Starting a grow and need a ton of advice

[budbrotato]

Hello and thanks for letting me join your community. I have grow weed in the past but my land lord found my grow room and scared the shit out of me. Fast forward 15 years =p

i am f*cking amazed by the information available now that just was not readily available 15 years ago. After my first failure of a grow I decided I would order a few books from the ads in the back of hightimes and waited 3 or 4 weeks for them to come in.

My oldest son has left for college and the wife is down with me setting up a micro grow area. :woot:
So i have a pretty nice area were I have built a shelf for my bedroom TV. It is about 36" deep 48" wide and about 52" tall.

I will find a place to post this and once grow are ready I will start a journal.
Spimps was awesome. mad props m8
I am a master Electrician and a master Plumber and I have a lot of refrigeration experience.

I have gathered these materials.
A light meter, only measures lux and lumens not color and not sure about led light
I have a nitrogen regulator and maybe and argon regulator that I can rig up for co2
various large nitrogen bottles I can swap for co2 bottles
3 x 1kw hps ballast
3 x 1kw hps bulbs
3 x 1kw mh ballast
3 x 1kw mh bulbs
mongul bases ( the big ones for big fixtures )
I would have to try and build reflectors
32 ct. of verilux 32wSUN (94)cri bulbs
t8 electronic ballast
tombstones
Lots of sch 40 4" pvc pipe and fittings
and of course wiring

stuff I can get easily pretty much free
regular 25 and 32 w 48'' t8's
I could easily score plenty of t5 bulbs and possibly ballast for free, 50w i think maybe 52
I would have to buy tombstones
400w mh ballast and bulbs
320w mh ballast and bulbs
most likely 250 w and 175 w
Various CFL bulbs and bases up to 42 w ( not sure on color ) both with built in transformers and I would have to buy transformers for the larger ones.

I have a few statements and then I will post some questions.

Statments:
I live in Texas were they will put you under the jail for a roach : ( So i can't really buy stuff from local shops. Maybe nutrients from a head shop a couple hours away
I have never grown a hydroponic setup but am really fascinated by that tech.
Temp will be a major concerns not just because of the lighting but the ambient temp even in the house
It reaches 110f here during summer and my a/c will only maintain 75f in heat of summer without a kw or 2 of heat in my closet
My house is on pier and beam. So I can cut holes in the floor if needed for air or a condensing unit for a small refrigeration unit or a mini split. I had thought of making an old fridge into a grow box. ( I can wire up a tstat for whatever I want with a humidistat and control relays'

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Questions:
I need to buy a decent ph's tester and ajd kit
I Also know nothing about the right chems?
How are led's ( I had considered building some larger led panels )
I wonder what the chances of getting mail order seeds to Texas are?
with hid lights being a heat problem should I try cfl's and/ or good t8s or t5s
What is a good strain for higher temps and or hydo
what lumens or lux per square feet should I look for ?
What about using plexi glass or real glass as a heat shield and ventilate
What about these propane and or electric co2 machines

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And a big thanks before hand!

 

[JJ Bones]

We have plenty of great fertilizers, pH adjusters and meters.

Anyone in the states can easily obtain seeds, check out the sponsors.

 

[budbrotato]

Thanks. How well are t5's suited to growing as heat is going to be a major fight for me

 

[JJ Bones]

T5's work fantastic, don't get enough credit IMO

 

[budbrotato]

Try not to hate on my M$ paint skillz

This is kinda my ideal for a hid box.

This is a t8 or t5 box. Is there much benefit to mounting fixtures vertically so the lower canopy gets sweet sweet light.

ty in advance

 

[Spimp]

to
A great community with friendly people and tons of valuable information.

I need to buy a decent ph's tester and ajd kit Hydro Shop
I Also know nothing about the right chems? Hydro Shop. Stay away from MG as it is very unrealiable
How are led's ( I had considered building some larger led panels ) Light Emitting Diodes. cool running grow lights but expensive
I wonder what the chances of getting mail order seeds to Texas are? As good as California or NY
with hid lights being a heat problem should I try cfl's and/ or good t8s or t5s Depends on fundage and growspace.
What is a good strain for higher temps and or hydo Too many to list.
what lumens or lux per square feet should I look for ? More than you can find
What about using plexi glass or real glass as a heat shield and ventilate Glass decreses lumens but is a great 'cool tube' option
What about these propane and or electric co2 machines Expensive.


If youhave the funds to spend, dont watse your time on a DIY complete grow. Get a good Tent. a Good HID light. Aa good exhust/filtering rig and put it on auto pilot. All that can be had for $500 I your not trying to grow production level. OR you can DIY it up for $300 plus lots of time.

 

[Richard Richardson]

Hi budbrotato to

Nice MS paint skills

Start them under T5's and prepare the way for HPS later

 

[Spimp]

Heres my DIY.

Remembe plants do nothing with "underlight". Only the light absorbed by the top of the leaf is effective.

 

[budbrotato]

Heres my DIY.

Remembe plants do nothing with "underlight". Only the light absorbed by the top of the leaf is effective.

Your first journal is one of the reasons I am going to grow again and I had no ideal about "under light" would do nothing.

 

[Spimp]

It wont do nothing. It just wont help the plant. Very glad you saw myfirst journal. I made(still am) many mistakes and I hope you canlearn from mine and not repeat them.

Very glad to answer any questions you may have but my knowledge is limited to soil and CFL for the most part. Hydro and wiring ar out of my range.