Ultimate n00b! Apologies in advance
Hello to you growing maestro's!
Sorry if I'm being a complete cabbage here. I'm a couple of weeks away from starting my first grow and just need a few pointers. I've done a lot of research but there's so many opinions it's hard to find a tailor made guide. Anyways, here we go...
I'm essentially copying a friend who's grown white dwarf auto's outdoors for years, but I'm going indoor. He's given me lots of advice but his knowledge is limited to outdoor growing. So I've got the same wda seeds, fems, and I've gone straight for big pots so I don't have to do any transplants. I'll be doing 3 plants at once.
My next job is building my own grow cabinet which I can do no problem, as well as installing fans, lights and doing the electrics. This leads to my first question.
Q1 - Because of the size of the pots I have no choice but to make the cabinet 70cmW x 70cmD. Taking into account the potential height of the plants and the space taken up by lighting I figure I should make the cabinet at least 1m high, maybe pushing up to 110cm. Does that sound about right? How high should I go?
Q2 - I'll be putting in an intake and exhaust fan. Going off the cabinet size I've specified will 4inch fans be adequate? Or do I need to go a bit bigger?
The lighting issue is a bit of a minefield for me, I really have no idea where to start. I think I'm going to go for cfl as a few people have told me that other types of lights like MH and HiD can burn out within two grows. That puts me off. Not that I'm trying to do this on the cheap but I don't want to be continuously paying out for bulbs when there's a more cost effective cfl alternative.
Q3 - From what I've said so far about cabinet size and plant type can anyone recommend some lighting to me for veg and flower?
As far as growing the stuff I think I'm sorted on that, or I can at least learn as I go. But I want to get all this cabinet stuff right first time as I don't want to have to doctor it once the plants are in. Oh one more question!
Q4 - Is it worth having an oscilating fan inside the cabinet besides the intake/exhaust? If so I'll include it in the build.
Again, sorry if these are all dumb questions. I'm just struggling to find the answers on my own. I'll be sure to post a grow journal once I'm up and running.
Ultimate n00b! Apologies in advance
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sho
Hello to you growing maestro's! ----Ello....
Q1 - Because of the size of the pots I have no choice but to make the cabinet 70cmW x 70cmD. Taking into account the potential height of the plants and the space taken up by lighting I figure I should make the cabinet at least 1m high, maybe pushing up to 110cm. Does that sound about right? How high should I go? ----IMO, the more head space the better.... Will give you more room to work with if you ever decide to not do auto strains later....
Q2 - I'll be putting in an intake and exhaust fan. Going off the cabinet size I've specified will 4inch fans be adequate? Or do I need to go a bit bigger? ----It really depends on how many cfm's those 4" fans push.... Figure out the cubic feet of your space and you will know just how effective the fans you have in mind will be....
The lighting issue is a bit of a minefield for me, I really have no idea where to start. I think I'm going to go for cfl as a few people have told me that other types of lights like MH and HiD can burn out within two grows. ----Not true at all.... HID bulbs will only lose lumen output over time/use.... They don't just simply burnout after a couple grows.... I know a couple growers who have had their bulbs for more than two years....and still have awesome results....
That puts me off. Not that I'm trying to do this on the cheap but I don't want to be continuously paying out for bulbs when there's a more cost effective cfl alternative.
Q3 - From what I've said so far about cabinet size and plant type can anyone recommend some lighting to me for veg and flower? ----For the space you are going to utilize, I think cfl's would be your best option.... 1- You're a newbie.... 2- They don't produce much heat.... 3- CFL's come in both Kelvin ratings needed for grow and bloom....
As far as growing the stuff I think I'm sorted on that, or I can at least learn as I go. But I want to get all this cabinet stuff right first time as I don't want to have to doctor it once the plants are in. Oh one more question!
Q4 - Is it worth having an oscilating fan inside the cabinet besides the intake/exhaust? If so I'll include it in the build. ----Yes, worth having if can fit but doesn't have to oscillate if space doesn't permit....
Again, sorry if these are all dumb questions. I'm just struggling to find the answers on my own. I'll be sure to post a grow journal once I'm up and running.
Hope that helped....
CGI::::::
Ultimate n00b! Apologies in advance
Well it works out around 19.8 cubic feet so I'll compare that against some fans.
That's good to know about the HiD bulbs. I know they're supposed to give much better results. I agree that I'll be better off with cfl's for now while I'm still learning, and I can always upgrade in the future.
I'll pick up a small non-oscilating fan too.
Thanks for the help pal! Much appreciated
