Questions for the indoor growers (Common Issues & problem solving)

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WeedSmokerNYC

New Member
I'm going to start my first "Real" grow.

I'm on a very strict budget and I'm almost certain I'm going to be overspending already so need some very good advice before I spend a lot of money for nothing.

First off I'll list what my current shopping list might look like.

Tent: DARK ROOM II
Light: Dimmable Digital 400W MH/HPS W/ Cooling Hood & Reflective Wing. (Includes Timer & Hangers)
Plants: Auto-flowering Dwarfs (2 Max inside the tent)
Soil/Nutes: Fox Farms
Outtake: 6inch 250CFM Inline Duct Fan (Booster) W/ about 2-3 FT Tubing connected to a home-made carbon filter near the window made out of Coffee Filters, Activated Carbon, Stockings, and Mesh pencil cup holders.
Intake: Passive side wind socks (Maybe a small PC fan since I have like 50)

My first question is about cutting cost, with all listed above I'm about already at $450 and I would like this to be under $400 as this is just for a plant or two.

One way I could cut about $30-50 is without a air cooled hood, could I get away with using a normal reflector in such a tight tent with 1-2 plants max? or would the heat be too much for even the tent alone?

Another thing is the ventilation, I heard duct fans are terrible for carbon filters and they might not even help hide the smell and its better to invest in an actual inline fan. The best I found is a 6inch inline fan at 450CFM for $95 and the carbon filter to go with it for $90 which is a ton of money just for that alone is like 21/2/5 my budget.

Those are my main concerns, are the ventilation for the heat the 400W will produce and minimizing my cost anyway I can. Other than that I have a good idea about my setup and how I will go about things. I can cut costs a ton by getting rid of the tent, but I feel it would complicate things since my closet is far from my window for ventilation and I would have to cut holes in the door etc

I was thinking of turing a old wooden dresser into a stealth box but I figured 400W high powered hot light vs Old wood isn't such a good idea.

Let me know what you guys think of, anything will help.
 
Size of grow tent may reflect on total cost... as this may mean bigger bulbs, ballast & inline fans to be effective...


So what size tent are you thinking of ???


Magnetic ballests are cheaper than digital btw also look around for budget reflectors this will save some dollar... ya can always improve kit at a later date.
 
Those booster fans are designed to boost an existing air flow in a duct. It's not strong enough by itself.
Go with the bigger fan. You can hold off on the filter for two or three months if you want to spread out the cost.
 
Seems reasonable to be honest I think I may go with the tent listed in the OP (Its a link have to click on it) with a 400W Digital (Low noise and heat) 1 booster fan for airing out the hood IF heat is a problem. If not Im going to use it to vent the tent till I can invest in the carbon filter. Im going to be only growing 1 plant and its a autoflower so I dont think it will smell THAT much but security > anything.

If you guys have experience with auto flower buds in tents let me know how to go about things

1 Plant
1 400W
1 Tent
1 Fan

Im doubting I will not have heat issues but the plant itself should be fine the smell might come on to quick to wait for the filter since its 70 days harvest from germ

starting next week so have time to figure things out, update with advice if you got any I'll update along the way with a journal to my grow
 
Just my opinion I'm a inside grower & grew 8 plants in a 4x4 room & never used a carbon filter or exhaust fan or intake. I also have a 400w MH/HPS convertible lamp magnetic ballast that doesn't emit alot of heat max temps are 85. 90 if the door is closed. Save your self money and just get a regular honey well fan & pick up some ONA airfreshners & gel which is $20.

400w lamp is $160 :thumb:
 
Wiz thank you for this advice I figured 1 plant shouldn't need a 6inch inline fan that is 450CFM W/ a carbon filter that cost nearly $200.

I figured carbon filters are for 2 or more plants, 1 autoflowering less than 3 feet plant shouldn't need super vents.

What I'll do is get the booster fans for the light and closed loop it and another for exhaust going out the window and passivish intake from my AC (Putting a duct near AC any air that goes through gets pushed to plants (Also good to getting purple buds since its around 50-60* here at night at the moment.)

does this sound good? If anything I can just buy the inline / filter and overnight it if the smell becomes a serious problem and I'll just have to deal with it.

Thanks for the advice though, for now just going to use boosters and ona gel.
 
I wouldnt exhaust any air out the window. There's cams that can detect alot of heat coming from homes and that's a red flag for a grow set up. You don't need all of that stuff in my opinion but if you do get it make it a closed as you said. But that ONA spray or gel will do wonders for smell.

Don't need an intake fan just open the tent during lights on. I have a closed grow room. No intake or exhaust fan and plants do fine. I rather a dry clean environment
 
I live in a tall city building (Nearly 30 floors) so I don't think the cameras would be able to see my window even, I'm more worried about fly overs than that although being in the city I doubt a heli flying over with thermal would catch anyone unless they lived on the top floor.

I'll take your word on it as this is my first real grow and the advice is needed. I'll hold off on ordering the fans/vents for now as I'll have a good 2-3 weeks before I smell anything anyway. This will give me time to see if I have any heat issues with just the 1 plant in there and the light alone with only passive intake/outake. If I see heat may be a issue (Over 90F during night) I will have to get some fans to close loop the hood (Its a air cooled hood)

Here is a good question though, should I leave my PC/AC off while the lights are on? The reason I ask is because I can only draw so much power in each room (Each socket is limited to a unidentified amount to where if I plug something else in the circuit shuts off to save itself and I have to reboot it)

I'm thinking of getting a longer wire and having my AC connected to my living room while the lights are connected to my grow room. This way I save myself the blackout and possibly getting caught cause 1 room is pulling like 4000watts (PC is 750W, AC is 8,000BTU, TV is 65Inch and tons of electronics.)

Tell me what you think I should do in order to save myself from blackouts, putting the tent in another room is not a option (Sadly) I could live without my AC but I would be sleeping in a sweat box room. (Summer is coming and usually gets 80-100 over here)
 
I had the same issue. I have the same btu AC LG brand. I use a 14 gauge 15amp 115v extension cord which is the same as the AC & the AC it pulls 1560watts. I ran it from a different room as well since 4000 watts was max in one room. You really won't need a AC that powerful for a 400w set up. But if that's your AC for your whole house use then cool but if you have central air them that will work just as well. Max I've seen so far in a 5x6 room was 90 but 80 with a fan blowing. And the temps outside were close to 100.

As for a regular fan blowing run that 24/7.

If you still end up using the AC I would set it on a timer but make sure it's a good timer or the watts pulling threw it will burn that sucker up. Or just turn it on when the temp reaches 85-90 an get it to 70 then shut it off. it could be a pain though. Also make sure the extension cord has the exact numbers I gave a above in gauge watts and amp or else the cord will get to hot or fry and start a fire

Just my opinion AC that's 8000 btu isnt worth a 400w grow with 1 plant. I had everything of what your planning to get and I don't use alot of it and I grew 10 plants at once in the same room.
 
WizHigh said:
I had the same issue. I have the same btu AC LG brand. I use a 14 gauge 15amp 115v extension cord which is the same as the AC & the AC it pulls 1560watts. I ran it from a different room as well since 4000 watts was max in one room. You really won't need a AC that powerful for a 400w set up. But if that's your AC for your whole house use then cool but if you have central air them that will work just as well. Max I've seen so far in a 5x6 room was 90 but 80 with a fan blowing. And the temps outside were close to 100.

As for a regular fan blowing run that 24/7.

If you still end up using the AC I would set it on a timer but make sure it's a good timer or the watts pulling threw it will burn that sucker up. Or just turn it on when the temp reaches 85-90 an get it to 70 then shut it off. it could be a pain though. Also make sure the extension cord has the exact numbers I gave a above in gauge watts and amp or else the cord will get to hot or fry and start a fire

Just my opinion AC that's 8000 btu isnt worth a 400w grow with 1 plant. I had everything of what your planning to get and I don't use alot of it and I grew 10 plants at once in the same room.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I'm glad we have very similar setups because it gives me an idea of what I have to come. It's crazy you did 10 at once with that setup though, I only intend on doing 2 max but really my head is set on one.(Might germ 2 just in case one dies) All my gear should be here before the weekend and I should be germinating on Sunday.

I'll most likely get that wire, I had one but my dog chewed it up just last week (a pain) I don't live alone so security is a must, while they know what I will be doing, they don't want any part in it (I can trust my room mates with my life) So the 8,000 BTU AC is for personal more than for the grow. It gets really hot here at night so I tend to use it for personal use especially since I'll be sleeping in the same room as my plants.

Thanks for all the advice you have given me so far, once the light/tent gets here I'm going to set it up and leave it on for 18 hours straight to see how heat is.
 
No problem anytime. Hope all goes well with your growing. You can run a GLR light schedule which is 12hours on & 1hr on in between the 5 1/2 hr dark period. So set a timer like this 8am-8pm & 1:30am-2:30am. This light schedule will keep your plants in veg with out using so much electricity. You want to be as stealth as possible when growing indoors. To switch to flower just remove the 1:30-2:30 light period. And then drop the 12/12 to 10/14. This is a cheap and very effective way to grow.

But until your plant get its 3-4th set of true leaves use 1-4 CFLs 6500k or 5000k on a 16/8 light period. Start with one 20w cfl and then add 3 more when there above ground for 1-2weeks. After the 3-4th week under CFL's you can throw them under the 400w running the GLR schedule I mentioned up top.

I'm just helping out trying to save you money in your pocket and keep you safe and aware while growing :thumb:
 
WizHigh said:
No problem anytime. Hope all goes well with your growing. You can run a GLR light schedule which is 12hours on & 1hr on in between the 5 1/2 hr dark period. So set a timer like this 8am-8pm & 1:30am-2:30am. This light schedule will keep your plants in veg with out using so much electricity. You want to be as stealth as possible when growing indoors. To switch to flower just remove the 1:30-2:30 light period. And then drop the 12/12 to 10/14. This is a cheap and very effective way to grow.

But until your plant get its 3-4th set of true leaves use 1-4 CFLs 6500k or 5000k on a 16/8 light period. Start with one 20w cfl and then add 3 more when there above ground for 1-2weeks. After the 3-4th week under CFL's you can throw them under the 400w running the GLR schedule I mentioned up top.

I'm just helping out trying to save you money in your pocket and keep you safe and aware while growing :thumb:
Click to expand...

I really do appreciate that you are taking the time to help me out, it doesn't go unnoticed.

Question though, is the GLR for money saving purposes or is it so the electric company doesn't see you turning on and off the same 400W appliance at the same time daily for months. (That alligns with someone growing)

I only ask because I will only be planting autofems, I was told the best way to grow these are to 18/6 them for 70-80 days. Sometime in the near future (Most likely winter) I'll do a GDP grow (Been wanting to try GDP since I started tokin)

Also, I don't pay the electric bill (Its free!) that is why were limited to a certain # of watts per room.
 
Yea GLR can be used for both. Your light company can see that your usage spikes at a certain time each day so yes its something easy to follow if someone was watching you. But since there not it would go unnoticed. And your right about the auto flowering light choice. I recently heard that 16/8 does just as well. No matter the light schedule though an auto will do its thing regardless of what's going on around it. And no problem in the info. I'd like everyone to just have a first happy grow with no problems :)


Oh I can't believe I haven't told u this. There's a Philips 400w CMH bulb you can grow with that lets off alot less heat than a regular MH/HPS bulb. And you can use it your whole grow even during flower. Just make sure you get horizontal

GDP great strain and great yield :thumb:
 
Sounds good man I'm really excited. Only reason I'm doing auto flowers is because summer is near and I probably won't be around 24/7 to check on a normal strain that needs more maintence and watching.

I ended up purchasing an entire kit off a reliable seller, has nothing but 5 star reviews.
While I don't approve of the brand, as long as it doesn't die on me in 3 months I can live with it.

It's an I-power Kit, comes with:
Dimmable Digital Ballest
MH & HPS Bulb (400W)
Hangers
Air cooled hood
Cheap Timer

All under $175 which isn't too bad, especially since it has a 5 year warranty.
 
My last few questions as pretty much everything is ordered and I'm just waiting on them to meet my doorstep.

One thing I haven't ordered which I can get locally if needed is Soil and Grow bags.

I've already decided on poly grow bags: GROW BAGS | Heavy Duty Poly 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 gallon Plant grow bags

The question is which size? Keep in mind I'm only growing auto-flowering. The plants are said to reach a maximum height of 4ft, but average around 3. I was also told by a few experts auto's HATE being transplanted and I run a greater risk of them dying by transplanting them rather than just letting them grow into a large pot since they only live 2 1/2 months max.

So which size is better 3Gal or 5Gal? Personally I'm thinking 5 since I will only be growing 1 plant the space is there.

Should I transplant or let it go in a 5Gal from germ?

Should I use FFOF W/ 1/3 Perlite or go with a different brand? I heard mixed things on this, some say FFOF is the best, others say its too intense for plants that are going in there from seedlings, some say later in the growth it could cause a salt lock up or something.

Thanks in advance, starting the journal up pretty soon, once the lights get here with the tent I'll start to germ.
 
I would go with a 5 gallon bag but start the seedling off in a 8oz cup. That way you wont risk over watering. When it gets into the 5gallon bucket give it the same amount of water you did in a 8oz cup. Stick with that watering regime until you see that the plant will require more water. The plant will show wilting not drooping but wilting which means it needs more water.

Dont worry about all the extra soil being dry just add water directly to the center of the roots at the base of the stem. That the best info I can give since I never grew an auto. So i dont know to much about them being transplanted or not liking to be moved.

As for the soil. I wouldnt recommend soil. I rather grow in coco coir or hydro. To many problems with soil. But if you still choose some type of soil I would go with organic MG soil and mix coco coir with it. So make it a 50/50 mix. Youll do great with that. Less issues with over watering, water logging, nute burn, o2, and leaching. I recommend GH 100% coco coir. Look it up on youtube
 
Alright I'm only experienced with soil in growing things (Not cannabis) never tried a non soil grow and I don't think I have the money for a hydro setup.

What soil-less mix would you recommend?

I had a friend who did FFOF 2/3 and 1/3 Perlite with White widows (Its actually my only journal that I did for him(Wasn't my plants)) but his plants died a week or two into flowering he had no idea why as he didn't overfeed and gave them the right nutes. Although that was his first grow he hasn't done it since.
 
So based on that video I should get some coco coir bricks and mix with FFOF? It says it should be mixed with soil if not should I just buy bricks and use them with perlite?

Now this seems to be my main dilema, go with FFOF and risk messing up the plants, or go with Coco Coir which I know nothing about.

If it makes any difference I intend on getting the PH perfect AN 3 pack nutes that way I don't have to watch PH all the time and just time to time.
 

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