Setup advice.

B

billson

Member
Hey all, new member/grower here seeking a little bit of advice from the community here.

i am currently running a small 4x4 tent with one 300w GalaxyHydro LED, and i have four autos in 5 gal pots under it. I'm only a week into veg, and they seem to be reacting well (no real basis for comparison though), i know the 300w will not take me all the way through to completion AND have decent yields.

My first question: Should i buy another 300w, a 600w, or should i move to a 600w MH/HPS?


I have plans for future expansion if i can develop my green thumb... i have two rooms available (one for both stages of growth), one is 150 Sq Ft (14 Sqm), and the other is 200+(19+ Sqm). i want to make the most efficient use of my electricity costs, but also maximizing my yields. i plan on running normal photoperiod plants so i can take advantage of cloning. i may have delusions of grandeur at this point, but it cant hurt to make plans now, so i can have a rough estimate of the financial investment needed to pull this off.

Second question: should i just build tents inside the space, or use the space as it is?

I'm sure i will have more questions as i progress my skill/knowledge. My ultimate goal is to hit the ground running when the eventuality of legalization becomes a reality, as well as having the best medication for myself, and my patients.

Attached is a pic of my current auto @ day 7, any input is appreciated, i thank you for your time.

AK day 8.jpg
 
qballizhere

qballizhere

Well-Known Member
billson said:
Hey all, new member/grower here seeking a little bit of advice from the community here.

i am currently running a small 4x4 tent with one 300w GalaxyHydro LED, and i have four autos in 5 gal pots under it. I'm only a week into veg, and they seem to be reacting well (no real basis for comparison though), i know the 300w will not take me all the way through to completion AND have decent yields.

My first question: Should i buy another 300w, a 600w, or should i move to a 600w MH/HPS?


I have plans for future expansion if i can develop my green thumb... i have two rooms available (one for both stages of growth), one is 150 Sq Ft (14 Sqm), and the other is 200+(19+ Sqm). i want to make the most efficient use of my electricity costs, but also maximizing my yields. i plan on running normal photoperiod plants so i can take advantage of cloning. i may have delusions of grandeur at this point, but it cant hurt to make plans now, so i can have a rough estimate of the financial investment needed to pull this off.

Second question: should i just build tents inside the space, or use the space as it is?

I'm sure i will have more questions as i progress my skill/knowledge. My ultimate goal is to hit the ground running when the eventuality of legalization becomes a reality, as well as having the best medication for myself, and my patients.

Attached is a pic of my current auto @ day 7, any input is appreciated, i thank you for your time.

View attachment 3853359
Click to expand...
Question 1 - You could do that, but I would suggest looking at cob lighting. If you do not want to diy there are a few choices with pre make lights.
Question 2 - What type of area is it? Is it a room in the house or is it in a garage or basement? if its in your house i would do tents the basement maybe build it out and if its in a garage i would look at building the room out and sealing it.
 
B

billson

Member
Thank you for the reply!

qballizhere said:
Question 1 - You could do that, but I would suggest looking at cob lighting. If you do not want to diy there are a few choices with pre make lights.
Click to expand...
Admittedly, i know little to nothing about COB lights...i doubt i would be able to build my own. i only bought the LED i have because of the low startup cost, i assume i will need more powerful lighting. im torn on if i should by another cheap LED, or shell out the extra $$ for something with enough power to properly flower what i have going currently (the proceeds will be reinvested into this endeavor).

qballizhere said:
Question 2 - What type of area is it? Is it a room in the house or is it in a garage or basement? if its in your house i would do tents the basement maybe build it out and if its in a garage i would look at building the room out and sealing it.
Click to expand...
It is two full rooms in the house, i just figured it would be cheaper to paint than build/buy tents. no garage, and the basement is not a viable option...the house is about to turn 117 years old.

If/When i expand, i plan on using ebb and flow, and i feel like it may be cumbersome to do in a tent. i also feel like i can manage the environment much easier with a bigger space...i could be completely wrong though, i just lack the experience to make a decision..
 
qballizhere

qballizhere

Well-Known Member
billson said:
Thank you for the reply!


Admittedly, i know little to nothing about COB lights...i doubt i would be able to build my own. i only bought the LED i have because of the low startup cost, i assume i will need more powerful lighting. im torn on if i should by another cheap LED, or shell out the extra $$ for something with enough power to properly flower what i have going currently (the proceeds will be reinvested into this endeavor).


It is two full rooms in the house, i just figured it would be cheaper to paint than build/buy tents. no garage, and the basement is not a viable option...the house is about to turn 117 years old.

If/When i expand, i plan on using ebb and flow, and i feel like it may be cumbersome to do in a tent. i also feel like i can manage the environment much easier with a bigger space...i could be completely wrong though, i just lack the experience to make a decision..
Click to expand...
It takes a little more equipment and not knowing the budget its hard to say. I would also suggest pulling up any carpet in the rooms.bare floors then you can line them with panda film. Using cob led it doesnt produce the heat hps does so you also save on the cooling.
Not knowing about cobs is ok there are a few good pre made ones the 3 that come to mind are
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/
http://timbergrowlights.com/framework/
http://www.tastyled.com/
Leds will start to pay for themselves after about a year or so.Depending on how they are setup. The lights I listed above they will work from veg to flower.
Do it a step at a time to a 4x4 area after you get a run or 2 off in it then expand it to a 8x8 or you have a better idea how you will want to run your garden I cant tell you how many times it has changed trying different things ect. Move out of the tent into the room.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I'd go with the rooms myself and I'm a hardcore HID grower too. I have no desire to mess around building my own lighting systems and the cost for pre-built ones is still way too high for decent setups. So unless you spend big you end up with burple lights that don't grow half as good as HID.

Is it your own house so you can cut holes for exhaust etc? Good ventilation is crucial to growing decent plants. Without a constant renewal of fresh air the plants will quickly use up all the CO2 and stop growing until they get some. Doesn't mean the exhaust fan has to run all the time but like mine it comes on a couple times each hour when the heat or RH gets high enough to trigger the controller and turns the fan on.

I'd see how it goes with what you have now and by the time it's done you'll have read lots of threads about setting up a grow room and have a much better idea of how to proceed.

Good luck and good growing!

:peace:
 
B

billson

Member
OldMedUser said:
I'd go with the rooms myself and I'm a hardcore HID grower too. I have no desire to mess around building my own lighting systems and the cost for pre-built ones is still way too high for decent setups. So unless you spend big you end up with burple lights that don't grow half as good as HID.
Click to expand...
Yea, i noticed the price of the good LEDs are MUCH higher than i was expecting... im leaning more towards MH/HPS, i went ahead and bought the 600w apollo setup for this current grow.
OldMedUser said:
Is it your own house so you can cut holes for exhaust etc? Good ventilation is crucial to growing decent plants. Without a constant renewal of fresh air the plants will quickly use up all the CO2 and stop growing until they get some. Doesn't mean the exhaust fan has to run all the time but like mine it comes on a couple times each hour when the heat or RH gets high enough to trigger the controller and turns the fan on.

I'd see how it goes with what you have now and by the time it's done you'll have read lots of threads about setting up a grow room and have a much better idea of how to proceed.

Good luck and good growing!
Click to expand...
Yea, i own the house outright, so i can do whatever i want to the place. i was thinking i could put an exhaust vent in the roof, or each room has a window, so i could vent that way.

im thinking i need to get a few grows under my belt before i make the full investment.

Thanks for the insight!
 
qballizhere

qballizhere

Well-Known Member
OldMedUser said:
I'd go with the rooms myself and I'm a hardcore HID grower too. I have no desire to mess around building my own lighting systems and the cost for pre-built ones is still way too high for decent setups. So unless you spend big you end up with burple lights that don't grow half as good as HID.

Is it your own house so you can cut holes for exhaust etc? Good ventilation is crucial to growing decent plants. Without a constant renewal of fresh air the plants will quickly use up all the CO2 and stop growing until they get some. Doesn't mean the exhaust fan has to run all the time but like mine it comes on a couple times each hour when the heat or RH gets high enough to trigger the controller and turns the fan on.

I'd see how it goes with what you have now and by the time it's done you'll have read lots of threads about setting up a grow room and have a much better idea of how to proceed.

Good luck and good growing!

:peace:
Click to expand...
You dont have to spend big to get a good light. You can build a light for less than $400 that will replace a 1000 watt hps and get better gpw ratio with less energy. To me that is a win win. There is a difference between diy and prebuilt about a $100-$150 a light

billson said:
Yea, i noticed the price of the good LEDs are MUCH higher than i was expecting... im leaning more towards MH/HPS, i went ahead and bought the 600w apollo setup for this current grow.


Yea, i own the house outright, so i can do whatever i want to the place. i was thinking i could put an exhaust vent in the roof, or each room has a window, so i could vent that way.

im thinking i need to get a few grows under my belt before i make the full investment.

Thanks for the insight!
Click to expand...
Get a few grows done dial in the area you have and then upgrade its easy to spend 10k setting up a 12'x12' area
 
bullSnot

bullSnot

Well-Known Member
117 years old? I hope your wiring is up to par. I myself never put my grow on anything other than a dedicated breaker. that house was built around the time of electricity.
 
B

billson

Member
bullSnot said:
117 years old? I hope your wiring is up to par. I myself never put my grow on anything other than a dedicated breaker.
Click to expand...
every wire has been replaced in the last year, new breaker box with 20a breakers as well.
I also replaced all of the plumbing, feed and drain lines.
 
B

billson

Member
My furnace is the only thing left to be replaced...its an old coal burning gravity air that has been converted to gas sometime in the 50's
 
bullSnot

bullSnot

Well-Known Member
billson said:
every wire has been replaced in the last year, new breaker box with 20a breakers as well.
I also replaced all of the plumbing, feed and drain lines.
Click to expand...
I have a 600 watt tent HID lights fans and humidifier..and a cloning setup ...that's all I want on my 20'amp
 
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