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frustrated...

chebahawk

Member
after a few days of banging my head against a wall i figured there isnt a better place to come for help then here!. i recently decided to start my own grow and i purchased most of the basic equipment needed i.e ( 400w hps light, 6 in. inline fan, carbon filter, soil & nutes). While i was opening everything i realized i went home with an extra 1000w digital future brite ballast! :muahaha: here is where the frustration began. the room i chose is an empty room upstairs with two windows ( the room is about 10 x 10 ). i don't know if i should buy a tent or a cab of some sort and use my 400 or, if i should use the 1000w and use the whole room for flowering and put clones and veg plants in the closet. my biggest problem for the moment is that im running out of money and have been considering selling the ballast to buy more neccessary stuff. any advice is appreciated. at this point i just need some direction.
Thanks
ps. please move if this is the wrong place to post this!!!!!
 
i'd say put the 1000 in your grow room and maybe use the 400 somewhere else, like you said, for vegetation. Unless you wanna hang them both in your grow room...1400 watts of light could be good huh?

If you're looking for direction, maybe this video can help. Here's a link to the first part, there are four parts total, all on Youtube. I think it's a very nice production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9YFlmmRenY
 

chebahawk

Member
Thank you AR!. that video is good ive seen it once before. as much as i would like to do all that but i rent the place that im using. ive thought about using the 1400 but i'm not sure about all that wattage especially since im lacking experience and at this point money. any suggestions welcome! the tent/ cab decision in correspondence with my lighting question is my main issue
 
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caljim

I'm on the edge. Of what I'm not sure.
Veteran
The 1000w is more than likely to be to hot for you to handle in a tent w/o cooling the room it is in, and that will cost some $$ also.

If you feel that you have the environment, strain, and skills blow it up with the whole 1400w. ....or take the time to learn your "trade" and take on the tasks you can handle while learning the rest...

either way good luck and stay safe.
 

CDM

Member
do a search in the micro grow area.. the equipment you have sounds like more than you need. How much you trying to produce? what about smell? you rent? what about landlords?

It sounds like you may be a little ahead of yourself.
Lots of great info here.. do a search on Security, odor issues and so on.
 

BIG BOY

Member
boy oh boy, i bet that made your day coming home with that ballast. :jump:

if it were me i would probably use the closet for cloning and seedlings with floros and then section off a small space in the room with either some framing work and panda poly, or use a cab or hut for veg with the 400. unless you have a good sized closet then i would just use the closet for both veg and clones/seedlings.

then use the rest of the space for flower, as long as covering the windows wont be a security issue.

as far as the money issue goes i know all about that but you could set it up temporarily for a test run for temps and humidity so you could see if you are going to have to spend the bucks on cooling and dehumidifying. then weigh out your options then. just my .02
 
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chebahawk

Member
haha yeah opening that ballast was awesome!! thanks for your help everyone. i just got back from the store and bought some hardware to hang my lights and i bought a 75 watt flouro for some seedlings and clones in the future ( hopefully ) for now i would like to just run the 400 and get rid of the extra ballast for some $. i would like to yeild close to a lb. i know in soil that a pound would be pretty hard unless you have skills. just trying to be optimistic and more than anything learn.

chebahawk
 
iwould seperate the room into 2 rooms use 1000 watter for flower and 400 watter using a cmh bulb for veg .make the flower room 4 ft x 4ft and veg rm 3ft x 3ft.plywood both windows up from the inside cutting ventholes into the plywood and vent out the windows using a carbon filter in the flower room.2 tents would be great but if u cant afford yet just use black and white poly.
 

FirstTracks

natural medicator
Veteran
Not to be a debbie downer, but you're not going to yield a pound from a 400 on your first grow. I'm sure somebody has pulled it off before, but I haven't seen it. Now 8-12 ounces, that is realistic. for your first run, 4-6 ounces, hopefully better.

run lots of perlite in your soil for faster root growth.

since you're running low on money....

sell the 1k ballast.

use the money to buy a 3x3 or 4x4 tent

Some other things to get with the cash:


insultated ducting for your fan (cuts noise)

a large cooler for use as a muffler box for your fan. I'll see if I can find a link. I think 'freezerboy' made one. Anyway, your 6" is gonna be a lot louder than you're ready for.

On that note, get a quality solid state (not router) speed controller for your fan. You'll be able to cut it to half speed probably. That will help quiet it down.

The tents I mentioned...
Secret Jardin tents are quality but a little expensive. Homebox tents are a little cheaper. Search 'grow tents' and you'll find some good threads.

you have good seeds yet? check out weekend specials on seedbay. you probably already missed them, but there was a SOL mix pack that would have been nice. Also, you can grab 4 packs of nirvana seeds that, while not always the best, can have some nice phenos.
 

chebahawk

Member
thanks first tracks. i actually have some insulated ducting i picked up at the local hydro shop. yield isnt too important as long as i end up with some good quality smoke. working on selling the ballst so i can get things running.
 

JustinCase

Member
If your looking to pull a P, I wouldn't cash out that 1000w, your gonna need it. It's possible with a 400 but not likely, maybe with a very tight sea of green, but won't happen with larger bushes as the 400 has not the penetration. Either way if you ever want to upgrade you already have the goods. Better to bogart the free goodies then to squander them for that quick buck. Whatever you choose I wish only the best results from your endevour. ~SB~
 

chebahawk

Member
thanks for stopping by justincase. ive been lurking in your thread lately. very nice work!
first tracks- ill have to do some reading on those fan silencer links. my fan is loud as shit but i hope it wont be too much of a problem since my apartment is pretty big i have like 3 bedrooms and a full basement.
 

Erestese

Member
I recently started building my own grow room and I can say without a doubt you'll almost never have enough cash to buy EVERYTHING you want/need... with that being said I would just use the 400w for Veg and the 1kw for flower and start spending what extra cash you have to afford things you need. Planning out your grow room while immensely stoned is great for creativity which can save you cash in the long run.
 
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