Would like some input

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LordiBongtheNaked

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I am getting ready to put together a grow with a friend in the coming months. I have the basic plan down however would love some input on the matter from some people with experience.

The grow is going to be in a basement, with a 3 x 3 grow chamber built, about 5-6 feet high. The grow space it self will be a 2 X 2 (wanted to allow space to walk around the grow table, probably 4 plants flowering. At the moment i am planning on using an LED light (removed the link) for the grow space unless someone has some input there. The light im using has been used in commercial grows with some pretty nice results and is rated for a 2 X 2 area.

What i could really use some insight on is exactly what type of grow system we should build. Ive been thinking about building a simple constant drip system, and using hydroton for my growing medium. The draw here for me is the fairly simple nature of the system, there is little timing from what i can tell just a need for a constant drip, and the hydroton drains adequately.

After alot of reading though i see many people leaning towards the same grow medium and using an ebb and flow set up (i hear most people around 4 30 min feedings a day). I have seen many people call this a far superior grow set up, but have not found much in the line of real justification for that. My concern is that with the pump only running for a short time each day, it would be easy to miss a malfunction leading to dead plants.

any insight would be greatly appreciated


Lord iBong the Naked
 
:ciao::welcome: To the Only Place:ciao: :bong:

Bad news first mistake was telling your friend

2nd mistake was posting live outside link

3rd mistake is trying to use a LED...Works for veg but sucks in flower.

With that being said I like using DWC..Easy to DIY and easy to grow in and cheap to make:)
 
It is my friend and I doing the work, and its his house so hes got to know.

From what I have read and seen, the new LED lights are able to handle flowering well I appreciate the insight and will certainly do some more digging to see what i can come up with however. Do you have anywhere you can point me or personal experience? Most of what i have come up with has been some pretty nice results.

I will take a look into DWC.

Thanks for the tips.
 
LordiBongtheNaked said:
It is my friend and I doing the work, and its his house so hes got to know.

From what I have read and seen, the new LED lights are able to handle flowering well I appreciate the insight and will certainly do some more digging to see what i can come up with however. Do you have anywhere you can point me or personal experience? Most of what i have come up with has been some pretty nice results.

I will take a look into DWC.

Thanks for the tips.

My guess is you're probably looking at info from sites or folks 'promoting or sselling' led lights. I'm NOT a led grower. But we have a few here.
I know this much about them. "Good" ones aren't cheap. And our growers w/ first hand experience w/ them, say they are inferior for flowering.
 
a two by two are is quite small for four plants imo. The leds just dont work as well as a hps and there really expensive. I too like dwc its very easy and simple to diy.
 
Hick said:
My guess is you're probably looking at info from sites or folks 'promoting or sselling' led lights. I'm NOT a led grower. But we have a few here.
I know this much about them. "Good" ones aren't cheap. And our growers w/ first hand experience w/ them, say they are inferior for flowering.

Yeah the lights ive seen that are pretty expensive, I still have plenty of research to do, which is of course why I am here. I have considered supplementing flowering with normal lighting, I hope to hear from some of the growers here who have used LEDs. The more information the better.
 
You are at the right place to learn. Read all you can while your here. These guys know their stuff.
 
LordiBongtheNaked said:
It is my friend and I doing the work, and its his house so hes got to know.

From what I have read and seen, the new LED lights are able to handle flowering well I appreciate the insight and will certainly do some more digging to see what i can come up with however. Do you have anywhere you can point me or personal experience? Most of what i have come up with has been some pretty nice results.

I will take a look into DWC.

Thanks for the tips.

Where have you read or seen this? I have not seen one legitimate grow done with LEDs that I have been impressed with in the slightest. The hype that those selling LEDs does not count--I don't trust them. And growing lettuce and growing marijuana is quite different.

I personally cannot imagine anyone wanting to go in with a buddy on such a small grow. Is there a reason that you are not setting up your own space?

No offense, but I recommend rethinking your whole plan. A 3 x 3 space with a 2 x 2 table does not give you space to walk around it or work. You are better off using the entire 9 sq ft for growing. You should be able to get 4 plants in there is they are not too large. I would also recommend going with tried and tested lighting. I like T5s for vegging and nothing beats a HPS for flowering....nothing. I like individual DWC buckets.
 
I do not have access to property suitable for the grow if i did i would have been doing this long ago. He has the space I have the time. The grow was actually his idea i was asked to help.

The size of the space is not set in stone nor the size of the grow. The space will be custom built for what ever the final plan is.

Everything so far is in the planning stages, I want to do this right, which of course means plenty of research.

While not posting links, i have found a number of grow journals online (I looked into the postings, some were obviously supported by light manufactures others seemed far more legit) using LED lighting, but again i will not claim to know anything just starting to formulate the final design.


I believe i may be better of rephrasing my questions a little more open ended:

The bare bones that I have to work with (and would love any input on)

The grow is my friend and I, and is for personal use.

The grow will be done in a basement, the room we are going to use is heated and will be closed off from the rest of the basement. Inside this room we plan to build a grow closet (there are few limits on size for this as everything can be built to suit the need). I am looking at doing some form of hydroponics however soil is not out of the question either. The idea is low maintenance and good crops.

What would you suggest for a target number of plants for this scenario and what growing method (hydro/soil)? If hydro which style do you personally prefer?

How large a grow closet would you suggest creating for the above set up?

What would your suggested lighting set up be for that system?

I am sure there are more questions i will run into, i will never claim to be an expert. Any and all input and suggestions are appreciated.
 
We need more info. How much bud do you and your friend need to keep you happy? Some people are heavy smokers, some not so much. What kind of high do you like? Indica or Sativa? How much money do you have to spend on this project?
 
I'll tell you what man..
i have played around with LEDs and i'll tell you what ... they work sweet for veg.. less power used than the t5 and so far they veg almost alike...

also less heat... which is a bonus.. although t5s dont put out alot of heat every lil amount counts...

as far as flower goes well if your using an led thats rated to put out the same as a 600whps they dont lol.... and if your gonna run 600w on a LED pannel you mise well run a 600w hps...

you will get a much denser yeild tighter nugs and over all better results..
i grow in a 3x3 space now... and if i was to put a 2x2 table in my tent i would be wasting a ton of room to be had for growing..

i grow 4 plants ebb n flow in the 3x3 space wouldnt think of trying anymore ..

like THG said how much bud do you want.. how big do you plan on growing them..
have you thought of venting..
if this is all personal.. a 3x3 space will be more than enough for the 2 of you..
LH
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
We need more info. How much bud do you and your friend need to keep you happy? Some people are heavy smokers, some not so much. What kind of high do you like? Indica or Sativa? How much money do you have to spend on this project?

Thank you very much for the interest, sorry i left out such simple information.


We each likely smoke around an ounce a month. Once we get going, we will likely try to have seedlings or clones ready to go into the grow chamber as soon as the harvest of a crop to ensure that we have harvests as often as possible. Thankfully space is not a major issue, though we would like to keep the foot print of the grow as limited as is reasonable.


I personally prefer a little more on the Sativa side. Long term, once we have our feet wet, we plan to grow different strains for each crop. (at least we would like to)

I would ideally like to keep startup costs within $1000 (not including construction of the grow room, also many of the parts to build a simple hydro system can be acquired at little to no cost). Would love to keep it lower of course, and i could possibly go higher as well depending on the situation.

I appreciate your feedback, if i missed anything please let me know.
 
For a thousand bucks you should be ablee to set up a nice grow. First off look into your lightingg t5 workss great for veg and relativley inexpensive. Flower i would go with a 600 watt hps this will ruun you abbout 200 bucks but can be found cheaaper. I got mine on ebay for 130 bucks. Your gonna needd an exaughst fan too an inline fan rated arounnd 400 cfms would be great. Those are your biggies asside from thats its details for your exact grow (your hydro systems, nutes, seeds . . . . the list gets very long. Donnt forget you ph meter its very very important
 
I think that you are definitely doing the right thing by first doing a lot of research before starting your grow. MJ is not at all as easy to grow as many think it is. It is nothing like growing summer veggies in the garden. MJ requires very specific environment to grow successfully.

That said, I have 2 cabinets that I built and put in a wood utility building(shed). They are each 4' wide by 30" deep by 7' tall. I made them tall so that I can use convection to remove heat and pull fresh air into them from holes in the floor. I am currently growing just 2 plants in each cabinet. The one cabinet is the vegging cab, and it has 8 4' T5 high output flourescent bulbs in the 6500k spectrum. The other cab is the flowering cab and I currently have 2 250w HPS lights hanging at opposing angles so that the light hits the plants from different directions. The number of plants grown does not mean more yeild. Yeild comes from maximising the ability of the plant to produce.

There are several factors that are critical to success of any grow. Proper medium to grow in, and proper nutrients to go with the medium. A controlled environment that gives the plants enough room to grow to their potential while keeping in the proper light, temps, humidity, and keeping out cold in the winter, and heat n bugs in the summer. You have to maintain good ventilation so that the plants can breath properly and remove heat that will build up from lighting. Being in the controlled environment of a basement is a plus, but it will have its own challenges.

Lighting is a critical element for MJ as it is a high energy plant. These plants need light energy to produce the chemicals that we use. The more energy they get the better the harvest. That is why so many here speak so harshly against LED lights. The technology has come a long way, and while they boast the ability to give very spacific wavelengths of light that the plants need, the light that they produce just doesn't contain enough energy for MJ to produce at its potential.

To be more spacific, I would generally recommend(these are not hard set rules) to you to have a minimum of 4sqft per plant of grow space and 6 verticle feet minimum. Plants can be grown in smaller spaces but it gets challenging for a new grower to work in tighter spaces.

If you want something that is less involved maintenance wise then you should grow in soil as that is more hands off. Hydro is great, and I love doing it, but it is a hands on method for growing that involves more constant maintenance.

You will need to enclose your growing area so that you keep the light in for the plants. If you are in a clean, climate controlled environment in the basement, then you don't need to have as involved a cabinet as I have in my shed. You can buy some very nice reflective tents on EBAY for very good prices, or you could improvise your own if you like the challenge.

You will need lighting for both vegging and flowering as these are separate needs for the plant. I highly recommend getting the T5HO flourescent lights for vegging as they are the most cost effective. You can use T5 for flowering if you get the 2700k bulbs to go in them, but I wouldn't recommend it as it takes considerably more light energy for flowering. For that I would get(again from ebay) a nice HPS lighting system.

Grow lighting is measured 2 ways, in spectrum, and in output. The 2 spectrums you will see mostly are 6500k(or numbers real close to that) and 2700-3000K. Those are your growing and flowering spectrums. The output is measured (typically) in lumens (and lumens per watt). for proper light energy you need (minimum): 3000 lumens per sqft for veg, and 5000 lumens per sqft flower. so if you have a 2'x2' area for a plant to grow in you need light output of 12000 lumens for vegging and 20,000 lumens for flowering. this is minimum lighting for good bud growth. In my cabinets I have 40,000 lumens of T5 for veg in a 10sqft space and 60,000 lumens of HPS for flowering.

This is the basic information that you absolutely need to know before starting. There is more to know, and I'm sure ther is more that I left out that is equally important. Keep listening and reading. Good luck :)
 
I would set up separate veg and flowering spaces. Your veg space can be around 1/2 the size of your flowering space, unless you keep moms. You want a min of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and 5000 for flowering. You are going to need a decent centrifuge type exhaust fan and all that goes with that. If you are in a basement, you might want to look at tents rather than constructing a room. I would suggest a larger grow also. I don't see 2 sq ft producing 8 ozs.
 
I highly suggest you go for a bit bigger space. I'm flowering with a 400w HPS, in a cabinet that is 2 1/2' deep x 3' wide x 7' tall. With 4 plants at day 42 of flower, I'm overcrowded. I've been having to prune here and there to allow enough airflow from my fans to be sure I keep any mold buggies at bay.

The light looks way too dim in this picture, but I just caught it in that particular phase of the hps light "flicker"...it's very well lit! :D
100_1530.JPG
 
Everything so far is in the planning stages, I want to do this right, which of course means plenty of research.
You're already a step ahead of many..;) Research AND planning... "before" you sprout seeds.. Whoda thunk!...:p
 
Hick said:
You're already a step ahead of many..;) Research AND planning... "before" you sprout seeds.. Whoda thunk!...:p


Ive always felt that if your going to do something make sure you do it right. That requires planning and learning (alot). Ive spent a few weeks poking around the internet and figure its time figure its a good time to get information from live people. I don't half *** it.

We both have reasonable expectations, I don't expect my first crop to yield so much i never buy again. Our main goal is to try as many strains as possible, while getting better with each grow. As we learn and do this right, hopefully the end result would be self sustaining supplies though.

I am happy to have found an active knowledgeable community to discuss this with and learn from. I appreciate everyones help and input
 
you need SPAM REMOVED AGAIN??// we are LED grow light manufacture, so can you tell me the growing area???? i will calucate which light is suitable for you

ps...I can't spell, but I can ...'calucate'.... :p
 
e2paradise said:
you need SPAM REMOVED AGAIN??// we are LED grow light manufacture, so can you tell me the growing area???? i will calucate which light is suitable for you

ps...I can't spell, but I can ...'calucate'.... :p

Yay spam, and attentive admins.
 

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