Help with choosing a hydro system!!

[Doc401]

With all the systems out there i need help choosing as i have never used a hydro system befor but really ready to try one.. Any help at all would be great..Thanks in advance..Oh the space i will be using is about 4.5'-3.5'-8' would a 600w hps be to much for this space? :pimp:

[LOC NAR on probation]

I would put a 1000 HPS in there but that's just me, overkill. A 600 would work very well even a 400. Heat is the problem that you face the most with the big lights. You need A/C.

Sounds like you have a lot of reading to do. With that said. The world of hydro is your oyster. We use 10 gallon sterilite tubs with 6 - 3 inch netpots with hydrotron rocks a small water pump for drip. This what we started with and what works best for us. We have used just bubblers, they work well too.
We could fit 3 of those in your space maybe even 5. 3 units would be 18 plants,if all goes well over a LB of med's depends on the strain.

Go look through the grow logs and look at the different types and see what you like or can fit in your space.

When you look at the cost of setup and then the cost to run it, It may seem a good bit but nothing compared to meds on the street. It pays for it's self quick. The best thing is nothing is better than what you grow.

[disrupt86]

i always point people in the direction of home made dwc systems,easy to use and maintaine cost about $25 and has never ending option to what you can come up with.you could use your same tub for dwc then later on down the way turn it into an aeroponics sytem if you like or a recirculating drip.you dont really want to go out and dump $700-800 on something u might not like down the road or something that always has some problem like bigger aeroponic systems that you need to trouble shoot whal your plants are dying verry quickly.just a piece of my mind

[sneekymofo]

For the least complicated setup, I agree with those above with a nice deep water setup. A bucket, a net pot that will sit directly in the bucket, an air pump, some airline tubing and an airstone....voila...hydro.

Mistakes I made when first starting: I didn't have any testing equipment (TDS, etc) and I left the old water in way too long. Change your water weekly (with aged water) if possible, certainly every 10 days. You wouldn't believe how fast those salts will build up on you...:D. Testing your TDS, pH, etc. will save you A LOT of grief in the long-run. You don't have to have it with this setup since you are replacing the water regularly, but testing equipment should save you a little in nutes, anyway.

Heat was also a huge isse for me (I have a similar setup). Move that air with a blower. If you aren't as worried about stealth (sound from the blower) and if you aren't using CO2, I would shoot to turn the air in the cab 8 - 20 times per minute.

My 400W is difficult to control the heat due to space limitations on my part, so I have switched to a 250w HPS. Limited yield, but everyone stays happy....

I control smell with a homemade carbon scrubber (instructions are on this site somewhere, but I've slept since then...:stoned:) and Ona Gel. Works great, and keeps the smell confined great! Budget setup, but works really well. Good luck, and keep us posted!