New and Learning...A few questions

Hello All

I'm very new to the scene. I purchased Marijuana Horticulture by Jorge Cervantes, Growing Elite Marijuana by Rick Riley, and Jorge Cervantes Ultimate Grow DVD. I have been looking for a good all in one within a certain budget and can't find one that seems to be good enough. I am now thinking about putting my own together but I may be overestimating what I need and may also be overlooking things. Here is a list I came up with today after some price look-ups.

Ebay

Deep Water Culture DWC Hydroponic Bubbler 4 Bucket Kit by PowerGrow ® Systems 6" - $105.00
Flame Defender 2 KG Fire Extinguisher - $51.49
Hydrostone Clay Pellets - $24.99
Grodan 1.5" A OK Starter Plugs Cubes Bulk Qty - rockwool hydroponic grow media - 50 count - $12.47
400w Watt HPS MH Grow Light Kit Dimmable Digital Ballast 6" Cool Tube Reflector - $134.99
4 Inline Duct Booster Fan 6" 260CFM Exhaust Blower For Home Grow Light Tent Room - $84.90
4" 6" 8" 10" Inch Carbon Charcoal Inline Fan Odor Control Scrubber Grow Light (4in) - $44.95
Digital LCD TDS Meter Tester Water Quality Filter Purity Pen Stick 0-9999 PPM - $9.35
Digital PH Meter Tester Pocket - Aquarium Pool Water Wine Urine LCD Pen Monitor - $12.98
2 pcs LCD Digital Fish Aquarium Thermometer Water Terrarium Black FREE Batteries - $6.68
30X JEWELERS LOUPE MAGNIFIER+ LED LIGHT 21mm LENS NEW - $11.99
Hydroton - Hydrocorn Expanded Clay Aggregate Pebbles - Rocks Growing Media 2 lbs - $8.95
Organic Fertilizer Combo Deal by BMO, Super Plant Tonic, GIG, FH and FP - $25.95
Gorilla Grow Tent 3X3 - $327.59
New Comfort Zone CZ6C 6-Inch 2-Speed Clip-On Fan - $14.97
4 6 8 10 FLEXIBLE Aluminum DUCTING HOSE 8 25 ft EXHAUST DUCT AIR VENT (6in) - $10.99


Total = $888.24
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Dealzer.com


Magic Herb Dryer - 12 Plant Drying Box - 239.00
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Grand Total = $1,127.24

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Can you tell me if this is good or do I need more or less. I live in an apartment building and we have inspections every 4-5 months or so. I would like to grow something (non-marijuana related) to get my feet wet in growing and to also be a cover so nothing seems off. I have a closet tent almost like the gorilla tent that I keep my closes in except it is white and partially see through so I don't think the tent itself will draw much attention especially if I spray paint over the gorilla tent logo at the top. Can you recommend any fruits or nuts I could use in this system? I don't want to get my feet wet on a pack of $40-$60 seeds.

Thank you

Edit: By the way. I don't plan to grow more than 2 plants at the same time.

Can anyone give me any feedback?

Sure I can. First off I wouldn't even ponder the idea of growing marijuana in a place that gets inspected. A 3x3 grow tent with all those accessories is going to be loud and quite noticeable to anyone. The veggie grow will serve to distract very little because anyone with half a brain can figure out the amount of electricity you are using to grow 5 bucks worth of tomatoes. I have grown in a uninspected apartment before and just knowing someone could come in at any time was nerve wracking. I was extremely paranoid throughout all my grows. If I had it to do over again I never would have done it.

That being said, if you are dead set on growing I may be able to make some suggestions. Those all in one combo deals are generally a rip and I would avoid them. Judging by your post I am assuming you have never grown before so I would just take it nice and slow. Forget starting out in a top shit hydro setup and get yourself some nice soil and pots. I started out with a small soil grow and skipped to hydro within a few months. Being a newbie to hydro growing I managed to fuck everything up that was possible to fuck up. It was a painful experience that I always try to keep others from going through. Keep it simple and as cheap as possible in case you decide you cant grow shit and give up. I've seen this happen a few times with friends and they were stuck with thousand dollar setups. They Craigslist the shit later for a nice 500 dollar loss. You can pick up all the stuff you need to grow on amazon and they always ship discreetly.

A cheap 400 watt cooltube setup is around 150 bucks on amazon. I use secret jardin tents and a 3x3 DR90 is $180 bucks or less...much less than the $327 for the gorilla grow tent. Some ducting and a small inline fan to cool your tube plus a cheapo filter. Maybe 150 max for the fan/filter/ducting Some light hangers and a timer. Seriously if this is your first time save some money on all the hydro gear and start simple. After a few harvest you will get the itch to try something new and then after you learn everything about the plant you can try a new medium.

If you are totally 100% dead set on hydro then I would suggest passive hydro. Do a google search for the hempy method and start there first.

I'm sure others won't agree with me, but this is how I would do it if I had it to do over again.

Thank you very much for the feedback Bucees. Comments about all in ones being crap is the reason I decided to stay away from them. I think I may wait on starting everything as I can't move at this point so inspections can't be avoided. I didn't know about the noise aspect. I thought pretty much everything would be pretty low noise. As far as energy goes I leave in a building that has over ten floors with about 12 apts per floor so I didn't really think they would be monitoring energy usage that much. My biggest reason for waiting is the seeds. I read many places how you should order seeds and how you shouldn't and I can't find a way to safely get them. Don't have any friends that I can send them to, pob is out because you have to have your name associated to it, no abandoned houses in the area (that I know of). This wouldn't be an issue if I was in CO, WA, or CA.

Thank you again

Well I wasn't meaning electricity usage really, but the fact that you would actually use a indoor grow room for tomatoes and herbs. Even people who have no idea about indoor growing cost can see that you are spending more that the end product is worth. Also any kind of indoor growing items cause everyone to automatically assume Marijuana.

Grow rooms are noisy! I'm sure you have looked at videos on youtube of peoples grow rooms and heard the sound emanating from them. Hell even my tiny 2x2x5 with a 4 inch fan made way more noise than I wanted. Plus if you add the hum of air pumps for hydro gear the sound starts to add up.

Ordering seeds is kinda a crap shoot how ever you go about it. I gave up trying to find a alternate solution and just have them delivered to my PO box with my name written all over the package. I know several people who go this route and past a few customs interceptions all the items have arrived without problem. Of course this exposes you a little bit and I wouldn't suggest it, but it's what I do.

I run and indoor veggie and herb garden, I am nt even looking at the costs, as the pleasure I get out of it is more than rewarding.