First time grower, super stoked to get going.

[SEGreenThumb]

Hey y'all

First wanted to say thanks very much for all the great info on these threads, almost didn't even need to ask any questions, you guys are frickin awesome!

Anyhow, I've been wanting to grow for years and have been slowly absorbing all the info on the whole process and now I am in a position where I can finally get going.

I have a space in my room, about 5'x5'x8' where I intend to build a nice insulated grow cabinet, I have an open fireplace in the room where I can vent fresh air from the roof, and intend to just exhaust into the room itself (smell is no real issue, and I just see it as a nice aroma to have around haha). Living in the UK, keeping temps stable all year round may be tricky, so I want to completely insulate my DIY grow box. I am going for a pretty basic DWC into a scrog, fuelled by a 600W HID, (basically following HygroHybrid's method) Think I have the shopping list sorted so I just wanted to make sure I haven't overlooked things before I start.

So, the box itself is going to be a sturdy wooden frame, with cavity space in the walls, floor and ceiling, was thinking of using rockwool for insulation? would be good for acoustic isolation aswell? On each side of the cavity I will screw in drywall or something similar so there is a nice flat surface on the inside, and it will be (reasonably) discreet on the outside. I might make it taller so I can have a Veg area on a shelf, although I'm leaning more towards a separate area (more on that later)

I want to run a power socket in from the mains, which will be mounted about halfway up to keep away from water, there should easily be enough juice there to run all that I need.

On top of the drywall, on the insides, I will either paint flat white, or staple on reflective material prior to assembling the box. There will be a whole in the bottom corner for the intake fan (recommendations for a space this size?) and an exhaust fan on the ceiling. With nice big fan for circulation and controllers on the intake/exhaust this should indeed keep temps and air quality under control. I may have to add some way of creating CO2 if needed, and air humidifiers/de-humidifiers if necessary.

For the lights, I'm going 600W, as long as temps wont be an issue? (Its cold here most of the time) two lamps for veg/bloom. I was thinking one of those huds with the ducting but I'm not sure it is absolutely essential, either way, I'm going to need to balance the light over the 5'x5' scrog net evenly, any help here would be appreciated. For early veg, I'm going to get a 4 light t8 setup, adds to about 250W I think, on the first grow this will be setup in the main closet, then transported to the Veg area (which wont be finished at this stage) for subsequent grows.

In terms of the grow method, I'll be doing early veg in coco, then transplant to a big ass DWC pot. I only want to flower one plant at this stage as it is less to think about on a first grow (although I fully expect it to get big haha). Keeping the nutes simple as, pretty sure most of the advanced stuff is BS anyway...


I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track here, problems I can think of myself:

- Keeping temps high enough when light are off, will need heating right?
- Co2 levels and humidity
- Intake air from chimney may be dusty?
- Noise, I am ok with wearing earplugs at night but don't want noise to be excessive
- Any more from you guys would be sick.

So I am aware I am a complete newb and I humbly ask all of you pros out there to help me along on this grow. I am totally committed and I will enjoy the shit out of this as long as it is successful.

I think I will also do a journal of this grow as well if people would be interested? It would help me out a ton, if there are any deficiencies or abnormalities, being so inexperienced, hopefully you guys will be willing to help

I look forward to your input

Peace out Folks

x

 

[Gadfly]

Run the lights at night and let em go dark during the day. That may help keep the temps stable enough.

Co2 use in the garden is the most commonly misused practice that I've observed. People run em w/ the lights off, when it's too cold, one side of the room gets Co2 while the other gets little to none, and it goes on and on like that. I've seen very few gardens where it was utilized properly, so for most growers it equates to little more than a wallet flush. Don't let that stop you, but you may discover that you can do just fine without it. As your skills grow, it may be something worth investing in for the future. When used properly it does make a noticeable difference.

Humidity is the bitch I imagine you'll be dealing with.

Can you exhaust through the chimney? That would seem ideal. If the home is cool enough you can just intake the air in your room.

If you're sleeping in the same room as your cabinet then it will be noisy. Outside of that room should be fine unless you live in some thin walled college dorm or something.

And yes, all those high priced nutes are a complete waste of money for those that are willing to do a bit more reading/work. They just make it easier for the learning process.

I apologize but I know next to nothing about insulation and most of the handy man stuff you mentioned. There are others here that can help you w/ that.

You seem like you have things pretty well thought out. I look forward to seeing your future projects.

 

[SEGreenThumb]

Hey dude thanks for the info!

I will look into the humidity issue and focus in on that a little. I'm ok with the noise I think, I will test it but I have studied acoustics quite intensivly so I can hopefully come up with some cheap solutions. I will post the results as I think people are getting ripped off on acoustic treatments from the grow stores!

Peace x

 

[TanR]

Hi SEGreenThumb.

Welcome to 420 Magazine!

Sounds like a pretty well thought out grow plan/space and as always, Gadfly has provided some solid feedback.

I'm on the fence as far as lighting suggestions. One part of me keeps thinking that investing in a 1000 watt would better cover your 5x5 area, but then I see you mention that for now you only want to flower one plant at a time and a 600 watt will do that fine although not truly to the edge of your screen. If you do ever want to utilize the entire 5x5 I guess you could add another light easily enough though.

Have you thought through how your going to actually work around/with the scrog netting? What I mean is your arms aren't long enough to reach from the door/entrance of the area to the back or corners of a five foot screen. I have a 4'x4' Scrog screen and have to get on the ground on my back under the screen to train the branches to the correct spots on the screen. So I'm wondering if you'll actually use the entire 5x5 as long as your flowering only one plant at a time.

One thing I'll say is that yes, the vented hoods with the ducting is essential in helping control the temperature of your environment. I tried to save a few bucks when I purchased my 600 watt light/hood combo and got an open air hood and have considered it a mistake since. I've made it work, but man does that thing get hot! If my tent is completely closed it will get to 95 degrees or hotter in a matter of minutes, even when the temp outside the tent is in the low 60's. Fortunately I don't require complete stealth, so I can keep the door partially open and control the temperature with a couple of fans. Unfortunately, if your going to get the vented hood, you'll also need an inline fan.

Once you have the fan though, you can consider adding a carbon filter to help control the smell later. I realize you mentioned your considering the smell will just be a nice aroma to have around, but I would offer a thought on that for your consideration. I personally don't find the smell of the plants while growing to be terribly offensive, but it sure isn't an air freshener scent I would intentionally buy. It's not really a pleasant smell, but it's not totally offensive either. Think of a cross between freshly cut grass/hay, and maybe a hint of cat urine. You walk in the door to your house and while it's not an overpowering smell, you just kind of get a "whoa, there is something funky in the air here" moment! You may also find a need to not have to explain to a repair man, landlord, unexpected guest, what that unique smell is and odor control again pops up. I agree with Gadfly that venting out the chimney and intake inside air is very much worth considering and also alleviate your temperature and dust concerns.

Most of the inline fans are pretty quite and especially if mounted in a way that reduces the transference of vibration (like bungee cords or anything rubber). If you do insulate the room this will also help muffle the sound, but makes dealing with the heat all the more important.

I look forward to your journal and think it would be really cool if you started it while the grow area is still coming together. I know you'll get a lot of feedback and help from the community if you do!

Be well, happy growing and again welcome to the 420 magazine community!

 

[SEGreenThumb]

Cool thanks!

Yeah I did some research on the nature of 'raw cannabis' odours. I think it might bother me after a while, up the chimney it is then! The air in my room is of good enough quality for the plants then? I don't know why but I assumed it wouldn't be... Is there anything I can do in the room to improve air quality?

Gonna stick with 600W I think, less heat to deal with also, may upgrade on the next grow though we'll see. Will go vented hood also.

Ahh man I cant wait, just need to get the cash together, will post right from the start, pics/vids of the whole process.

Peace x

 

[yuyo]

sounds like a plan , good luck =))