Greetings Deep Water Culture! I'm new to these forums and to the growing world in general. I became interested in growing for several reasons. It's a pragmatic choice for me, given the large quantities I smoke on a regular basis. Plus, there are several patients throughout my family who would benefit from having a reliable source close to home. I've also become very uncomfortable with the idea that I don't know how/where/what the product I am buying came from. I dread to think that my money is ultimately going in the pocket of a violent drug gang, or to someone who is dealing drugs to kids. Can't support that. I'm also intrigued by the science of it all, and I kind of see my first grow as a little science project/intellectual exercise to keep the ol' brain sharp.
Not having a viable outdoor grow area, indoor is my only option. Then the choice was between soil or hydro. I chose hydro because it seems like the grower has more control over the crop that way. Plus, I'm also a bit of a gear whore and I like things that click and whiz when you wind them up or plug them in. I definitely looked into the different hydroponic systems out there, and in my research, discovered Deep Water Culture and the forums here at this website, and to make a long story short, you all have convinced me that Deep Water Culture is the way to go. So thanks, I think!
Enough with the preamble, let's get down to details. As it happens, I live in a rented apartment in a densely populated area. I live by myself and am fortunate enough to have a spare bedroom where I can grow. The room sits in the back of a 1st floor apartment, which is to say that room is not on the street. The area directly outside that room's window is pretty much only accessible by my landlord and/or his associates. So while the number of people who have window access to my grow room is limited, I wouldn't consider any of them friendly to my grow and controlling odor is of utmost concern. As for my neighbors, everyone in my building is a verified smoker, so I'm not worried about them smelling pot and calling the cops. Nonetheless, the less they know the better.
Rather then using the closet or the spare bedroom itself, I decided to opt for a grow tent, mostly for portability reasons. I went with the Secret Jardin DR120. It measures 4'x4'x6.5' and occupies roughly 1/4 of the room. The tent itself was easy enough to assemble. In addition to the quasi-clear directions that came with it, this video really helped me out alot:
YouTube - The Dark Room Grow Tent Setup
Once the tent was setup, it wasn't obvious to me how to hang my light, carbon filter, fan, ducting, etc in a way that made sense. I've never done anything like this before. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources on the internet to demystify how to go about this. That is to say, I primarily looked at pictures of comparable grow tent setups and scoured the forums here on the topic of grow room setup. That, coupled with the rudimentary problem solving skills I've been graced with, eventually produced the current day result (more pics in my gallery page):
Not pictured, but worth mentioning, is the 6" fan venting the light, which sits on a stack of books outside of the tent and blowing air on my ballast (also not pictured) to keep it cool.
So most of the components are in place and I'm getting close to being ready for my first grow.
Ok, getting late. More later....
Not having a viable outdoor grow area, indoor is my only option. Then the choice was between soil or hydro. I chose hydro because it seems like the grower has more control over the crop that way. Plus, I'm also a bit of a gear whore and I like things that click and whiz when you wind them up or plug them in. I definitely looked into the different hydroponic systems out there, and in my research, discovered Deep Water Culture and the forums here at this website, and to make a long story short, you all have convinced me that Deep Water Culture is the way to go. So thanks, I think!
Enough with the preamble, let's get down to details. As it happens, I live in a rented apartment in a densely populated area. I live by myself and am fortunate enough to have a spare bedroom where I can grow. The room sits in the back of a 1st floor apartment, which is to say that room is not on the street. The area directly outside that room's window is pretty much only accessible by my landlord and/or his associates. So while the number of people who have window access to my grow room is limited, I wouldn't consider any of them friendly to my grow and controlling odor is of utmost concern. As for my neighbors, everyone in my building is a verified smoker, so I'm not worried about them smelling pot and calling the cops. Nonetheless, the less they know the better.
Rather then using the closet or the spare bedroom itself, I decided to opt for a grow tent, mostly for portability reasons. I went with the Secret Jardin DR120. It measures 4'x4'x6.5' and occupies roughly 1/4 of the room. The tent itself was easy enough to assemble. In addition to the quasi-clear directions that came with it, this video really helped me out alot:
YouTube - The Dark Room Grow Tent Setup
Once the tent was setup, it wasn't obvious to me how to hang my light, carbon filter, fan, ducting, etc in a way that made sense. I've never done anything like this before. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources on the internet to demystify how to go about this. That is to say, I primarily looked at pictures of comparable grow tent setups and scoured the forums here on the topic of grow room setup. That, coupled with the rudimentary problem solving skills I've been graced with, eventually produced the current day result (more pics in my gallery page):
Not pictured, but worth mentioning, is the 6" fan venting the light, which sits on a stack of books outside of the tent and blowing air on my ballast (also not pictured) to keep it cool.
So most of the components are in place and I'm getting close to being ready for my first grow.
Ok, getting late. More later....
