Aspiring grower need some opinions!

[scoonie]

Hi everybody I'm new to this website and really enjoying it. So I figured I'd try and get some input on my plan of attack for my first grow that I'll be starting in about 5 weeks. The hardest thing for me now is finding exact brands to go with.

1. I'm looking to get a 4x4x6.5 tent from Amazon as they seem to be cheaper with good reviews.

2. I plan on getting seeds from crop King seeds as they seem to have good feedback and ship them safely since I do NOT live in a cannibas friendly state. I want to grow fem white widow for first time.

3. Swinging towards getting a 600w hps/MH with a digital ballast I'm having a difficult time finding an exact one online to get since most from Amazon don't have the best reviews, lots of complaints on it not working properly half way through. This makes getting an LED more appealing but not sure on leds yet.

4. I'm not yet sure on if I should go with 4-5 med sized plants or 2-3 larger plants given a 600w setup. The goal is max yeild/ quality of course.

5. For the medium/ nutes, I might go with fox farms products based on good reviews and according to their website there are a couple stores around my city that sell fox farms products.

6. Ill defenetly get a ph tester with some up/down solution. I'm not sure if I want to get a ppm tester since alot of online reviews are not good at all on the ones I've seen. Should I really stress ppm at this point ? Or will running tap through a Britta and then following up with a ph test be sufficient.

7. Obviously get a carbon filter with a exaust fan as well as a small rotating fan inside. Any recommendations on a brand of exaust fan? The quiter the better.

with dimable ballast how low and how high should you have it on the plants in the sed/veg stage I know it will vary on how many plants there are.

Is their a guideline for how big of a pot you should use for growing bigger / smaller plants.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Any input is appreciated thank you!

 

[Rifleman]

Greetings scoonie. You definitely have a few questions. Might I suggest you look at one of our sponsors for a tent and possibly a light. I recently purchased a 4x4 from MarsHydro. It is an excellent tent, worth more than what I paid for sure. I grow in 5 gallon dwc buckets, and while 4 will fit, it is a tight fit if your plants get large. Check The Roost link below to see what two plants, 2 ft tall each looked like in it. Also 420member SmokeSara is the Mars rep, she can help you with any questions you have about their products. Good luck.

 

[TanR]

Hi scoonie.

Welcome to the 420 Magazine community of members.

Would be happy to help with some insights or even direction to assist in your journey to growing but am curious on your budget situation and real intent/plan. What I mean by that last part is; Do you anticipate growing your own being something that you continue doing for a significant period of time or is this a bit of a "I'll give a try" kind of thing that you may very well abondon at some point in the near future? I realize that might sound a little challenging or even accusatory, but I assure you my goal is truly help. I mean I would lean toward suggesting an LED light without hesitation but wouldn't do so if you thought that there is a chance that in 5 or 6 months you might lose interest and be stuck with $400 or $500 (or more) dollar light when you could have gotten started and explored your curiosity with a $150 HPS/MH light off amazo**.

 

[hydro1000]

Welcome scoonie!!
Everything you need to know is on here, with the bonus of so many wonderful people willing to walk you through your growing journey.
I'm running 1000w HPS in flower room and 3-100w 1-200w of cfls in a cabinet.

TanR has some good points about what you are wanting out of this, and how much you are willing to spend.
As for me any light with a plant under it is a good thing. One day closer to harvest!!!

 

[415friendly]

I went with 45W CFL bulbs that are 150W equivalent. They are the same bulbs that I use in my workshop/garage for brighter light, so even if I decide to upgrade to LED later, I can always use them in my house.

I'm a new grower also, so I can't tell you if these were the best way to go, but you can see my grow journal to see how things are going so far.


Sent from my iPad using 420

 

[Amadeus Forzin]

I started my growing journey on the cheap, complete diy setup including plants soil and nutes, cost me less than 130 English pounds. Self built wooden box, cheap used 300w led unit off that auction site whose name I forget that way if it didn't work out id not lost a great deal.
If you wanna spend some cash on a decent setup then I'd hit mars hydro for a light and tent kit. There led units get good results.