Greetings
I'll preface this by saying I'll likely be posting this around a few places to try and get the most information possible, hopefully that doesn't offend anyone, but as they say, cast a wider net, catch more fish.
As the title says, I'm soon to be new to growing my own, and I have a few questions. Wall of text incoming, may want to smoke one and grab some chips :
First off, due to my living situation and housemates, stealth is my primary concern above all else. Particularly smell, but I'd also rather not have it sound like I have a jet engine running.
The grow will be situated in an unused room of a finished basement apartment which shares heating ducts with the rest of the 2 story house (one of the reasons for odor-stealth).
I potentially have quite a large space available to me, but will most likely be using a grow tent unless someone can suggest a better alternative. Constructing an actual grow-room isn't an option, and while a stealth grow cabinet is somewhat appealing from a visual-stealth point of view, I'm not 100% sold on their actual "stealthiness", and if a large filing cabinet suddenly shows up it'll likely be investigated anyway. I'm relying more on the absolute lack of through-traffic to avoid visual detection.
I will have no issues with water access or drain access and will most likely be using a hydro setup instead of soil. I know soil is more forgiving to newbies, but from what I've read it's easier to get larger yields with a hydro setup and you're less likely to suffer from pest issues, and I'll have an easier time getting rid of water than pots full of dirt when this is done. I'm certainly willing to entertain suggestions about a soil grow though so go ahead.
Alrighty, here come the questions -
1) I'll likely be starting off with 1-2 (possibly even 4 if I'm feeling ambitious) plants, either identical or very similar strains (in terms of veg/flower time). Would a 5'x5' grow tent allow for easy-enough access or would that potentially be too crowded? As I understand it, the plants may end up being as much as 32" in diameter (depending on the strain). Would I be better off going 5'x9' (or similar) for the tent?
2) For anyone with experience using them : how odor proof are these grow tents on average? I would be using a high quality carbon filter and (assuming I can set it up effectively) a slight negative pressure inside the tent to force the air to circulate through it, rather than allowing it to escape through zipper seams or the walls or access holes. Would this effectively render the grow odor-proof? I've experienced the "wall" of smell that can hit you when plants are flowering so I'm a tad worried. I'd potentially be supplementing with ONA gel if needed on the output (but not inside the tent). Unfortunately venting to outside isn't an option, but the basement is large and cool enough that having any warm and possibly humid grow air being circulated shouldn't cause any issues, as long as it doesn't smell. Might even lower my heating bill!
3) For the hydro setup : I'm leaning towards a RDWC or Dutch Bucket system with the reservoir outside the tent, feeding in through one of the access holes so I can minimize the amount of time I have the tent flap (door) open. This would also hopefully allow me to SCROG to maximize the yield and control height. Any suggestions about this would be appreciated. I'm confident in my ability to plumb the system properly. That being said, how big of a reservoir will I need? It stands to reason that if you're dedicating a 5 gallon bucket to a single plant in a DWC then you should have at least a 20 gallon res for 4, right? (I know the buckets aren't completely full) If only for ease of moving the thing around a bit, what's the minimum size for a 4 plant setup? I'd also rather not waste money on potentially wasted nutrients since as I understand it, you have to completely change out the water roughly every 1-2 weeks during veg and every 7-10 days during flowering. Is that accurate?
4) Similarly, is there a formula for how many air stones per gallon of water are needed to properly oxygenate the water? You can't overdo it from what I understand, but there must be a point of diminishing returns.
5) My growing medium will likely be Hydroton, although I saw a VERY interesting post someone made where he used a combination of Hydroton, Perlite, and Vermiculite in Dutch Buckets, so I may end up giving that a shot. Any suggestions as far as this is concerned?
6) Any suggestions about initial growing medium? I like the idea of rooter plugs, but they're basically peat or dirt, right? Can you transplant those into a hydro system as-is without any issues? (I'm assuming you aren't supposed to try and clean all that off since I assume you'd destroy the roots) Would I be better off with rockwool cubes?
7) Any lighting suggestions? I was leaning towards either a 600W or 1000W setup with a digital ballast. I know more light = better, but given the 4 plants max, is 1000W overkill? Are LEDs worth looking into? I love the idea of having not only cheaper, but cooler running lights, but how much of an impact will they have on the grow quality? Also, it seems the "best" way to do things is to have a MH bulb for veg and a HPS for flowering, anyone have any input on this?
8) Assuming I get an air-cooled hood and reflector for the aforementioned lighting, do most people leave the glass on or take it off? Also, with the glass on and the venting going through the light, do I need a separate air outflow for the negative pressure thing I'm trying to achieve?
9) Assuming I wanted to give it a shot, how difficult would a SCROG system be to set up inside a tent? I would have to make a frame of some sort obviously since I can't just screw something into a wall. Would it be worth it for a max of 4 plants? People keep throwing around numbers like 20% yield increases etc, is it actually that much?
Also, just out of curiosity, is it even possible to SCROG with a regular DWC? How would you remove the lids to change out the water if the plants are tied into a screen, particularly with a huge root system hanging down?
10) I know my primary concern is smell, but I still don't want this setup to be super loud or anything. How much noise are the various air and water pumps going to generate? And the vent fan? Are we talking like a loud air conditioner? A dryer? A fridge? A shitty diesel engine from 1983?
11) Finally (for now anyway) - any strain suggestions for a first time grow? Should I go with an autoflower just to take as much potential stupid (me) out of the equation? Are any strains REALLY much more pungent than the rest that I should consider staying away from considering my stealth requirements?
Thanks in advance to everyone.
I'll preface this by saying I'll likely be posting this around a few places to try and get the most information possible, hopefully that doesn't offend anyone, but as they say, cast a wider net, catch more fish.
As the title says, I'm soon to be new to growing my own, and I have a few questions. Wall of text incoming, may want to smoke one and grab some chips :
First off, due to my living situation and housemates, stealth is my primary concern above all else. Particularly smell, but I'd also rather not have it sound like I have a jet engine running.
The grow will be situated in an unused room of a finished basement apartment which shares heating ducts with the rest of the 2 story house (one of the reasons for odor-stealth).
I potentially have quite a large space available to me, but will most likely be using a grow tent unless someone can suggest a better alternative. Constructing an actual grow-room isn't an option, and while a stealth grow cabinet is somewhat appealing from a visual-stealth point of view, I'm not 100% sold on their actual "stealthiness", and if a large filing cabinet suddenly shows up it'll likely be investigated anyway. I'm relying more on the absolute lack of through-traffic to avoid visual detection.
I will have no issues with water access or drain access and will most likely be using a hydro setup instead of soil. I know soil is more forgiving to newbies, but from what I've read it's easier to get larger yields with a hydro setup and you're less likely to suffer from pest issues, and I'll have an easier time getting rid of water than pots full of dirt when this is done. I'm certainly willing to entertain suggestions about a soil grow though so go ahead.
Alrighty, here come the questions -
1) I'll likely be starting off with 1-2 (possibly even 4 if I'm feeling ambitious) plants, either identical or very similar strains (in terms of veg/flower time). Would a 5'x5' grow tent allow for easy-enough access or would that potentially be too crowded? As I understand it, the plants may end up being as much as 32" in diameter (depending on the strain). Would I be better off going 5'x9' (or similar) for the tent?
2) For anyone with experience using them : how odor proof are these grow tents on average? I would be using a high quality carbon filter and (assuming I can set it up effectively) a slight negative pressure inside the tent to force the air to circulate through it, rather than allowing it to escape through zipper seams or the walls or access holes. Would this effectively render the grow odor-proof? I've experienced the "wall" of smell that can hit you when plants are flowering so I'm a tad worried. I'd potentially be supplementing with ONA gel if needed on the output (but not inside the tent). Unfortunately venting to outside isn't an option, but the basement is large and cool enough that having any warm and possibly humid grow air being circulated shouldn't cause any issues, as long as it doesn't smell. Might even lower my heating bill!
3) For the hydro setup : I'm leaning towards a RDWC or Dutch Bucket system with the reservoir outside the tent, feeding in through one of the access holes so I can minimize the amount of time I have the tent flap (door) open. This would also hopefully allow me to SCROG to maximize the yield and control height. Any suggestions about this would be appreciated. I'm confident in my ability to plumb the system properly. That being said, how big of a reservoir will I need? It stands to reason that if you're dedicating a 5 gallon bucket to a single plant in a DWC then you should have at least a 20 gallon res for 4, right? (I know the buckets aren't completely full) If only for ease of moving the thing around a bit, what's the minimum size for a 4 plant setup? I'd also rather not waste money on potentially wasted nutrients since as I understand it, you have to completely change out the water roughly every 1-2 weeks during veg and every 7-10 days during flowering. Is that accurate?
4) Similarly, is there a formula for how many air stones per gallon of water are needed to properly oxygenate the water? You can't overdo it from what I understand, but there must be a point of diminishing returns.
5) My growing medium will likely be Hydroton, although I saw a VERY interesting post someone made where he used a combination of Hydroton, Perlite, and Vermiculite in Dutch Buckets, so I may end up giving that a shot. Any suggestions as far as this is concerned?
6) Any suggestions about initial growing medium? I like the idea of rooter plugs, but they're basically peat or dirt, right? Can you transplant those into a hydro system as-is without any issues? (I'm assuming you aren't supposed to try and clean all that off since I assume you'd destroy the roots) Would I be better off with rockwool cubes?
7) Any lighting suggestions? I was leaning towards either a 600W or 1000W setup with a digital ballast. I know more light = better, but given the 4 plants max, is 1000W overkill? Are LEDs worth looking into? I love the idea of having not only cheaper, but cooler running lights, but how much of an impact will they have on the grow quality? Also, it seems the "best" way to do things is to have a MH bulb for veg and a HPS for flowering, anyone have any input on this?
8) Assuming I get an air-cooled hood and reflector for the aforementioned lighting, do most people leave the glass on or take it off? Also, with the glass on and the venting going through the light, do I need a separate air outflow for the negative pressure thing I'm trying to achieve?
9) Assuming I wanted to give it a shot, how difficult would a SCROG system be to set up inside a tent? I would have to make a frame of some sort obviously since I can't just screw something into a wall. Would it be worth it for a max of 4 plants? People keep throwing around numbers like 20% yield increases etc, is it actually that much?
Also, just out of curiosity, is it even possible to SCROG with a regular DWC? How would you remove the lids to change out the water if the plants are tied into a screen, particularly with a huge root system hanging down?
10) I know my primary concern is smell, but I still don't want this setup to be super loud or anything. How much noise are the various air and water pumps going to generate? And the vent fan? Are we talking like a loud air conditioner? A dryer? A fridge? A shitty diesel engine from 1983?
11) Finally (for now anyway) - any strain suggestions for a first time grow? Should I go with an autoflower just to take as much potential stupid (me) out of the equation? Are any strains REALLY much more pungent than the rest that I should consider staying away from considering my stealth requirements?
Thanks in advance to everyone.
