New Grower C0py's Setup

[c0py]

If a mod could please delete my previous thread in this forum then it would be much appreciated.

I'm preparing for my first grow in years and I'm trying to get a good handle on things and would like some advice/tips/suggestion. Anything is helpful.

Currently I have an entire bedroom to grow in. I'm guessing it's about 8x10 or so but I'm only looking to grow around 5 plants total this first round and then increase plant count depending on how it all goes.

I'll he growing in 5gal buckets, currently planning on using a soilless mix but with only having a Walmart, Ace, and Atwoodd around it makes it hard to find the right growing medium.

Right now I have 8 32w CFL's and I know that's probably not enough for my projected 5 plants so I plan on investing in a 400-600w HPS setup. I don't have any kind of a tent or cab built to grow in just the room itself.

I just installed a 5,000BTU AC in the room for temp control.

So I have some questions.
Would heat be an issue with this large of a room?
Should I build a cab/tent to simplify things?

That's all I can think of atm but will probably be asking much more as this goes on. Thanks in advance!

 

[AutoMan]

If ya have a room to itself, no tent is needed....Ace Hdw carries promix & sunshine soil....both great stuff...a 400 will support 5 plants but you'll need larger for many more. My previous grow room was 20x16 with a 1000w + 400w and only used an ocillating fan for air movement..no ac..I never used larger than 1 gal pots....

 

[Taviddude]

I'm new here, but my personal advice is to definitely go soilless, and use Coco Coir. It is VERY forgiving in my experience. You don't have to add any extra shit to it like perlite and what not. Just straight coco coir. I found that if you are using 5 gallon buckets you will only have to water every 3 days or so, and unlike soil you can't over water it. You will get growth, and results close to, and comparable to that of some hydro systems and it's no more work than soil. Even when you buy premixed soil you will hear people talk about burning their plants, and the soil being "too hot". Screw that. The soil is only good for veg anyways if that before you start to have to add nutrients just like you would have to with coco coir. I also have read it's easier to diagnose and fix deficiencies, lockout and other things with soilless than soil from what I've read. I just think you have better control over what your plant gets, and doesn't get with soilless and it's really not much extra work. A couple extra waterings a week perhaps. I've never grown in soil. I don't think I ever will. Hydro, and soilless is all I've ever done, and all I know I guess.

 

[Mr Piggy]

And coming from the organic soil side of the argument I'd advise building a super soil. All you have to do after that is give it water and a couple of compost teas along the way. Easy, big, sticky and tasty buds.

 

[c0py]

Mr Piggy : That would be my ultimate goal as I also do alot of vegetable, and herb gardening and would love to eventually do my own composting, etc. but this being only my 2nd indoor grow, soilless sounds more like what I need.

Taviddude : Thanks for the advice and reassurance! I try not to visit the grow to often and every 2-3 days would be good until I get the drip lines setup.

AutoMan : As of now I'm only using probably 4x4 of the room and with the severe heat here (100+F daily) the room stays between 88-90+ even with a fan. I've heard of Promix but never looked into it. Would I need to mix it with anything? I could handle the mixing and all I'm just trying to keep different factors a minimum incase something does start to go wrong.

 

[Hugo]

If you choose to go with coco, you're better off with specific nutes adapted to coco, as this type of soilless is extremely rich in K and low in Ca and it's c:n ratio is high (no pun intended , both of which may contribute to lower growth patterns.

As for soilless I'd advise peat moss. No fuss about it and well-proven. Pro-mix is Spaghnum peat moss :thumbs: BioBizz LightMix as well a good peat based soil.

http://www.usu.edu/cpl/PDF/CoconutCoirPaper.pdf <- take a look at this

I don't know much about lights, only that there a few different types, lumens and color light spectrums. I believe LEDs are the way to go, but it's still IMO and a bit pricey as comparison.

Regarding your AC unit, I think it's a good way to control your temperature, but beware that AC is a de-humidifier, meaning it will dry up your air. So you may need to get a humidifier equipment or, in alternative, keep a constant flow of rich humid air into your room.

You seem to have a great space for growing purposes :thumbs:

 

[c0py]

If you choose to go with coco, you're better off with specific nutes adapted to coco, as this type of soilless is extremely rich in K and low in Ca and it's c:n ratio is high (no pun intended , both of which may contribute to lower growth patterns.

As for soilless I'd advise peat moss. No fuss about it and well-proven. Pro-mix is Spaghnum peat moss :thumbs: BioBizz LightMix as well a good peat based soil.

http://www.usu.edu/cpl/PDF/CoconutCoirPaper.pdf <- take a look at this

I don't know much about lights, only that there a few different types, lumens and color light spectrums. I believe LEDs are the way to go, but it's still IMO and a bit pricey as comparison.

Regarding your AC unit, I think it's a good way to control your temperature, but beware that AC is a de-humidifier, meaning it will dry up your air. So you may need to get a humidifier equipment or, in alternative, keep a constant flow of rich humid air into your room.

You seem to have a great space for growing purposes :thumbs:

I think I'll most likely be using Pro-Mix just because it's about the easiest to find around here although the CocoCoir seems to work good for some people and I've noticed some brands claim to be repeatedly washed to get it neutralized.

I really wish I wasn't having to use an AC but I just didn't have any other option at this point and I'll be looking into the humidity situation.

I looked at alot of LED lighting options and for me the wattage:cash ratio just isn't right yet.

Thanks again for everyone's advice and yeah I gotta admit I'm very blessed to have this room to grow in!

 

[Muddy]

Pro Mix is a good choice and what I use. If you're going to run HPS lighting I would advise getting the BX. It holds a bit more water than HP so is more suited for the heat from the HPS lights. With no tent or cabinet in your room I think you will be fine regarding the heat. That A/C unit should keep things at a reasonable temperature. One benefit to having a tent or partitioning off a section of the room would be having reflective walls surrounding your plants. But of course, the trade off is having to deal with the heat in a confined space.

Have you thought about the smell? It's going to get strong when the plants go into full flower. You may want to consider putting in a fan and carbon filter to circulate the air in the room and remove the smell.

I think 5 gallon pots are overkill for most dwarf autos. Three gallon is big enough for most applications. Also, 5 gallon buckets are smooth sided, which promotes root swirl. You would be better off with some square pots or the nursery type with indentions around the sides. They help redirect the roots and make for a healthier root system.

Regarding HPS vs LED, something to consider in the cost of replacement bulbs for the HPS. Most are rated at around 20,000 hours, but their efficiency starts to decline well before that. It's usually recommended that they be replaced about every 18 months. So over the 50,000 hour lifespan of an LED you will need to replace your bulbs about 3 times. At about $100 each for high quality bulbs like the Eye Hortilux, you're adding another $300 to your costs. When you also factor in the electrical savings of running LEDs you will come out ahead in the long run with LEDs.

Good luck and let us know if we can be of more assistance.

 

[c0py]

Muddy :
I'm still searching for a good filter/fan setup but yeah I'll eventually be adding one.

As far as the 5gal pots. I'm only using them because they were free which is why their not 3gal like I see is typical but if it could cause that much of an issue with the roots then I could manage to get some 3gal ones.

I would actually prefer to use LED lighting do to the heat issues and such but I've always assumed that 100w LED = 100w HPS but according to BlackStarLED's site their showing that it's more like 90w LED = 320w HPS? My issue with LED is that 600w HPS is much less than 600w LED at initial purchase. I'm only looking to spend around $200-$300 on the lights.

Also I tried Ace Hardware and they don't carry Pro Mix here and I couldn't find it on their website so I suppose I'll go check all of the other places for some kind of brand that contains the same.

 

[Muddy]

Those buckets aren't a huge problem, I just find that besides the roots swirling around the inside of the pots, they tend to be wasteful for dwarf autos, plus take up more space. Check local green houses or nurseries. A lot of times they have lots of those pots laying around and will sell them cheap. Here's a site that also sells them very reasonably. http://www.growerssolution.com/page/GS/PROD/3GP

I would say that two of the BS 240s are about equal to a 400 watt HPS. I base that on my outdoor grow box, which is about 3.5' x 3.5'. I used a 400 watt HPS in there before, which wasn't giving quite enough coverage, so upped to 600 watts, then couldn't keep the heat down. So I replaced the 600 watter with the two BS 240s. They aren't quite enough for that space, giving about the same results as the 400 watt HPS. To grow 5-6 plants you would need two of the BS 240s and at about $275 each, would exceed your budget.