first grow - i'll tell you my plans - you send me in the right direction

ok its my first grow and i have chosen the aerogarden vegie pro it is 18-1/2-Inch Wide by 10-1/2-Inch D by 34-Inch High, with 3 cfl lights as part of it.

this has been posted as well as the voltage adapter i need for the american version.
seeds will be ordered next week (im thinking i will germinate, veg, test on bag seeds while im waiting) i have chosen nirvanas white widow and barnys lsd, card is on order so i can urchase them.

ok so the plan is i will grow in a box that will fit the aerogarden and accessories. im planing on lining the inside of the box with that semi-flexible mirror that is often used on sliding cubord doors, wondering how to cut this to size too, i have a circular saw built for cutting metal can i use this? also should i have the bottem panel on the bottem or split it so i can have it above the base of the ag? kinda just leaving plenty of room where the stems come through.

im thinking of using 4 x ~60 watt cfls on 2 y splitters down each side in the flower spectrem, 2700k or what ever it is. as this is an aerogarden grow with short veg time i was thinking i wouldnt bother with the daylights globs just use the flower ones from the start. this wont cause it to flower hey? veg lighting will be 20/4 or something similar. 4 x 60 is about my limit or should i go for say 2 x 120, or 6 x 40? trying to keep the power down as i dont pay the bill n dont want it to look sus. pretty sure i should go more power/less bulbs but not sure about more bulbs less power?

adding an air stone to the resivor ( good thing i breed fishies i can have this thing running the ag n the grow out tubs without a sus pump running who knows what down in the shed by itself). hmm thinking of taping CO2 into the line, i know it will help somewhat but how much? worth it? overall how effective are any of these methods.

smell really i want to illiminate 90% smell, i dont want my families friends going into the shed n smelling weed. so homemade carbon filter? buy one? what about those ioniser globes? how well do they work?

ferts? im in aus so dont know what i can get online at a reasonable price, thinking general fertilisers (not made for hydro) will not work to well, n possible leave resindues, not fully disolve. i like the idea of organics was thinking of trying 'charlie carp' its liqued, its a great fertiliser, and im helping the enviroment by purchasing it (its a wild harvested pest species) also thinking of using my waste from aquarium filters, i'll have plenty but its more fine solids than liqued, but those fish are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate factories, plus potasium and being natural you know that there plenty of other minerals an nutients in there that are helpful. or am i just getting silly and sould just by 'flower pro something arother' rember i need to buy this in aus.

light - i cant have any light showing out of this as it will be a dead give away.

on that note, ventilation - the box will have to be fully seeled(to light) there will only be what is pumped in through the airstone, at least this will be fresh air from outside the box. hmm will this do? with say twice weekly opening for inspection? i really dont see any other ideas, i dont wanna add noise to the system as its a stealth grow.

2 or 3 plants, thinking 2 to be safe. heres the ag size again 18-1/2-Inch Wide by 10-1/2-Inch D by 34-Inch High, but could i get the same yield from 3 plants as if i grew 2 in the same system? same? more? less?

most of the actual growing/ taking care of plants is for another day, this was more about the system.

obviuosly will be getting a timer and figure 8 cord for the lights, as well as the other extras ive mentioned.

think thats about its, seed/strain has pretty much been worked out and can be discused elsewere.

obviuosly i'm trying to get it right first instead of learning from my mistakes. so yes tell me thats 'a stupid idea' or 'yes thats good, go with that'.

thanks in advance for your patience/help/advice. looking forward to joining the growing crew, not for cash(but yes i'll take big yields) looking for consistancy/quality/control. n im somewhat of a green thumb.

My friend: growing in an enclosed space without ventilation is asking for trouble. Our winter is coming and your summer is approaching and you wont believe the mold that will form. There's a lot more humidity there than you realize.

The system you bought has all the lighting you need. If you can put it on a table position the mirrors on the back and two sides to reflect up the light you already paid for in your electric bill. Add an aquarium air pump, an air stone and a check valve in the air line and you're done, Mate.

Use hydroponic nutrients, not Aerogarden's. Use good water and change your nutes weekly. Watch your pH like a hawk and don't grow more than three plants. Seal off the extra holes from light getting into the reservoir and hurting your roots and you should be fine. You've got the Cadillac of Aerogardens.

thank you for your reply i was a little disapointed that the people how just posted "i just brought an aerogarden how do i grow weed?) seem to be getting a better response after putting effort into researching before posting.

"My friend: growing in an enclosed space without ventilation is asking for trouble. Our winter is coming and your summer is approaching and you wont believe the mold that will form. There's a lot more humidity there than you realize."

yes i was worried about ventilation but i cant have light showing from the box, i was thinking some kind of curled pipes coming out the back that can be hidden and not emit light but this seems to me that it wont have much of an effect anyway. any other ideas? remember this is is stealth grow, any noise is taken care of, power cords will already be hooked up to non grow related appliences and will not be seen going into grow box. so its just smell and light i need to take care of. humidity never gets very high here as where i live is not coastal, not tropical and very dry. we might get a week of reasonably humid wether here n there if the wether systems go strange.

lighting/additional lighting - i know ive started off with the right choice of ag (had to order from overseas n add voltage addapters) but everywere i read it usually ends up with "you will have to add additional lighting" of some kind or rather. offcourse additional lighting will add to yield but how much, hypotheticly speaking if it means 3 oz instead of 2 well i want the additional lighting, if theres not much difference well it would be much easier just not to bother. and as for mirrors some wally on here said that mirrors dont reflect the right light back? that sound like bs to me. and other options to reflect this light/ and effectiveness? no i think i will just go with the mirrors.

"Use hydroponic nutrients, not Aerogarden's. Use good water and change your nutes weekly. Watch your pH like a hawk and don't grow more than three plants. Seal off the extra holes from light getting into the reservoir and hurting your roots and you should be fine. You've got the Cadillac of Aerogardens. "

ok i dont know were to buy these in aus, they all tell me how good they are on thier own sites online so how the heck am i suppost to decide? mayb start with brands and i'll see if i can get them. do i really need both veg n flower nutes? i mean it will veg anyway with half decent nutes and most of the grow will be in flower, n i really wanna boost the buds.

thanks for confirming the pH thing, i didnt realise how important it was.

will it help adding a lil bit of organic nutes, i mentioned earlier fish waste/chary carp, just sounds i be adding a bit extra to make up for gaps in synthetic fertilisers. but then again in thinking of bailing on this idea for the first grow, as its just another thing to think about and refine.

shit sounds like i'm getting somewere! ag im the mail n cant wait till it gets here.

cheers

Batters21:
I can only go by my experience. I hid mine originally under a table and covered it with a tarp. You wouldn't believe the mold that grew from humidity it expelled with the lack of air circulation. And I too live in a dry inland area. I had to throw away the table but I put it uncovered on another table and there was no problem.

As far as the light is concerned, you can adjust it so it's on at dawn and off when yo go to bed. How to do that is in your instruction booklet that will come with your Aerogarden. Your days will be getting longer and it should be less of a problem. It makes a great reading lamp.

Read all you can, here and at Grasscity. Especially look at and study the mistakes people make. They have some excellent posts although Grasscity doesn't have an Aerogarden department like here . I tried to talk them into it for the last year but they haven't been willing to give us a corner of our own.

There was a text I got a look at and was asked to edit last year that was supposed to be published this fall by a guy named Sebastian, but the chicken shit publisher backed out last July. He's looking for another publisher. It was all about growing medical marijuana with an Aerogarden and he had some good ideas I've incorporated. There were a lot of great ideas. I'm trying to talk him into self publishing it on a disk.

thanks guys.

hmm so i seem to be running into trouble, i need to vent the box the system will be in without adding much noise. and without exposing any light from the box. that has me a bit worried.

also some brand names for an all in one flower nutrient. then i'll see if i can order them in aus. as i said everone ive looked at pretty much told me its the best, so its hard to know.

thanks again
mick

Batters21: For what it's worth, my instructor advises against all in one nutrients. But then he likes to vary his formulas to the plants growth stages. I would seriously recommend Technaflora's recipe for success. You can get a sample kit and it will last for more than a couple of crops. The nice thing is that it has everything you need from germination to harvest. Check it out on line or at your local hydroponics store.

"technaflora recipe for success starter kit" http://www.hydrowarehouse.com/technaflora-technaflora-recipe-for-success-starter-kit-p-1619.html, is this what i need?

Batters21: that's it. And it's a little cheaper than what I paid for mine. Good luck

ok aerogaeden veg pro has arrived. is this pump they use supposed to be just an airstone? omg so its basicly a bucket with a few lights, which i could of added myself, an airstone that i was adding anyway, and stupid timers i wont even use?

really, i thought it was something more.

batters21:
The pump circulates the nutrient solution and theoretically when it dribbles it out of the delivery nozzles in the distribution manifold under the reservoir cover that's where it is oxygenated, but it's not enough.
You definitely want an air stone, an aquarium air pump and a check valve which will keep the water from backing up into the air pump and ruining it. A five to ten gallon air pump is sufficient.
Wrap your Aerogarden pump and tower in a short womans nylons sock like they use with flat shoes and you won't get root damage from the roots getting through the pump filter and ruining your pump.
Close off the four or five holes you aren't going to use or you will have some serious algae problems. You might want to order a set of Aerogarden plugs. They're better than what I've seen people come up with.
Hopefully you already have a pH tester of some kind because you're going to want to check that everyday and change your nutrient solution every week or so. You reservoir holds less than a gallon so the water changes fast.
I would also suggest you immediately order an extra set of lights and a spare Aerograden water pump. The lights are only good for six months. They'll usually warranty the pump for a year but if it fails I imagine the shipping delay could be long enough for you to lose a crop. I know it was for me living here in the states.
Also, if you don't have a copy of Cervantes's book on marijuana cultivation I would suggest you buy one before you get started. It's about $30 US at Barnes and Noble where I got mine and he'll answer a lot of your questions before you know to ask them. Good luck Mate.

ok yes. but i want to know, is the aero 'pump' system just a small airstone? coz thats all mine has.

and HSA yes im close to getting all the extras sorted, extra lights, air pump n stone. ph test kit from the local pet store b4 i get it all going.

debating about the grow tent thing, im close to buying one, buy i think i would prefer a 1.2m high model (not available atm) as compared to the 1.6m model.

also how do these odours absorbers go? thinking about products like this
http://www.hydrowarehouse.com/ona-ona-gel-fresh-linen-quart-p-1738.html or this
http://www.hydrowarehouse.com/ona-ona-pro-gel-quart-p-2076.html
but now i have to find them in my country, as website tells me to enquire thru email about international shipping prices, i email them, they tell me they are not set up to ship internationaly. go figure.

getting close to everything sorted.

if im set up from the start, well i can pinpoint any problems with my techniques rather than equipement, well thats the idea anyway.