Building a Setup for around $220

[Mang44]

Hey everyone. I recently got like, $200 for my birthday, and I'm determined to grow some ganja! Me and my friends often go through 2 grams of dank A DAY, and when it's sometimes $20/gram for dro that's not affordable... (I HATE shwag, sorry. It gets me high, but it's not worth the harshness, and taste. Plus I feel retarded, not really high).

Solution? Growing. My dad used to grow all sorts of ganja in his day, and so do my buddies. I think homegrown will be fun as hell to grow, and plus I'm hoping to be able to hook up some friends when they need weed (selling part of the yield to buy more equipment for my next grow).

I'm growing in an apartment sadly, where everyone is ok with weed. Still, I need to keep the smell inside my room (not the whole apartment) with a strain not as stinky as skunk or white widow. I only have $200, and I want some input on the best setup I can build. I don't know if I can afford everything with this budget though.

So, my plans were to order some seeds from Attitude, feminized so I don't need extra pots and room to grow the males because they're identified. Limited on price and odor, I am thinking Carmel Cream by Sweet Seeds looks nice. How much is shipping?


http://www.cannabis-seeds-bank.co.uk/sweet-seeds-cream-caramel-feminized/prod_868.html


Now that is three seeds, all female, but I hope to grow 3 indica bagseed along with it and end up with 1-2 more female plant. I'm guessing with shipping they will come out to like $40 for the seeds.

For the light, I found a pretty cheap one on ebay. I know there are problems with lights being under-rated, but this one looks fine. It's a 250w HPS system rated at like 32k lumens that has a 250w MH conversion bulb that I will use to veg. It's $140, free shipping!

That's already 180! I am also putting in another 15 to finish a cfl fixture that holds 6 25w bulbs, another bit of lumens to help with bud production.

195. I know I'm already out of budget, but idk, maybe I can find a way to set it up for around 220. I wanted to buy some Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil because nutrients really confuse me and I don't think I will do a good job fertilizing. How much would it cost to fill up some pots to grow em in? Im planning on using 3-5 gallon pots, but I'm not sure which is best.

What else will I need? Will 220 be realistic? I already have pots, a surge protector, and a pretty nice fan that will just be blowing in my closet. I also wanted mylar though, because I heard that mylar can be as beneficial as lower canopy lights.

 

[fabfun]

u can use mylar emergency blankets from walmart for $3 that are 54x82 inches and u can get good deals on craigslist for used hps lights like street lights and outdoor lighting for $20 bucks

 

[metrognome]

You can simply make a small aeroponic or dwc for reasonably cheap, and keeps you from continually buying soil. That's not a bad price on the light, but you can build a light setup for cheaper. head over to the general grow forum, and there's a sub forum "do it yourself." I made a 70watt hps light, holder, and reflector for about 50 bucks.

 

[TaoWolf]

Check craigslist - there's usually a crapload of people trying to get rid of used growing equipment there on the cheap if you are on a tight budget. Oh and pandafilm is pretty inexpensive as well (as an alternative to mylar).

 

[Mang44]

Yeah, sadly craigslist has had NOTHING! Usually that's a great source. Emergency blankets work well? That's mad cheap.

Appreciate the feedback so far guys .

As far as ordering online... am I going to be ok with records? Do you know if the information is destroyed after purchase?

 

[TaoWolf]

As far as ordering online... am I going to be ok with records? Do you know if the information is destroyed after purchase?

There's nothing illegal about ordering gardening supplies online - so unless you are already under investigation for something illegal *and* a judge takes the time to order a merchant to turn over records, don't worry too much. If you are already under investigation you are screwed in any case (from something else you did that is/was illegal). =P

 

[goodolboy]

I built a CFL light setup with 12 lights(around 260 watts) for about $50.
Mylar is $20 a roll
Foxfarm Soil is about $25 a 1.5cu.ft. bag
Most places sell plastics pots for $1 each, grab 10
400cfm Blower Fan Booster $35 @ home depot
Ducting @ home depot $20
and 6in fans from walmart $6 each

Thats $170 of your money. put the other 30$ in the bank and order from the single seed center
now your growin

 

[Mang44]

Right now there's not a lot of heat at my house. So yeah, I think I'll be safe with whatever online, and sorry I mainly meant ordering the seeds, I know gardening supplies should be safe.

 

[goodolboy]

Yeah, sadly craigslist has had NOTHING! Usually that's a great source. Emergency blankets work well? That's mad cheap.

Appreciate the feedback so far guys .

As far as ordering online... am I going to be ok with records? Do you know if the information is destroyed after purchase?

Try seaching from the home page, seach "Metal Halide" , "High Pressure Sodium", "Grow Light", "hydroponics", as well as "bay light", " Shop Light", " Warehouse Fixtures"

But its really simple to make and cheap to buy a CFL setup locally.

 

[TaoWolf]

Right now there's not a lot of heat at my house. So yeah, I think I'll be safe with whatever online, and sorry I mainly meant ordering the seeds, I know gardening supplies should be safe.

My apologies for misunderstanding. It's considered to be fairly safe to order seeds online. Due to it being legal in the countries you order from, there's not much (or any) chance that a US court can gain access to overseas merchant records. Billing on a credit card is discrete so it's unlikely a bank or credit card company will question the purchase either. Pay by cash or money order if truly paranoid. I haven't heard of anyone being criminally prosecuted even if the seeds are intercepted by customs (who will confiscate the seeds and put in a letter explaining that they are contraband and to contact them if you want to contest the confiscation).

 

[PurpleRhinoceros]

Dude, I got you bro.

Nutrients:
Humboldt Oneness 16oz-$13
Humboldt Ginormous 16oz-$16
http://www.humboldtnutrients.com/base-nutrients/one-part/

Medium:
Cocotek Mixed Brick - $2.00 (Get two or buy the "Block" $11)
http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/cocotek.html

Pots:
Root Pots 3gal=$3 5gal=$4
http://www.aurorainnovations.org/rootpots-pricing.html

If you don't want to buy the pots. Go to your local fabrics and crafts store. Buy some stiffened felt made out of %100 percent recycled bottles. Cut some square and some rectangles. get a needle and thread and sew some fabric pots together. It could cost you less than ten bucks for all the pots you need, in the most ridiculous color you can think of. I'm thinking get bright green. Make them extra tall and fold them over so they look like

We all know, flowers growing out of green pipes, "spit hot fire"!

But better than that cause you buy good stiffened felt... or just buy the root pots.

But the nutrient solution is a basic one part. Its pretty easy to use thusly. Nothing else to mix in. The coco is void of nutrients, so the plant only gets the nutrients you feed it. Which would be on a schedule of something like "Feed, rest, water, rest, repeat"

For ventilation, buy a 6inch booster fan and put it in a 6inch hole in your cabinet/whatever you come up with that works. post ideas and people will walk with you through it.

At walmart you can buy a 6inch hepa filter for a shop vac that conveniently fits onto a 6inch booster fan or any 6inch duct tubing. its 6inches! Maybe buy some carbon and fabric drying sheets to filter air more depends on how much you got going and how much security you can afford.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xge/R-100067594/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00997445000P?vName=Sears Pro&cName=Professional&sName=Building & Remodeling=&sid=IAx20090815x000001&aff=Y

For lights, dude go with a monsterous 68watt CFL from homedepot. It plugs into any normal light socket, so you can put it in a 6dollar clamp lamp(also from home depot). It's 15$ and 2700K for flowering. For veg just any daylight 5000K+ 23w bulb would be fine. Maybe get a pack of those 4 for five bucks.
http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans-Light-Bulbs-Compact-Tube-Fluorescents-Compact-Fluorescents/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgeZbmg1/R-100676712/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Most stores have the 68w bulbs in stock. And get a decent digital timer on sale for xmas. dont spend more than $5... that might require going to Lowes

I really recommend the CFL route. The results are impressive even for beginners. They can be put in tight spaces and produce little heat. They do have to be close to the plant though.

(3) clam lamps = $23
(3) 68w CFLs= $45
(x) 23w CFLs=$3x

 

[PurpleRhinoceros]

I hope you change your mind about using nutrients. It's really simple. Each week you go to the grocery store and buy a gallon of reverse osmosis filtered water. Take it home and put approx 1 teaspoon of concentrated nutrients into the gallon of water. Put the lid back on, and shake. Let sit over night for ph to settle. The next day water the plants with the gallon of water you bought from the grocery store. It now has all the nutrients your plant needs. The next day you will not water. but the day after that you have to go back to the store and buy another gallon of filtered water. This time, dont add nutrients. Water the plants with just normal water. Repeat this process weekly.

 

[PurpleRhinoceros]

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xge/R-202020506/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
also found coco peat blocks at home depot

 

[Mang44]

Thanks! All is well and I think I can afford to buy the seeds, soil, and 250w hps. I have a timer and hangers etc.
Also checking out those mylar emergency blankets, a cheap alternative to just buying the sheets.

That should be it? 250w of HPS (or MH during veg ) along with a cord hanging 6 25 w cfl bulbs of both spectrum should be enough for 5 plants all the way through? My goal is an ounce per plant, is that realistic?

Right now I only have the couple little bag seeds going under like a total of 60w, just so they have a start when I get significant lights. They look happy, for now though.

Is miracle grow fert going to work? At least during vegging, I think by the time they're done vegging I'll be able to pick up some organic stuff for flowering (btw, which kind?) I know everyone says it tastes bad. But I always still have a container of Miracle Grow powder that I use for other plants, 24-8-16 all purpose plant food [:.

Edit: Nevermind, reading posts above I missed! Thanks, that is really helpful. I thought CFL's were only an option if you already have a main HPS, but I guess not! CFL's would be cheap cheap too.

How many watts of CFL, would I need though? For 5 plants I might get 12 of these 42 watt soft white bulbs that end up only costing $50 together! Would that 500w of cfl even be better than 250w of HPS? I found a basic clamp fixture for 20, and all sorts of y splitters and socket adapters that are pretty cheap. Might get like, 2 68 watt bulbs shining out of the reflector with a y splitter, and make another cfl fixture. The one I make would be a 6 slot surge protector with 3 of those lightbulb plug in adapters and twin adapters. Then have 6 42w bulbs on that, and stick it to a turkey pan. Thinks the results would be good, better than HPS even perhaps? No heat really, Im sure the fan I have will be hefty enough all the way through.

Also, sorry for asking so many questions... what spectrum would I use? I know 2700k is best for flowering, and plants use the 6400k better when vegging. Could I just have a mixture of both all the way through? For some reason, 42w 2700ks I can get for piratically the same price as 23w 6400k.

 

[PurpleRhinoceros]

The CFL alone will be good for the vegging of five plants. Veg for 2-3 weeks on 18:6 then switch to twelve twelve and kick on that 250w.

What did you decide to grow in? A cabinet or closet?

1 ounce a plant is very realistic with even just CFL.
This guy sells a sick UFO that save a little on the energy and heat. I'd get it if I were you.
http://www.ecogroled.com/servlet/the-2/grow-light-lamp-led/Detail

Mylar emergency blankets are in walmart or target sometimes for $4bucks like you've read, but where is it going?

 

[Mang44]

Damn! That LED you posted actually looks awesome. Does it really replace a 250w HID you think? Lumens and performance wise? The 90 UFO's (that I heard about, and are REALLY expensive) are supposed to replace a 400w.

That LED light, and 150w of cfl is very do-able for me.

And I'm actually growing in half of my closet [:. The space is a little less than 4' x 2' x 7'.

 

[PurpleRhinoceros]

Yeah, having a blend of light will better your production of photo synthesis.

With your combined resources try to do a blend of like 2to1 of Daylight and Softwhite for veg, and 2to1 ratio of Softwhite and Daylight for bloom.

 

[PurpleRhinoceros]

http://www.ecogroled.com/servlet/the-3/grow-light-lamp-led/Detail
this is the 90w EGL UFO. i have another thread about the ufo lights and budlover909 just got off the phone with the owner and apparently they have a 1year warranty. And they answer the phone when you call. sounds like good service to me.

 

[TaoWolf]

... How many watts of CFL, would I need though? For 5 plants I might get 12 of these 42 watt soft white bulbs that end up only costing $50 together! Would that 500w of cfl even be better than 250w of HPS? ...

One could make a good argument that enough CFLs would be just as good as using a low wattage HPS lamp. It's argumentative... But, keep in mind that wattage with lights is going to be like a lot like wattage with audio speakers. The sound produced by one hundred 10w speakers gives better definition or fullness to sound but they will not be as loud as one 1000w speaker - even though the wattage adds up, volume does not stack up or add to become equivalent. Likewise, with lights, one hundred 10w lights give you better coverage or spread from multiple points, but are not as bright as a 1000w light no matter how many you have. In any case, the moral of the story is that adding together total wattage is rather meaningless in making a comparison.

 

[Mang44]

Ok. So I think that a couple 42/68 w bulbs instead of 25w should help with brightness... they're still low wattage, but with a bunch of them the light spread should make up for not just getting 100w cfls?

Has anyone had experience with that 50w LED? Sounds great.. but I'm not convinced that LEDs are really that strong? While cleaning out my closet right now I found one of those 2 foot tall tower heats that changes directions and blows air, and has a cool air setting so I think with the closet door open a couple inches, and that blowing around I should be fine.