Things not to buy.....

[the widowmaker]

I've been around the forums for a while and see a whole lot of things that people have done and tried, I think it would be good to compile a list of things that are just a waste of money, certain products we've bought and just wish we hadn't.

I'll kick things off with those illuminated scopes that are 60 or 80 to 100x magnification, these are damn hard to use and keep steady and to look at the same thing you want to for more than a split second, these are best to stay away from, a 30x magnification is more than adequate and with a wide lens will allow you to see much more than the ?-100x scopes.

these are very good
http://cgi.ebay.com/METAL-MINI-POCK...ageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122
as will these be
http://cgi.ebay.com/JEWELLERS-Magni...oryZ3098QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



Stealth dwc kits, i haven't actually bought one of these myself yet, but i've seen enough grows and done enough grows myself to know that these kits are way over priced, they aim their kits at the newbie for sure, someone who hasn't grown before who gets sold that growing 6 plants from seed is going to be possible and easy.

I've got a few more but i'll put this out there for you guys to put some of your experiences up of things you've bought that have just been a pure waste of money.

Lets warn the newbie in advance so the same mistakes are not repeated.

 

[storzbickel]

Word.

Id like to add the following;

THE AEROGARDEN. please if you even think about buying one you must talk to me first. Its just too small, for the money you can put together a lot better setup and hold FULL SIZE , multi- oz yielding plants. It might "work" but is 150 and months of effort worth a scraggly plant and a quarter ounce? ( they work for growing herbs and tomatos tho, got it going in the ol kitchen!)

Advanced Nutrients- just too many parts to it, how are you going to figure otu where you went wrong when you mix up 4+ part solutions? Theres much better, and easier nutes out there ::coughcoughIONICcoughcough::

 

[Mr. Bubbles]

This isnt an item but I would advise against any type of STAGE BUILDING. This could be anything from pots to lights. Dont buy any product under the assumption you will upgrade in the near future. Save your money and buy it right the first time. I can't count the number of times I have read a non hid grower saving for a light but at the same time dumping money into CFL's.

I did the math this morning on my CFL fixture and bulbs and I could of bought 150 MH for less.

 

[the widowmaker]

Way back when i first started growing, i got a book by jorge cervantes, in it it said that hydroponic plants like the water temperature to be a particular temperature, so I went out and bought a water heater for aquariums to get my water up to the right level.

This is been hidden away since i first used it and thought what a stupid waste of money.

Hydroponics, you do not need a res heater, maybe a water cooler but not a res heater. Don't believe everything you read in books folks/

 

[snuggles]

I'm gonna get some flak I know for sure, Lowryder seeds. If you are 16 and you need to grow the plant under your bed then fine but for someone who wants to get high and learn how to grow some weed it's a bad idea IMO. You learn diddly from these plants, you can't clone (usually), they produce 1/4 oz a plant if you are lucky, and the high leaves a lot to be desired.

Also this is named at new growers. If you are growing from seed get f1 seeds only, or something that has been stabilized. Otherwise you're looking at uneven canopies and a lot of plants that look nothing alike. Canopies aren't to easy to keep uniform and the variety will just lead to you pulling your hair out.

Stealth Hydro is a good thing not to buy, build one instead. And I am a staunch crusader of HID over CFL myself. CFLs serve a purpose but I think people advertise them wrong. If you have to use them I understand but if you don't then why use them? They are good for vegging clones, seedlings, and for when temps are too high. I see people with more than 400 watts of CFL telling people they are for big grows, meanwhile the guy gas 20 bulbs on per plant for a total of 4 plants. Lights that have to be moved everyday, etc. Also I'm sorry they are not a good canidate for flowering IMO, wispy bud for sure.

And one last thing, any retail built hydro unit. If you have tools and half a brain you should never buy a retail hydro unit, you can build one for so much cheaper and to suit YOUR needs. Plus I am a strong believer in stoners ingenuity...LOL. Build what you want and only what you want.

Woops forgot one...LED lights. I have seen a ton of journals and I am not impressed. I hear it can be used for supplemental lighting, but not for whole grows. Wait a bit for them to get better.

 

[the widowmaker]

And one last thing, any retail built hydro unit. If you have tools and half a brain you should never buy a retail hydro unit, you can build one for so much cheaper and to suit YOUR needs. Plus I am a strong believer in stoners ingenuity...LOL. Build what you want and only what you want.

The problem for a lot of people when they first start out and choose hydro is that they don't believe they could build a system, like theres some magic to it that you can't see from the pictures, you don't think it would be as simple as it is until you get it home open the box and subsequently smack yourself on the forehead in a homer simpson fashion. It's not that hard to build a hydro system and the ones you build yourself are better than the ones you can buy. A lot of these prebuilt systems that say you can fit x amount of plants in are just talking crap, they were not desigined for marijuana, growing herbs is more like it.

Woops forgot one...LED lights. I have seen a ton of journals and I am not impressed. I hear it can be used for supplemental lighting, but not for whole grows. Wait a bit for them to get better.

The only success i've seen with these new fangled led lights has been with crops such as grain and barley I still don't think they have out the output despite having a better par lumen per watt ratio once they put some money into this and raise the power i'm sure they will rule but marijuana needs far more lumens than most other plants to bloom how we would want them too.

 

[snuggles]

The problem for a lot of people when they first start out and choose hydro is that they don't believe they could build a system, like theres some magic to it that you can't see from the pictures, you don't think it would be as simple as it is until you get it home open the box and subsequently smack yourself on the forehead in a homer simpson fashion. It's not that hard to build a hydro system and the ones you build yourself are better than the ones you can buy. A lot of these prebuilt systems that say you can fit x amount of plants in are just talking crap, they were not desigined for marijuana, growing herbs is more like it.

Here is what I would reccomend. Find the unit you like best and then do a goole search on instructions for the unit, 9 times out of 10 you will find a pdf instruction manual online. Look through it, it will show you exactly how to build something. I agree people get intmidated by HYDRO, it's just water instead of soil...really...honest.

 

[blunt]

widowmaker, would you agree if your res is in another room that sees 45 degrees its a good idea though? my res never gets to 45F but it does seem to hover around 50-55F. seems like a shock to me.

Way back when i first started growing, i got a book by jorge cervantes, in it it said that hydroponic plants like the water temperature to be a particular temperature, so I went out and bought a water heater for aquariums to get my water up to the right level.

This is been hidden away since i first used it and thought what a stupid waste of money.

Hydroponics, you do not need a res heater, maybe a water cooler but not a res heater. Don't believe everything you read in books folks/

 

[the widowmaker]

widowmaker, would you agree if your res is in another room that sees 45 degrees its a good idea though? my res never gets to 45F but it does seem to hover around 50-55F. seems like a shock to me.

No because cool water is still good, cooler water carries more oxygen and less pollutants and disease, once the water has been carried around the plants it will warm up too, plus if the water is that cold outside the grow room why not put it in the grow room and save money by not making heat twice

 

[snuggles]

No because cool water is still good, cooler water carries more oxygen and less pollutants and disease, once the water has been carried around the plants it will warm up too, plus if the water is that cold outside the grow room why not put it in the grow room and save money by not making heat twice

Also lower temps have been known to bring more color out in certain strains. I agree no need for a heater maybe a cooler but there are ways around it...like gallon jugs of ice, PITA but it works fine IMO.

 

[blunt]

THATS A GOOD QUESTION. WHEN I DESIGNED MY VEG/flowering room i wanted to maximize my flowering room. so i ran plumbing thru my barrier wall into my veg room which was heated at the time so i could keep my large res out of the way. but i have so damn much equipt. now that i dont have enough power to run it all (poor planning) so im moving vegging indoors to the house. so now my veg room isnt heated. after this harvest im going to revamp my garage power and add some more power to solve this problem
thanks for the advice

No because cool water is still good, cooler water carries more oxygen and less pollutants and disease, once the water has been carried around the plants it will warm up too, plus if the water is that cold outside the grow room why not put it in the grow room and save money by not making heat twice