Pro Amateur Grow Room Setup!

Hi, this will be an information packed thread so I'll try and keep it short! Toke while you read...

I am looking to setup a small grow of the best plants possible for personal use. I plan to grow 4 - 6 different strains with six plants. This is my first time grow but I approach things in a very professional manner, crazy scientist methodical engineer style!

Here is what I plan to get:

Setup: Secret Jardin Tent
System: 6x GH WaterFarm
Media: Hydroton (any other recommendations?)
Lights: Undecided for Veg // HPS 600W For Flower
Nutes: Fox Farm or other trusted brand
Odour Control: PROfilter Carbon Filter
Ventilation: 6" 400CFM

Any advice suggestions tips opinions would be welcome!

Plan on spending about $100 over your budget on little things like pots, trays, temp gauge, ducting, ph kit, extension cords, duct tape, zip ties etc....

1: For $700 I got my 1000w set up going
2: ? did you complete your sentence?
3: The guys using tons of nutes are using very specific additives to control their plants' intake of every nutrient. I use Fox Farms 3 liquid ferts (and Hygrozyme) and never had a problem. I'm sure you can get better results with other stuff but i like to keep it simple and cheaper.
4: Yes you will need odor control. If I let my fan go off for a day grandma on the other end of the block would be able to smell it. Keep in mind most of us are somewhat de-sensitized to the smell. Mr LEO can smell it pretty easy

LOL sorry, was so baked!

2) What else do you see me missing from the list since this is a purchase for a new setup? Do I need meters?

Also

6) Is Hydroton good grow media for a WaterFarm bucket setup? I heard people using Coco? Not really sure about this.

7) Should I get a secondary light? HPS 600W is recommended for the tent size

8 ) Do I have enough space in the tent. I am planning to grow as many WaterFarms in 1 tent. I am planning for 6 so far. Do I have enough mobility to grow more? I've never grown plants in a tent setup before.

Dimensions:

Setup: Secret Jardin Dark Room II DR120 II [Size is 120 x 120 cm]
Pot: 6x WaterFarm [Size is 31 cm x 31 cm]

Will I have enough mobility?

I've only ever grown in soil. Dont really have enough knowledge to help with hydro setups.

600w is plenty for your space.

For meters you just need a temp/humidity gauge. Prolly around $10. You need a ph kit (tester, ph up and ph down) whole kit runs $10-15

I am all for watching hydro grows but ive never done any, im a organic soil grower myself and i have my own opinions on why i wont grow hydro and i wont explain because everybody has there own ideas and preferences and i respect that. But if your on a budget you really should grow in soil its alot cheaper.

I'm not really strapped for cash, I'm just smart with money and I've set aside a budget for this. Preparation!

I think I'll stick with Hydro because I want the best potential growing environment and it's not as messy. I'm growing for myself because of mainly medical and secondary destress/fun reasons!

daisy2687 said:

I've only ever grown in soil. Dont really have enough knowledge to help with hydro setups.

600w is plenty for your space.

For meters you just need a temp/humidity gauge. Prolly around $10. You need a ph kit (tester, ph up and ph down) whole kit runs $10-15

Click to expand...

For Lighting I actually meant to ask whether I should get different lamps for the different stages of growth.

How much working space does someone actually need mobility wise in a tent? I might decide to grow more than 6 WaterFarms then

But since you already have ur set up for hydro you can dive in, like already said your def. gonna need ph up and ph down, id prolly go with fox farm, botonicare or advanced nutes they all are good names in the fertilizer game. As far as smell i thought the tents were already set up with a can fan and a carbon filter?? Or is that extra? Lol ive never had one so im not sure, but since the tent is small its only a small fan and carbon filter is needed and that makes things cheaper on you!!! Lol all you gotta do is buget and it is very possible to make ur goal just keep us updated and continue to ask questions.

I dont know if your an experienced grower or not but with hydro there is hardly any room for error one mess up and your whole project could go down the drain. There is alot of things that go into hydro as well so it will prolly be messier than you think.

Also your gonna need a ppm meter. It tests Parts Per Million. Again im not a hydro grower so i dont kno much but if you have any questions dont be afraid to ask, myself or somebody will be able to help there are alot of smart people on this site.

@LSL....you will def need a PH tester as well as a EC/PPM meter for hydro, I'm sure you know that. What you must bare in mind with the water farms is that you will need to maintain 6 separate resevoirs essentially. In hydro it is easier to maintain 1 res which feeds all the plants. I'm not in the states but I'm sure you'll find a system that fits a 4x4 space well.

LowStressLady said:

For Lighting I actually meant to ask whether I should get different lamps for the different stages of growth.

How much working space does someone actually need mobility wise in a tent? I might decide to grow more than 6 WaterFarms then

Click to expand...

I use a 7x7 tent and keep a path down the middle about 1.5' wide. I can reach all the plants this way.

If you have the $80 or w/e it is for a MH bulb it will probably be worth it. I still use a 150w hps for my mothers lol but it works alright.

Thanks for helping out guys! Updated the original post.

@DrGreenthumb333

For nutrients, is there one line that has the most bang for buck?

This is a completely new grow setup, planning from scratch. In terms of hydro vs soil, I am not very knowledgeable and obviously not experienced. I went with hydro because from my research it seems to produce the best quality and quantity of crop.

What problems usually occur that makes people go for soil instead of hydro? I have a lot of time for plant maintenance and I'm planning to do this at a really high degree of precision engineer style, like I do most other things. I don't know about other girls but being smart is awesome

@newworldicon

I went with separate buckets since this is my first grow so there is less chance of one fuckup destroying all the other plants in the same system. Although I will probably get a 4 or 6 pack resevoir-type package, gotta work out the price. It's just 4x/6x more time basically right, are there other benefits?

I looked at these reservoir setups, they have a controller unit. Is it a lot cheaper to build that or buy? Do I even need the controller unit? It seems just for automated watering...
The prebuilt controller systems all have rigid pipe systems. If I DIY myself I'll probably use flexible tubes because it gives me the option to move stuff around. Is there a reason for rigid pipes?

@daisy2687

Realize there were more choices than MH. What is the most cost effective light choice for vegging? I'm not sure if I'm going to have heat problems. I'll have a fan around 350 CFM.

I would just get a MH bulb and make sure i get a switchable ballast. You can get a switchable magnetic ballast pretty cheap. This really gives you the best veg lighting for barely extra cost

Should I get 600W or 400W MH for veg?

Are you doing 2 rooms?

I assumed you were using 1 room vegging then flipping to flower. In that case I would use a 600w switchable ballast and buy both bulbs. run the MH in veg then switch to 12/12 and put in the hps... standard procedure

ex of switchable ballast http://htgsupply.com/Product-GrowBright-Premium-1,000-watt-High-Pressure-Sodium-Grow-Light.asp

Sorry, should've made it clearer. I'm growing in 1 tent, the package deals I'm eyeing have a switchable ballast so I will definitely get the MH bulb of same W. Most likely will be 600W for a 4' x 4' grow space.

I was also thinking of scrogging I've seen many tent grows go scrog, but since I have 200 cm of vertical space, will I yield more bud per plant by growing untrained?

Also thinking of putting complimentary lights like T5s in the lower parts either horizontally or vertically to reach the plant area that is shaded from light for increased lower bud site development in either scenario, SCROG or normal. Would that be excessive if my tent has 95% light reflectivity and I'm using a 600W light with reflector?

I would either top or lst my ladies to get the most outta your small area and small number of plants. I would use a 600w light then use MH for veg and HPS for flower. During flower use blue spectrum t5's they will help with thc production because the blue spectrum has UV rays that are needed to push that extra bit of trichromes outta your girls...as for vegging it wouldn't hurt to have the t5's in there for more light, see HPS bulb more recreates an autumn sun more of a yellow/red spectrum more geared towards flowering and MH bulb creates a blue spectrum like spring sun more promoted for green leaf and stem growth.

You sound like a very smart girl so you should have no problem figuring out the hydro system, as far as more yield and better quality with hydro that depends on the grower and there opinion...and im not here to change anybody's perception on hydro vs. soil growing. The pros and cons to me are with soil it is def. cheaper and wayyy less maintenance hence a little easier to grow. And with soil and most people can agree with me on this is that organic marijuana grown in soil has the best taste, again that's my own opinion being that Ive smoked both and watched both grow. But to each his own, do what you think is best and see how hydro works out, again you seem like a smart person and you should have no problem growing good hydro.

For the nutrients i would go with fox farms trio pack check it out at this site.. www.hydropacific.com/fox-farm-trio-pack.html Fox Farm is prolly gonna be your best bet, the best bang for your buck, but then again there's lots of stuff out there to choose from...anything from advanced nutes, botonicare, humbolt etc. etc.

Depends on what you consider a mess a 5 gallon tank filled with nutes or a a couple pots of soil
theirs alot of good people here that can help you but i suggest

taring through the forums for info ive been here for 3 years and am still a stranger because i just read and do my own thing

and get familiar with the tools you need info, regulation, do's and donts

Your not gonna be able to fit 6 waterfarms in there. Maxing out would be 4. Look into ebb and flow tables. And put a 1000w over it you'll yield nicely circa 2.5-3lbs per cycle.

I'm not that smart, I researched and checked out stuff all day and of course, the more you know, the more stupid you feel =D... I think I'm going to dream about this!

I noticed Waterfarms either come in singles or 8 pack. I also drew out and planned my grow tent and realized I could put more plants! So I'm going to get the 8 Pack! Hurray! But might not be able to fill it up as puffntuff said.

I plan to get four / Single Lamp / T5s (clearing up the numbers for those who are stoned, which should be EVERYBODY TODAY!!!) and position them either underneath canopy or vertically.

I see they're available in 2 foot or 4 foot. Which one would be better for me?

I can use Hydroton for first grow which is a great medium many benefits but apparently coco is the "best"? With the slight maintenance; if you use certain nutrients you need to adjust till the coco gets used to it or something. Will it cause more difficulty for me to benefit from Coco in a RDWC setup? What is the best, 50/50 mix or 100% coco?

puffntuff said:

Your not gonna be able to fit 6 waterfarms in there. Maxing out would be 4. Look into ebb and flow tables. And put a 1000w over it you'll yield nicely circa 2.5-3lbs per cycle.

Click to expand...

I definitely will have space issues but I have to buy them in sets of 8 anyway. Isn't there a way, even if it is a bit squeezy, to put 6? Since the tubes to each WaterFarm are flexible I can just stack them next to each other back to back with the tubing on the outside. That way they'll get be tighter together so I can scrog as well