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Hi, AFN community! I thought I’d start my first-grow post (and my first post ever here) at the very beginning, when I’m putting together my setup.
I originally thought I wanted the convenience and discretion of an all-in-one cabinet to grow one auto at a time, so I had $1,750 budgeted. I’ve since changed my mind and decided to piece together a tent setup. I’m trying to keep my expenses to under $1,000, not including seeds/soil/nutes etc.
My goal is to discreetly grow two really nice autos at a time in organic soil.
My setup will be in my basement. My house was built five years ago, and it’s on the side of a pretty steep hill, so most of the basement is not actually underground. The point is, while it is a basement, relatively speaking it’s clean and dry. The temp remains in the mid-60s throughout the year. I’m not yet sure about the RH, so that may be something I have to adjust for, but it shouldn’t be too bad.
At first I thought I’d get a grow-tent kit, and considered this one because I want to use a Mars Hydro LED light:
https://www.mars-hydro.com/grow-kits-combo/grow-kit-2x4-tsl2000
But I’ve been reading/listening/watching everything I can to learn about growing, and since I do have more budget to work with, I thought I’d try to piece together an upgraded setup. Here’s where I’m thinking I could start my grow journey:
Some thoughts on this setup:
I only have an in-line fan and carbon filter on the exhaust, not on the intake, as that would make sticking to my budget more difficult. I think all of the kits I’ve seen only come with one in-line and carbon filter, so I assume people do this regularly, but would it be significantly better for me to have an in-line and carbon filter on both the intake and exhaust? If I just have them on the exhaust, should I add basic filters to the passive intake holes to keep the inside cleaner, like these?:
Amazon product ASIN B089RRTK8T
For the exhaust, my intention is to hang the carbon filter inside the tent, attach the in-line fan to the wall outside the tent, and exhaust it through the window dryer insert. The window is in a yard with a privacy fence and is not visible to any neighbors.
As for the drying tent, I really want to keep everything pre-curing in my basement, and I want to control smell as much as possible. I think a simple drying tent could be the best option. I feel like I could do this with a smaller and cheaper in-line fan and carbon filter, but I’m back to the intake thing that I’m unsure about. Can I leave the intakes passive? If so, should I add the filters I linked to above to them? And I assume, since these plants are no longer living and consuming oxygen, thus depleting the air, that it’s fine for me to just exhaust the drying tent into the room?
Anyway, that’s where I am for now. I’d love to hear any of your thoughts about my planned approach, ideas to cut costs, things I should consider upgrading or downgrading/dropping, etc. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thanks to anyone who has made it this far!
I originally thought I wanted the convenience and discretion of an all-in-one cabinet to grow one auto at a time, so I had $1,750 budgeted. I’ve since changed my mind and decided to piece together a tent setup. I’m trying to keep my expenses to under $1,000, not including seeds/soil/nutes etc.
My goal is to discreetly grow two really nice autos at a time in organic soil.
My setup will be in my basement. My house was built five years ago, and it’s on the side of a pretty steep hill, so most of the basement is not actually underground. The point is, while it is a basement, relatively speaking it’s clean and dry. The temp remains in the mid-60s throughout the year. I’m not yet sure about the RH, so that may be something I have to adjust for, but it shouldn’t be too bad.
At first I thought I’d get a grow-tent kit, and considered this one because I want to use a Mars Hydro LED light:
https://www.mars-hydro.com/grow-kits-combo/grow-kit-2x4-tsl2000
But I’ve been reading/listening/watching everything I can to learn about growing, and since I do have more budget to work with, I thought I’d try to piece together an upgraded setup. Here’s where I’m thinking I could start my grow journey:
Some thoughts on this setup:
I only have an in-line fan and carbon filter on the exhaust, not on the intake, as that would make sticking to my budget more difficult. I think all of the kits I’ve seen only come with one in-line and carbon filter, so I assume people do this regularly, but would it be significantly better for me to have an in-line and carbon filter on both the intake and exhaust? If I just have them on the exhaust, should I add basic filters to the passive intake holes to keep the inside cleaner, like these?:
Amazon product ASIN B089RRTK8T
For the exhaust, my intention is to hang the carbon filter inside the tent, attach the in-line fan to the wall outside the tent, and exhaust it through the window dryer insert. The window is in a yard with a privacy fence and is not visible to any neighbors.
As for the drying tent, I really want to keep everything pre-curing in my basement, and I want to control smell as much as possible. I think a simple drying tent could be the best option. I feel like I could do this with a smaller and cheaper in-line fan and carbon filter, but I’m back to the intake thing that I’m unsure about. Can I leave the intakes passive? If so, should I add the filters I linked to above to them? And I assume, since these plants are no longer living and consuming oxygen, thus depleting the air, that it’s fine for me to just exhaust the drying tent into the room?
Anyway, that’s where I am for now. I’d love to hear any of your thoughts about my planned approach, ideas to cut costs, things I should consider upgrading or downgrading/dropping, etc. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thanks to anyone who has made it this far!
