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New member, new grower, advice on setup...

C

Casual

Hi All...
I'm a new member and and first time grower.
Smoked in my early 20's, and took a very long hiatus, and have been smoking again now for about 5 years. Finances dictate we buy crap stuff.
I'd like to give it a good go at growing my own. I'm a middle grade tech geek, very mechanically inclined, and fairly well equipped.
I'm planning on jumping right in and doing a 4 plant Bio-Bucket setup.
The space I have in the room is ~6'x8'x84".
Ordered 4-5gallon buckets, lids and 8" net pots.
I'm figuring on using a small 10 gallon tub for my reservoir.
I'm figuring running 5 gallons in the tub so i've got a nice 10" or so on my waterfall. With these numbers, I came up with a 25 gallon setup. Figuring a 10X/hour turnover of the water. I'm figuring I need a 250gph pump. Is my math flawed here? Would it hurt to go a bit higher in GPH?
I'm planning on following BigTokes build up as best I can, but on a much smaller scale. I'm planning on a 400W setup with both HPS and MH lights at the right times. If I stumble across a deal on a 1000W setup and can swing it, I'll go that route. Planning on building a carbon filter setup for airflow following the guides here.
I've been lurking for a bit now, reading for HOURS!! I love FORUMS!
I've no doubt that I will have ton of questions and the wealth of knowledge on this site is staggering!! (Wasn't meant to be an asskiss, hey... you guys know your shit!!)
I'm trying to avoid the major mistakes, and know I have a ton to learn. I'm very open to criticism, suggestions, opinions, whatever... Very much looking forward to being an active part of ICMAG!!

I don't have the room all cleared out where this will take place. I'll be working on that over the next week. Once things get rolling, I'll post some pics.

Caz
 
Lazyman

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
I'd recommend using soil on your first couple runs, so much more forgiving, really. There is so much to learn and dial in, doing bio buckets would be one BIG thing to dial in on top of everything else. Learn how your room works, flaws and weaknesses, and start fixing them. Every fixed thing will uncover a new "weakest link" that must be dealt with. Over time you'll build a perfect sealed room with Co2, but it will take time, experience, and money.

Figure 50 watts per square foot of flowering room at least, to get tight buds. Anything less is just not good enough IMHO. Find someone to buy clones from if you can, this helps you with better genetics, shorter start time and way less work. Add a veg room later once you learn how to flower plants and grow big buds.

Break it down what you plan to use for the following:

Plants (count, strain and quantity)
Grow medium
Environmental control (a/c, dehumidifiers, exhaust fans)
Lights/bulbs/ballasts
Air circulation
Odor control
Power
Water plans for getting it in and out of your room
+anything else we might need to know.

Post all you can tell us and we'll critique!
 
H

Hydro-Soil

Active member
Veteran
Congrats on your new *ahem* hobby. :) (I spell it obsession in my house.)


Couple things to search for that will help you get started on the right foot.

Electrical Safety
Lucas Formula (Especially the reservoir tending methods)
E&F or Drip (if you'd like something simpler than bio-buckets to start with)

Don't let hydro scare you, been getting awesome results from day one, 'cause I spent the time reading first. :D


Like I tell everyone, stick with that 400w to start and a couple plants. Once you get a few grows under your belt you'll have a MUCH better idea of where you want to 'grow' from there. :) Keep it simple at first, she's a deceptively complex plant and it'll take just a bit to learn her out. :D
 
C

Casual

Thanks for the welcome!
I'm planning on the constant flow setup detailed BigTokes thread on Biobuckets.
Pump runs 24/7. It seems to be an easy method, and all the chem tweeks are all made in the reservoir. Don't need to worry about a timer on the pump, or flooding if the power goes out. I'm doing some more reading on Ebb and Flow, as it's still a consideration. I figure it'll be a month or so before I'm up and running, so I've still got some time to plan/change/plan again. ;)

Caz
 
dubwise

dubwise

in the thick of it
Veteran
Casual-I'm quite new to this myself, but I'd start as easily as possible just to get a hang for how the plant grows. I use hempy buckets and they are easy as hell. If you get a second check out some of the hempy grows here. with whatever you do, you will be so happy you're smoking you're own buds. best of luck.
 
Lightning Bug

Lightning Bug

Member
Welcome Caz, good idea you have there to grow your own and lots of good advice from a lot of good peeps here. (Have you seen Stoney419's grow?) :jawdrop:

Ventilation is always a big thing. How's the temps in the room, will you be using a chiller? Bio buckets are really just another form of RDWC and the pump adds heat to the water.

I agree that hydro can be done on the 1st try but you have to be on top of your game.:2cents:
 
C

Casual

LAZYMAN:
Looking to do 4 plants to start, figuring I'll lose one or two.
Since this is a first attempt, I'm going with bag seed from ditch weed.
I figure simply growing this stuff in a Hydro setup will clean it up, but
with what good seeds cost, I want to learn what the heck I'm doing first! ;)

I'm going to be using 8" Net pots with lava rock for the medium.

I'll be growing in a large closet downstairs, 1/2 of the room is below ground level. It's supplied with household AC through a vent. Normally stays around 75-77 degrees in there. I'm planning on an air cooled lamp hood, pulling through a DIY Charcoal filter, venting into the attic. Ambient humidity is always low around here, can't imagine I'd need a dehumidifier. I plan on running 1-2 fans in the room to circulate air.
I'm limiting myself to one 400W light at this point. I'll be picking up a ballast that will run both HPS and MH, so I can just swap bulbs between Veg and Flowering times.
The room has 20amp service, but I believe I'll be tapping the ballast off of a different line than everything else in the room.
There is a bathroom that back to the grow room, that share a common wetwall. I can tap into the cold water supply in that wall for a float setup.
I'm planning on installing drain valves in the bottom of each of the buckets, and the buckets will sit high enough that I can place another bucket under them to dump them into. Then just carry the dump bucket around the corner and dump it in the tub or down the toilet when necessary.

I'm basically leaning towards starting out with Hydro and not soil due to the fact that Hydro is where I want to be. There are some substantial differences between the two methods, and with the grow times being so long, it makes more sense to me to jump into Hydro, continue to read everything I can find on it, get opinions from other growers and try to learn as much as I can as I grow. I'm pretty fortunate that I tend to learn quickly, and even more fortunate in that I learn from my mistakes (Lord knows, I make plenty!!)
After reading several threads, BigTokes Bio Bucket thread seems to be the best compromise of starting small, or going crazy. It's a totally scalable setup, so if I can get it to work for 2-4 plants, 20-40 shouldn't be much more of a mystery, but in all honesty, I don't plan on going more than 4.

Sorry for the very wordy posts, but I tend to throw out whatever's going through my mind. :abduct:

Guess that's it for now. I am shopping around for a 250-350gph pump. Any recommendations? Price range is all over the place. I don't want to break the bank, but I don't want to worry about having to constantly replace it either.

Thanks!

Caz
 
C

Casual

Well, I stumbled across a deal on a Sun Systems 1000W setup, airflow hood, Switchable ballast and a 1000 Hortilux HPS lamp. Everything was made last year.
Received my package of buckets, lids and net pots. Something in the order got mixed up and I wound up receiving 3.5 gallon buckets instead of the 5-gallons. I'm waiting to hear back from the company on straightening out the mixup. Have also received my seed starters. Still need several items... collecting parts as I can afford to.
I'm very stoked about snagging the 1000W setup. I'm only doing 4-plants to start with, so I know it's overkill, but I won't have to upgrade it when i switch to 6-8 plants. From what I understand, provided I keep everything cool, 1000W's should still work fine, is this correct?

Can't wait to get green!!

Caz
 
C

Casual

Thanks Dub! Still thrilled I got such a deal on the whole setup, (Ballast, Hood, and lamp) for under $200. Just need a 1000W MH and I'll be good to go for awhile.

I'm reading and reading and reading on nutes. Trying to decide which is the better system to use with the BioBucket setup. The new ph-ppm perfect stuff from Advanced Nutrients looks great, but lots of people say Lucas is the way to go. Those of you running a bio bucket setup, what do you find works best with this system?

Thanks!!

Caz
 
CranAppleGemz

CranAppleGemz

Member
congrats on the new hobby....get ready...ur gonna be doing LOTS of reading and searching..lol...
ALL worth it in the end.

<-==-=-= been reading non-stop since september...tip of the iceberg..heh


EDIT:
ps:...there is no end
 
O

Observer Tom

Member
Casual said:
I came up with a 25 gallon setup. Figuring a 10X/hour turnover of the water. I'm figuring I need a 250gph pump. Is my math flawed here? Would it hurt to go a bit higher in GPH? Caz
Click to expand...

Don't forget to factor in gph drop from lifting the water to the top of the buckets and all the friction in the lines. If you think you want 250 gph I would consider doubling it depending on room setup like how far your buckets are from the res.

Also if you get a bigger pump now you won't have to replace it as quickly when/if you decide to add more buckets later.
 
C

Casual

Thanks for the replies guys!!

Vespatian: Which route do you suggest? Good seeds, or clones?

Cygnus: Would LOVE to start with clones, but I don't know a soul who grows.
I'd love to find a friend or two in the area to collaborate with, but it's a difficult thing to find with the threat of being busted. If there's a way to find 'like minded' people without the major risk, I'd love to know about it! ;)

CranApple: I hear ya... I love to read and learn, and have been on this site almost non-stop for the past month or so.

Observert Tom: Thanks for the tip! I'd thought about running something in the 300-400gph range, as I figured there wouldn't be any harm in a higher turnover.

WOOT!!:woohoo:
 
V

Vespatian

Member
Clones clones clones. But evidently you have no access to them? You must not live in CA.

There are many reliable seed dealers around the world, most of whom can be found referenced on this site.

Growing from seed can be a pain, especially for the starter hobbyist.
 
C

Casual

Looking into ventilation now... The 1000W setup I have has 6" flanges on the hood, so I'm thinking of keeping everything uniform so I don't have to dick with reducers or adapters. The room is about 480cubic feet. I believe I read that the air in the room should be flipped over at least once every 5 minutes, is this correct?
Is there any advantage/disadvantage to flipping it more? Found this inline duct fan on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/6-inch-INLINE-D...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0d5a1482
Looks ok, but I don't want to have to worry about the fan burning out. What do you all think? I'm actually leaning towards a blower type fan, but am open to options.
Planning on a 6"x18" Charcoal scrubber. I believe that with 4 plants, this will be fine in the above mentioned room.

Caz
 
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