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 UltimateDevotion
TwistedByDesign
 
Registered: 11/23/12
Posts: 5,935
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 Some advice please 
#647611 - 11/23/12 08:24 PM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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Ok, so I am getting older and have recent lost my last contact for getting decent green.I own my own home and have basement space for growing. I can easily get by on 4 oz a year of quality bud. I've dabbled in the past with growing but never got too serious cause I always had a hook up. So what I'm asking is, what epuipment would I need to grow a pound a year? I have a 250 w MH light that I've had for 10 or so years. I'm assuming I wouldn't need a ridiculous amount of space for a fairly small yearly grow. Does a TC have any advice for me? I sure could use it.
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Harry Detroit in 304 made one last promise now
"I'm goin out without a trace, a vanishing act before your eyes"
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 Tank333
Psychotic Hippie
Registered: 08/19/10
Posts: 1,241
Loc: Washington
Last seen: 4 years, 11 months
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Yea, a 250 watt HID would be fine for growin' a couple of plants in a small space... Maybe a 3'x3' footprint with two or three plants in it? I'm pretty sure that with some work you'll be able to get 3-4 ounces per harvest, not per year! lol.
Myself, I say go big or go home. I started with 1000 watt lights and haven't looked back since... lol. But, work with whatcha got and it'll getcha good results.
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My best run so far
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UltimateDevotion
TwistedByDesign
Registered: 11/23/12
Posts: 5,935
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Re: Some advice please [Re: Tank333]
#647615 - 11/23/12 08:40 PM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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I hear ya with the "go big or go home" but I'm only in it for personal use and I live in a non legal state. Trying to keep the risk as low as possible. I do have a space about 6x4x6, what douy you think that could be good for?
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Harry Detroit in 304 made one last promise now
"I'm goin out without a trace, a vanishing act before your eyes"
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Javadog
Stranger
Registered: 11/11/12
Posts: 139
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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That space will do fine. This is close to a standard grow-tent size.
You will want to control the smell. Read up on this.
Good luck,
JD
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UltimateDevotion
TwistedByDesign
Registered: 11/23/12
Posts: 5,935
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Re: Some advice please [Re: Javadog]
#647718 - 11/24/12 10:31 AM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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So Im thinking about building a 4x4x4 ft box for in a back room of my basement. I plan on getting a 400 hps for lighting. would that be sufficient light for the space? I'm researching on how I'm gonna run a ventilation system. A lot of things seem a little overwhelming right now, specifically dealing with the electrical side of things as I am a little frightened of electricity. Anyway, I appreciate any help you guys can give me or maybe help point me in the right direction. Thanks
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Harry Detroit in 304 made one last promise now
"I'm goin out without a trace, a vanishing act before your eyes"
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Tank333
Psychotic Hippie
Registered: 08/19/10
Posts: 1,241
Loc: Washington
Last seen: 4 years, 11 months
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You said you've got a 6x4x6 space? Any way you can seperate it into two small rooms? One with the 400HPS for flowering and a smaller one for vegging. I'm thinking 4x4 and 4x2? Also, I wouldn't restrict yurself to just a 4x4x4 box for flowering. That's pretty low headspace, considering you've gotta have your light in there (unless you're planning on putting the light on TOP of the box, which I've seen before but don't recommend).
As for the electricity, as long as you add up all the amps you're using and make sure that you're not over 80% of the total breaker amperage, you'll be golden. A 250 and a 400 will do just fine on a 15 amp circuit with a few fans (and pumps if you're doing hydro)... As long as you don't create a fire hazard in your boxed with poor ventilation or a bad homemade hood (I've seen people posting about how their DIY hood caught fire and they lost their grow), you shouldn't have any issues.
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My best run so far
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Re: Some advice please [Re: Tank333]
#647728 - 11/24/12 11:41 AM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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Agreed with Tank on the height of a flowering chamber. 4 feet headspace is more than enough for a decent veg closet, but for flowering your plants you'll run out of room in a matter of weeks. Always better to have more space than not enough, its easier to raise your lights than build a new grow room. I would suggest 6 as the minimum amount of height you need but you'd be best off with 7-8. Keep in mind that you have to take into account the height of your containers the plants are in as well as the height of your reflector, those all rob you of a few few feet of space. You'll want enough space between the reflector and the tops of your plants so that you can keep your hand under the light without it being too warm (around 1-2 ft of space). So right there that 8 feet of grow space gets cut down by 3-4 feet leaving you with around 4 feet of room to work with. It's very easy to run out of vertical height if you do not plan well enough for it, so be generous in this area or you'll pay for it later.
When trying to figure out the size of the ballast(s) you'll need to fill your room with good light, go with the watts/sq ft standard. At bare minimum you'll want 30 watts/sq ft, but really you want that number to be closer to 50 watt/sq ft to get the most out of your growing space. So, figure out the total sq footage of your grow space, stick the wattage you're thinking about on top of that, and you'll get watts/sq ft.
So, if you went with a 6x4 room you'll have 24 square feet of grow space. if you take a 600 watt light you'll get 600 watts / 24 sq ft = 25 watts per sq ft which is not enough! However, you add in another 600 watt light to give yourself 1200 total watts you get 1200 watts / 24 sq ft = 50 watts per sq ft which is perfect!
With a space that big I would definitely recommend having two lights as even one 1000 watt light will not give you adequate coverage if you filled the whole room. 24 sq ft is a pretty damn large area for someone who wants a pound a year. If you planned only one run a year it would be perfect, but to put things in a little persepctive, I run a 2x4 cabinet with 4 plants and a 600 watt light and pull between 10-12 oz's per harvest (with maybe an oz of that being scuff/popcorn). With a 6x4 room I could probably triple my production and pull in close to three pounds with one grow! So, if you're really not looking to produce all that much, I would suggest a 3x3 growing area with a 600 watt light. If you planned for it and had the cash you could get away with a 1000 watter in that space, but it would require you to AC the room to keep temperature manageable. I suggest the 600 because they are the most efficient lamps to use when going with a single ballast setup for small cabinets. This will give you enough room to do 2-4 plants and produce right around what you want. It's fairly easy to pull in one oz per plant per harvest and if you pulled off a harvest every two months at a QP per harvest you would pull in 24 ozs (1.5 lbs) per year which is what you say your goal is.
Depending on how much effort you wanted to put into this getting this type of room up in running is fairly cheap.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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starspangled
Stranger
Registered: 02/21/10
Posts: 27
Last seen: 12 years, 23 days
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Re: Some advice please [Re: coda]
#647749 - 11/24/12 02:21 PM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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I would recomend keeping the 250 that you have, for raising your vegging plants. For the small space you've got i would recomend a 600w light with a both spectrums (red &blue light) bulb. Reason i recomend the 600w is because it doesn't get too hot, as I reckon a 100w puts out a lot of heat, although would give you much more light. my ultimate rule for growing, if you haven't done much before, is if it's too hot for you then it's too hot for your plants. If you give your seedlings just enough water but not too much (check the weight of your pots to see if they've drank the water before giving them more) and you are almost set. Maybe get some female seeds so you don't need to faff about and possibly get into troubles with males and you won't have to think about it too much.
Potential shopping list:
1x 600w Sodium lamp (cheap on ebay - c.$100
1xPlug and Grow timer (this is anti-surge, otherwise you will blow your timer most likely) c.$20
Some trays to sit your plants in (controls spillages and allows you to water properly)
Some decent seeds - I've always had very good results with Dutch passion and Sensi Seeds (who also do a top notch White Label sister company that do great stuff)
Some Bat Guano (a massive tub is around $20)
Bonemeal (Fish and Blood)
Miracle Grow (or equivelent)
Enough top quality soil for your needs
Possibly, a Carbon Filter (if you are need to worry about smell)
Some decent size large vessels for your babies
A Min / Max thermometer so you can see how hot or cold your temperatures are without having to constantly check.
and you are more or less set.
I personally find growtents to be size restrictive and costly, in a hot climate I find the corner of a room curtained off with something bright and reflective ( in my opinion Brilliant White Paint is King, or even an Anti-Fungal outdoors paint like Sandtex - paint it on everything you need to)
For what you need, this should do, it doesn't have to be complicated
if your space is too cold your plants will grow very slowly, cardboard works great for insulation, in multiple layers. This is cost effective and can be changed as often as you need
Hope that gives you an all rounder of what a fellow grower with some years of experience would do
All The Best
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starspangled
Stranger
Registered: 02/21/10
Posts: 27
Last seen: 12 years, 23 days
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typo:
"reckon a 100w puts out a lot of heat"
... I meant 1000w
Also I think Perlite is a great additive for your soil, even at 50% Perlite, 50% Soil, and will ensure your plant's root system has air pockets for Oxygen, helps with drainage
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UltimateDevotion
TwistedByDesign
Registered: 11/23/12
Posts: 5,935
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Re: Some advice please [Re: coda]
#647751 - 11/24/12 02:39 PM (12 years, 1 month ago) |
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Thanks a million guys I really appreciate the help with this.
--------------------
Harry Detroit in 304 made one last promise now
"I'm goin out without a trace, a vanishing act before your eyes"
Edited by UltimateDevotion (11/24/12 02:50 PM)
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