Hello all :) Starting first within the next month and I need some basic advice

Greetings everyone I hope you're all nice and medicated today.

I've been lurking on these forums for close to four years now, and the time is finally good to start a nice little operation. What I'm looking to do is start something small, but do it right. I'm not sure what you folks have done for your first time, but I plan on doing anywhere from 5-10 party cup grows my first time, as I heard they take less time and are pretty simple.

I'll most likely be using CFLs the entire time due to my $100-$200 budget, so with that being said what do you guys think would be the right amount of overall space/lighting I would need? Any and all advice is more than welcomed guys c: I love the community, and I can't wait to get started.

Rileyman1211 said:

Greetings everyone I hope you're all nice and medicated today.

I've been lurking on these forums for close to four years now, and the time is finally good to start a nice little operation. What I'm looking to do is start something small, but do it right. I'm not sure what you folks have done for your first time, but I plan on doing anywhere from 5-10 party cup grows my first time, as I heard they take less time and are pretty simple.

I'll most likely be using CFLs the entire time due to my $100-$200 budget, so with that being said what do you guys think would be the right amount of overall space/lighting I would need? Any and all advice is more than welcomed guys c: I love the community, and I can't wait to get started.

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Hello Rileyman:
Glad you showed up - we love to see new faces around here, and new members.
I would advise you to pick a spot that you would like to grow in, and then design an environment around that.
I'd be happy to help, but specifics are needed.
PM if you'd like help.
GWN

Welcome to RIU, though belated.

Thanks for the warm welcome

I have a basement (a dirt basement at that) that I can grow in. It's decently spacious, being at least 50 feet by 50 feet. The only things I'm concerned about is the dirt floor that mite attract various bugs and whatnot that will eat my babies. Perhaps I can lay a tarp down of some sort and cut it accordingly? I'm more concerned about doing this right than anything, and I might even increase my budget by another $50-$100 depending on what type of quality I'm looking at.

Oh and thanks GreatwhiteNorth I really appreciate the welcome. Happy toking friends,

hey hi hows it going happy to hear your finally giving it a shot!

i want to start of by saying if your serious about giving this a try i suggest you budget that another 2 or 300 and do it right the first time with hids first off the bud you grow will be the best you've ever smoked theres nothing like fresh, secondly people may disagree but imo cfls tend to be a more advanced growers lighting, to know exactly where to put the lights exactly how many you'll need how close it can be more tedious then a hid whereas you can just sit your girls under it and leave them alone

you'll probably end up going that route anyways bigger is better and i don't know anyone that stands by cfls when they have anything other then a stealthcab and with that much space you won't have to worry about heat or anything of the sort you could get a nice 400w digi ballest a mh and a hps bulb when its that time and your good to grow all you'll need is some dirt and some 3g pots also you might want to start with just 5 at a time 10 can be alot of work and twice the worrying but thats entirely up to you

i highly suggest dyna-grow nutrient line its cheap, it gives your plants what they need and anyone will tell you it gets the job done.

you can find a cheapo ph tester on ebay for 10 bucks its what i have alot of people use them http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Digital-Ph-Meter-Tester-Hydro-Aquarium-Water-Pool-Hydroponic-Monitor-Pen-Ph-/360637700844?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53f7ae9aec

people will tell you fox farm ocean forest or light warrior is a good premix i use coco choir its like ground up coconut husk i find it to work better but again its entirely up to you

i get my seeds from http://www.nirvanashop.com/en/ i highly recommend bubblelicious thats my personal favorite just get feminized seeds for a couple extra bucks you get twice the chance they'll be female its such a disappointment to have to kill a beautiful plant because its male nirvana has stealth shipping iv been buying seeds from them regularly for 5 years i live in the us and have never had any problems they have been around for like 10 or 20 years





i do all my shopping at http://www.htgsupply.com everyone will tell you best deals around stealth shipping at your door in two days been shopping with them for 2 years never any problems they also have a ebay channel if you just need a few things instead of having to pay ups flat rate


i can't think of anything else at the moment if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and i think i can speak for everyone when i say, we would be more then happy to help you out the best we can!

I would love to add that extra 200-300 to my budget, but I'll have to see what we're dealing with, we're probably not starting until mid August anyway so it won't be hard to come up with that extra money. I was looking at the AK-48 seeds on nirvana shop, mostly because it can take a beating which I imagine is ideal for first time growers (no I won't literally take a bat to my girls xD). Five plants sounds about right for the first time, as those seeds come in a 5 pack anyway.

My main concern is the dirt floor on the basement that might attract mites or something.. I'd imagine I could lay a tarp over it and just do the best I can at sealing it. I'll attempt to get pictures up here and show you the space I'm working with and whatnot. I do appreciate the advice though, thanks a bunch

Best possible advice I can give you is....
Wait until you can get a better budget.
Get some good HID lights and what you need to go with the HID lights.
If you can do some DIY then you can put together a 3x3x6 growbox/tent with HID lighting for around 500 bucks.
Might as well do it right from the start.

althor said:

Best possible advice I can give you is....
Wait until you can get a better budget.
Get some good HID lights and what you need to go with the HID lights.
If you can do some DIY then you can put together a 3x3x6 growbox/tent with HID lighting for around 500 bucks.
Might as well do it right from the start.

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basicly sums up everything i was talking about, in one paragraph
and thats basically what your gonna get from anyone on here

you could get something like http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-The-Dirty-Dozen-Organic-Starter-Pack.asp just switch out the budda nutrients for the foxfarm trio




for the floor i suggest getting http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Mylar-on-Black-Poly---6point7mil.asp

really thick you won't have a problem walking on it i recommend laying some ply wood down where your grow area is going to be and then laying it on top of that

you can also get panda film off of ebay or amazon for dirt cheap idk how thick it is tho

i wouldn't really worry about bugs you can get predator bugs online that will deal with anything just let them free in your basement lady bugs are nice !!

IMHO...start the CFL room with the budget you have, and figure out what you need to make it work

going small is a great way to learn what you need to accommodate your situation......then upgrade as you go along

Indoor Sun King said:

IMHO...start the CFL room with the budget you have, and figure out what you need to make it work

going small is a great way to learn what you need to accommodate your situation......then upgrade as you go along

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i now have a rubbermaid tote filled with cfls splitters cords ect because i did just that

spex420 said:

i now have a rubbermaid tote filled with cfls splitters cords ect because i did just that

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it's hard to have too much light, throw those fucks up for the sides ^_-

authentic196 said:

it's hard to have too much light, throw those fucks up for the sides ^_-

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i would but im actually really happy with my setup for the first time ever i don't feel the need to add more lights. i know, its the sign of an apocalypse

i only have two plants going atm so maybe next crop

spex420 said:

basicly sums up everything i was talking about, in one paragraph
and thats basically what your gonna get from anyone on here

you could get something like http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-The-Dirty-Dozen-Organic-Starter-Pack.asp just switch out the budda nutrients for the foxfarm trio




for the floor i suggest getting http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Mylar-on-Black-Poly---6point7mil.asp

really thick you won't have a problem walking on it i recommend laying some ply wood down where your grow area is going to be and then laying it on top of that

you can also get panda film off of ebay or amazon for dirt cheap idk how thick it is tho

i wouldn't really worry about bugs you can get predator bugs online that will deal with anything just let them free in your basement lady bugs are nice !!

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Hey, it's about late August now and we're getting the process going.. Now, can I use the MH on the light for vegging, then flowering is the hps, correct?

Also, my budget now is a lot higher than before.. so I plan on doing it right from the get go.. now, with this setup, that light would be good for 2-3 plants, right?