Skint newbie on a budget in search of good advice.

Alright everyone, this forum was recommended by a mate who grows his own so i joined, but this is my first post.

I'd appreciate some pointers for setting up a grow if possible.

I'm going to have to buy my equipment piecemeal. I see HPS grow lights have dropped in price, but i don't know if i should go for LEDs (the recommender of this forum said to avoid what he called 'blurple' LEDs) but with all the info' on the internet it seems impossible to choose wisely when it comes to what exactly to save up for.

Initially, i plan to save up for the right light(s) (and keeping the leccy bill down is pretty important). I've been looking at some LEDs, but can't find any decent sounding budget options.

I just can't afford a grow tent, but i have a room i can keep dark.

Second, i'll need a decent carbon filter. Again, this is dependent on my budget but obviously eliminating smell is very important.

I'm disabled and cannabis is a safe and effective medicine and i'm tired of spending a fortune on it, so i'm going to grow my own.
I intend to grow nine auto-flowering plants so i get a quicker result and a quicker turnover til the next harvest e.t.c.

Any useful advice will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

Diy an led fixture with qb120's from Horticulturelightinggroup.com You can build a 280 watt light for around $250. I've been running sips (sub irrigated planter) lately, and they have been incredible. Dr Earth dry ammendments are cost effective and work great!
Best advice is keep it simple, and don't buy into all the hype. Cannabis is just a plant. It doesn't need $3 million dollars worth of equipment and nutrients to grow.
Welcome to the club, best of luck

Hmm.. Points to ponder.
Auto's don't give a quicker result/turnover
9 autos will want a lot of space and light
a room you can keep dark doesn't matter with autos

I'd suggest enough light for say 4-6 autos. Start 2, wait a month, start 2 more. Rinse and repeat and you'll be harvesting 2 plants every month.
I start 2-4 plants every 6-8 weeks. Keeps 3 adults with more than we can consume.
That's the positive of auto's indoors, seedling through flower in the same space and light schedule.

As far as light, you have to figure out how much square footage you want to light. Same rule applies to the filter/fan.

IMO - CMH over HPS...but....a 315w CMH bulb cost around the same as a 600w HPS
Matt white not gloss for your grow room (how big?).
I've just finished switching from HID to LED, energy savings, less waste heat, lamps don't burn your hair, etc.
I did a lot of shopping around and got 1,100 (real) watts for about $1,250 CDN, at this time the consensus seems to be for LED's with Samsung lm301b or lm301h chips and Meanwell drivers.
Carbon filters & extraction fans are cheap and plentiful Ebay/Amazon just get a pre-filter/dust cover to go over the charcoal filter it will greatly extend it's life.
Since it will be your first grow - go dirt, it's the most forgiving medium & you might want to rethink 9 plants.

Don't tell anybody bout your grow.
Don't do anything illegal while you're doing something illegal.
Never argue with someone who has a stick and a gun.

Have fun

GrassBurner said:

Diy an led fixture with qb120's from Horticulturelightinggroup.com You can build a 280 watt light for around $250. I've been running sips (sub irrigated planter) lately, and they have been incredible. Dr Earth dry ammendments are cost effective and work great!
Best advice is keep it simple, and don't buy into all the hype. Cannabis is just a plant. It doesn't need $3 million dollars worth of equipment and nutrients to grow.
Welcome to the club, best of luck

Click to expand...

Thanks very much for the advice but that's all far too expensive to be practical for me.

Creature1969 said:

Hmm.. Points to ponder.
Auto's don't give a quicker result/turnover
9 autos will want a lot of space and light
a room you can keep dark doesn't matter with autos

I'd suggest enough light for say 4-6 autos. Start 2, wait a month, start 2 more. Rinse and repeat and you'll be harvesting 2 plants every month.
I start 2-4 plants every 6-8 weeks. Keeps 3 adults with more than we can consume.
That's the positive of auto's indoors, seedling through flower in the same space and light schedule.

As far as light, you have to figure out how much square footage you want to light. Same rule applies to the filter/fan.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was under the impression after perusing the different seeds and their prices that auto's harvested after 2 and a half months which was my main reason for choosing auto's in the first place, but after what you said about the continuous growth with them i think i'll stick with auto's anyway.
The space i'm using, (i haven't measured it exactly) was big enough for a nine plant tent and i could access the plants through the sides and back. Will this be enough room for six auto's in your estimation?
Which budget light would you recommend? I've been looking everywhere for a suitable but affordable one, but i don't understand all the jargon and my head is swimming from it.
Thanks again.

What is your climate like?
I've got led but unless I use a heater I'm actually better with hps.
Do I want to spend the best part of £7/800 then run a heater during autumn/winter/spring...No hps is the best for my situation.

If your in a warm climate but doable I'd start with hps until you get a few quid together, that will also give you time to learn about leds, you can only spend your money once so you want the best.

600hps for around 100 bucks, stuff your likely to use regardless of lighting like fans filters etc it's worth spending as much you can, it's worth looking at 2nd hand sites some of the gear is at give away prices.

Why don't you give a budget so others know what you are working with? By reading some of your responses you are prob gonna have to search for something used. Spend the most of your budget on light and genetics. Those are usually the most important factors. I wouldn't choose autos either.

Hugo Phurst said:

IMO - CMH over HPS...but....a 315w CMH bulb cost around the same as a 600w HPS
Matt white not gloss for your grow room (how big?).
I've just finished switching from HID to LED, energy savings, less waste heat, lamps don't burn your hair, etc.
I did a lot of shopping around and got 1,100 (real) watts for about $1,250 CDN, at this time the consensus seems to be for LED's with Samsung lm301b or lm301h chips and Meanwell drivers.
Carbon filters & extraction fans are cheap and plentiful Ebay/Amazon just get a pre-filter/dust cover to go over the charcoal filter it will greatly extend it's life.
Since it will be your first grow - go dirt, it's the most forgiving medium & you might want to rethink 9 plants.

Don't tell anybody bout your grow.
Don't do anything illegal while you're doing something illegal.
Never argue with someone who has a stick and a gun.

Have fun

Click to expand...

Hugo Phurst said:

IMO - CMH over HPS...but....a 315w CMH bulb cost around the same as a 600w HPS
Matt white not gloss for your grow room (how big?).
I've just finished switching from HID to LED, energy savings, less waste heat, lamps don't burn your hair, etc.
I did a lot of shopping around and got 1,100 (real) watts for about $1,250 CDN, at this time the consensus seems to be for LED's with Samsung lm301b or lm301h chips and Meanwell drivers.
Carbon filters & extraction fans are cheap and plentiful Ebay/Amazon just get a pre-filter/dust cover to go over the charcoal filter it will greatly extend it's life.
Since it will be your first grow - go dirt, it's the most forgiving medium & you might want to rethink 9 plants.

Don't tell anybody bout your grow.
Don't do anything illegal while you're doing something illegal.
Never argue with someone who has a stick and a gun.

Have fun

Click to expand...

Hello. I think i'll go with LED's bearing in mind the leccy costs, but it will take months just to save £200 for a light and i can't go any higher.
My room is already matt white, i haven't measured it but it fits and the average 9 plant pot grow tent in there with access round the sides and back (i no longer have the tent).
On my budget, the medium will be cheap compost from the nearest B&Q, either that or soil from the back garden.
I'm already rethinking nine plants even though i've done it once before with a tent.

No one will be hearing about it, it's all medicine for my own use which is my own business and i have no intention of selling any of my own medicine either, so i'm good on that front.
Thanks for the advice.

This one would be good for about 8-10sq ft.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224389933562?hash=item343eaea9fa:g:LbgAAOSwdcxgUhJA
Dimmer is a real bonus

Good luck

Gunna be hard to start on such a small budget if you can't even afford a tent (which I understand you don't need since you have a room) You will need a light, containers, fans, a filter, soil, a timer, a way to extract hot air,. Is there anyway someone can loan you some money? Maybe if we all banded together and gave you a buck or two each on a go-fund me site! Best of luck. Also be careful bringing garden dirt inside to use on your indoor plants. One word: bugs.

600w hid complete kit £57.50 it also dims to to/or runs 250/400w and 600w mh/hps bulbs.
You even get a daul spec bulb!

If you want good light for cheap forget about led.
I'm not anti led or anything but £1 for £1 led can't live with hps for outlay.

A kilo watt is a kilo watt it doesn't matter if its hps/led/cmh or a welder.

Hugo Phurst said:

This one would be good for about 8-10sq ft.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224389933562?hash=item343eaea9fa:g:LbgAAOSwdcxgUhJA
Dimmer is a real bonus

Good luck

Click to expand...

Thanks Hugo, i know you're just trying to help but that's far too expensive for me, even the shipping is excessive on my budget.
Thank you anyway.

BucketGrower said:

Gunna be hard to start on such a small budget if you can't even afford a tent (which I understand you don't need since you have a room) You will need a light, containers, fans, a filter, soil, a timer, a way to extract hot air,. Is there anyway someone can loan you some money? Maybe if we all banded together and gave you a buck or two each on a go-fund me site! Best of luck. Also be careful bringing garden dirt inside to use on your indoor plants. One word: bugs.

Click to expand...

I'm afraid i'm too disabled to work now, so no one will give me a loan.
For containers i'll have to use cheap plastic buckets, i need to save for light/fans/filter, i won't be able to afford anything that extracts hot air except the filter. I'll have to use compost from the nearest B&Q for soil, i used it last time and had no problems (even though i read reviews of it on growers forums and they were terrible, saying they'd found all sorts of nasties in it), i'd spent everything i'd saved so i had no option apart from getting it from the garden which i didn't consider a good idea at all for the reasons you cite.
A go-fund me is a good idea, but i have a feeling the gang who like to dress up in costumes and steal people's equipment and medicine would eventually be smashing my door off its' hinges.
Thanks for the encouragement.

Star Dog said:

Pardon our interruption...

600w hid complete kit £57.50 it also dims to to/or runs 250/400w and 600w mh/hps bulbs.
You even get a daul spec bulb!

If you want good light for cheap forget about led.
I'm not anti led or anything but £1 for £1 led can't live with hps for outlay.

A kilo watt is a kilo watt it doesn't matter if its hps/led/cmh or a welder.

Click to expand...

Thanks. That's the best practical advice i think i've had, that price could be doable!
Would i be able to grow auto's with that light (presumably i would), or is that inadvisable considering the leccy costs?
By 'outlay' do you mean light coverage/grow area?
Thanks again very much!

I wouldn't try to grow 9 plants on a budget LED.
Grow one or two...how much do you have to spend on a light?

Mahatma Coat said:

Thanks Hugo, i know you're just trying to help but that's far too expensive for me, even the shipping is excessive on my budget.
Thank you anyway.

Click to expand...

Well there always CFL's with a DIY fixture, I did something similar to this...

Don't go with 9 plants on your first grow, I think you'd be overwhelmed. I'd go with 2 or 3, maybe 4. They will produce a shit ton of smoke while you are waiting on your second grow.

Mahatma Coat said:

Thanks. That's the best practical advice i think i've had, that price could be doable!
Would i be able to grow auto's with that light (presumably i would), or is that inadvisable considering the leccy costs?
By 'outlay' do you mean light coverage/grow area?
Thanks again very much!

Click to expand...

He means money up front. And he's dead right, forget about led if you are on a budget, they're great for long term savings on electricity but way too expensive if you are trying to get started on a tight budget. A 600 watt hid lamp like he posted will cover at least a 4 x 4 area perfectly and produce great results. Go with that.

Mahatma Coat said:

Thanks. That's the best practical advice i think i've had, that price could be doable!
Would i be able to grow auto's with that light (presumably i would), or is that inadvisable considering the leccy costs?
By 'outlay' do you mean light coverage/grow area?
Thanks again very much!

Click to expand...

For both initial outlay and total area coverage, you'll need to spend 5/6/7 times the money on led to get the same light footprint as a 600hps...it's even dimmable you can run a 250/400/600w for less than 60 quid!!! Fk me I'm buying one lol

Idk anything about led but the guys I trust say you need roughly the same wattage of led as you would hps per square foot, so the real savings is only 10% on electricity cost + bulb outlay + it's cooler if your in a warm climate.

Oh I forgot to say it'll do auto's and photos equally well.