Am I missing anything from my setup?

LOWNskater52

New Member
damn, didn't think a four inch fan with a filter on it would be that loud... i might do something about it if i put it on and its super loud...

p.s. how do you hang one of those up in a grow tent?
 

nellyatcha

Well-Known Member
Hey guys I plan to start my first grow in my apartment this August and I have been comprising a list of things I am going to need to buy in order to start. Please let me know about anything I have forgetten to include in the start up cost.

(From htgsupply.com)
1. 150 Watt HPS with an extra Agro Bulb for Vegging - $118
2. 4 inch Carbon Filter- $50
3. Two 4 inch Inline Fans (Intake and exhaust) - $40
4. Shipping- $29
TOTAL: $237

(From wormsway.com)
1. Darkroom 40- $84
2. Shipping- $16
TOTAL: $100

(From my local nursery)
1. Fox Farm Trio Package (Grow Big/Big Bloom/Tiger Bloom)- $45
2. Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil- $20
3. Electronic Soil pH/Moisture Meter- $25
4. Thermometer/Hygrometer- $30
5. Rockwool Cubes for three seeds- $5
6. Two 2 gallon pots- $2
7. Water Collection Tray for Pots- $3
TOTAL: $130

(From Home Depot)
1. 4 ft. of Silver Vent Ducting- $5
2. Vent Clamps for the Ducting/Filter- $2
3. Small Clip-On Fan- $15
4. Hooks/Chain for Lighting- $8
5. Small Extension Cords- $20
6. Two Timers (One for both fans and one for the light)- $30
TOTAL- $80

(From SeedBoutique.com)
1. Greenhouse Seed's Big Bang (Feminized)- $40
2. Shipping- $10
TOTAL- $50

GRAND TOTAL: $587 (give or take twenty bucks.)

What do you guys think? Any necessities I left out? Any extra things I left out?

thanks

yes you left out 2 things .
#1 time
#2 the electric bill other then that your good to go
and what about your flowering room are you doing that all in one box or what ?
 

LOWNskater52

New Member
yeah i am not gonna try a perpetual grow...i am just gonna get my feet wet before i dive in and just see if i can grow 2 plants
 

mared juwan

Well-Known Member
I would get the extra wattage man. The difference is really not that much in the elec bill but is huge for your plants. A 400watt at 12/12 is under $30 per month so the difference between 150 and 250 would be like 6 or 7 dollars. Also growing in an apartment you are not the only one with keys to the door. I would set up your grow in the bedroom or closet (if you are not already doing so) and buy a new doorknob from walmart with a lock and a key. Switch it out using a screwdriver and now if the maintenance man has to come in your place for any reason he can't get to the grow. He shouldn't be going in your bedroom anyway.
 

LOWNskater52

New Member
Skryptz- my journey start on august 9th when i order everything from htgsupply. Should arrive perfectly so my parents are done moving me into my single bedroom (badass) apartment right next to campus and are safely 300 miles awat. The first step is getting the stuff which is

-On sale grow tent (much bigger) 36 inch wide by 20 inch deep by 64 inches tall. $74!!!
-4 inch Inline fan with 4 inch carbon filter for exhaust. $120
- Floralux 150w Grow Light with a 150w AgroMax bulb (awesome bulb) and a spare bulb cause i'm clumsy. $118
- 4 inch Duct fan for light intake (not worrying about super fresh air...sorry). $20
- Sweet Clip-On fan for my HPS/plants. $21

plus shipping- $55
Total (rounded number)- $410

then its on to seeds...

oh and i got a digital camera so i can record the entire experience from construction to (hopefully) smoke. :)

as for mared juwan...you could be right now that i am getting a bigger tent...

here is what i am thinking...

Pros to a 250 (Cons to 150)
1. Much more light penetration and prob more bang for my bud with possibly bigger yields
2. I am gonna have to upgrade eventually so why not now.
3. The rest i am missing

Cons to 250 (Pros to 150)
1. Heat build up in my not so big tent, might require bigger ventiliation
2. Light burn becomes an issue
3. I don't pay my bills and don't really know how much it would cost. To tell you the truth don't have any idea how much more it would cost. I already will have a 150 watt light, 80 watt inline fan, 20 watt duct fan and maybe a couple of 42 watt cfls for side lighting. I really don't wanna push it but how much do you think that would cost right there?

As for the apartment part, this is definitely the sketchiest part of my setup. I have lived in my current apartment for 2 years and from my experience they come in about once every 4 or 5 month into the main room and and maybe once or twice a year they will come in the room and look around to see if anything is F'ed up/Spray for bugs. I am hoping this keeps for my new apartment. My tent will go in the back of my walk in closet where my shirts will go. I plan to make a locking mechanism for the tent and keep a giant black blanket over the tent to conceal the box.

What do ya think?
 

mared juwan

Well-Known Member
The fact that you've put this much thought into it and listed out all the supplies needed and have the cash needed to buy them means you have a pretty good chance at success. Growing is easy if you have the right supplies. Security and secrecy is the hardest part. Get a big suitcase or laundry bag to carry in all your nutes and soil etc. Personally I would go with the lock on the closet doorknob. You don't want anyone in the same room as that tent with those fans going. The fans won't be loud enough to hear in the next apartment but if you are standing in the same room with them it is very noticeable. The doorknob costs like $8 and takes 5 minutes to replace. I have been doing exactly what you are trying to do for almost two years now. I have a 5' x 6' walk-in closet in my one bedroom apartment that is close to school in which I have been growing perpetually the whole time. When you leave the apartment for school or work you will feel a lot better knowing that to actually get to you grow someone would need to break down the door.

PS - I would tell your parents after the first grow that you want to "man-up" and pay your own elec bill. I have two hps lights in my closet totalling 1000watts. The bill is a good $60-70 more per month than when I first moved in but it is way worth it.
 

LOWNskater52

New Member
thanks man appreciate it. yeah i have read two full books on pot and i am a pothead so i am really into this right now and i am pretty sure i can do it, with help from you guys of course

as for the door knob thing...hell... that is a great idea. i would feel better leaving my place with a lock on the door.
i need to find out what kind of lock and how to change it and id be in business.

do you have a carbon filter and does it work?
 

mared juwan

Well-Known Member
Bro, changing the doorknob will take you less than 5 minutes and all you need is a phillips head screwdriver. Just take out the two screws on either side of the doorknob. The two doorknobs on either side of the door are connected by a square rod that passes through the door between them. The rod is part of one of the knobs and fits into the other so when you remove the screws you can slide the two doorknobs apart and away from the door. Then you do the exact opposite to put in the new knobs. The reason the rod is square is because it passes through a hole in the piece that moves the actual bolt in the door. When you turn the doorknob and subsequently spin the rod it moves the piece that connects to the bolt and the door is open. You don't have to change out this bolt mechanism because your locking knob will work with the existing one. Sounds complicated but when you get the screws out you will see exactly what I'm saying. When you say "what type of lock" I'm not sure what you mean. All interior doorknobs are pretty much standard and interchangeable. Just get a regular looking doorknb that has a keyhole in it and of course a key that fits the keyhole and opens the lock. That's all there is to it.

I do have a carbon filter and it is worth every penny. Basically it is like any other air filter in that you use a fan to create a vacuum and pull air through the filter. The filter is simply a hollow tube whose outer walls are filled with activated carbon (looks like black sand or soot) The walls have tiny holes which allow air through but not the carbon so the air can be pulled from the outside of the filter, through the carbon-filled walls, and into the center of the tube. The tube is sealed on one side and the fan (which is usually connected directly to the other end of the tube) is pulling the air out of the center of the tube and then pushing it out of the grow area through some ducting that you would set up. Your growspace does not have to be completely sealed for it to work, although it will work even better with a sealed space. I cut holes in the walls to run the ducting for the fan/filter through so I could close the closet door and it would be sealed up completely. Works fine in winter but gets too hot in summer so I end up having to keep the closet door open when the lights are on. The smell is still neutralized well enough for my standards (which are pretty high). However, if I ever turn the fan for the carbon filter off the smell is dangerously strong and can be smelled outside the apartment in the hallway within hours. I grow Green House strains too. They are very stinky - which is a good thing. So I am sure if you just set the filter up and had it running in the room somewhere you would not have to make holes for ducting to make the closet completely sealed.
 

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LOWNskater52

New Member
sounds pretty damn easy to me. Thanks dude. I meant "what type of knob" as in door handle style. My door handle style for my closet now has the knob but no holes for screws on either side(that i can see). i don't even know how the maintenence guys would get it off?!?! Hopefully my new apartment isn't like that.

as for the carbon filter i am 100% sold. Gonna get a 4inch inline and carbon filter combo for 120. Should be good shit. I am still unclear on a couple of things tho (trying to really understand this). Does the fan pull the air through the filter then out the other side of the fan or (what i thought it did) the fan pulls the air into it the out the carbon filter. Might have to modify my planned grow setup up but shouldnt be a big deal.
 

LOWNskater52

New Member
one more thing. do you run your fans on a timer that is set to the hour. I plan on running my fan maybe 45/15 or 30/30 per hour. I wouldnt think you would need it on all hour every hour right?
 

JJMoney420

Member
have you thot about trying cfls? im buying a Dark Room 100 and im rolling with cfls, they are better for a small space
 

LOWNskater52

New Member
yeah sure have...to fill you guys in on a little secret, i am contemplating making a very special clonebox that would use two 42 watt cfls. I got a sweet new idea for it too. It will be a new, inovative idea i hope.

pics r coming boys
 

mared juwan

Well-Known Member
Does the fan pull the air through the filter then out the other side of the fan or (what i thought it did) the fan pulls the air into it the out the carbon filter. Might have to modify my planned grow setup up but shouldnt be a big deal.
No it's the first way. The fan pulls the air through the filter and then out the other side of the fan. So in the pic you would attach your ducting to where that hole in the fan is and the exhaust would travel out through the duct. It kind of sucks because that means you have to fit that big ole filter inside the growroom but that's the way it is supposed to work. I've never tried it the other way around with the fan coming first and pushing air through the filter because I've seen a few people say it doesn't work as well that way. I run my fan all the time but that's because I'm constantly battling the temps. You should be able to cycle the fan if you want depending on your temps and overall stinkiness of grow. You'll love it though. It makes the room go from totally reeking of dank to smelling like a house that has just been built. You know the smell of a construction site with freshly cut wood and everything smells new, hard to describe I guess.

But yea setting up a clone area is a must if you plan to do more than one grow. Once you grow a clone you will never want to grow from seed again. It is so much faster and easier with clones. One thing I can tell you for sure is that you won't want to use two 42 watt CFLs to root cuttings. Low light is best for rooting. I use one 13 watt CFL about 16 inches away to root up to 20 cuts at a time. Too much light will cause the cutting to keep trying to grow leaves instead of roots and the leaves will yellow out quickly from nitrogen deficiency. But two 42 watt CFLs should be plenty to veg two or three plants. What you really should focus on is having one area for veg and one area for flower. This allows you to keep a flower room that is always full of flowering plants which are replenished by new ones from the veg area when they are harvested. Boost your yields by more than 30% because you don't have to switch your flower room back over to veg after every grow.
 

LOWNskater52

New Member
wow really... guess i'm going to have to put it in the grow tent but i am sure i will be fiddling with it.

you must have some stinky plants if you need to have your fan on at all times. I might just have it go 50/10 but i really do want it to have a break every hour so i can save my fan for a while. If it breaks while my plants flowering and stinky as hell i would be F'ed.

Good advice on rooting the cutting. I think i might just have one 42 watt CFL really far away then throw my other one in and narrow the gap when its time to vegg. I had considered trying a perpetual grow in the beginning but was worried about expenses and whether i was up to the task or not. Now with my new idea i think a clone/veg box is definitely within my reach. I'll be sure to fill in my fellow marijuana growers when i begin construction on it but it should be pretty inovative.
 

JJMoney420

Member
im gonna be goin with
2 - 125watt 6400k cfls
4 - 26watt 2700k cfls
2 - 26watt 6500k cfls
4 - 42watt 6500k cfls

is this enough for 6 plants in a dark room 100 (1mx1m)
 
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