NEED ADVICE ON 1ST GROW

[wildchick]

Hello all,

Single crazy chick wanting to try hydro grow with my room-mate and found this set up and thought it was sweet as it came with everything including light.Can anyone tell us if they know anything about this set up and what else we need to use to get a grow going to maintain it. We are first time growers and wanted to try Hydro from all we have read about it here and other places.If anyone can tell us any pro's or con's on this please tell us , as any help would be great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7768369434&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1


Jamie

[bongerstonerd00d]

DO NOT BUY through ebay!!!!! No way, avoid at all costs. A member here was just busted and ebay/Paypal provided some info to cops apparently. Check out bghydro.com or any of the many others you can find using google or whatever.


b0nger

[wildchick]

can buy direct from them without going through E-BAY which we did not want to do anyway for many reasons, but to buy from them direct from their web-site, Our main question is how is the set-up and what r the pro's and con's of it and what else do we need to make a good grow for 1st timers.

Jamie

[bongerstonerd00d]

You need nutes, ph up/down, lights, ventilation, and an area dedicated to growing. When your room is supposed to be dark, it MUST be dark. No light leaks in other words.

Also, it will depend if you are growing from seed or clone as to how big your area/areas must be. For example, some have a clone area, a veg room, and a grow room.

As for that particular system, I have no idea.

If I were you I'd spend about 2 weeks reading every post you can read here to do some learning. It will benefit you and your grow. Nobody is going to type it out step by step because its already posted here.


good luck!:thumbsup:



b0nger

[wildchick]

You need nutes, ph up/down, lights, ventilation, and an area dedicated to growing

We have Grow room, Lights come with unit, ventilation is built in room already,we now must get "nutes" ph-up/down tools testing .
We will be growing from seeds in small area and upon sprouting will take right out and put in Hydro pots for transfer. Seems like alot to know and read and so many different ways , so we will see how it goes, guess this first time will be trial and error and take notes so we know what to do or not to do the next time.
ANY OTHER help would be great ..

Jamie

[bongerstonerd00d]

ONce you get your "feet wet" so to speak, the pros who grow hydro can get you right where you need to be (and I am not one of them). Many who hang in this forum have been growing hydro for years and can offer all kinds of tips and tricks once you understand what you are doing.

Normally you would only need ph up or down. Get your water tested. If it is municipal water, you will need ph down only.

Grab ya a digi cam also. Its great when you can post a picture or two of your plants so folks can physically see what problems you are having.

As for the ventilation already installed, thats great. But with many lighting systems you will need to have their own intake/exhaust vents if air cooled hoods. Also, you need some fans blowing between the plant canopy and your lights. Makes your plants stronger, and helps with heat.

Depending on where you live you might need to invest in an AC or Dehumidifier also. As you can see, there is just so much that its damn near impossible to cover it all in one post.

**ONE OTHER VERY IMPORTANT THING** KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND YOUR ROOMATE MUST DO THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!! Nobody knows I will be growing but the ole lady, and shes ok with it cause I am only doing one crop a year for head stash. The rest of the year I am growing vegatables. Plus I been married to her for 20 years, and I KNOW I can trust her after all this time.

I started in this thinking a grand would cover everything and then some. A grand bought my lights......lol It does get pricey in a hurry if ya wanna grow some high test bud. :D

Enjoy growing, and learn as you go. Plus, READ READ READ til your eyes hurt, then keep reading.


b0nger

P.S. ALmost forgot this, you need to get fresh air in your room, thats a must also. Helps keep your CO2 level up, and the plants NEED IT!!

[Garden Knowm]

GET IT..

you will need a PH tester.. and a PPM tester...

check .. www.plantitearth.com

start growing NOW... if you need help, I will come over and assist you..

just don't do anything illegal..

iloveyou

[Opie Yutts]

That looks like an Emily's Garden type set up and should do quite nicely. I used one in the beginning and it was great. The Emilys Garden I think is a little cheaper, and I think the containers are bigger. You could also build one for about 1/3 that price. It's pretty easy, I made 3 after buing the real one.

However: I would not use Rockwool. It is not for begginers. It's very easy to kill you plants with it because it holds too much moisture. That's just my opinion, but it's based on experince. Also, don't expect the big yields if you don't use the big lights. That set up comes with almost no light compared to HID lights.

And I've never had a problem buying through Ebay. I take that back, I didn't get a book once, but I got my money back.

[latewood]

Darn, I hate to disagree with my friends here, but I wouldn't buy that system...1st of all, you cannot grow more that 2-3 plants to maturity in that tub from seed, and if you havwe a male or 2 then all your roots will be tangled up!...You could build your own cheaper, buy some 3-part, ph up/down and a flower booster and a few cfl's for lighting...If you don't want an HId light. Sounds like you are building your space right! Do a little more research and finish your start-up correctly.
And as mentioned above...We will be glad to help you dial in, once you get started. peace latewood.:smokin:

[Opie Yutts]

Some more thoughts:

Spend your money on lights and ventilation. That's the biggest thing for your money to increase yield. All else is secondary, assuming your nutes are correct, and the other basics like temp.

Like Latewood, I would not buy that system, but I am not a begginer. Like he says, unless you know you've got all females, it will be hard to separate them. Untangling the roots is not a huge problem however; you can just cut them apart too, and they cry a little then snap out of it. Otherwise, that system works great for begginers. Good yields with minimal effort.

I would do whatever it takes (within reason) to start off with a digital ballast and HID lights. It will pay for itself in the end, you can use one ballest for veg and bloom with a conversion bulb, and it runs much cooler (heat is a big issue). Even if you grow one plant with some HID lights, it will most likely yield more than 4 or 6 grown with one fluorescent light like that picture shows. HID lights (High Intensity Discharge) are more hassle and expense in the beginning. You must have good ventilation because they get hot, but it is by far worth it if you want to start off right. Fluoros don't do shit unless you have a shitload of them, and for the price of that amount, you can usually pay for an HID setup. You can also make your own HID lights for cheap. Search about this if you are interested, and there's a thing about this in the grow FAQs.

If you are absolutely set on going ahead with fluoros, then get as many as you can, and keep them about an inch or two from the plants at all times. Many begginers make the mistake of keeping them too far away, thus taking away one of the main advantages of fluoros.

If you are serious about your grow turning out as well as it can, then search this forum and others for these words (but spelled correctly of course):
- light or lighting
- nutrients
- temperature
- aeration
- oxygen
- humidity
- ventilation
- PH
- PPM
Those are not necessarily in order of importance, but the 3 biggest problem areas, or at least areas of major concern, for begginers are heat, light, and nutrients. Get these right and it's hard to go wrong. Once you have those dialed in you can start tweaking the smaller areas of concern.

And,... I don't want to say negative crap, but if you let anyone in your apartment during flower they will know you grow weed. If stealth is a concern, you need a carbon scrubber or something to hide the smell. If your cousin Randy finds out, then your whole family will know. Both sides.

Good luck and keep us posted. We all like pictures of grows and progress reports.

[wildchick]

we have decided to built our own hydro box for the first run , we bought two rubbermaid tote boxes and bought Air Bubbler, 3"baskets, air lines, air rocks, many gallons of distilled water, ph up/down chemicals , ph tester,3 pack starter nukes,clay rocks for basket and will be lighting it with this light http://www.htgsupply.com/productdetail.asp?productID=208
So whats a girl to do without a good man to grow for her, DO IT HERSELF and be self dependent, so me and room-mate is doing it after months of thought in our large unused basement. We also got two medium fans for air flow and already had vents for air out and have a real super nice central air and stays very cool down in basement year around.
We will drill two holes on side of boxes, one for air line and other for a drain hole with plug for draining,and then cut out four holes on top of lid to place four baskets and go from there???? who knows with a little prayer i think we will be oaky and than go from there,, HOW far shjould we place this light above the 2 boxes for light on plants..?? shoul dit be made to adjust height as they grow or leave it at one height through stages???

Jamie

Hopefully we will be able to post pictures once we get going, but roomie is scraed to post pictures of this nature anywhere on net she is kinda funny aobut net at this point still and I can't balme her..

[Garden Knowm]

yummmy.. i look forward to the pictures!!!!!!!!!

[bongerstonerd00d]

Do a search for Latewood, he has got all kinda "how to's" on building hydro setups, if you havent already. You will get some great ideas and save yourself time and mistakes.


b0nger

[URACOTTONPICKER]

those lights are not so good for growing. ther more for clones and maybe a mother plant im actually using it to keep 6 small plant somewhat alive till i set up a new grow room at a friends house but they seem to be keeping my bluse berrygwoing just very streched although that could just be a blueberry trait. for a small setup i would atleast go get a 250 hps or mh. do you already have seeds or clones? what state do you live in some have medical laws making it easy to get both if you have a card

[PigSnout]

will be lighting it with this light http://www.htgsupply.com/productdetail.asp?productID=208

I purchased the same light setup. My ballast is a different style. It's a good one.
I believe the rule of thumb on how close is to use your hand as a guide. When it gets hot on your hand it's hot on the plants.
I have a small fan blowing across the bottom of the bulb to keep the heat off my plants. This maybe be overkill for you since your basement is cool. An experienced grower can tell you for sure.
Definitely use a fan to blow slowly on the plants in order to strengthen the main stem.
Good luck

[latewood]

very cool...you made the biggest step in deciding which way to start...that is a nice light to start and will be good for beginners because there is less chance of having heat issues...I think you folks did a great job to start with and cannot wait to see what happens next...peace