Need advice on what to buy!

I have done a few cfl grows over the years, but Im looking to grow on a much larger scale. I know what strains I plan to grow already. I was thining of setting up a 600w cool tube HPS system, with CFLs for veg/mother/clones.

I'm living with my girlfriend right now, and she does not approve of me growing weed. I am getting ready to move out around the end of april, and I have $1,000 saved up for starting a grow room. I want to get all my supplies at one time, so I can have the whole system running as soon as I go in. (this way there is not a big jump in the electric bill when it comes time to flower.)

What would you buy if you had the cash to spend?

Where would you buy it from?

What kind of place would you look to rent?

I know this is kind of a noob post, and you think I should do the research on my own, but I have done research. Im torn between getting a couple of leds so I dont have to tear holes in the wall of a place im renting, or going all out and getting the hps cool tube. It would be great if you sent links of all the products you would purchase.

If money is not an issue buy a few 90w LEDs there fucking awesome. Some people say a 90w LED is equal to a 400w MH/HPS, but personally you can expect closer to a 250w MH/HPS effectiveness, they are pricey, but either way no ellaborate ventillation setup is needed to get rid of the heat and your power bill will be way less so that is the trade off. They also work for veg and flower so you dont have to switch back and forth, when i was in Holland i'd say 50% of the growers I met use LEDs.

hiddenidentity said:

I'm living with my girlfriend right now, and she does not approve of me growing weed. I am getting ready to move out around the end of april,

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Sorry to go there but I am...

• Your girlfriend does not like the idea of you growing MJ.
• You are moving soon without her, away from her.
• I hope that you are moving out on good terms.

If you two break up, will she rat you out, even if you don't break up, will she do or say something that will cause you to quit growing? Just a thought...

If money is not an issue buy a few 90w LEDs there fucking awesome

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Money is an issue... I have $1,000 USD saved for a total system. I thought about the LEDs, but I dont know for sure. I am trying to go for the most bud, for the least amount of price. Do you think the LEDs will end up paying for theirselves with the lower electicity cost? If I went with LEDs, I wouldnt have to find a place to live with washer/dryer hookups (220v) so thats a plus.

They also work for veg and flower so you dont have to switch back and forth

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If I went with LED, I would only use it for flowering. CFLs are fine for veg. Is there a particular brand I should be looking for? What arrangement of lights do I want for flowering?

If you two break up, will she rat you out, even if you don't break up, will she do or say something that will cause you to quit growing? Just a thought...

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Not a problem at all. I am moving to a different town, and she dont know Im going to grow. The last time I mentioned something about wanting to grow was 2-3 months ago. I am super secretive, and not a very social person at all. I never let anyone come to my house (I make up some excuse) and I will tell nobody that I grow. Being descrete is the number one rule to me.

i'd go with a dimmeable digital ballast, say 600 watter or so, depending on how big you want to go.. those next gen 600s look awesome.. get yourself some nice hps and mh bulbs and a decent hood.. maybe some cfl's or a t5 for veg as well.. add in a couple of fans and whatnot, and your 1k should be gone right quick..

i've used htg supply in the past and was more than happy with the service..

Don't do the LED's man, everybody who I seen buy them, either they burnt out or get sold CHEAP afterwards....

hiddenidentity said:

Not a problem at all. I am moving to a different town, and she dont know Im going to grow. The last time I mentioned something about wanting to grow was 2-3 months ago. I am super secretive, and not a very social person at all. I never let anyone come to my house (I make up some excuse) and I will tell nobody that I grow. Being descrete is the number one rule to me.

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I was not trying to start any S***, but I am a woman and I have first hand experience on how we can get at times, enough said on that subject.

Growing MJ can get expensive, I know that I have spent well over $1000 and I just have a bootleg setup. The cost of lighting, seeds, air circulation and ventilation, nutrients, soil mix, containers, and so many other odds and ends can add up big time. The good thing is that when I get off up off my butt and put my real grow area together it should only cost me another $50-$100 since I have almost everything I need except for the wood and screws.

There are some complete grow tents available that come with just about everything that you need. Even with those you still have to get seeds and all the other things. Check out some of the complete grow rooms to see if that would work for you.

If you can, find a living space that is unattached that will allow more privacy when it comes to MJ odors and fan noises. Or, an end unit so there is an occupant on one side only.

in the long run LEDs will pay off, a 90w led is about $150 on amazon x3 = $450 and they will last 7-10 years. they will def pay for themselves, if you go with 600w HIDs you will spend less on the lights at first (maybe depending on the ballast), but you will be using twice the energy and you will have to buy all the ventilation shit also. As far as electrictiy goes you can expect a 600w HID to cost about $40 a month to run on 24 hour light and 3 90w LED would be less than half of that so it would take about a year for those leds to make up for the price. You also have to consider that HID grows need more babysitting and watering (in dirt) than leds. Just my opinion..

i'd go with a dimmeable digital ballast, say 600 watter or so, depending on how big you want to go.. those next gen 600s look awesome.. get yourself some nice hps and mh bulbs and a decent hood.. maybe some cfl's or a t5 for veg as well.. add in a couple of fans and whatnot, and your 1k should be gone right quick..

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Thanks, about 600 was what I was thinking. Is the MH really necessary? I should have plenty of time to veg my plants with only cfls while my other plants are flowering right?

Don't do the LED's man, everybody who I seen buy them, either they burnt out or get sold CHEAP afterwards....​

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Good to know.

If you can, find a living space that is unattached that will allow more privacy when it comes to MJ odors and fan noises. Or, an end unit so there is an occupant on one side only.

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No doubt! This is why I havent set up a grow room yet, I have always lived in appartments. I plan to get a trailer, or if Im lucky, a house... Hopefully odors wont be an issue, I dont plan to skimp on charcol filters. Im more of a DIY kind of guy- cheaper, and more rewarding. Im hoping to find a trailer with a 4 x 6 washer/dryer room and convert that.

I know what you mean about women (no offense). A lot of times guys just let stuff go. Women love to get revenge, they can be very vindictive! On the other hand, they can be a lot more loving than most guys. Us guys just seam to care less in general, I know I do...

mxyz250newb said:

Don't do the LED's man, everybody who I seen buy them, either they burnt out or get sold CHEAP afterwards....

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I hear alot of shit. Doesn't make it true. Ive never had that problem personally, and anyone who has not actually used LEDs claiming that they suck compared to HIDs dont know what the hell they are talking about.

Ive been torn between leds and HPS for a while now. One big thing is LEDs dont penetrait, so you would have to use a SOG or SCOG for sure. Ive even seen some decent grows with only leds, but HPS still out performs them for the price... by a longshot! I dont think the "but they use less electricity" is a very valid argument for smaller grows cause HPS dont use much at all. I think a 1000w 12/12 uses like $35 a month, thats nothing. The biggest selling point for leds for me is that they dont have to have a 220 outlet. Im not really sure about the heat issue because Ive never owned a hps bulb, so I dont know how bad they actually are. With a cool tube, and a couple decent fans venting to outside, I am thinking I will get zero heat (but that stuff uses electricity too).

Its all relative and people always like what they like, im not knocking HIDs growing ability by any means it just comes down to personal preference. My only argument is that LEDS are as effective if more effective watt per watt than HIDs and they are a viable alternative. A 1000w HID will grow plants no better 300w LED and they are both in the $400 range. It was an easy choice for me.

What LED system do you have? I have been considering the LEDs for sure. Seams like leds are simpler, easier, and more stealthy. I just have heard mixed reviews about them. Everyone agrees that HPS will flower the shit out of bud, but people argue about the effectiveness of leds... Im not arguing either way, cause I dont know... thats why im here!

My suggestion is for you to run a simple, organic soil-based, system. This will save you money on the initial setup and provide some very nice tasting buds despite the potential for a reduced yield/time comparison to hydroponic methods. I am a big fan of coco and I think that Roots Organic Coco Mix is a good start for most growers. You can even use a bag of Roots Org. and a bag of Fox Farms Ocean Forest (or happy frog) and mix them together for a nice even and diverse spectrum of organics with enough aeration material for drainage.

You need to allot at least $100 for planters, drain pans, and soil. The soil mixes, 1.5 cuft of Roots Organic Coco Mix is ~$18 and 1.5cuft of Fox Farms is ~$14, you can mix up around 40 to 50 liters of media (about 13 gallons plus or minus 1 gallon) and the total cost is around $2.50 per gallon of media.

Lighting systems are most efficient in the 600w range but the densest nugs come from 1000w systems. Can't beat the power, but a 600w system comes very close and by comparison is a good choice. If you are just growing for yourself then a 4x4 tent and a 600w system is all you need. Since a 5x5 tent isn't much more, if any more, expensive and you have space for it then I say go ahead and get it, but keep your plants located in the center of the tent. They sell 5x5 mylar tents on Ebay for $150 and the light security they provide is priceless when it comes to flowering schedules and stress reduction.

With the 5x5 tent this actually gives you the option to grow vertically with the 600w bulb, eliminating the need/cost for a reflector as well as maximizing your energy use. Since you only need a socket and a ballast and an HPS bulb you're looking at about $250 on that lighting system.

For ventilation I suggest a 6" inline exhaust fan and a 6" axial intake fan. If sound is a concern, you'll need a duct muffler, and to control smell you need a carbon filter of appropriate size (400cfm). Total there, with the muffler and the ducting and the clamps, is about $350.

Covering your lighting, ventilation, and grow area, in total is going to cost around $750. The remaining $250 should be put towards an inexpensive organic macro-nutrient system and dedicated to the 25 gallons of media and eight 3 gallon planters you'll need, as well as the odds and ends like scissors and a thermostat/hygrometer. I strongly suggest spending maybe $40 on a good pH meter and another $20 on calibration solution and a pH up/down.

In total I think you should stay well enough under to pick up a rubbermaid or two for storing your water or mixing nutrients, duct tape, or other little BS things that crop up. You could do a bit more with another $200. So try to save like $40 a week for a few weeks and by the time you're in flowering maybe you can beef up your organic nutrient system with some of the appropriate bloom boosters.

If this system sounds like what you are looking to do: No moving parts, hand water, drain-to-waste, organic soil mix. Then just let me know and I'll do some price hunting. I like to use www.plantlightinghydroponics.com, www.bghydro.com, www.hydroasis.com, and www.igrowhydro.com to compare prices and find the exact stuff I am looking for. Soil, and other heavy items, are very expensive to have shipped so it is better to find a store in your area that carries it. Ace hardware actually carries Fox Farms, and you can always get some compressed coco shipped to you instead of the Roots Organic if you just cannot find the stuff.

I remember starting out. I had about $200 less and I passed on all kinds of stuff I should have purchased. Make sure you get quality equipment and have a battle plan outlined to keep upgrading the tent in a sensible fashion. Controlling the environment is crucial to your final harvest, and in the system I outlined you could expect upwards of 1.5lbs without too much trouble if the 8 plants harvest about 2.6 ounces (75 grams) each. Could be more, could be less, but there abouts is expectable in a vertical 5x5 with a 600w and maybe 40 days of unstressed and vigorous vegetative growth.

Let me know if I can help more.

I have a 300w LED panel in a custom grow cabinet 36x30x70 that i use for my whole grow except i keep a mother plant and my clones under a 90w LED. usually veg for 10 weeks, 5 for flower which might seem long, but my plants get about 4 1/2 feet tall and produce about 200 or more grams each.

Snow, that is exactly what I was looking for! You are awesome! $1,000 was what I wanted to spend on my system because I thought it would be plenty. I am actually getting $2,600 from income tax. After paying some past bills, I will have about 1,800 to spend. I planed on spending about $800 on a new guitar, and the rest on my setup. I can get the guitar later if you think I need to spend more on the setup. I figure if Im going to grow weed, I mite as well do it right. I also wanted to buy all my supplies that Im getting online right now. That way I can have them shipped to me now, and I wont have to have anything shipped to the house I plan to grow in.

If you are just growing for yourself then a 4x4 tent and a 600w system is all you need.

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Im not sure what is allowed on this site, so I dont want to admit to anything that may get me banned... lets just say that I dont smoke. The more buds the better! Quality is the number 1 thing Im going for though. I want my nugs to be the best in town! (which wont be incredibly hard around here, kine bud is virtually non-existant)

I have a 300w LED panel in a custom grow cabinet 36x30x70 that i use for my whole grow except i keep a mother plant and my clones under a 90w LED. usually veg for 10 weeks, 5 for flower which might seem long, but my plants get about 4 1/2 feet tall and produce about 200 or more grams each.​

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LED is still a possability for me. I was thinking 8 weeks of veg, and 8 weeks of flower. That way I could rotate them every 2 months. I will see what works for me once I get the setup. What brand LED is your 300w? Can you post a link?

For sure. If you're looking to maximize then maybe you should be checking out 1000w system. You could daisy chain two cool tubes using a 1000w HPS and a 400w MH, for 1400w and probably double the harvest weight.

Hydroponics offers ridiculous growth rates. Based on the time used compared the harvest weight you're going to pull more from an indoor hydro system in a year. If you can stomach setting up something hydro then I think a recirculating 6 pod Ebb/flow system (basically a bucket full of hydroton stacked inside of an empty bucket) and picking up a decent $150 pH/EC meter (so about $250 more than the soil setup) you could be pulling some big numbers in short time.

The key is to educate yourself. Run the right ratio of nutrients on the right schedule, keep the right temp and humidity solid, have no pests or disease, and the rest of it is a breeze.

What strain are you going to run?

Also, given the time of year is it possible to find a place with a backyard? You could be pulling in pounds by October with just a few plants outside on an actually pretty modest budget and no power bill. There are other variables to consider with outdoor. Pests, rippers, neighbors... But in the right spot you could throw up a quick cheap green house and grow some fatty trees.

I dont want to post a link only because when i get into this discussion people tend to think im trying to sell LEDS, if you buy an led get it from a company that offers a warranty that way you will have some assurances you are getting a good product.

dnt worry about other ppl mate do what you want.

it's like anywhere u always get the negative feedback just dnt worry bout it.