How can I reduce my grow setup price?

Hello all, I have been reading this forum for a couple weeks now. Got it from the CGB. I understand basically what I am doing, and what my roommate and I are looking for, but I believe that this setup is a bit out of my range. I appreciate any assistance.

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We both have med cards in WA and are able to grow 15 plants a piece... however we don't really need that much for our uses, so we have decided to compromise with eight each. It seems the most expensive part associated is the Lighting, which I expected. Is two 1000 watt switchable ballasts overkill for 16 plants?

We both fancy on the indica side, so we are expecting to use much less space (hence the pot sizes). I am just really not sure if this pricing is correct or not. Most building supplies are Home Depot, and the other supplies come from a hydro shop.

On the soil: I am unable to locate this FoxFarm in my area, but was wondering if maybe coco would be sufficient? I am not sure if it is of good quality in my area though.

Air Filtration: I am removing the $80 carbon filter, and going to go with Panhead's $3 filter. Is a temperature control necessary? I am not too familiar with this area, I have grown gormet mushrooms, but my FAE was essentially for fresh air and not temperature, so a few times a day was more than sufficient.

I would like to thank you again for your assistance, I appreciate it any suggestions or criticism. I understand we will make many mistakes our first few grows, but am looking forward to the adventure.

build a tent with 1/2' pvc pipe and wrap it with black and white mylar... cheeper then the box with hinges, nails wood, ect... buy only the HPS untill u get a grow down to pay for next bulb or dont buy the MH at all.. its not nessarcy for veg.. a 1000 hps will be more then enuff... a 400w will veg enuff plants to flower under a 1000 so regardless of which bulb, the 1000 will be more then enuff.... i bought a 400, pulled a harvest and bought a 1000 cuz i could not afford a 1000 at the time.. ya i know its only like 100 more but with all the other costs(as u knw) all add up... i now use the 400 for my veg... get containers from ice cream palors, they have 10+ there at a time.. ya i know square pots look nice and fit better but u wanna save money, and money looks nice and fits really good in ur pocket... grow "hempy".. if u dont know what that is, search it in here... its useing perlite to grow in rather then dirt... its cheeper then soil (buy it bulk at a fortifier), less mess, and a better way to grow IMO... or u could grow in rubermaid tubs and go DWC.. they will fit square and cost 6$ and can grow 6 in it, thats 1$ a plant... lotsa root room and no dirt, EVER! i cant stess that enuff! whats the day/night temp control??? do u have A/C or heat running into it??? sounds like an unessacry item.. like can u not get past a harvest with out it??? thats the key, get what u asolutly need and then invest ur harvests into better gear... cuz trust me, this aint the last of ur list... screw the scrubber, just use ur fan with a good filter.. smell control is a must! at least for me... jus some ideas.. good luck!

This is being done in an apartment, would the mylar be enough for smell?

I also noticed you said to buy only the HPS, as in one HPS or both HPS? I have a quantity of two switchable ballasts to hold both MH for veg and then HPS for flowering - however, if one 1000w HPS will do, then I would as well settle with one ballast and one of each type of light to drop an immediate $800 off. Would one 1000watt be sufficient for 16 plants?

As for the temp control, I was going to use it for the air system, to have it turn on only when the temperature began to rise if I wasn't home and keep the air blowing while I was home to promote healthy stems. Would it be just as well to leave the inline fans on 24/7 with one of panhead's DIY filters on it?

Last but not least hempy/dwc.. I will look into hempy here in a minute but I became very side tracked while looking for dwc, I can't find it anywhere on the forums - from what I have found, I understand it is a hydro setup but I cannot find a "DWC setup" post to get an idea.

P.S. +rep for the quick response, helpful information, and genuine interest in my roadblock.

Xtrasun hoods, Hortilux bulbs, chepo ballast, inline fans from craigslist, free GH organic nutes from indoor garden expo, used 5 gal pots from the local nursery .35 cets, promix #4, extra perlite, 4-mil panda paper, build your own cheap tray from plywood some 2x4s and 10mil, OR use some of the big ass tupperwares at home depot, osilating fan, ducting, carbon filter, and a 45gal "brute" garbage bin from rubbermaid for a perfect Resi, aquarium pump and hose with or without spigot to water by hand.

Your welcome.

Salocin said:

This is being done in an apartment, would the mylar be enough for smell?

I also noticed you said to buy only the HPS, as in one HPS or both HPS? I have a quantity of two switchable ballasts to hold both MH for veg and then HPS for flowering - however, if one 1000w HPS will do, then I would as well settle with one ballast and one of each type of light to drop an immediate $800 off. Would one 1000watt be sufficient for 16 plants?

As for the temp control, I was going to use it for the air system, to have it turn on only when the temperature began to rise if I wasn't home and keep the air blowing while I was home to promote healthy stems. Would it be just as well to leave the inline fans on 24/7 with one of panhead's DIY filters on it?

Last but not least hempy/dwc.. I will look into hempy here in a minute but I became very side tracked while looking for dwc, I can't find it anywhere on the forums - from what I have found, I understand it is a hydro setup but I cannot find a "DWC setup" post to get an idea.

P.S. +rep for the quick response, helpful information, and genuine interest in my roadblock.

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as long as u have a strong enuff fan to vent the air out of the mylar tent, the smell wont leak threw... it will be too buzy going out ur exgausht to sit around and smell... as for the lighting issuse, if u only have 1 room, then jus use 1 ballast... u can get the conversion type so u can use both bulbs but its not nessacry... if ur gonna stick with 1 bulb, stick with the HPS... u can veg and flower with HPS but flowering sux with MH... perhaps buy only the HPS and after u harvest, if u feel u need the MH, then buy it after u made sum $ off it... i leave my fans on during light cycle only but keep my exguasht with filter on 24/7 so no stinky air will seep threw any cracks, it all gets vented out into my living room... DWC -Deep Water Culture, is all over here... look under hydroponics forum, "sub catagory", "DWC"... its a bucket of water with a fish pump blowing oxygen into the water so the roots dont drown... its pretty cheep and the resaults r amazing!!! cent for cent, DWC will be cheeper then dirt and ur grows will yeild more... its cleaner and ezer to work with... the only costly side to dwc is that u "will" need a PH reader of some sort... i used the dropper thing from the pet stores till i harvested and then bought a real meter... thats the plan bro, start small/cheep and let ur grows buy ur good shit!!! good luck and if u have any questions, dont hesitate to contact me and ill point u in the right direction.. oh and a 1000hps will do 16 plants no problem, unless u veg them for 6 yrs... a 1000 will cover a 5x5-6x6 easaly... it will cover a 10x10 with the right reflecter but not all direct light... so ya the 1s directly under the lamp will do better... but where ever light shines, weed will grow so use the space u have... extra plants=extra weed... who cares if they rnt super nugs, they r still nugs rite???