New guys seek set up advice

[mrtdogg]

Hi all

I'm here seeking some advice from those of you with a wealth of knowledge.

After 3 years of growing auto flowerings seeds outside in soil in south of the UK with a south facing garden and had varying results each year, i've basically become increasingly frustrated and i'm moving to indoor growing where i assume we have more control with a set up budget of around £500 to £750...maybe £1000 at a push, I'd ideally like to get set up before Christmas...which doesn't leave me with much time i know, I've already received very conflicting advice from friends and have been given lots of information, one says grow in a 1.2x1.2x2 tent using a 600w HPS bulb and grow in soil, another says grow in a 2x2x2 tent and use a LED light between 900w to 1200w and use a coco 70% and perlite 30% mix, another said get a 1.2x1.2x2 tent and use LED lights 600w to 900w and 100% coco for growing in? for something that should be relatively straight forward its feeling complex just decided which set up to go with. once decided on which set up i'm going with...it'll presumably determine nutrients, watering schedules etc.

The area i'd ideally like to set up in is a outdoor shed/cabin 3m x 5m.

Many thanks for reading and any advice will be gratefully received. go easy on me

 

[Ian Bastage]

Welcome mrtdogg

All of your advice is correct unfortunately, as there are lots of different ways to grow. Head to our The Grow Room > Growers Forums. You will find different subforums with a lot of info on the grow builds & methods. Each has its own advantages/curses. I know a lot of members swear by coco for simplicity. Do some reading & don't be shy.

Ian

 

[Chris Scorpio]

I started in a 4'x4'x6'6 myself with a 600w MH/HPS light, love it. I ended up getting a smaller tent for veg and the bug one is my flower tent

I started with a good soil, fox farm ocean forest. not sure if you can get that but was easy since not nutes needed till later in the grow

Only issues with LED, and I'm still learning, is coverage and $$$. Good lights aren't cheap, cheap lights aren't good. For a 4x4 space it will be a lot more $$$ than a HPS LIGHT


Agree with Ian, check out some threads and setups and see what fits what u plan on doing

Good luck

 

[aspiegeek]

Having also just started out myself I went through the same thing.

Things to consider re tent is the size of your space/area it's going in? Figure out where it's going to be and if there's a restriction on size.

For me I had a width restriction so my tent is approx 120x60x150 cm

I calculated using a post on 420 my min light lumens requirements, and went with a 600w LED light, a reasonable quality one which so far is performing great. For my next grow if I have enough money I may get another 300W LED as I'll then exceed the min.

LED are expensive to purchase compared to HPS.. however I went for LED as there cheaper on electric bill! And don't kick out as much heat (far less infact).

That's the other thing you'll need to consider. How are you going to draw in fresh air? And where are you exhausting it too? If your space isn't going to be well ventilated then HPS is going to cause you major heat issues.

You'll also need a bigger exhaust/fans etc and if growing in summer with HPS you may need a AC. Not to mention the electric bills can get very big.

They are very good for growing but factor those things in too.

Mars LED have a great rep on here. I went for a VIPARSPECTRA brand as they caught my eye more than MARS. But I may buy a mars in future.

Another factor is how many plants you want to grow. 10+ prob best go with HPS. You'll get better coverage. Under that and I'd consider getting LED.

Anyway just things to consider. It's all well telling you what to buy but only you know what space you have to play with and what long term costs you want to pay.

 

[aspiegeek]

P.s if your in a outdoor shed like me (just noticed that on your post) you'll also need to get a nice oil heater for winter, a plug thermostat to control it so your not wasting money using it when it's not needed. you may need a dehumidifier in winter to get rid of condensation build up.

You can also get mini grow heaters to go inside the tent. At mo I haven't needed one as my oil heater is doing a good job.

As it was my first grow ever I have tried to keep in simple. Grow in soil (Biobizz) and went with there nuts aswell. So far been happy with results, it's been pretty hassle free, all the soil is pre mixed and contains everything they need to grow for first few weeks.

Next time I'll do the same but switch to Air pots instead or fabric pots.

 

[Guy Cavallero]

Having also just started out myself I went through the same thing.

Things to consider re tent is the size of your space/area it's going in? Figure out where it's going to be and if there's a restriction on size.

For me I had a width restriction so my tent is approx 120x60x150 cm

I calculated using a post on 420 my min light lumens requirements, and went with a 600w LED light, a reasonable quality one which so far is performing great. For my next grow if I have enough money I may get another 300W LED as I'll then exceed the min.

LED are expensive to purchase compared to HPS.. however I went for LED as there cheaper on electric bill! And don't kick out as much heat (far less infact).

That's the other thing you'll need to consider. How are you going to draw in fresh air? And where are you exhausting it too? If your space isn't going to be well ventilated then HPS is going to cause you major heat issues.

You'll also need a bigger exhaust/fans etc and if growing in summer with HPS you may need a AC. Not to mention the electric bills can get very big.

They are very good for growing but factor those things in too.

Mars LED have a great rep on here. I went for a VIPARSPECTRA brand as they caught my eye more than MARS. But I may buy a mars in future.

Another factor is how many plants you want to grow. 10+ prob best go with HPS. You'll get better coverage. Under that and I'd consider getting LED.

Anyway just things to consider. It's all well telling you what to buy but only you know what space you have to play with and what long term costs you want to pay.

Great advice from somebody who has also just started and especially knowing that he / she is on the same continent as you.

I'm an LED guy, started with an inexpensive $150 light...combined with a 3x3x6 Tent. Small carbon filter and fan, that's all we really need to start off.

One thing I can suggest, when you're buying expensive items like your light or your fan, buy what you can afford because it would suck to have to replace it in the future because it's not big enough.

The hard way, that's how I like to find things out lmao.....

Welcome to The Forum my friend.

 

[aspiegeek]

Ah found the link for you. This dude did a amazing post on lighting. So figure out

1. How many plants as that will determine the size tent you need (and how much room you want it to take up!)

2. Then workout what the min light Wattage you need using this formula The Basics Of Plant Lighting

So to workout my square footage of my tent i multiplied the length x width= 8 square foot. My light is 600W, so this gives me 75w per square metre. So I'm actually over the minimum requirement of 35w per square metre.

 

[SlowCarChris]

Welcome this is the place to be for any help/advice! Get post count up so you can start a grow journal.