Setting up everything

Alright guys, I'm really new to this pot growing stuff but I've done a fair bit of research and I am now looking into setting up a grow room.

My location will be in a new addition to my shop. It will have a cement floor, insulated walls and a possible wood furnace. I am dedicating one portion of this to pot. I'm going to need to somewhat disguise it and lock it up a good amount because of parental situations (nosey fucking mom).

I shouldn't need to worry about smell.. TOO much but I don't want the whole building smelling like a pot forest.. ( well I do.. but you know what I mean ).

I am looking at strains, lighting system, place to buy from Online that doesn't come up on your credit card bill as a seed place or gardening place. If not I'll go to a local area.

Basically I need a complete setup.. I'm not sure how much room I need to give my plants or what I need so if I could get like.. a list? I'd appreciate it.

-Paul

all depends . how many plants do you want.?

I'm probably only growing 8 my first batch. but I'd like a possibilty of 20.

Great Link

Whats your budget approx.

did someone say complete package? setup? system?

Brite Ideas Hydroponics and...

Thanks a lot to both of you, Well first my budget isn't too high.. I think tops I'd be willing to spend until after the first grow would be around 300 or 400.
I'd love to go way under that. But if I have to spend it I will.

-Paul

Here is little something I wrote awhile back when choosing a grow area. maybe you'll find something useful...
The Grow Room or Closet

Before we can begin growing, we have to make some decisions regarding where to grow and what equipment to use. That's what this section is all about. But before we start making a shopping list and knocking out walls, let's decide where we're going to grow.

The ideal grow room should have the following qualities:

Clean - you don't want to give a lot of dust, mold, mildew, insects, or other unpleasant things easy access to your plants.

Climate controlled - you want an area that you can have some control over the temperature and humidity.

Secure - you don't want your garden to be accidentally or easily discovered. Some advice I heard was there should be no less than two locks between the outside and your plants. We'll also need to make sure we can control any odor emanating from the plants.

Easy Access to Water Source - this one is often overlooked. You don’t want to be running a garden hose through your bedroom or carrying heavy buckets of water up and down many flights of stairs. Not having easy access to fresh water can take the joy out of gardening.

Easy Access to Fresh Air - somehow, someway, fresh air must be able to enter the growing area, which infers a way to exhaust hot, stale and often very smelly air will be necessary.

Easy Access to Enough Electrical Sockets - provided it is convenient, heavy-duty power cords can be used to bring electricity to the garden. Often, it is necessary to add circuits to accommodate the electrical requirements.

Light-Tight - Finally, you'll want to be able to make your grow space light-tight. That means no light should be able to enter or leave the grow area. You want to keep light from exiting to prevent it from attracting unwanted attention. And no light should enter as to not disturb the plants photoperiod.

Fire/Water Proof- don't want anything easily ignitable in there. Also, a way to catch leaking water can save you much more than just money; especially if you have downstairs neighbors.

I'm sure a few areas sprung to mind. Closets, basements, attics and spare rooms all have their pros and cons. You can also purchase a grow tent. Building or modifying a cabinet is also a very popular option.

It is best to accurately sketch out the area you plan to use and draw in where all the components go.

well one of my favorite small set up is using the fish tank hydroponic set up
you should know about this
its small but if you get a mdeium sized fish tank you can fit about 2-4 plants on it and thats about 1/2 to a whole pund of marijuana
and if you are getting high grade seeds that is definitely enough for your own personal stash
but if you want to sell thats different

i think you should make your first grow small so you can learn easier and pay more attention
if you screw up 8 plants thats 8 plants gone if you mess up 1 plant then who cares

Here's a brain dump of possible items for a grow room:

Reflector(s)
Ballast(s)
Bulbs (spares if you can afford them)
Light Hangers/Movers
Soil or Hydro system
Reservoir
Sink(?) /Water storage
nutrients
wall covering (mylar, panda plastic)
Fans (exhaust, circulating)
duct work
carbon filter/ozone generator
pH adjusters
pH meter
PPM/EC meter
thermometers
eye droppers, measuring cups, mixing buckets
siphon hose
Cabinet for storing meters/nutes/etc..
cloning/seedling equipment area?
mother plant area?
water chiller/heater?
RO water system
CO2?

MyNameIsHead said:

well one of my favorite small set up is using the fish tank hydroponic set up
you should know about this
its small but if you get a mdeium sized fish tank you can fit about 2-4 plants on it and thats about 1/2 to a whole pund of marijuana
and if you are getting high grade seeds that is definitely enough for your own personal stash
but if you want to sell thats different

i think you should make your first grow small so you can learn easier and pay more attention
if you screw up 8 plants thats 8 plants gone if you mess up 1 plant then who cares

Click to expand...

Jesus, how tall do they get? I was under the assumption that you might squeeze an ounce out of 2 plants!

Seachmall said:

Jesus, how tall do they get? I was under the assumption that you might squeeze an ounce out of 2 plants!

Click to expand...

if you keep them very short and use CFLs this may be true.

I yielded over 3 oz per plant (see grow journal if you are interested) and they were about 4 feet high when i harvested. so three plants got me nearly a pound and i screwed them up royally!

email468 said:

if you keep them very short and use CFLs this may be true.

I yielded over 3 oz per plant (see grow journal if you are interested) and they were about 4 feet high when i harvested. so three plants got me nearly a pound and i screwed them up royally!

Click to expand...

Wow, I didn't realize that lights made that much of a difference. I know they are one of the most important aspect but... wow. When you say short how short? What about 3 feet tall under CFLs?

Don't mean to hijack the thread, last Q, I promise

Seachmall said:

Wow, I didn't realize that lights made that much of a difference. I know they are one of the most important aspect but... wow. When you say short how short? What about 3 feet tall under CFLs?

Don't mean to hijack the thread, last Q, I promise

Click to expand...

oops - thought you were OP - anyway...

light penetration is what you are looking for - HIDs penetrate deeper so can support taller plants. you would need a lot of CFLs surrounding the plant but could probably pull it off. though an HPS (for flowering) might be a good investment.

i've never grown with CFLs so please take any CFL advice with a grain of salt.

I would personally start with a florecent T-12 fixture to veg your plants, I paid $20 at walmart for a nice one and 2 4ft tubes. Just hang the chains and plug it in, I have a good 6 decent sized plants under it, no fan, and they are looking great.

I use CFLs and I would say don't even bother with them. They are ridiculously expensive, or become that way...

Lets see heres the CFLs I have purchased:
around 15 26watters, around $110 total.
2 42watters, another $22 and both were busted, complete waste.
5 socket vanity strip plus extention cord to wire it to, $20.
2 lamps (to put a bulb in), $30.
5 y-sockets, $9.
2 multi plug cords to run into the closet, already had but estimate $12.

That is my setup, and I already had a few sockets. You will need a lot of CFLs, and already I have outspent what a HPs would have cost me. Let me tell you this, my closet is a freakn oven now, those CFLs need to be close to the plant which makes it harder for airflow, especially with multiple plants. I have 10 CFLs in right now, and my closet thats pretty decent sized gets to 94 degrees daily, and my plants are stressing like crazy.

Plus I cant even describe how much of a pain it is if you have all the CFLs in seperate sockets, moving each one individually... and you have to get them real close to the plant.

So if you get CFLs you get overall more heat on the plant (whereas a HPs is further away and you have a real chance at dispersing the heat around the room), with CFLs they cost you more for drastically lower lumens (and when they burn out eventually you will be hurtn). CFLs are a bitch and a half. If you are able to order a HPs off the internet, it will save a lot of trouble and will flower great. You can use CFLs if all you have access to is your local stores (like me), but you might find yourself giving up (like I did on my first attempt).

CFLs do work, I dont wanna discourage you from it, but you wont have nearly the results of a HPs.