Buy separate parts?!! or Complete grow package!?

M

madridman7

Member
So I have a grow right now in a plastic storage box that's 36"Hx26"W. it's lines with an emergency blanket and is housing 4 plants. Got 6 CFLs running and I'm tired of waiting and hoping my grow works.

Lets get to the thread
I am going to start a serious grow on May12th. 1st by purchasing feminized seeds of some fire (any great sites would be appreciated) now I want to know if I should just go on amazon and buy a 135$ 400watt HPS/MH grow lamp (complete) and a grow tent for about 60-125$. I make my own soil out of compost/perlite/sand/ MG organic Soil.

OR should I just save up a few extra hundred and go all out with a Complete grow package for around 400-600$. This includes soil/ nutrients and bags/pots, lights(250-600wattHPS/MH) fans, chains y'all know the obvious specs.
I'm just trying to get some opinions and see if anyone has bought any of these grow packages and could recommend where to purchase! Thanks guys!
 
Purpsdro420

Purpsdro420

Well-Known Member
Go to amazon search apollo 400 watt. Should be like $150 shipped comes with both bulbs digital dimmable ballast cool tube and hangers or the 600 watt for $180 shipped. and then buy the tent. Go to a local store and buy the soil. I buy my nutes from amazon also, advance nutrients line is way cheaper. I've bought three of the apollo light kits and every thing has been awesome except for the timer and the bulb. The timer I would not use at all and the bulbs are ok but you can deffinatly get better. But they make great back ups in case one goes out
 
M

madridman7

Member
Wait you bought 3 of these lights? Why 3? I'm only trying to buy one and change the bulbs when I change the light cycles.
 
Purpsdro420

Purpsdro420

Well-Known Member
I have three tents going, that's why I bought three. I was just saying they were so good I bought more. Mine have been up and running for over a year
 
Clown Baby

Clown Baby

Well-Known Member
Your equipment should all pay for itself on the first grow.

Want my opinion?

-Ballast: Go for quality here. Get something with a warranty. A decent digital ballast won't get hot and won't emit that constant ring. Cheap magnetic ballast will make noise and get very hot. This is a bad thing if you don't live in alaska. Another disclaimer: Don't buy CAP equipment. I've seen enough returns on them to know they are shit.

-Bulbs: I've used $20 hps bulbs and $90 hps bulbs. Can't tell the difference in the finished product. Now I just use plantmax or sylvania. Get whatever you want.

-Hoods: Bigger isn't always better. But here's a good reference: http://www.greners.com/reflector-test.html . The hydrofarm radiant scored pretty well and is affordable for an aircooled reflector. If you have a big room, live in a cool place, or crank ac, then a wind reflector would work. Better yet, you can try a vertical bulb with no reflector. Google Heath Robinson for more info on that.

-Inline fans: If you're growing in your home/apartment, this is the most important part. Spending some extra money is worthwhile here to get a quiet, high quality fan. Maxfans are the best I've found. They use less electricity, have good airflow, they're small, and most importantly, QUIET (relatively, of course). Also, the 6" has a built-in speed controller.

Here's some advice I wish someone gave me when I started: Buy nice equipment in the beginning, and go bigger than you need, because if you have any degree of success, you'll definitely want to upgrade. Example, if you're thinking of running a 400w right now, then consider buying a 600w dimmable ballast. You can run it on 75% in the mean time, and when you inevitable decide you want more power, you can just crank the SOB up to 11. If you think you need a 6" fan, consider buying an 8" and running it on a speed controller (they're also quieter on lower speeds).

So. Equipment is a place where it's worthwhile to dump some money. This is called an investment. You're capitalizing these expenditures into assets that you will be able to continually use over the course of years.

Where should you NOT dump money? NUTRIENTS. Don't play into all the marketing hype. Don't run the full AN or house and garden lines, use outrageously priced atami supplements, etc. Open a book or read on google, and learn about NPK. Once you have a grasp on plant nutrition, you'll laugh at people talking about "I use 5ml/gal of grow, 4ml/gal of micro, 2ml/gal bud candy, 4ml/gal rhinoskin, 3ml/gal bumblebee52, etc etc. People will literally use 10 fucking bottles to follow a feeding chart and have no idea what they're giving their plants or how (if at all) these juices in the pretty bottles will benefit them.

This is probably a lot more than you wanted to know. But trust me it'll save you time and money in the long run.

And take all of this for what it is: a post from some stranger on the internet
 
R

Radical Boo

Member
Clown Baby said:
Your equipment should all pay for itself on the first grow.

Want my opinion?

-Ballast: Go for quality here. Get something with a warranty. A decent digital ballast won't get hot and won't emit that constant ring. Cheap magnetic ballast will make noise and get very hot. This is a bad thing if you don't live in alaska. Another disclaimer: Don't buy CAP equipment. I've seen enough returns on them to know they are shit.

-Bulbs: I've used $20 hps bulbs and $90 hps bulbs. Can't tell the difference in the finished product. Now I just use plantmax or sylvania. Get whatever you want.

-Hoods: Bigger isn't always better. But here's a good reference: http://www.greners.com/reflector-test.html . The hydrofarm radiant scored pretty well and is affordable for an aircooled reflector. If you have a big room, live in a cool place, or crank ac, then a wind reflector would work. Better yet, you can try a vertical bulb with no reflector. Google Heath Robinson for more info on that.

-Inline fans: If you're growing in your home/apartment, this is the most important part. Spending some extra money is worthwhile here to get a quiet, high quality fan. Maxfans are the best I've found. They use less electricity, have good airflow, they're small, and most importantly, QUIET (relatively, of course). Also, the 6" has a built-in speed controller.

Here's some advice I wish someone gave me when I started: Buy nice equipment in the beginning, and go bigger than you need, because if you have any degree of success, you'll definitely want to upgrade. Example, if you're thinking of running a 400w right now, then consider buying a 600w dimmable ballast. You can run it on 75% in the mean time, and when you inevitable decide you want more power, you can just crank the SOB up to 11. If you think you need a 6" fan, consider buying an 8" and running it on a speed controller (they're also quieter on lower speeds).

So. Equipment is a place where it's worthwhile to dump some money. This is called an investment. You're capitalizing these expenditures into assets that you will be able to continually use over the course of years.

Where should you NOT dump money? NUTRIENTS. Don't play into all the marketing hype. Don't run the full AN or house and garden lines, use outrageously priced atami supplements, etc. Open a book or read on google, and learn about NPK. Once you have a grasp on plant nutrition, you'll laugh at people talking about "I use 5ml/gal of grow, 4ml/gal of micro, 2ml/gal bud candy, 4ml/gal rhinoskin, 3ml/gal bumblebee52, etc etc. People will literally use 10 fucking bottles to follow a feeding chart and have no idea what they're giving their plants or how (if at all) these juices in the pretty bottles will benefit them.

This is probably a lot more than you wanted to know. But trust me it'll save you time and money in the long run.

And take all of this for what it is: a post from some stranger on the internet
Click to expand...
This pretty much sums it up. Great post.
 
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