1st grow, preperation troubleshooting. need help

Ok, im fairly new at this forum and its taken me a while to read all the newbie information for growing. While i think i understand most, if not all of, the basics ide like some input and assistance finding certain information to prep my first grow which will comense in a few weeks.

Im working with a roughly a 14in/30in/44in box. After consulting with my growing advisor we decided that it was best to pursue a CFL method to maximize space, decrease heat, and increase plant numbers.

While looking at lights I stumbled apon the aerogrow system which would be ideal for my space. However i have hear some controversy over the aerogrow systems performance.
My other option is a 105w CFL with 4x 25w accompaning, in small small pots

So whats the deal yo? Can i use the aerogrow? Or should i just stick with a CFL system?

It really depends on how many plants you intend to grow. If I were you I would stick to two plants, each in two gallon pots. Two 105W CFL's should be enough light, but you should maybe add some smaller CFL's in the flowering stage when side lighting will be of great help due to plant height. The Aerogarden is kinda cool, but you can grow bigger, fuller plants if you put a little effort in.

Rooter said:

Ok, im fairly new at this forum and its taken me a while to read all the newbie information for growing. While i think i understand most, if not all of, the basics ide like some input and assistance finding certain information to prep my first grow which will comense in a few weeks.

Im working with a roughly a 14in/30in/44in box. After consulting with my growing advisor we decided that it was best to pursue a CFL method to maximize space, decrease heat, and increase plant numbers.

While looking at lights I stumbled apon the aerogrow system which would be ideal for my space. However i have hear some controversy over the aerogrow systems performance.
My other option is a 105w CFL with 4x 25w accompaning, in small small pots

So whats the deal yo? Can i use the aerogrow? Or should i just stick with a CFL system?

Click to expand...

Your proposed setup sounds a lot like mine. So my suggestions are strictly based on experience on a similar setup. Ok now that my disclaimer is said ... lol here is my suggestion.

If this is your first grow and you want to go hydro and you have the money an aerogarden makes for a good unit BUT the lights that they come with are garbage in my opinion. If you could pick up a used aerogarden off craigslist I would say go for it as the base unit. I personaly started off with one of these AG units and then took off the top light fixture and got new lights. As for lights you can pick up a couple of 150 watt cfl equivelent 6500K for $10 which seemed to work nice. Then I got two 500 watt cfl equivenlent at Costco for $9 that was the light and fixture that works great!

Even though cfl's dont neccessarely put off a lot of heat they will definatly heat up the space that you plan to grow in real bad so you will have to figure out an intake of freash air ( located on the lower part of your box ) and figure out an exhast ( located at the top of your box ) to keep down temps and provide freash cooler air. I would also recomend a DIY scrubber to keep down the smell. There is a great thead going on in the forums now off a ton of different DIY scrubbers you can make inexpencively.

On a side note for my next grow I plan to ditch the AG and make a bubbler/drip system that will hold more then 1 gallon of water like the AG only holds. The AG is great for your first grow and helps you understand the hole proccess but it has its advantages/disadvantages. Personally unless you are growing clones and plan on lollypoping them I wouldn't try to flower more then 1 plant in one.

Good luck and it would be cool if you started a gernal. I would like to see other peoples setups similar to mine and see how well they do.

I'd recommend against the aerogarden. Now, I've only read other peoples opinions of them and never used one myself, but based on the cost alone I would recommend against one. There are cheaper ways to get into hydroponics and most of those ways are simple DIY projects that you will learn more from than just buying and setting up an AG. DWC systems and Hempy Buckets (both of which can be set up in under an hour after you collect all the pieces) are very easy to build and easy to maintain and there is a wealth of information here on RIU and on other forums on the internet that can guide you through the process of setting one up. There are, of course, people who swear up and down that AGs are awesome, but I think these people have buyer's remorse. Just one man's opinion.

Or you could avoid all that discussion and go soil (and open a whole new line of discussion).

iamthatguy said:

Even though cfl's dont neccessarely put off a lot of heat they will definatly heat up the space that you plan to grow in real bad so you will have to figure out an intake of freash air ( located on the lower part of your box ) and figure out an exhast ( located at the top of your box ) to keep down temps and provide freash cooler air. I would also recomend a DIY scrubber to keep down the smell. There is a great thead going on in the forums now off a ton of different DIY scrubbers you can make inexpencively.

Click to expand...

As far as the intake and exhaust, ive been toying with a few ideas involving fans. Is there a more efficient method to lower heat for CFL's specifically?
As for the smell...havnt even thought that far lol. But i did hear about "carbon tabs" (how they were described to me as) that eliminate the smell as the air exits your exaust. Is this true/do they work?

Thanks for the input everyone.

Rooter said:

As far as the intake and exhaust, ive been toying with a few ideas involving fans. Is there a more efficient method to lower heat for CFL's specifically?
As for the smell...havnt even thought that far lol. But i did hear about "carbon tabs" (how they were described to me as) that eliminate the smell as the air exits your exaust. Is this true/do they work?

Thanks for the input everyone.

Click to expand...

What type of fans? The only fans you will be able to get into that space and have a plant in there also will be computer fans. I also add a frozen bottle of water in the enclosed cabinet to help cool down the area.

I am not sure what a carbon "tab" is but a scrubber is a ..... never mind you should search "Carbon scrubber" or just look in the Grow Faq in the upper left hand side of the forums. And correct they can be hooked up to the exhaust port of your box.

Yeah i was thinking small computer fans, but that idea of the bottle of frozen water is outragouse. Nice tip dude! Thanks

I learned this the hard way but whatever bottle you use make sure it is a pretty think plastic. After freezing it and having it thaw like 10 times the plastic weakens and will crack and hence will leak all over so make sure to use a thick plastic bottle. I now use an Arizona Ice Tea 42 oz bottle and it works great. Just put the bottle next to the fan blowing in air. It also helps provide humidity.