I have a 500 dollar budget

Diabolical666

Well-Known Member
yeah , Id get a cpl t5's for veg and a 600/1000w hps for flwr. You can pick up the other odds and ends cheap here n there
 

Lo Budget

Well-Known Member
Where, exactly are you planning on setting up? Basement, br, trunk of car, etc?
Didn't offer much to go on. That being said, you should be able to pick up an HID, tent, fan/filter & seeds for $500. None of these things will be top quality. But you can get by, depending. More info would allow some of these helpful folks to advise you on where to weight your $. G/L, it'll be fun no matter what.
 

GrowUrOwnDank

Well-Known Member
Out door is not a option. Looking to do a smaller grow for personal use
I would say don't blow your whole budget. It is likely that you will learn and change to what suits you. My first was soil and I tried hydro, ended up doing hempy bucket as my fav. It's super cheap/carefree, and I like LED because you don't have to worry about heat. The hempy is cheap on nutes too.

For simplicity, cheap and ease, get a $3 5 gallon bucket and enough perlite to fill 2 inches from the top. Drill a hole bought 5/16 2 inches from the bottom of the bucket. GH Flora nutes are 3 part and work well. Any fan will do. Autos are super easy and hardy. Dinafem would be my choice for a first.

Gonna need a PH meter. $12 on eBay. PPM meter? Prolly not necessary if you use filtered water at the grocery store for .30 a gallon. Just start feed at 25-50 % of the mix schedule and work your way up. Cheap dollar store timer and fan and your good to go.

Get a few grows under your belt then go crazy and blow the dough on the style you like. Otherwise you might end up having a buncha stuff around you don't really use anymore. It's just weed bro. My first was all miracle grow, CFLs and tap water. It came out great. Maybe 150 invested in good genes/seeds and I built a light with those $20 big ass 65 actual watt CFLs from the hardware store. I only do one plant though so my seeds lasted a long time. And still using the same perlite over and over and only mix about 1/2 gallon food at a time. Feed water or Feed water water depends. It's so easy it's stupid. Check your run off and flushing is easy if your ph gets wonky.
 

d0rk2dafullest

Well-Known Member
Look into Jacks classic Hydro. and the Calcium nitrate. and then when u bloom look for Jacks bloom booster. Cheap nutrients. for Hydro setup.
or KISS. (kiss if jacks gets too complicated) (7g per gallon = no brainer)
hps can get costly. especially if u dont have an a/c dedicated to her. or good ventilation.
LED might be better for u as it can save on a/c and just have a well ventilated room/closet.
Build your own tent outta OSB board. and throw in some shelves and copy the tent setups.
I would say LED.
It's very efficient.

LED are expensive too as well.. so do ur research. if not get some t5's and just change the bulbs to orange or red when u bloom. (do some research on that. im not sure if that would make flowering better, i would think so because the red helps in flowering. but i would ask others who have tried doing this and ask them if they've seen an increase in yield)

The most valuable advice i can give u is to do research on KISS and Jacks Classic and Calcium Nitrate salts. DO NOT PAY FOR OVERPRICED HYDRO STORE NUTRIENTS. it would save you a lot of money. A LOT OF MONEY.

kelp4less also has good one part/one part as well.
and i've read MANY good things about Veg+Bloom.
it's one part veg+bloom for tap water.
 

CCCmints

Well-Known Member
how much space do you have to work with? i'll try to get a list of stuff you need and see if it fits your budget. you're definitely not going to be working with quality equipment on a $500 budget. growin' tree ain't cheap.

fan: http://www.amazon.com/VenTech-IF4-Inline-Duct-Fan/dp/B005KMOJPK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248478&sr=8-4&keywords=inline fan
t5 light (for veg): http://www.amazon.com/Light-4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic/dp/B00HEYCRI8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248539&sr=8-4&keywords=t5 light
carbon filter: http://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLFILT4M-Control-Australia-Charcoal/dp/B00E582DV2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248432&sr=8-3&keywords=4" carbon filter
tent: http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-Hydroponic-Indoor-Growing/dp/B00H9O6UJ0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248344&sr=8-2&keywords=grow tent
400w light kit: http://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Sun-Reflector-Digital-Ballast/dp/B005UGWX68/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248636&sr=8-6&keywords=400w light kit
nutes (lucas formula): http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-734100-FloraMicro-5-0-1/dp/B000BT4696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248838&sr=8-1&keywords=flora micro
http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-FloraBloom-Quart-Ounces/dp/B0012V3PO4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420248838&sr=8-3&keywords=flora micro
smart pot (choose your size): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=smart pot
ducting: http://www.amazon.com/VenTech-VTD625-Aluminum-Ventilation-Ducting/dp/B00DCES1TI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420249463&sr=8-1&keywords=ducting

^ that right there comes out to $496.98

of-course you'll need soil and a few other small things. surprisingly though it seems this is doable on a $500 budget. good luck, lemme' know if you have any questions. i might be able to help.
 

Dr.StickyFingers

Well-Known Member
you might as well get a small tent 2x4 or 2x2 to stick in the closet check ebay/amazon
get a 400-600W HPS/MH and pay a little more instead of blowing it on a 5 fixture that wont even keep up and is expensive
You can find package deals for lights including ballist, cooltube, bulbs etc on ebay for $100 or so
with the other little odds and ends like an inline fan, scrubber, ducting you shoud still have money left over
Go soil. cheaper and easier for beginners
 

Andyvan55

Member
I know there is know what to tell but with good seeds ( something like norther lights) what could I expect from such a set up?
 

Dr.StickyFingers

Well-Known Member
I have basically a hole basement I just don't know what part to focus my money on
a whole basement? if smell and security(access to your basement isnt an issue then focus on the essential
Light
Soil/nutes
Ventilation
and obviously good beans

I know there is know what to tell but with good seeds ( something like norther lights) what could I expect from such a set up?
You said so yourself. theres no way to tell depends on how long you veg and your setup.. so theres no point in asking

Without much info everyones responses here are pretty much a shot in the dark
 

CCCmints

Well-Known Member
I know there is know what to tell but with good seeds ( something like norther lights) what could I expect from such a set up?
northern lights is a great choice for a first grow. there are so many variables involved with how well one will do in a grow. what size pots you use, how stressful your environment is, how you train the plants, feeding them correctly, etc.

how many plants were you thinking of doing? i think under a 400 you'd do well with 2 plants under a scrog. it's really nearly impossible to guess yield, but if i were you and i did my research, i'd expect to pull anywhere between 6-8 oz. closer to 6 than 8.

did you see the list of items i posted? that is where you should focus your money right now. those are the essentials.
 

GrowUrOwnDank

Well-Known Member
I know there is know what to tell but with good seeds ( something like norther lights) what could I expect from such a set up?
Man your asking the wrong questions. At some point you gotta be able to grow a plant. And then more. It's not like you become a production operator without a little experience. Good genetics to start with is the only expense that is truly valuable. Popular autos are stupid friendly for noobs. Hempy is easy and carefree. LED no worries about heat and electric $ and safety. CFL's could have hundred all over the place. Seems dangerous. T5 I dunno.

It's just weed. Go cheap man. You will probably do something different every time in the beginning.
 
Top