Starting indoor for the first time. Ive got everything picked out except two things. Ill be using ebb & flood and im curious what i can use for medium that will go the life cycle of the plant and reusable. I dont want to have to change anything if at all possible. I also am wondering about what nutes to use. And as far as Co2 production im looking at some material that you put in a bucket and theres a motor on top, not sure how that works but it said it lasts up to 3 monthes for a 10'x10' room. Does that sound familiar? I forgot the name and im away from my book. Ill be using either a 400 w or 800 w Leds with a general oscillating fan in the room so heat shouldnt be a factor right? Also should i use anything to keep the water cool or not necessary for indoors? Any thoughts will be nice.
MRXC
Well-Known Member
still going to need more info but first you could use coco as a medium my swim loves to use it and he is convincing me of going to use it. abouth heat willing be a issu... could be if you have no ventilation. or a dehumidifier and AC unit. i think the you want the AC option couse of the Co2 you will be adding but yea thats just my 2 cents
please tell me a bit more of your plans couse this sounds more like you did not plan this out .
please tell me a bit more of your plans couse this sounds more like you did not plan this out .
MRXC
Well-Known Member
O forgot the bucket yeay they work fine but i like the digi tank systems better couse you can ajust it or is it a buckt co2 genarator with addjustebal funcion ???
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The co2 generator reminds me of maybe a bag of silica? You put it in a bucket that has a motor on top im guessing to agitate the mixture. I havent actually purchased anything yet and no blueprint written up but i do have an idea in my head how it wil be set up. I guess my main concerns would be energy usage with the system (400W led, ebb and flood 6 post system, co2 generator, fan, and what ever other odds and ends) if those will throw up a red flag, also if it will generate too much heat. And then another question is if theres something i can use throughout the whole grow without changing are the nutes and medium. Thinking about clay pellets but i would like input on that and also if i needs something to keep the water cool and ig so what that would be. Its a 50 gal resrvoir.
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Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
MrSilver,
I was once new like you and full of all sort of plans... heck, I still do that to this day and dream much bigger than my capabilities... but let me use the benefit of my hindsight to give you some advice after about 5 years of trying this and that.
First, the co2. I tried a cheapie DIY method of supplying CO2 to my grow, by using yeast. Besides the smell, I would like to think that it did some good... but without the benefit of previous experience, I had no idea if all my effort amounted to anything. In the end it turned out to be a stinky mess and a lot of work, and I abandoned the idea, concentrating instead on figuring out the basics of how to grow this weed. There are problems with co2 also, you have to be careful if you are living in the same area that you do not displace the oxygen in the room, that is actually lighter than the co2. There have actually been cases of asphyxiation when using co2, so be very careful. Next, generally you need to vent your grow room in some way, first to bring in fresh air, and second to deal with the smell that growing pot creates. Venting and co2 do not mix... so again... more problems with co2. My advice is to consider this an advanced technique, and investigate it later, after you get this growing thing down.
The method that you have chosen, the ebb and flood, sounds good on the surface with all the claims of superior yield, faster grow times and all that... but first of all, let me say that those benefits are negligible, especially at first when you are learning. Compared to buying some soil and planting your seeds and watering, you will be taking on a huge learning curve, even before you start. You will need to put together all the equipment to make it all work, and then hope that nothing goes wrong with your new equipment, a timer doesn't break, a pump stop pumping, or something springs a leak. Your expense at the onset will be much greater than that bag of soil and a container too, and I am telling you... hydro is good until it stops working or something gets out of wack... and then it goes south very quickly. I am a fairly competent grower... horticulture is in my family, and yet after 6 months of trying very hard to make aeroponics work for me, I failed. I had patients who could no longer wait for product, and I had to go to what I knew worked... that container of soil.
I am also a cheapskate at heart, and hate wasting anything... even water... and man did I waste a lot of water running hydro. I also hate having to get in bed with any of these nutrient companies, but you have to with hydro... and once you commit to a company and their product line, you are almost obligated to purchase every product they make, and you are stuck, buying all that stuff as long as you want to keep growing. You can't even reuse this stuff, it gets flushed down the drain.
So I went with organic soil. I don't buy bags of commercial soils except as a start... and then I add to that soil designed to run out of good stuff in the middle and force you to buy nutrients, all the stuff that a plant could possibly need. I build a living soil, that can maintain itself, and is the perfect food for our plants. Better yet, at the end of the grow, all the plant scraps, old soil and everything, goes right back into this living soil bin, to be used again, and it just keeps getting better and better.
Yes, as you surmised, I am trying to convince you to go soil for your first grow. Soil gives you a buffer in case you make mistakes, that hydro can not give you. It will teach you the basics on your first couple of grows, and allow you to produce a good output without a lot of risk of failure. Even if you go with a commercial soil like FoxFarm Ocean Forest, and commit to using their nutrient line later in flower, it will be easier than learning hydro as you are learning how to grow a weed.
Next, think about your lights... get as big as you can afford, right now. You will want it later, why cut corners now? I started off with T5 florescents, and although it made sense at the time, I kicked myself for not going bigger right at the first. Now I run 600w MH and HPS and a combination of other lights in veg and breeding... I should have spent that money at the front when I had it to spend.
Next, think about your grow space. You are going to need to contain the smell. Think about a grow tent and a carbon filter. Think about fans to move air into and out of that tent and inside of the tent.
Then there is test equipment. If you go hydro, you need a few more items than soil... you will need a tds/ppm tester and thermometers to monitor your rez temperature. In both cases, you will need a good pH meter to measure fluids.
Yes, if you want user friendly and to learn the basics, I recommend soil. Feminized seeds are also a good idea so that you don't have to worry about sexing, but sometime as you are new and learning basics, you are probably going to want to learn how to work with males to gather their pollen and produce seeds on your female plants.
There's a whole lot to learn... this isnt as easy as most people think... if it was, everyone would grow pot. Don't shoot yourself in the foot trying to do too much all in the beginning... start off simple. Learn the basics... get fancy after that.
That's my 3c... good luck no matter which direction you go!
I was once new like you and full of all sort of plans... heck, I still do that to this day and dream much bigger than my capabilities... but let me use the benefit of my hindsight to give you some advice after about 5 years of trying this and that.
First, the co2. I tried a cheapie DIY method of supplying CO2 to my grow, by using yeast. Besides the smell, I would like to think that it did some good... but without the benefit of previous experience, I had no idea if all my effort amounted to anything. In the end it turned out to be a stinky mess and a lot of work, and I abandoned the idea, concentrating instead on figuring out the basics of how to grow this weed. There are problems with co2 also, you have to be careful if you are living in the same area that you do not displace the oxygen in the room, that is actually lighter than the co2. There have actually been cases of asphyxiation when using co2, so be very careful. Next, generally you need to vent your grow room in some way, first to bring in fresh air, and second to deal with the smell that growing pot creates. Venting and co2 do not mix... so again... more problems with co2. My advice is to consider this an advanced technique, and investigate it later, after you get this growing thing down.
The method that you have chosen, the ebb and flood, sounds good on the surface with all the claims of superior yield, faster grow times and all that... but first of all, let me say that those benefits are negligible, especially at first when you are learning. Compared to buying some soil and planting your seeds and watering, you will be taking on a huge learning curve, even before you start. You will need to put together all the equipment to make it all work, and then hope that nothing goes wrong with your new equipment, a timer doesn't break, a pump stop pumping, or something springs a leak. Your expense at the onset will be much greater than that bag of soil and a container too, and I am telling you... hydro is good until it stops working or something gets out of wack... and then it goes south very quickly. I am a fairly competent grower... horticulture is in my family, and yet after 6 months of trying very hard to make aeroponics work for me, I failed. I had patients who could no longer wait for product, and I had to go to what I knew worked... that container of soil.
I am also a cheapskate at heart, and hate wasting anything... even water... and man did I waste a lot of water running hydro. I also hate having to get in bed with any of these nutrient companies, but you have to with hydro... and once you commit to a company and their product line, you are almost obligated to purchase every product they make, and you are stuck, buying all that stuff as long as you want to keep growing. You can't even reuse this stuff, it gets flushed down the drain.
So I went with organic soil. I don't buy bags of commercial soils except as a start... and then I add to that soil designed to run out of good stuff in the middle and force you to buy nutrients, all the stuff that a plant could possibly need. I build a living soil, that can maintain itself, and is the perfect food for our plants. Better yet, at the end of the grow, all the plant scraps, old soil and everything, goes right back into this living soil bin, to be used again, and it just keeps getting better and better.
Yes, as you surmised, I am trying to convince you to go soil for your first grow. Soil gives you a buffer in case you make mistakes, that hydro can not give you. It will teach you the basics on your first couple of grows, and allow you to produce a good output without a lot of risk of failure. Even if you go with a commercial soil like FoxFarm Ocean Forest, and commit to using their nutrient line later in flower, it will be easier than learning hydro as you are learning how to grow a weed.
Next, think about your lights... get as big as you can afford, right now. You will want it later, why cut corners now? I started off with T5 florescents, and although it made sense at the time, I kicked myself for not going bigger right at the first. Now I run 600w MH and HPS and a combination of other lights in veg and breeding... I should have spent that money at the front when I had it to spend.
Next, think about your grow space. You are going to need to contain the smell. Think about a grow tent and a carbon filter. Think about fans to move air into and out of that tent and inside of the tent.
Then there is test equipment. If you go hydro, you need a few more items than soil... you will need a tds/ppm tester and thermometers to monitor your rez temperature. In both cases, you will need a good pH meter to measure fluids.
Yes, if you want user friendly and to learn the basics, I recommend soil. Feminized seeds are also a good idea so that you don't have to worry about sexing, but sometime as you are new and learning basics, you are probably going to want to learn how to work with males to gather their pollen and produce seeds on your female plants.
There's a whole lot to learn... this isnt as easy as most people think... if it was, everyone would grow pot. Don't shoot yourself in the foot trying to do too much all in the beginning... start off simple. Learn the basics... get fancy after that.
That's my 3c... good luck no matter which direction you go!
Hi MrSilver, I grew back in the 70's and 80's but stopped and just started back again this year. I choose soil for my first few grows, maybe even longer who knows I am still on my 1st indoor one. Emilya is 100% spot on about it being a better choice for beginners. I admit it, I am a beginner no shame in it, a lot has changed since I last grew and to be honest I really do not remember much other then making sure I did not get busted. Now I can grow quality MJ with people who will help me out when I get stuck on something that I can not figure out on my own. Oh and as for the smell. trust me, it smells, my wife made me give away 3 plants because she could not stand the dank smell it was producing.
I would suggest though if you do go soil, use either a smart cloth pot or an air pot, those things are so much better then plastic pots in my humble opinion. Do your research and make a plan.
Which ever way you choose I wish you the best and keep us all in the loop as to how things are progressing.
Cheers
OG
I would suggest though if you do go soil, use either a smart cloth pot or an air pot, those things are so much better then plastic pots in my humble opinion. Do your research and make a plan.
Which ever way you choose I wish you the best and keep us all in the loop as to how things are progressing.
Cheers
OG
I completely agree with Emilya. I tried a version of hydro my first time back and it was a Major PITA. There are benefits to hydro but learning curve and taste of the end product aren't among them. I'd keep it simple in the beginning. You will spend less and have a higher chance of success. Best of luck with whatever you decide, and 
to 
Oh - and feminized seeds are great!
to Oh - and feminized seeds are great!
You will be better off spending 20 or 30 minutes in your grow room breathing during lights on than investing in a co2 unit. Unless your room is sealed very well, and you are pumping more wattage in light, I just don't see a ROI. I believe it was on an auto thread just a day or two ago started by theBeast*** where they speak of their co2 meter and just being in a room, how much it brings it up. Besides the time in the garden is good, you learn your plants like your kids when you spend time with them.
Heat? Hmmmmm. LEDs still produce heat, but without a venting hood/fan set up. You still might have to get a larger cfm fan for exhaust....oops, there went your co2. I gave up trying to keep my dwc buckets cool, I treat heavily with beneficials.
Read through the completed journals forum and see what is working for other folks with similar size restrictions and set ups. It'll help you get a better handle on where you're headed.
Yeah, CO2 is the last thing I'd consider for a grow. You need everything else dialed in before it has any benefit.
improvise
Well-Known Member
yeh agrree with emilya we all started with big ideas.
focus on a simple grow go through the cycle seed to sitting there smoking that dried and cured flower,after all it`s a weed supposedley lol.
yeh female seeds spot on rather than some bag seed.
anyhoos all the best in your first grow and regards.
focus on a simple grow go through the cycle seed to sitting there smoking that dried and cured flower,after all it`s a weed supposedley lol.
yeh female seeds spot on rather than some bag seed.
anyhoos all the best in your first grow and regards.
