Ozsmoker Rides Again

[ozsmoker]

Hey all i have $220 at the moment and found a 400W SON-T-AGRO LOBAY Lighting Kit for $170 from Nutriflo Hydroponics and then buying a single cupboard (iv spoted some in the local LifeLine),I will be Growing in Perlite in a:

2 POT HYDRO-GULLY GARDEN

Gully base Netted hydro pots

 

I have C99 x Ak-47 & VerryBerry x White Rhino Seeds

and i will need a few metres of mylar film or panda film

Room Thermometer but im not quite sure what kind or how many fans to have in the cupboard can anyone help me out? i know iv left out things can you please point-out what else i might require?

 

Thanks Ozsmoker

[Tom]

A 400w in that space will create a bit of heat but a good 24hr rated extraction fan should do the job, a bathroom ceiling fan will do the job while you save up for the real thing but it may not last for a long time as they are not designed for continuous use. Also, with growing from seed it might pay to start with a few extra plants to allow for males and a double wardrobe (approx. 4' x 2') would be the way to go with the 400w.

[Luke Skywalker]

I'd say spend the hundred bucks or so for a decent fan, and if you can get a double or slightly larger cubpoard, this will help you immensely in your battles with the heat monster.

 

You want a fan which can move the entire rooms volume, (length by width by height) in less than 5 minutes. Preferably the higher, the better. You'll never get the air temp lower than the ambient air temp that's coming in, but you can certainly help yourself a great deal by having extra venting than you need, and hurt yourself a lot with less.

 

You won't need a fan for intake, you can do with a passive inlet which is baffled to prevent light entering in the dark period. Make sure the door and all gaps in the cupboard are sealed, and it's a good idea to get some thick panda or a large tray to waterproof the floor of the cupboard. You will spill water in there, so it's a good idea to have some sort of protection for that.

 

Don't leave the ballast in the room with the plants either, mount it on a shelf above the growroom or away from it at least. Placeing ballasts on a small section of growool slab helps immensely with vibration noises as well.

 

The system you mentioned, I think I know what it is or what is similiar to it. It's a bottom watered two pot media based system? Or is it a true NFT table? Cos you mentioned perlite, I'm imagining a system I've seen which has wide channels and holes cut in the top of them, with 10 or 15l pots sitting in them, with water periodically or constantly run through the channel to feed water to the pots bases...

 

These could work, I've never seen one in action myself, and I can't see why it couldn't be effective... Make sure you read up on hydroponics before diving into it if you don't know much about the subject. It's simplifying and complicating all at the same time, and if you don't know what you're doing, you can do a lot of damage to plants quickfast. So have a read through the forums here, and check out the local library for books and information on home hydroponics growing. Maybe a few of the books on offer in the Bookshop could offer some assistance as well.

 

Hmmm... sure there's more I could ramble on about, but I won't. Hope that helps mate.

[chief23]

Don't leave the ballast in the room with the plants either, mount it on a shelf above the growroom or away from it at least. Placeing ballasts on a small section of growool slab helps immensely with vibration noises as well. 

FYI Lobay lights have a built in ballast all in one unit :-)

 

Chief

[F420]

great tips there Luke, and well spotted cheif.

 

I would suggest that you buy a hydro Turbo 250mm,

I also suggest that you dont exhaust the box in to the room that your inlet is getting it from, if need be use some ducting to the ceiling. Or get the air from under wooden floor boards if possible.

[Tom]

FYI Lobay lights have a built in ballast all in one unit :-)

 

Chief

The fitting can usually be made remote to the ballast by extending a couple of wires, if you don't know how to do this yourself it shouldn't cost much to get an electrician to do it for you.

 

[porkchop]

hey oz . i don't want to start by disagreeing with the others about the fan, but i have been running a $15 ceiling fan that i got from bunnings flat out for the last six months. you said your self you only had $220, $170 of that on the light. and you could easly spend $50 on nutes. so spend what your budget can afford is what i'm getting at.

[Luke Skywalker]

Hee hee, I too applaud the spot there cheif.

 

Yeah, it can be changed. This is why I don't think lowbays are very good for growing, and should be avoided for growrooms if possible.

[Luke Skywalker]

And to porkchop. Indeed, it is possible to grow with a cheap fan. These however are not designed for continuous use, and will eventually burn out, as well as not being anywhere near as efficient as a well built fan.

 

Ventilation is one of the five pillars of growing. You need light, water, medium, ventilation and nutrients in the correct ranges to grow fantastic pot. You can certainly grow under less than "ideal" conditions, but if you can get things going right the first time off, you'll won't have to worry about a whole pile of problems down the track.

 

It may be that you live in an area where it is perfectly possible to use a simple bathroom fan and grow well, and if it works, I would be inclined to say don't change it... but if you do have a failure with that fan, or you want to improve on the venting, then consider a good one, it's worth it's weight in buds.

[porkchop]

not disagreeing with you luke , but oz sounds like he's on a tight budget and i'm sure the cheap fan will get him though his first cupboard grow.