thanks for the reply.

Would you use fluorescents for the mother/clones or would you use fluorescents on the clones and metal halide on the mother?

Also I think multiple 1000 watters would be too much hydro. I'm not sure how people run these huge lights (unless they have a generator.) What kind of spike in my bill would I be looking at if I went with one 1000 or a few 400's?

my hydro on one 1000 is about an extra 80-90 $ will grow about 2 lbs and youve got a kickass space to do it. how much money are you willing to spend?

Well I'm willing to spend a decent amount up front because I know it will pay me back eventually.

Probably $800-1000. I'm not sure what that will get me.

I'm not worried about the extra hydro cost really, but more how suspicious my bill will look when it spikes up that much. That being said I haven't even been here a month yet.

2x 1000w 500-600$
good vent fan 200$
nutes pots soil 150$

use house fans for in room circulation and thats very basic startup costs if you have a hydro store in your neighbourhood

Wow this looks like an exciting thread, im gonna subscribe to this one . If i were you I would do a little homework and find out exactly how much a grow is going to cost your landlord, assuming utilities all inclusive? Also, i'd try to get a feeling for what this guy is like, see if he can be bought, for instance do you have a buyer for each harvest? Of course though, the best solution to any of these "problems" is to not get caught. Do ALL your homework, tons and tons of reading. If you're planning on only 1 1kWatt light, you might be best for a stealth grow ie you'll need 60Watt/sqft. Anyhow, keep us all updated, pm me if you need anything else.


cheers,


mt

switch all you light bulbs to cfls that helps save quite a few watts

I have been reading all kinds of stuff but everything I read is more when you already have everything setup, not necessarily making decisions like this (everybody's setup is different.)

The hydro is not all inclusive, I pay it. I guess if I just say someone moved in then that might account for 100 a month? I thought that is how they usually get you.

I also have a computer that runs 24X7 and has been since I got here. That does not necessarily need to be the case so I can just turn that off most of the time.
Question about the fan. When you say "good vent fan" what kind of fan are you talking about? Does it attach to the light cover? Where would I actually vent the air too?

Also what website do you guys recommend for buying this equipment discreetly?

Thanks everybody for your input!

if your using an entire room you would just hang both lights over your grow space and use a good inline fan or cage blower with or without a filter. you would want anapprox 1000cfm fan or multiple fans venting all the hot air from the top of the room. go to bustan.com and look at the ventilation options they have there to get a rough idea of what they look like and the sizes. i like to have enough vent power to vent my entire room in one minute so your working with about 800 foot cubed i would install a 1000 cfm fam to vent and would place it near the lights at the top of the room where heat collects and then you need to let fresh air in from somewhere a door/window.

Alright cool thanks for the heads up on the website, looks like a good one.

My main question is that the air has to go somewhere right? So would I just open up the window and point the hose out the window? How many times a day would I have to do this?

yep use duckting and put it to a window and keep it running while your lights are on or 24/7 if you have a carbon filter for smell

After thinking about this a little more (I think I can get a cheap 1000W from a buddy) and snooping around I took a good look at this thing:



And then got on the floor and looked under it:



Then I went out on my balcony and on the other side of the wall, right where that thing is, there is a huge vent or something. Possibly for the AC?

Can I take the venting fan, that I now know is a necessity, and plug the exhaust right into the bottom of that thing (I have no idea what to call it lol) and then open the window a few times a day to let some fresh air in? Do you think the air will be routed outside?

are you gonna have neighbours that are gonna smell this?

if you dont have neighbours and its a room in itself your gonna need a kickin fan. thats gonna be 10 or 12 inch diam. so you dont want to restrict the flow if it at all so i dont know if the exhause you have would be even close to big enough. (this is what my friend does) you would just hang your fan where you wanted it then attach some ducting of the same size as the fan and hang it close to the window. then take a powerful desk fan, put it in the window and leave the window open all the way always. should work. everyone hear worries about temp but my best grow grew at 32 degrees so its not a huge deal(overrated) just do your best to keep it at 28-30 and you will be fine.

Yeah I am going to have neighbors. The more and more I learn about this the more and more I am realizing how expensive and elaborate a setup you need. I've always heard that it is dead easy but that is not the case.

Maybe when I buy my own place (in the near future) I'll look into dedicating a room to this and really do it right but I'm not sure if it is the best idea to do this in an apartment I am renting.

Thanks for all of the info, out of all the sites I posted on this is by far the friendliest and most helpful.

just put 9 under your buggys thousand and use poly to create a wall or two use house fans for venteing. it can be done just get creating then put 6 or 9 underneath it.

That grate above the door, is that the heating vent? or is it a vent to the outside?

Thats a very mature thing to do Bix , you will have your grow room oneday!

Bix,

you might find this link very useful. If you can take the smell out of the air before you pump it outside you've solved half of the problem. So follow these simple steps and build yourself an odour neutralizing machine.

Odour Control Machine