Indoor newbie questions

[lazybanana]

I'm completely new to indoor growing and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I have some questions that are probably stupid.
Imagine a small setup consisting of a 2x2 tent and a 135W HLG/Mars-Hydro TS1000 with a big autoflower strain using lst techniques.
1)Is it ok to check the grow twice a week? I have concerns about light burn. I know that you should check daily but i would like to know if it's feasible.
2)How many pots would you put in there and of which size? I don't understand if it's better to have a big plant or a number of small plants.
3)Is active air intake necessary? I read in a diary that a guy with passive intake had smell problems with a yield just a bit over an oz. Is it possible to achieve 0 smell outside the tent or at least outside the room where it's placed?
4)When you water until run-off are you supposed to get rid of the run-off water right away?
5)Is it better to water with the lights on or off?
6)How do you decide if you keep the lights off during day or night?
7)What height would you recommend for the tent?
A big thank you to anyone who answers these silly questions! Even informative links would be appreciated.
EDIT: Another question came to my mind. When is a rotating fan needed inside the tent? Does it provide anything outside of heat control?
EDIT 2: Exhaust fans are overdimensioned for this space. I guess that their on-time must be controlled to get the right CFM? If for example I have a 100 CFM fan will it get to 50 CFM if I leave it on half the time?There is so much to take into consideration!

 

[Sleeper143]

I'm completely new to inddor growing and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I have some questions that are probably stupid.
Imagine a small setup consisting of a 2x2 tent and a 135W HLG/Mars-Hydro TS1000 with a big autoflower strain using lst techniques.
1)Is it ok to check the grow twice a week? I have concerns about light burn. I know that you should check daily but i would like to know if it's feasible.
2)How many pots would you put in there and of which size? I don't understand if it's better to have a big plant or a number of small plants.
3)Is active air intake necessary? I read in a diary that a guy with passive intake had smell problems with a yield just a bit over an oz. Is it possible to achieve 0 smell outside the tent or at least outside the room where it's placed?
4)When you water until run-off are you supposed to get rid of the run-off water right away?
5)Is it better to water with the lights on or off?
6)How do you decide if you keep the lights off during day or night?
7)What height would you recommend for the tent?
A big thank you to anyone who answers these silly questions! Even informative links would be appreciated.

Hi, no question is stupid when you’re learning!
I’ll do my best to answer and I’m sure others will chime in too. There’s more than one right answer for lots of your questions!
1) You could feasibly do this if you know your entire set up is dialled in perfectly and you have an automatic watering system. But realistically no. Ok, in the first couple of weeks you’re probably only watering every few days, but you need to check the environment is stable (temps/humidity). And you will want to check they are growing ok. Later in your grow you may well need to water daily, check for any overdoses or deficiencies of nutes and correct these if needed.
2) ins that 2mx2m or 2’x2’? If 2ft by 2ft then 2 plants, maybe 3 (I have 3 in mine and it’s really cramped at the moment and m only 33 days in to my current grow). 2mx2m - not sue but I guess about 6-8 maybe.
3) no, but it can help if you don’t want the vents open. Smell will leak out of open vents. 0 smell is hard. Get some Ona blocks to put outside the room (even in the room) - they really help to eliminate any smells!!
4) yes, you don’t want your pots sitting in pools of water. But it depends what you grow in. I grow in soil and never water to run off unless I’m trying to flush the soil if I have some sort of issue I’m trying to correct.
5) I water about 2 hrs after my lights come on. Plants transpire as part of photosynthesis, as they transpire they draw up water from your grow medium, so in my mind if you water in the dark the roots are sitting in damp soil and the plant isn’t sucking much up as it were. But I’m sure others water at different times. Some more than once a day.
6) cost of electricity and temps. My electricity is cheaper between 10.30pm and about 5.30am so I run 20/4, lights on at 4pm, off at 12pm. Also some people in hot places find it easier to manage temps in their tents if they have their lights on at night when it’s cooler outside. Personal preference also applies, what fits in with daily schedules
7) as tall as you can get away with. I went with a 160cm high tent and really wish I’d got a 2m. Just gives you more freedom to position your light higher if one of your ladies gets tall. I know you can always lst or supercrop if you don’t have the height available.

Hope that helps a bit! Happy growing!! :smoking:

 

[lazybanana]

1) You could feasibly do this if you know your entire set up is dialled in perfectly and you have an automatic watering system. But realistically no. Ok, in the first couple of weeks you’re probably only watering every few days, but you need to check the environment is stable (temps/humidity). And you will want to check they are growing ok. Later in your grow you may well need to water daily, check for any overdoses or deficiencies of nutes and correct these if needed.

If light burn isn't going to be a problem you should be able to get away with this, right? Outdoors you can check your plants twice a week and maybe the results will be slightly worse but the plants will grow.

2) ins that 2mx2m or 2’x2’? If 2ft by 2ft then 2 plants, maybe 3 (I have 3 in mine and it’s really cramped at the moment and m only 33 days in to my current grow). 2mx2m - not sue but I guess about 6-8 maybe.

Yes, in feet. I'm searching for the "magic number" but it doesn't probably exist.

3) no, but it can help if you don’t want the vents open. Smell will leak out of open vents. 0 smell is hard. Get some Ona blocks to put outside the room (even in the room) - they really help to eliminate any smells!!

Got it! So the intake fan is mandatory. Is it just a reversed exhaust fan or is it something different? I guess that it should move the same amount of air of the exhaust fan, right?
Thank you!

 

[Sleeper143]

There’s more to watch for than light burn. How about heat stress, light stress, nutrient deficiencies, bugs.

No magic number. Depends on strain, how you like to train, what you have time to manage.

It’s not mandatory. I don’t use one and my vents are shut. Tents aren’t 100% air tight, so air is still drawn in as the extractor sucks it out.

 

[lazybanana]

Oh, ok. But it's better to have one for smell control or did I misunderstand?
My doubt about growing more plants in a small setup is that they won't be centered and a bit of light could be wasted. Am I wrong?
Thanks again!

 

[Sleeper143]

Oh, ok. But it's better to have one for smell control or did I misunderstand?
My doubt about growing more plants in a small setup is that they won't be centered and a bit of light could be wasted. Am I wrong?
Thanks again!

I think you’ve misunderstood a bit. If you’re pumping air in, then it has to go out, what if your extractor isn’t sucking as much as you’re pumping in - air will leak out the zips/vents/access holes. Or if your extractor doesn’t run 24/7 (mine comes on to drop humidity and goes off when humidity is where I want it). If your intake fan is lower power than your extractor then you’ll still get negative pressure causing air to be sucked in through anywhere on the tent air can get through (or your tent would collapse) so why pay for the electricity needed to run an intake fan is you don’t need it. The only thing I can think you’d need one for is to suck cold or warm air in from outside the room your tent is in, if you can’t get the temp right in your tent as the extractor can suck in air from the actual room your tent is in without an intake fan.

As for your second point, depends on the light your using and it’s footprint. I use one light - a spider Farmer sf1000 and that is probably too much light for my 2x2.

 

[Sleeper143]

Inside my tent (it’s 70cmx70cm so only a little over a 2x2):

 

[lazybanana]

Wow, gorgeous:smoking::smoking:
SF1000 is a light that I watched and I'm interested in. Would you think that the Mars-Hydro TS1000 or the HLG 135W would be a bit of overkill?
What kind of yields do you achieve?
EDIT: do you grow autos or photos?
EDIT again: sorry if I'm obnoxious but does smell actually leak out of your tent?

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Wow, gorgeous:smoking::smoking:
SF1000 is a light that I watched and I'm interested in. Would you think that the Mars-Hydro TS1000 or the HLG 135W would be a bit of overkill?
What kind of yields do you achieve?
EDIT: do you grow autos or photos?
EDIT again: sorry if I'm obnoxious but does smell actually leak out of your tent?

I'd go with the HLG 135 - more efficient diodes and PPFD or an Autocobs or two

 

[Sleeper143]

In all honesty, as I’ve not used either of the two you mentioned I couldn’t say. I’m sure anyone that runs either of those will say they’re great (they are great lights) but I’m in no position to comment really. Before I got the SF I wash using a 600w blurple (not true 600w) and the SF out performs that and I’d recommend it, but only because I’m happy with it, not because I think it’s better than the others.

I grow Autos

You’re not being obnoxious lol! Not really no, but then you do get a bit ‘nose blind’ sometimes. I happen to have my tent in my home office so I’m around it all day. I definitely notice the smell when I open up the tent, usually from about week 5 or 6 when flowering has started