guiding advice from the guru's needed

[sweetgreenbuds]

ok so it my first serious grow and i've decided to make it a hobby so im doin a bit of research b4 i start. my plan is to make a grow cab 2'x2'x8' from mdf as i only plan to grow 1 plant to start with. for the question of light i'm thimking of 2x200w envirolites with some 40w compact flouresents. for ventilation im thinking of making a basic system, in line ducted fan to a scrubberand for air in just a 1way ball valve, made from 1" right angle, funnel and pingpong ball as i cannot afford any scent escaping. i'm thinking of a bato bucket drip feed system and starting with some bag seeds.

so...questions,
1. what do you make of the system?
2. co2 do i need to invest in an expensive system or could i rig up a kero lamp or something, or i also read about co2 tabs which is mixed with the nutes....any ideas?
3. do i need to set a timer for my pump or can i leave it on a constant drip?
4. and lastly what do we recommend for nutes and supplements, i'm thinking organic

so any posts would be hugely appreciated and i promise i'll grow a sense of humour with my babies, just got set up and pre grow jitters:hippy: peace love n happiness to y'all

[Weedhound]

What if you only grow one plant from bagseed and it's a male? i personally like the botanicare line....it's (pretty....) organic.

Did I miss what kind of medium you said you were going to use? I'll check again....

[Weedhound]

Nope....whether you use drip 24/7 or not can depend upon your medium.

[sweetgreenbuds]

firstly cheers for the reply weed hound i've read alot of your posts and replies and ya seem to have ur nut screwed on.
was thinkin about clay pellets as a grow medium, think i like the idea of larger cavaties in the medium allowing for better aeration drainage and less chance of root rot.

your totally right about the plant count best to avoid disappointment, i was also thinking of a smaller second unit to house clones and experiments etc.

any taughts on a co2 system and if its not too much of a pain in the ass should i put an air stone in the bato bucket

cheers dog

[Opie Yutts]

About clay pellets: Yaaay. Good choice. I've had nothing but good luck with these. Totally reusable too, so they are free after the first purchase.
About Co2: Make darn sure you plan this into your setup and don't think you can just add it later. You will have to tear everything apart. I didn't really understand everything you said about your ventilation system, and maybe you got it covered. A system with a good co2 settup must be planned very carefully. For example, you only release co2 when lights are on and there is no ventilation. Lights on though, makes a lot of heat. You must have a way of removing that heat without removing the air in the grow chamber while co2 is on. You'll want a cool tube or two, but a sealed hood will work. The air within the grow room must be circulated, and it must be replaced many times throughout the day. Don't forget that everything has to be sealed tight, unlike rooms without co2. You said you want a basic ventilation system, but I don't think that's possible with co2, at least to do it properly. It's too bad that you should plan carefully for it because I would suggest not using it until you get everything else dialed in just right. Don't forget the big, huge fans, and lots of them.

I hope that doesn't frighten you. I have all my co2 parts sitting on the growroom floor. Exactly the same place they've been for the past year.

[sweetgreenbuds]

far from frighten me dude, this is real encouragement and exactly what i need.

firstly let me explain my vent system. as i said the grow unit wil be small, only 2'x2'x8', so for extraction i'm using an inline fan with a 4" duct from the top of the grow cab followed by a carbon filter made from a 6" 4" reducer i got the designs for on this forum.

the grow room will be completely sealed so to allow air in i'm installing a simple 1way ball valve system which works as follows. a 2" piece of plastic pipe is mounted horizontally through the side wall, it protrudes about 4" where you put on a 90degree elbow facing upwards. in the mouth of the elbow you secure a funnel thats had the bottom cut off so the opening is slightly smaller than the pipe.then into the funnel you drop a hollow plastic ball. when the fan aint runnin the ball sits perfectly in the funnel and the room is still sealed but when the extraction fan runs the slight negative pressure set up by it lifts the ball and allows the air in. simple cheap and effective i recon.

[sweetgreenbuds]

ok so thinking of investing in a co2 generator and a decent timer to run in conjunction with my exhaust fan. and while im out shopping im on the hunt for all my gizmos ph meter, ppm meter, co2 meter and 1 for temp and humidity or any combinations there of. any suggestions for any must have's i want to get my design and plans nailed way b4 i start as i wan to play around with the environment for a week or so, so i can get used to adjusting things like co2 levels temp and humidity b4 i plant.

1 last thing b4 i go shopping i'm THINKING OF USING 2X200W as the are cooler running HAS ANY 1 USED THESE OR HAD GOOD OR BAD EXPERIENCES or should i stick to mh and hps:hippy: peace out ppl

[turtle420]

1 last thing b4 i go shopping i'm THINKING OF USING 2X200W as the are cooler running HAS ANY 1 USED THESE OR HAD GOOD OR BAD EXPERIENCES or should i stick to mh and hps:hippy: peace out ppl

Hey man, :)

What are these "2X200W"?
Are they fluorescents?

If they are, HELL YEAH stick with the MH and the HPS.
Much better results for ya'.

[sweetgreenbuds]

ya they're flouresent envirolites with specific spectrum. the reason i was going with these was that their light/watt ratio is supposed to higher than mh and hps and as ive got such a small grow space i think i'd rather have the cooler flouro which i can place closer to the plants giving a stronger light. hhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm decisions, decisions:(

[HighTillIDie]

i just added a 600w hps with an exhaust hood to a small closet and it only raised temp about 6-8 degrees

you want as much light as you can under about 87*f at plant level