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Hello,

 

I am new to this. I only started smoking a few months ago and have only consumed cannabis products on a handful of occasions. After casually chatting to my mother about trying it, etc I discovered that she is a user (the things ya learn). Anyhow, I had a friend who was supplying but he's moved away and apparently his supplier does not want to be known (fears of getting busted, etc). So I've decided to grow my own. I figure it will be a good way to get high quality marijuana (in terms of potency and safety). Also, I don't like the idea of supporting a criminal organization (not because of their 'illegal' 'drug' enterprise but because the funds are often used to support violence, etc).

 

Over the past couple of days I've been doing some pretty heavy research into cultivation and equipment. Also, I've ordered some seeds from Southern Cross (awesome service btw).

 

I was just hoping to get some advise on the preliminary equipment I have chosen. Money isn't really an issue - if I need to invest in equipment then I'm more than happy to sink my hard earned cash into it if it means that I get some quality gear (and don't have to buy twice). With that being said, I'm not going to be growing on an industrial scale, just for our families personal use and I'd like to save on things that I don't care about (e.g. brand names).

 

I was looking around my house for the best grow spot and couldn't find adequate space in any of my ideal locations. So, I've decided to build a new shed with enough space for a grow. The shed will be shared with the lawn mower and a couple of garden tools but will be quite spacious (3x1.5x2.4m, width, depth, height).

 

The primary vendor that I've found most of this stuff at is hydroexpert.com.au. Not sure if anybody can recommend anywhere else in the Sydney area that has better price/range/service?

 

Grow tent:

This has been my biggest source of grief. I've been looking at all the different brands and it's pretty hard to differentiate. I've seen a couple of posts regarding toxic tents. This seems to be an outdated issue that primarily affected cheaper ebay (and grow lush) tent's but considering that it contains plants that I and my family will later ingest I'd like to make sure it's safe. Also, when it comes to size I'm thinking to go as large as I can (probably about 1.5x1.5m). With that being said, having a smaller tent may not be a bad idea when/if I upgrade to a larger tent in the future I can use the smaller tent for a mother or for pollinating (for seeds).

 

The main competitors are:

a) Hydro Expert's 1.4x1.4x2m tent - $200

B) GrowLab (owned by HomeBox) GL145 V2.0 (1.4x1.4x2m) - $340

c) HomeBox Evolution Q120 (1.2x1.2x2m) - $340

 

I'm not sure if the price delta between a and b/c is justified. I'm cautious of c because of the panda-type material which I feel would smell noxious/PVC like and could be bad - this may well be unfounded/wrong. Light leaks aren't really a concern considering it's going in a shed, however, I would like a decent quality fabric, zippers, general construction that will last. I'm probably leaning towards b at the moment.

 

Grow light:

From what I've read LED is the way to go.

 

The main competitors are:

a) Mars Hydro II 900 - $580

B) Viparspectra 600W with veg/bloom switches - $239

c) Viparspectra 600W with veg/bloom dimmer - $290

 

From what I've read/watched Mars has shitty customer service. Viparspectra has great reviews on amazon and they're really price competitive. Dimmable seems like a good idea in-case if the lights are burning the plants, etc. Currently leaning towards c.

 

Fan/filter:

 

The Hyper Fan 150mm (6") with a Phresh 150x500mm 475CFM carbon filter is what's currently on my mind. Any other suggestions? I've seen centrifugal fans mentioned a bit but haven't dived into that yet. The kit including 6m of ducting and some fittings is $449.

 

Thermometer/humidity meter

 

Just picked a basic $30 for now to get me going.

 

Timer

 

Looking at a relatively basic digital timer. It's $50.

 

 

Ultimately I will setup some sort of digital monitoring system. If I can't find one that fits my needs (web GUI/phone app for monitoring and controlling temps, lights and maybe watering) for a decent price then I'll make one (that's my professional field). This may already have been done (haven't really checked for any open source solutions yet which would be nice). If it has then I'll check it out and may just use that (no need to re-invent the wheel, right?). If not then it should be a fun project :)

 

I'd like to get growing ASAP so I better start building that shed...

 

Anyhow, thank you for your advice and thank you very much for welcoming me into your community.

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hey there sydney

 

sounds like you have done your homework.

 

all looks pretty good

 

except i would at a minimum use 1.2m x 1.2m x2m tent, 

 

and i would use HPS lighting, but there is plenty of growers using leds wilt good results,

 

i have brought equipment from hydroexperts aswell and have no complaints with there customer services and deliveries.

 

as for your digital monitoring, i find it heaps easier to pop my head in and have a look rather then all the hi tech mumbo jumbo lol

 

Plenty of friendly folk round here to help you with your grow when your up and running also, just ask.

 

happy growing!

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The coyote has landed! Be sure to document your grow, I'd be interested to see how it all goes. I like when people take the time to research before posting questions.

 

I agree with not overcomplicating your setup, especially the first grow. You'll learn things to make your setup better, and then I'd say start trying different things. It doesn't take much for a plant to die from a tiny malfunction. I'm no pro, but that's definitely something to think about

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Insulate your shed, and keep the gardening equipment somewhere else.  You'll also need to duct air in from outside the shed, and duct outside as well.  And make sure the shed is properly anchored to the ground, and waterproof.  Go the 200mm Hyper Fan over the 150, it's sorta overkill for that tent but you will be able to run it at minimum speed with basically no noise, and leakage of noise and light from a garden shed is something you want to be very careful of for stealth purposes. 

 

I've been growing in a tent in a shed for a few years now, it can be done, but you need to put some thought and planning into it.

 

I'm also using a Homebox Evolution tent, and would have to say they're overpriced, and having a floor that's not sewn into the rest of the tent is a problem for keeping crawling insects out.  Well made, and the PAR reflective surface is great, but the floor issue, and the supposed light proof zipper seals being useless unless you get inside the tent after closing it and fiddle the cover seams into place, just isn't good enough for the premium price.  Also no point paying for PAR reflection unless you also get high PAR lighting.

 

If you really want to go LED lighting, talk to some of the guys who are getting good results with them, as it seems only some of the very expensive ones are doing the job well.  HPS is tried and true, and cheap.  And CMH/LEC has some pretty big plus points going for it as well.

 

:peace:

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So they say Dr blue, have you finished a crop with it yet?

No I haven't actually. But they seem to have a pretty good rep and the fact that you get a full spectrum is so convenient. You save on bulbs and you don't have to switch them over at the flip or after the stretch. My problem was I always prefered MH but nobody suggests flowering with them.
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It's going to be hard to put together a 1.4m tent in 1.5m wide space i would go as others have suggested 1.2m tent and as Hashy suggested insulate that shed dont use styrofoam foam use the quality shit its called extruded polystyrene or EPS its costly but well worth it use anything over 30mm thick and use foil tape to tape it all together

 

i have a friend that just invested into a couple Mars 2, 700watters but i am a firm believer in LED COB's i am getting great results but they are costly

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