1st time grow

[rty]

Gday fellas,

 

Well I'm about to embark on our first personal grow. Want to stick to the two plants, no hydro rule since I'm in WA. Basically we have a spare bathroom and want to put the pots in the bathtub and mount the lights on a PVC frame over the bathtub. Bathroom has a exhaust fan which I hope will be sufficient to keep the room cool enough.

 

Anyway wanted to see what you guys thought about these lights and if two of these 250 watters would be sufficient over two plants in a bathtub?

 

http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.au/m...k/prod_358.html

 

Also if anyone had any tips as to pot size, potting media type and depth, fertilising regime etc that would be much appreciated too. Pretty much starting out here on zero knowledge

 

Thanks guys,

 

RTY

[SukonmiSkunk]

i guess they would work if you have already got them.. but really... theyre not the best suited for indoor growing.. the MH will work fine through the entire grow.. but these ones probably wouldnt be the best ones to use..

 

if youre thinking of buying lights.. get ya self a 400watt HPS.. one with the ballast separated from the batten holder.. probably set you back around 200$..

 

the bathroom fan will probably be enough ventilation.. but it wont help the smell at all.. youre best bet would be to convert a 2 door wardrobe into a growdrobe.. and hang your 400watter in there..

 

if money is tight tho.. theres no reason why you couldnt grow a couple of plants in ya bathtub..

 

as for pot size.. id be looking for something around 30-40 liters..

[rty]

Thanks for the input SS. Could you elaborate as to why these ones may not be suitable? I'd rather get halides rather than HPS so if this doesn't work out I can use the lights for something else like aquariums.

Money is kinda tight to build a full on wardrobe room so was hoping to get away with something a bit simpler in the meantime.

 

I was also wondering where the best place to mount a light is... directly over each plant?

 

Thanks again mate...

[SukonmiSkunk]

if money is tight then thats even more reason to buy the right light first and foremost... like i said.. these will work.. but for 185$ each.. and youre getting 2 of them.. youd be better off getting a 400 or a 600watter.. i got a brand new 600wattHPS with a digiballast for around 400$... a 400 would be around 300$..

 

MH are ok.. but really you will gain an extra 20-30% more yield with a HPS... better and bigger bud production.. get a son-t-agro globe.. and you cant go wrong..

 

but yes.. these will probably work.. just way less effective

 

if you get these.. then youll have to mount them over each plant.. obviously.. to get the most out of them...

 

personally.. my view is this.. i see so many people using lights that arent upto the task at hand.. some people will buy 2-3 sets of lights before they realize that a HPS kit is the ONLY way to flower MJ plants.. in the end youll spend a lot more money than if you just get the right one to start with..

 

of course these will work.. but really.. if money is tight... just get a 400wattHPS kit.. this will be much better... and instead of the grow yielding 3-4 ounces with the MH.. youll get around 6-8 ounces with the HPS... how much is the extra yield worth??.. some people harvest close to a pound under a 400watt light.. youll easy get a pound of buds under a 600

 

thats my advice.. take it or leave it..

[rty]

Thanks mate, appreciate the advice. I have looked on ebay and found a 600W HPS on the cheap. Would I still use one per plant or will I get away with one for the two plants?

 

I might use the globe that comes with the kit first and upgrade at a later stage...

 

Will I still be able to theoretically do a pound under 600W with only two plants?

 

Thanks for the pot size tip too. Is bigger generally better as far as pots go?

 

Really appreciate your input dude.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/600WATT-HPS-LIGHT-K...id=p4634.c0.m14

[rty]

Another Q if you don't mind: Would going to 1000w be even better or will I start complicating a bathtub grow with so much light and heat?

[TD.]

$185 for those lights......rip off !!

Click Here to view a cheap 600watt starter kit. Its slightly cheaper than those aquarium lights....and about a million times more effective.

 

Also if u have 2 or 3 plants in your tub, and for arguments sake lets say the ceiling fan does keep the room cool, what are u going to do about the overpowering smell in the flower stage.....and the smell of fresh growing plants in the vegging stage ?

[rty]

Thanks TD. Yeah pretty much I'm set on purchasing a lighting set from the Discount Hydro ebay store. Just deciding what is the go for the long term as you guys have got me thinking that it is better to pay more for good equipment first go.

 

I was going to put on a DIY carbon filter on the outlet of the ceiling exhaust.

 

In addition, I'm now considering going for 1000W HPS with cooltube and ducting to another fan, with attaching another DIY carbon filter on the end of that just to filter the smell out of the room.

 

Can you offer any advice as to the amount of fan power I might need for a cool tube of that size? I also am going for a digital ballast if that will make any difference. That way if I understand it correctly I can then go for MH in veg and HPS in bloom just by changing globes?

 

Sorry for the noob questions just trying to get it right first time ...

[TD.]

Now your starting to incur heavy costs when u choose digital ballast and 1000watt light.....have you calculated how much energy you are actually using, and what this means in terms of bills over the course of 5 or 6 months ? ?

 

Basic Price List

1000watt Digital Ballast is between $500 - $600

1000watt Lamp Bulb is anywhere bewteen $80 - $150

Cooltube with reflector will set u back $80 - $120

150mm Centrifugal Fan + Ducting will be around $200 - $300 depending on brand

150mm Carbon Filter for about $130

 

In your post you stated that you wanted to attach a carbon filter to the reverse side of your ceiling fan.....this will not work as the fan cannot force that much air thru the filter, u will need to abandon your ceiling fan and go with the centrifugal with a carbon filter attached, otherwise your ceiling fan motor will burn out...and possibly short out, causing a fire....

 

Here is what to expect when u get a centrifugal fan and attach a carbon filter to it.

Edited March 17, 2009 by TD.

[rty]

Hmm OK. I was looking to spend around $700 for the digiballast, lamp and cool tube...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1000-WATT-HPS-COOL-...34.c0.m14.l1262

 

Reason for 1000W was for penetration. Because I can use a whole bathtub worth of space, but basically have the rest of the bathroom for heat dissipation, I felt it was better to have more penetration based on the limited reading I've done on here so far. With only two plants the plan was to maximise the yield by veging and blooming two fairly large /tall plants, and the 1000W I was assuming would be essential to get light to the bottom of a 6 ft high plant?

 

I get what you are saying about the exhaust fan. I've also now read that it is better to pull air through a carbon filter than push. The revised plan is to DIY a metal bin style activated carbon filter, placed on the ground near the plants. This is ducted up to the cooltube, and a duct then hooks up to an appropriate sized fan. (still not sure how much cfm or l/min I need for 1000w)

 

Now the question I have is, do I need to vent the fan into the roofspace, or will it be sufficient to draw the hot air from the HPS to the other end of the room and let it vent out through the exhaust fan slowly?

 

It would be a bit more inconvenient to have to cut a hole in the roof to fit a fan. And to stealth it enough, I need a fan that will look like an exhaust fan once I remove the ducting. The plan is to be able to pick up the ducting, carbon filter, unhook lights and obviously move the pots to restore it to "bathroom" condition .

 

How does that sound to you pros?

 

p.s. the bathroom is about 3m by 3m in size, bathtub is standard bathtub size .. umm maybe about 60 or 70cm wide by about 1.5m long.. probably fit a couple of 50 liter tubs in there. Now growing media is the next question but I'll try to do a bit more reading on coco vs soil and post in the appropriate forum

 

Sorry for so many Q's, just trying to get as informed as possible before starting