new set up any advice I can get is appreciated

[captain chronic]

Im setting up 2 tents 4x8x6' high in a large basement in michigan that Im able to use just for growing. Money isnt really an issue I want to get the best of everything to a certain extent. So any advice on what the best equipment is and not the cheapest is greatly appreciated.

I'll be using 1 tent for vegging, 1 for flowering. 24 plants in each tent cycling from veg to flower.

I plan on using the ebb n gro hydro system. it has a 55 gal res that floods 24 individual buckets. I will have 2 of these systems with seperate 55 gal res. 1 for the 24 plants vegging n 1 for the 24 plants flowering. they come with 2 gal buckets and have 5 gal upgradable buckets. Has anybody got the upgrade is it worth it? It sounds like I could expect a higher yield with the bigger buckets but just curious if it would be a big difference. Money is not really a concern I want the best, I obv dont wanna spend money I dont have to but this is an investment in something thats important to me so Im not trying to cheap my way around a few corners. I really like that each plant has its own bucket for spacing and root growth in this system. but havent purchased it yet if you think another system is better Im all ears.

In my veg tent I will be using 2 Quantum t5HO 4ft x 3ft fixtures(16 bulbs in each fixture). Ive heard a few agruments about using a metal halide but Im kinda leaning toward the quantum t5's for vegging due to the electric bill being a lil lower and heat down. Like I said before money isnt really an issue but I dont want my electric bill to red flag me as a grower even though I have my medical card and I am allowed to grow its all a new thing here in MI and I dont want trouble I can avoid if possible. Any advice on what the best t5 bulbs are? Im thinking 8 blue and 8 red unless anybody can say why not to.

In my flowering tent I will be using 2 HPS 1000w bulbs with air cooled reflectors. Im not sure what kind of heat that will produce im thinking Im gonna need an air conditioner for that tent or will I be good with fans and air cooled reflectors. if I do need an air conditioner any ideas on which to get for a tent my size with 2 1000w HPS lights in it. Also does anybody have any advice on which bulbs, reflectors, and ballasts are the best?

And anything else you have to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated being the newb I am.

I am getting high quality clones from my dads caregiver and hes a very experienced grower and will be walking me through the process so Im all good on all the others Ill need such as testers and nutrients, etc....

Thanks again

 

[fireman]

veg with with hps or mh..

All the other answers are on these boards but you gotta actually read them not just ask for answer my friend.

fireman: joint:

 

[captain chronic]

veg with with hps or mh..

All the other answers are on these boards but you gotta actually read them not just ask for answer my friend.

fireman: joint:

Yeah I realize there are alot of answers on the boards for the questions. Im new and I've been reading alot of em but every situation is different some how so I wanted to kinda specifically explain what my intentions were and also was really hoping for a lil advice on needing an A/C or not and what the best of the items Im needing are for my specific tent and whether I should be doing more. and more or less kinda introducing myself to the site since im new.

thank you for the advice about vegging with the hps or mh. any specific reasoning on why they would be better than the t5 set up for vegging I will be using a HPS for flowering but I was told the t5 set up is way cheaper on the electric bill and is equal for what you need in the vegging stage. also if i vegged using a MH n HPS would i need an A/C for that tent also? thanks

 

[fireman]

The reason i say that all the answers are on this board is because you obviously havent done a lot of reasing since you dont know how different an HPS OR MH will affect your plants as opposed to a T5 flourescent.

The reason being one is high intensity light giving off way more lumens. The more lumens the more photosynthesis, thus more growth, in less time. T5`s are pretty expensive and can use the same amount of watage. I have a 6 bulb t5 that uses 320w. I use t5`s to veg my mothers but High intensity light (HPS or MH)r vegging before flowering to get more growth out of the short time period i have. T5`s ARE NOT EQUAL TO HPS OR MH unless you have a huge multibulb T5 and if you do you spent more than a HPS setup would cost!!! IF you don`t care how long it takes your plants to veg to the size you want them then go for the T5!!!

You are extremely correct that each situation is different and that is why you need to do your own research since you are the only one who can for sure know what will work best in YOUR SITUATION. There is a million ways to set up a growroom!!! A/cs, iceboxes, just fans anything could work you jsut gotta try it

Why do you think you need so many a/c`s? Have you ever heard or a fan?

Also i doubt a lot of people want to set your grow up for you which is what your asking for homey!! Did it myself years ago and it doesnt get you anywhere!!!Now go do some hw on IC. PM me when you get enough posts if you are stumped on something

peace,
fireman:joint

 

[_Dude]

I agree I would veg with HIDs (two 600s would be fine) but that's your business.

In my flowering tent I will be using 2 HPS 1000w bulbs with air cooled reflectors. Im not sure what kind of heat that will produce im thinking Im gonna need an air conditioner for that tent or will I be good with fans and air cooled reflectors. if I do need an air conditioner any ideas on which to get for a tent my size with 2 1000w HPS lights in it. Also does anybody have any advice on which bulbs, reflectors, and ballasts are the best?

That depends on how well you ventilate your hoods and you haven't mentioned what kind of fan you'll be using or what your vent setup is like. In my experience unless you have top notch ventilation you will see a modest rise in temps around the lights. If I were you I'd plan on needing a bit of air conditioning, but you might not. That's IF you have the room closed off from the rest of the houses AC. If the room has AC, it should be enough. Just use a smallish fan to blow the warm air out of the tent and into the room.

I am getting high quality clones from my dads caregiver and hes a very experienced grower and will be walking me through the process so Im all good on all the others Ill need such as testers and nutrients, etc....

Thanks again

If you're a newb it's hard to know if someone's giving you good advice. Very experienced doesn't mean much if he's getting .3 grams per watt. Ask him what kind of yields he gets and you'll know how good the advice you're getting is.

 

[fireman]

I agree I would veg with HIDs (two 600s would be fine) but that's your business.


That depends on how well you ventilate your hoods and you haven't mentioned what kind of fan you'll be using or what your vent setup is like. In my experience unless you have top notch ventilation you will see a modest rise in temps around the lights. If I were you I'd plan on needing a bit of air conditioning, but you might not. That's IF you have the room closed off from the rest of the houses AC. If the room has AC, it should be enough. Just use a smallish fan to blow the warm air out of the tent and into the room.


If you're a newb it's hard to know if someone's giving you good advice. Very experienced doesn't mean much if he's getting .3 grams per watt. Ask him what kind of yields he gets and you'll know how good the advice you're getting is.

Personally if your trying to conserve on electricity i think 1 600 or a 1000 if you have more than 30 plants in 2 gals or above.

But defjitely agree with dude about your boy. Got a friend who gets 3.5 off 4000 and it blows. Spends bookooh money on the shit too!!

we were running the same strain when i was running 3200 him 4000 he would pull like 3.5 i pulled like 4. Man acted like he know everything was great.

STay on ic i promise your outgrowing your boy in a year. These people have taught me too much and its the best place to learn.

 

[morrisgreenberg]

theres a great thread called multi-flow/Ebb and gro users, lots of good tips, one thing i would say about the buckets is you do not need 5gallons for monsters, if it was soil then yes, not so in hydro plus you dont want to clean all the extra clay pellets for the same performance. as for better setups, i recently dumped my aero systems for this one, once your done assembly, thats a real pain, it will basically run itself, you may fuck something up out of sheer bordum . thats how smooth this system is. 1000's are great but produce way too much heat, even if air cooled you will wind up using a/c especially during the summer, plus i know from experience what good is having air cooled hoods if you cant get the light that close, with all those lumens of a 1000w you will get light bleaching, trust me on that, as for an a/c you can go with 3500btu per 1000w of light in conjunction with your fans it will work less. home depot sells 6500btus for like $125 and are digital, so no thermostat needed.

 

[morrisgreenberg]

lets talk about fans. Dude brought up ventilation, this is key. i prefer closed loops to cool the hoods so if i run co2 i wouldnt have a problem, i run sealed rooms with a/c n co2 in summer and cold fresh air in winter, or you can mount a carbon filter to the end of the row of lights and pull the hot air out and exchange the grow room air in one shot, for this you need to be bringing fresh air ofcourse. to properly cool light i suggest no less than a 450cfm inline fan for no more than those 2000w, and this is stretching it, you will be able to touch the glass but will still give off plenty of heat. i know people run bare bulbs 1000's of watts but have a huge 10inch 1200cfm fan and never have heat issues. one thing i like about an a/c unit is that it naturally is a dehumidifier, so good at that you may want to pick up a cheapo Humidifier. best advice i could offer is dont fuck around when it comes to ventilation and plan ahead, summer is always just around the corner so when making purchases always think, at some point soon it will be 100F and 90%RH in your room

 

[jordan471]

more reading is neccesary before you begin in my opinion unless you canafford to pay to redo and redo things

 

[pushlimits]

I'll tell you what bro, the only thing you need to worry about here in MI (with your setup which sounds ok) is the goddamn summer humidity. We don't have the driest weather in the U.S. that's for sure. Air conditioner would alleviate this problem if it weren't for the fact that it would be a waste of money (purchase price and power consumption) ... now before people jump down my throat, keep this in mind- 6 months out of the year, MI is below 55 F. I bought a AC unit 2 years ago and used it for for 3 weeks before it began to collect dust. Which lead me to the best growing investment I've ever made- A Huge exhaust fan. No AC, no Air cooled hoods.

To fix my humidity problem (only for the 2 months out of the year it is a problem) I switched from a 6" exhaust fan to a 12". Ever since I made the switch not only can I regulate temp, humidity, Co2, and FUNGUS/MOLD better (whole other fucking Problem in MI ) , I also no longer need to air cool my hoods.-the heat from the bulbs HELP a lot in the cool winter, and it helps to dry the air in the humid summer- Also keep in mind I grow in a basement.

Most experienced growers -like the ones that write books- live in dry climates, (like Cali) with huge grows -6000Watts +- , with somewhat predictable weather.... We on the other hand, don't have this luxury. air cooled hoods with AC works great for them, us... not so much. Unless of course you're planning an OPERATION!

Indoor MI grows are difficult to say the least. You will run into problems, just hang in there!. don't sweat it, and definetly don't let anyone tell you- "YOU CAN'T" cause you can. good luck bro,