Planning first grow and need advice

[fmacanthaya]

I'm only planning to grow 1-2 plants. I'm using a box which is 19 in (height) x 15.5 in (width) x 12 in (depth). I'm going to cover the inside of the box with aluminum foil.

My main question is about lights. I have a bunch of 23 watt light bulbs. How many would be enough for 1 plant? Also the light bulbs have those twirling fluorescents inside a glass sphere. Will those still work? I switched those for energy saving lights so now I just have them lying around (around 30...hahaha).

I only have 1 computer fan. Is this enough? Can I also just cut another hole for some more ventilation?

Smell. This is really tough because my roommates are sort of against me growing. They don't mind me smoking, only if it is in the bathroom. But they are a little questionable about growing, but they said it is OK only if is just a few plants. Is putting some air freshener outside enough?

I'm going to be putting the box inside this attic where the insulation is fluffing out. Will there be any chance of a fire?

Thanks for all this help. Sorry for so many questions is just that I don't want to mess up because getting seeds is quite a hassle for me.

fmacanthaya Reviewed by fmacanthaya on 12-01-2007. Planning first grow and need advice I'm only planning to grow 1-2 plants. I'm using a box which is 19 in (height) x 15.5 in (width) x 12 in (depth). I'm going to cover the inside of the box with aluminum foil. My main question is about lights. I have a bunch of 23 watt light bulbs. How many would be enough for 1 plant? Also the light bulbs have those twirling fluorescents inside a glass sphere. Will those still work? I switched those for energy saving lights so now I just have them lying around (around 30...hahaha). I only Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

Lose the Aluminum foil and think mylar instead.

As many lights as you can remove the heat from.

No, you will need to lightproof any hole you cut.

Get your roomates' permission. If they truly think 'just a few plants' is okay, then why do you have to hide it in the attic disguised as a computer box? A larger cabinet would be FAR easier.

Fiberglass insulation is not a fire hazard, but the amount of sawdust present in most attic crawlspaces IS.

It doesn't sound like you're in a really solid position to be growing indoors right now. Have you thought about an outdoor crop in spring?

[fmacanthaya]

Lose the Aluminum foil and think mylar instead.
As many lights as you can remove the heat from.

No, you will need to lightproof any hole you cut.

Get your roomates' permission. If they truly think 'just a few plants' is okay, then why do you have to hide it in the attic disguised as a computer box? A larger cabinet would be FAR easier.

Fiberglass insulation is not a fire hazard, but the amount of sawdust present in most attic crawlspaces IS.

It doesn't sound like you're in a really solid position to be growing indoors right now. Have you thought about an outdoor crop in spring?

Is Mylar the plastic white paper?

That's perfect because I just found another fan haha1

They are allowing it they just don't want it in their site. So I have to put it in the attice

It's not much of a crawl place. It will just be in the middle of the attic

I would do that if there was some forest in the middle of Tokyo

[Opie Yutts]

You can do much bigger than that in your attic, but for two plants I would get about 8 23 W CFL bulbs (or the equivalent) for vegging and a 250 W HPS digital ballast and cool tube for budding. That way you can do a SOG or SCROG and harvest twice as often. Make sure the veg bulbs are 5500K or 6000K color. Both the blue ones and the more common 2700K red ones will work, but the blue is better for vegging. I would think you would not have to vent to the outdoors if you keep it that small, but attics get darn cold in winter and darn hot in summer. You might need a heater and an AC unit. On those twisty bulbs in a globe, the globe cuts down the amount of light that is emitted, so regular CFL's are better for the same wattage.

[fmacanthaya]

You can do much bigger than that in your attic, but for two plants I would get about 8 23 W CFL bulbs (or the equivalent) for vegging and a 250 W HPS digital ballast and cool tube for budding. That way you can do a SOG or SCROG and harvest twice as often. Make sure the veg bulbs are 5500K or 6000K color. Both the blue ones and the more common 2700K red ones will work, but the blue is better for vegging. I would think you would not have to vent to the outdoors if you keep it that small, but attics get darn cold in winter and darn hot in summer. You might need a heater and an AC unit. On those twisty bulbs in a globe, the globe cuts down the amount of light that is emitted, so regular CFL's are better for the same wattage.

Thanks, I did some more research and I have a question. When I do a SCROG instead of using a chicken wire or fishing strings can I use regular clothing strings and tie it into a net?

On the twisty bulbs that are covered with the glass globe, can I break the globe off and will it still work?

I'm short on money right now so I can't buy a heater. But I have an advantage, in this attic all the heating systems are there. And these long silver tubes are extremely warm. If you get close to them you can feel the heat. So I was planning to adjust the box from a several feet away from them so I can get heat and I can always adjust it.

[Opie Yutts]

Thanks, I did some more research and I have a question. When I do a SCROG instead of using a chicken wire or fishing strings can I use regular clothing strings and tie it into a net?
I don't see why not. You can pretty much use anything. I prefer wire netting that has holes about 2x3".

On the twisty bulbs that are covered with the glass globe, can I break the globe off and will it still work?
I don't know, never heard of anyone doing it. You might consider trying one.

I'm short on money right now so I can't buy a heater. But I have an advantage, in this attic all the heating systems are there. And these long silver tubes are extremely warm. If you get close to them you can feel the heat. So I was planning to adjust the box from a several feet away from them so I can get heat and I can always adjust it.
Your main battle in summer, or with HID lighting all the time, is heat. In winter that might work, but I would be sure you can move it closer and farther away.

[fmacanthaya]

Thanks, I did some more research and I have a question. When I do a SCROG instead of using a chicken wire or fishing strings can I use regular clothing strings and tie it into a net?
I don't see why not. You can pretty much use anything. I prefer wire netting that has holes about 2x3".

On the twisty bulbs that are covered with the glass globe, can I break the globe off and will it still work?
I don't know, never heard of anyone doing it. You might consider trying one.

I'm short on money right now so I can't buy a heater. But I have an advantage, in this attic all the heating systems are there. And these long silver tubes are extremely warm. If you get close to them you can feel the heat. So I was planning to adjust the box from a several feet away from them so I can get heat and I can always adjust it.
Your main battle in summer, or with HID lighting all the time, is heat. In winter that might work, but I would be sure you can move it closer and farther away.

Thanks brother. That helped a lot. One last question, if i want to connect the light bulb to a socket what appliance do i need? and how much does is the average cost?
About to take a bong hit! Happy tokin' :jointsmile:

[Opie Yutts]

Thanks brother. That helped a lot. One last question, if i want to connect the light bulb to a socket what appliance do i need? and how much does is the average cost?
About to take a bong hit! Happy tokin' :jointsmile:

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by this. If you are using fluorescents, they have their own ballast, and you just plug them into a regular electrical outlet, or string up some power strips. If you have HID lighting, you must buy a ballast, bulb and hood, which normally has it's own socket to screw the bulb into. Some hoods have the ballast mounted on them, but this will add extra heat into your grow room. One advantage of a separate ballast is that you can keep the heat caused by it, out of the grow area. I recommend a cool tube or enclosed hood, with plenty o' ventilation.

Cost? that depends on a lot of stuff. A nice 400W digital ballast is about $250. A cool tube or enclosed hood is about $100. A 400W bulb is about $100 at a hydro store, but you can buy much cheaper ones for as little as $8. I'm not sure how well the cheap bulbs work, but someone here (sorry for the bad memory) says they haven't noticed a difference.

23W CFL's (100W incandescent equivalent) are about $4 each for the blue ones (vegging), $2 each for red ones (budding). 65W CFL's (300W equivalent) are about $16 each, but I haven't seen these in a blue spectrum except on line.

[PharmaCan]

fmacanthaya RE. how to hook up your bulbs. You need sockets, appliance is wrong word, not that I guess the English translation means much in Tokyo.

Anyway, go to department store that is known for discount prices. Find a shop that sells really cheesy bathroom fixtures (appliances ) and look for one of those cheap light fixtures that has 6-8 bulbs in it. (You can take the individual socket out of the light fixture.) Note the price and figure out the price per light socket. Then find an electrical supply shop and see how much individual light sockets cost. Buy them wherever is cheaper. Then find someone who knows about electricity and get them to help you to properly wire the sockets to cords, then plug into a power strip then to a timer.

While you are out, pick up something to check pH with. Litmus paper or a liquid test kit are the least expensive.

Then read some of the stickies by stinkyattic in the basic growing section and be extra sure you follow her instructions about soil.

If you don't have decent soil, and you don't know your pH, you will have nothing but problems your entire grow.

PC :smokin:

[fmacanthaya]

fmacanthaya RE. how to hook up your bulbs. You need sockets, appliance is wrong word, not that I guess the English translation means much in Tokyo.

Anyway, go to department store that is known for discount prices. Find a shop that sells really cheesy bathroom fixtures (appliances ) and look for one of those cheap light fixtures that has 6-8 bulbs in it. (You can take the individual socket out of the light fixture.) Note the price and figure out the price per light socket. Then find an electrical supply shop and see how much individual light sockets cost. Buy them wherever is cheaper. Then find someone who knows about electricity and get them to help you to properly wire the sockets to cords, then plug into a power strip then to a timer.

While you are out, pick up something to check pH with. Litmus paper or a liquid test kit are the least expensive.

Then read some of the stickies by stinkyattic in the basic growing section and be extra sure you follow her instructions about soil.

If you don't have decent soil, and you don't know your pH, you will have nothing but problems your entire grow.

PC :smokin:

Thanks. I guess I still have a lot more preparing to do before I start growing.