BillyWu
Dutch Passion enthusiast
Hi AFN. I couldn't find one of these threads anywhere, so I thought that seeing as I created my own setup not so long ago, I'd share the knowledge I'd learned in the process :]
1. Introduction
This thread has been created for the single purpose of helping people understand what they require for their indoor growing environments. It will cover environmental factors, construction and management of your grow area.
2. Choosing how to grow
Before you go buying a tent, lights or anything else, STOP a minute! Take some serious time to consider how you want your grow area to be. Here are a few things to consider before you do anything:
3. Creating the grow area
So you've decided on your preferred method of growing and you're happy you can create the correct environment to grow in. Great! Now you need to move on to actually create the grow area.
Some people prefer to create their own grow rooms, others are going for grow tents. Regardless of which you choose, grow areas require the following things:
Once you've created the basic area to grow in, it's time to consider environmental control.
4. Environmental control
So at this point, you've just created your grow room or bought your own grow tent. Now you need to create the right conditions to grow cannabis in.
To set up your extraction system, first buy the correct fan. For most tents, a 100mm - 125mm fan will do fine. For bigger tents, the bigger models would be better. Remember to have the correct size ducting to fit the fan! After you have it, mount it somewhere it can work at its best, usually at the top of a grow area (heat rises up to it that way). Then have your ducting from the rear side of the fan venting the air out somewhere else, away from the grow area. If you have a well ventilated growing area, you won't even need an intake fan.
It's also a good idea to have an oscillating fan fitted in the grow area to keep the air moving around. If the temperatures are STILL too high, consider using CO2.
If you have a good extraction system and a good intake system and the air is STILL too hot, you should consider an air cooled reflector to lower temperatures (discussed under lighting).
The best humidity levels for growing cannabis are 50% - 70%.
2. Lighting - For cannabis to grow, it needs light. You're going to need to set up your own lighting system. However, there are a lot of different light options you could choose.
Domestic lights - Domestic lights are standard lights found at home. Whilst they may illuminate your house well, they're not good for growing cannabis. They have a low light intensity and CRI rating (colour rendering index, essentially how much light from each spectrum the bulb puts out). Avoid using these.
Fluorescent lights - Fluorescent lights are long, tube shaped lights usually used in industrial areas and commercial buildings. You may see them lighting hallways or the like. As a general rule, fluorescent lights are average at best. They don't have a very high light intensity or CRI rating, so avoid them if possible.
Halogen lights - These lights are totally unsuitable for growing cannabis. They produce immense heat and should be avoided.
CFL lights - Besides HID or LED lights, these are one of the better choices. They're ideal for people on a budget as they have a good CRI, but not much light intensity. Ideally you'll want a blue and a red CFL light for flowering and vegging.
MH (metal halide) and MV (mercury vapor) - These lights are called HID lights which stands for high intensity discharge. Any HID light is a good choice for growing cannabis as they have strong light intensity and a good CRI. They can be used for both vegetative growth and flowering, especially with autoflowering cannabis. If you have the money, go for a MH lamp as MV is slightly out of the optimal spectrum range (produces too much blue light).
HPS (high pressure sodium) - These lights are very powerful and are in the perfect spectrum for growing cannabis. They have an orange tint and can be anything from 75 to 4000 watts. They are another form of HID light and are an excellent choice. Be warned however that these lights can get quite hot. HPS can be used full cycle when growing autos, however it's recommended that one with an expanded blue spectrum be used for better veg growth.
L.E.D (light emitting diode) - LED lights are a more recent form of lighting. They have a great CRI and a decent light intensity. They also produce very little heat. They're great if you find yourself having temperature problems, but be sure to be a good set of them! LED lights are NOT cheap. If you skimp out and buy cheaper lights, you may see terrible results compared to someone who spent the extra money to buy a good set of LED panels.
As a general rule, you should have 50 watts of HPS or MH light per square foot of your grow area.
Don't overdo your lighting! You may be able to fit a 400 watt light in that smaller tent you might have, but you need to consider if the plant can even use all of that light, and how hot it will make the grow room.
3. Choosing a reflector and ballast - A reflector is used with your lights to direct the light over the grow area. Reflectors are usually wrapped around lights to direct them down onto the plant itself. Reflectors are usually metal, coated with a reflective material. However, there are different kinds of reflectors.
Standard reflector - A standard reflector has no special properties. It will just reflect light.
Air cooled reflector - An air cooled reflector usually has cool air flowing through it and is best used when hooked up to your extraction system. This way, the extractor will pull air through the reflector, which prevents the air from getting hot and escaping into the grow room. They are also called cool tubes and are a great investment if you have the space and money for them.
A ballast is essentially a transformer used to power your lights. Buy a good ballast! If you skimp out on the costs of one, your lights won't reach their full potential. Make sure it matches the wattage of the lights you intend to use. For all lighting systems, go with a reputable brand.
4. Smell - If you're growing stealthily or concerned about the smell from your plants, you will want to consider buying air purification apparatus. There are various ones.
Carbon filters are usually large, metal cylinders filled with charcoal chips. They are hooked up to your extraction system to pull air through them. The air contains the smell of the plant, so when it is pulled through the filter, the charcoal chips neutralize the smell and expel the old air through the extraction system in your grow area. Rhino Pro carbon filters are an excellent choice. There are also ionizing and ozone generating systems. These are slightly more complex and will require further research to see if they're suitable for your grow. Overall, carbon filtering is the best method to remove the smell of cannabis.
5. Recap
Overall, you grow room should:
Thank you for reading this guide! For things like nutrients, feeding, light distances and more, please read other threads in the forum or post a question here :]
How to create your indoor growing environment
1. Introduction
This thread has been created for the single purpose of helping people understand what they require for their indoor growing environments. It will cover environmental factors, construction and management of your grow area.
2. Choosing how to grow
Before you go buying a tent, lights or anything else, STOP a minute! Take some serious time to consider how you want your grow area to be. Here are a few things to consider before you do anything:
- How big is your budget? Can you afford to buy everything? Every part of a growing environment is as essential as the next. They all work together to create the perfect conditions to grow cannabis and without all of the correct apparatus, the conditions will become unstable.
- How big is your grow area? Can you fit a tent in there AND extract afterwards? Is it located somewhere that's difficult to see? If you're in a place where growing cannabis isn't legal and you're conducting your own medical research, you want to consider how stealthy your approach to growing is.
- Is the grow area big enough for what you want to do with it? If you want to grow multiple plants at once, you're gonna need a good sized grow area. If you find it's too small and you still really want to do multiple plants, then you'll have to settle for smaller ones and some LST (low stress testing).
- Soil - The simplest way to grow cannabis and an excellent choice for a first grow. Some people say you get smaller yields but better tasting buds from soil. I personally disagree. I believe soil can grow just as well as any good hydroponics setup can. When choosing soil, make sure you choose a soil that drains well (usually mixed with perlite), has a neutral soil pH and has been sterilized to remove pests. Difficulty: Easy - Medium.
- Mixed mediums - Mixed mediums means things like cocoa, clay pebbles and soil mixed together to create a better draining medium. Some people prefer these mediums over a full soil grow and opt for things like 1/3 cocoa 2/3 soil. These mediums may not provide nutrients as richly as a good soil will, but they're more forgiving when things like over-watering occur. Difficulty: Easy - Medium.
- Hydroponics - Hydroponics is one of the most successful methods to grow cannabis with. In the hands of an experienced grower, big plants can become giant plants. Hydroponics (usually DWC - deep water culture) setups are expensive and difficult to maintain, but they allow you to have complete and total control of the growing medium. You can measure and easily amend things like pH, EC (electrical conductivity) and the nutrients added to it. Difficulty: Medium - Hard.
3. Creating the grow area
So you've decided on your preferred method of growing and you're happy you can create the correct environment to grow in. Great! Now you need to move on to actually create the grow area.
Some people prefer to create their own grow rooms, others are going for grow tents. Regardless of which you choose, grow areas require the following things:
- Ventilation - You must be able to move the air in and out of the grow area effectively. This prevents humidity extremes and prevents mold. It also keeps the air fresh which is essential for cannabis growth.
- Reflective walls - You should have walls that reflect light from your grow lights onto the plant. If you're on a smaller budget, simply paint all the walls in the growing area white. If you can afford a bit more, buy some mylar sheeting to cover the walls. Do NOT use aluminum foil, it doesn't reflect light evenly and can create hot spots.[FONT="][/FONT]
- Stealth - If you're growing stealthily, you want your grow room in a place that's not easy to stumble across. A small cupboard may work well, but not if it's in a place where other people frequent, such as near a kitchen in your home. Try and put it in a place where it's very difficult to find.
- Electricity - You're going to need access to electricity to power your lights and fans, so make sure you're able to supply it. You could use the mains electricity directly, or use an extension cord to it.
Once you've created the basic area to grow in, it's time to consider environmental control.
4. Environmental control
So at this point, you've just created your grow room or bought your own grow tent. Now you need to create the right conditions to grow cannabis in.
- Temperature control - Cannabis grows best at a temperature between 75°F and 80°F (lights on). Temperatures of up to 85°F are acceptable, but not recommended. Over 85°F or below 70°F will cause heat burns, dryness and stunted plants. To control temperature, you need good ventilation.
To set up your extraction system, first buy the correct fan. For most tents, a 100mm - 125mm fan will do fine. For bigger tents, the bigger models would be better. Remember to have the correct size ducting to fit the fan! After you have it, mount it somewhere it can work at its best, usually at the top of a grow area (heat rises up to it that way). Then have your ducting from the rear side of the fan venting the air out somewhere else, away from the grow area. If you have a well ventilated growing area, you won't even need an intake fan.
It's also a good idea to have an oscillating fan fitted in the grow area to keep the air moving around. If the temperatures are STILL too high, consider using CO2.
If you have a good extraction system and a good intake system and the air is STILL too hot, you should consider an air cooled reflector to lower temperatures (discussed under lighting).
The best humidity levels for growing cannabis are 50% - 70%.
2. Lighting - For cannabis to grow, it needs light. You're going to need to set up your own lighting system. However, there are a lot of different light options you could choose.
Domestic lights - Domestic lights are standard lights found at home. Whilst they may illuminate your house well, they're not good for growing cannabis. They have a low light intensity and CRI rating (colour rendering index, essentially how much light from each spectrum the bulb puts out). Avoid using these.
Fluorescent lights - Fluorescent lights are long, tube shaped lights usually used in industrial areas and commercial buildings. You may see them lighting hallways or the like. As a general rule, fluorescent lights are average at best. They don't have a very high light intensity or CRI rating, so avoid them if possible.
Halogen lights - These lights are totally unsuitable for growing cannabis. They produce immense heat and should be avoided.
CFL lights - Besides HID or LED lights, these are one of the better choices. They're ideal for people on a budget as they have a good CRI, but not much light intensity. Ideally you'll want a blue and a red CFL light for flowering and vegging.
MH (metal halide) and MV (mercury vapor) - These lights are called HID lights which stands for high intensity discharge. Any HID light is a good choice for growing cannabis as they have strong light intensity and a good CRI. They can be used for both vegetative growth and flowering, especially with autoflowering cannabis. If you have the money, go for a MH lamp as MV is slightly out of the optimal spectrum range (produces too much blue light).
HPS (high pressure sodium) - These lights are very powerful and are in the perfect spectrum for growing cannabis. They have an orange tint and can be anything from 75 to 4000 watts. They are another form of HID light and are an excellent choice. Be warned however that these lights can get quite hot. HPS can be used full cycle when growing autos, however it's recommended that one with an expanded blue spectrum be used for better veg growth.
L.E.D (light emitting diode) - LED lights are a more recent form of lighting. They have a great CRI and a decent light intensity. They also produce very little heat. They're great if you find yourself having temperature problems, but be sure to be a good set of them! LED lights are NOT cheap. If you skimp out and buy cheaper lights, you may see terrible results compared to someone who spent the extra money to buy a good set of LED panels.
As a general rule, you should have 50 watts of HPS or MH light per square foot of your grow area.
Don't overdo your lighting! You may be able to fit a 400 watt light in that smaller tent you might have, but you need to consider if the plant can even use all of that light, and how hot it will make the grow room.
3. Choosing a reflector and ballast - A reflector is used with your lights to direct the light over the grow area. Reflectors are usually wrapped around lights to direct them down onto the plant itself. Reflectors are usually metal, coated with a reflective material. However, there are different kinds of reflectors.
Standard reflector - A standard reflector has no special properties. It will just reflect light.
Air cooled reflector - An air cooled reflector usually has cool air flowing through it and is best used when hooked up to your extraction system. This way, the extractor will pull air through the reflector, which prevents the air from getting hot and escaping into the grow room. They are also called cool tubes and are a great investment if you have the space and money for them.
A ballast is essentially a transformer used to power your lights. Buy a good ballast! If you skimp out on the costs of one, your lights won't reach their full potential. Make sure it matches the wattage of the lights you intend to use. For all lighting systems, go with a reputable brand.
4. Smell - If you're growing stealthily or concerned about the smell from your plants, you will want to consider buying air purification apparatus. There are various ones.
Carbon filters are usually large, metal cylinders filled with charcoal chips. They are hooked up to your extraction system to pull air through them. The air contains the smell of the plant, so when it is pulled through the filter, the charcoal chips neutralize the smell and expel the old air through the extraction system in your grow area. Rhino Pro carbon filters are an excellent choice. There are also ionizing and ozone generating systems. These are slightly more complex and will require further research to see if they're suitable for your grow. Overall, carbon filtering is the best method to remove the smell of cannabis.
5. Recap
Overall, you grow room should:
- Maintain temperatures between 75°F and 80°F (lights on) and 65°F - 70°F (lights off), best done with the correct lights and a good ventilation system.
- Maintain a humidity level of 50% - 70%, best done with a good ventilation system.
- Provide the correct amount of light for your plants (50 watts of HID lighting per square foot of space).
- Neutralize the smell (if applicable, done with filtering).
Thank you for reading this guide! For things like nutrients, feeding, light distances and more, please read other threads in the forum or post a question here :]
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