Ive got $500 to spend ... show me your ideal setup!

[strictlyfocused]

Ive got a hard limit of $500 (US) that I want to use on the following items:

• Grow Light (HPS)
• Fan (preferably something somewhat quiet)
• Carbon scrubber
• Grow Tent (would prefer a quality tent {i.e. Secret Jardin})

What would your ideal setup be?

 

[ogatec]

ur gonna need more than that...

 

[strictlyfocused]

ur gonna need more than that...

Heres what I had already planned out before making this thread and it comes out to $500 on the nose.

• DR120W - $160 Shipped
• 400W HPS - $165 (With Max-wing upgrade and sunrise hangers)
• 4" Fan\Scrubber Combo - $120 (+$165 for light ships for $340 total)

Brings my grand total to $500 flat.

 

[bromhexine]

i guess what he's saying is you wont have anything left for nutrients, grow medium, watering equipment, containers cloning stuff scissors i dunno theres plenty other things you need

 

[opt1c]

my dr120w really likes the 600 i have in it; 400 might not be enough for that tent

i do have a 4" fan hooked up to my 600 though... you're also going to want to get some sort of fan thermostat/controller to keep the temps right

and then a dehumidifier as those tents will get water on the walls fast without one

maybe check your local craigslist or something; htg is sorta ghetto on the hid tip though they make some really nice pll setups

 

[strictlyfocused]

i guess what he's saying is you wont have anything left for nutrients, grow medium, watering equipment, containers cloning stuff scissors i dunno theres plenty other things you need

Already have containers, nutes, etc from a CFL closet grow

 

[ArcticBlast]

why dont you type out everything you have

ArcticBlast

 

[Okiedope]

i think you could probably cheap out on the tent a bit more and maybe pick up a nicer fan/scrubber combo. have you accounted for bulbs/reflectors/timers/pots/medium/nutes etc? anyway, good luck. looks like you are off to a good start.

 

[danimal7]

tents???? WTF LOL...whats with all the tents.....

 

[strictlyfocused]

why dont you type out everything you have

I figured it would be a shorter list for what I need. Ive got a timer, nutes, couple 3 gal containers, small circulation fan, soil, and a shitload of bagseed. Ive also got quite a few 42w CFLs but I was looking to retire them by getting the 400w hps.
Edit - Ive also got multiple temp/hygrometers left over from my days spent over at shroomery

my dr120w really likes the 600 i have in it; 400 might not be enough for that tent

That's one of the main reason I made this thread. Thank you for your input
I was also considering getting a DR80 with a 250w HPS. I definitely don't have the cash to get an air-cooled hood or a cool-tube so whatever wattage lamp i end up Im hoping will be able to stay cool enough in the tent to not scorch the plants.

 

[medmaker420]

Ok so you have everything you need for the grow. No offense BUT that never ends up being the case.

Can I assume you have ducting for the fan to tent to carbon scrubber connections? Light hanger for the light? Accessories, timer and everything else?

I would build a carbon scrubber to save on the money which will leave more room for the extras you MIGHT be forgetting. I use a 5 gallon bucket, drill a ton of holes in it, fill with carbon and have the inline fan blowing down into the carbon. Works better than built scrubbers and is simple as hell to replace the carbon with.

 

[strictlyfocused]

Ok so you have everything you need for the grow. No offense BUT that never ends up being the case.

Can I assume you have ducting for the fan to tent to carbon scrubber connections? Light hanger for the light? Accessories, timer and everything else?

I would build a carbon scrubber to save on the money which will leave more room for the extras you MIGHT be forgetting. I use a 5 gallon bucket, drill a ton of holes in it, fill with carbon and have the inline fan blowing down into the carbon. Works better than built scrubbers and is simple as hell to replace the carbon with.

Yep, I included the sunrise hangers in the $165 figure for my lamp. Ive already completed two closet grows using ~160w of CFL's so I have most of everything I need (scissors, nutes, etc). I dont have the ducting on hand but I have a Lowes about 5 min from my house and a few bucks for that wont kill me haha.

Would you happen to have a tutorial link for your carbon scrubber design (or something similar) your talking about? Any good places to look for activated carbon?

 

[medmaker420]

Yep, I included the sunrise hangers in the $165 figure for my lamp. Ive already completed two closet grows using ~160w of CFL's so I have most of everything I need (scissors, nutes, etc). I dont have the ducting on hand but I have a Lowes about 5 min from my house and a few bucks for that wont kill me haha.

Would you happen to have a tutorial link for your carbon scrubber design (or something similar) your talking about? Any good places to look for activated carbon?

You would think ducting and fittings would be cheap but that shit adds up pretty fast just like soil and perlite seem to at times lol.

On the 5 gallon bucket scrubber. I actually set it up myself versus an online tutorial. Let me see if there is anything close BUT since I will be refilling it this week. I might just take pics and throw a tutorial together. Works great for me and nothing beats the ability to refill in an easy fashion versus an ebay scrubber or others that are only 1 use b.s.

Now those risers sometimes don't work as well as they pretend to ESPECIALLY with larger reflectors/lights. For instance, my 400 cool tube was going up and down just fine, I tried my 600 in a larger reflector and it about dropped to the floor. For security and piece of mind I would use chain and those carabeaner clips to raise and lower each side BUT whatever works for you.

Also on ebay I found a few 4x4 tents for under $90 shipped. That was a deal, the quality is fine, no off gassing this or that. Not sure what size you are after BUT there are a few tents for CHEAP that are the same quality of the $150+ tents.

I have white covered and the metal covered tents (inside lining) and both seem fine, I would NOT have bought the metal lined inside tent for $150+ simply because of the lining especially when I got 2 4x4 tents for about that same price SHIPPED.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

Looks like your missing a bulb

I'd build the tent and carbon scrubber and buy a quality fan like a vortex.

I'm betting you could build a tent for ~$50 and the same for a diy carbon scrubber and about $150 for the fan shipped, so your at $250, then your bulb, about $80, ducting ~$20, now your at $350 and that leaves you with plenty for nutes and a bag of coco and a few other items like fiskars/drying rack etc...

Spend you money wisely, you only have $500 to spend, don't blow it on 2 purchases with only half the stuff you need and poor quality at that.

 

[strictlyfocused]

Looks like your missing a bulb

I'd build the tent and carbon scrubber and buy a quality fan like a vortex.

I'm betting you could build a tent for ~$50 and the same for a diy carbon scrubber and about $150 for the fan shipped, so your at $250, then your bulb, about $80, ducting ~$20, now your at $350 and that leaves you with plenty for nutes and a bag of coco and a few other items like fiskars/drying rack etc...

Spend you money wisely, you only have $500 to spend, don't blow it on 2 purchases with only half the stuff you need and poor quality at that.

The HTG HPS kit comes with a standard 400w 50,000L bulb. It also comes with a reflector (which I had planned to upgrade to one with a pebbled finish {the maxwing}. Ive already got my soil, some provisions for drying, etc.

As far as building something, I don't exactly have a lot of tools or the skills and know-how to be building something like that. I am going to be living in apartments for the next few years so I figured a nice tent would be the way to go.

Is there a big difference with brands of fans? If there is I could probably hold off on the scrubber for a few weeks and get a nicer fan like you had mentioned from the get-go. Then once I get a little more cash in hand I could get\build a scrubber. I just figured $120 for that combo deal didnt seem too shabby.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

$120 for the combo does sound like a good deal at first, but I would seriously question the quality of the fan.

Does it have a warranty like vortex does?
Is it quiet?

What if your fan goes out and you have 8 big colas 6" from the light? A fan is a saftey issue also, if it goes out, fire.

The carbon filter in the combo, how thick is the carbon layer? 1/4", 1/2", 1"

 

[strictlyfocused]

$120 for the combo does sound like a good deal at first, but I would seriously question the quality of the fan.

Does it have a warranty like vortex does?
Is it quiet?

What if your fan goes out and you have 8 big colas 6" from the light? A fan is a saftey issue also, if it goes out, fire.

The carbon filter in the combo, how thick is the carbon layer? 1/4", 1/2", 1"

Quiet is a definite concern for me (since im in a moderate size apartment lol). Would you recommend the vortex as a relatively quiet fan? Do you have any sites you would recommend with decent prices on a good vortex fan?

HTG does provide a warranty for their items but Ive not done any research into the specifics of the warranty. I'm going to do some digging here after I post this.

As for the carbon thickness, its not specified. Im assuming the thicker the better? From looking at the dimensions of it and guesstimating based on the pics I would say ~1" thickness is probably the max for it.

I want to thank everyone for their speedy and informative posts. I debated posting this on other canna-forums but I can see I made the right choice by posting here

 

[Guywithoutajeep]

Yeah dude triple your budget and you'll have enough, when all is said and done im totalling about $1500 for my 4 x 4 setup. Growing is more than a $500 investment unfortunately. I learned that the hard way my first time around. If you do it the wrong way you could end up wasting $500 just like I did.

 

[GottaGetHigher]

$500 is a very small budget.

I suggest either saving up more money, or ditching the grow tent plan.

 

[solarz]

IMVHO...you are setting yourself up for failure. You don't have to spend a lot of money for this hobby, however, you MUST get the appropriate equipment....and you are going about it the wrong way my friend. Instead of trying to get EVERYTHING for a complete cycle...why not get what you need for an effecient veg set up with your 500....then as you learn/get better, then you could possibly have enough for the flower setup??

Honestly...500 isn't enough to get you up and running properly...and you'll quickly see/realize that when you have to sink more money into it that you don't have (assuming from your hard line 500 budget). This shit is never ending....and if you are ONLY able to use 500, this may not be for you bro.

you are trying to cut too many corners on quality for the $$...that's starting out bad.

solarz