Indoor plans for new growers

Hey New Grower! Are you looking to develop a plan for your personal space and you have questions about what products to buy, where to get them from, and how to put it all together? Then it's a good thing you've found your way here.

Just post a picture of the area you'd like to start growing in and answer a couple easy questions.

The dimensions of the space I will grow in are....
The budget I'd like to stay within is....
My average daily consumption is....
I'm am growing this medicine for....
My energy costs per Kwh....
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of....
I have researched growing, my experience is.... [A lot] [Some] [A little] [None at all]
I am interested in the growing method(s)....
My demands are....
My constraints are....

Don't waste your time and money! There is a massive amount of experience here (I'm talking about you Mr. Expert) and there are people here to help

Ok I will bite

I do not have a picture


The dimensions of the space I will grow in are....But it is a rectangle shape, but useable area is about 20' x 15 ' 20 ft high ceilings
The budget I'd like to stay within is....20 k
My average daily consumption is....5 to 10 gms
I'm am growing this medicine for....Compassion clubs/ Private Patients
My energy costs per Kwh....5.7 to 7.8
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of....1500
I have researched growing, my experience is.... [A lot] [Some] [A little] [None at all] A Lot
I am interested in the growing method(s)....Any
My demands are....15 to 20 lbs a month
My constraints are.. Cannot be there daily, maybe 2 times a week


I already have a grow set up. I just want to see what you come up with

The dimensions of the space I will grow in are.... 53cm high 45cm long and 38cm broad
The budget I'd like to stay within is.... 150€
My average daily consumption is.... 0.3g-0.5g
I'm am growing this medicine for.... for myself
My energy costs per Kwh.... i don t know
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of.... not important
I have researched growing, my experience is.... [A lot] [Some] [A little] [None at all] a little
I am interested in the growing method(s).... any
My demands are.... the plant should not smell too much
My constraints are.... space for the plant and heat from the light

i alredy have at home 14w led light is it enough

I have a turtle sand box with turtle shell cover thats about 2 feet tall with no sand, $15 and a bag of top soil. Think I could pull a pound in it?
I think its totaly stealth. If any one where to come inside my place they wouldn't be like hey Your growing pot in their. They'd be like O cool a sand box and its a turtle, with an air vent! Im thinking about buying mass quantities of them and selling them on Ebay as grow boxes.

It would be easier to pull if you put wheels on it.

FreezerBoy said:

It would be easier to pull if you put wheels on it.

Click to expand...

Damn bro...I could actually see the eyebrows in your avitar go up and down on that one!!

Dr Dog said:

Ok I will bite

I do not have a picture


The dimensions of the space I will grow in are....But it is a rectangle shape, but useable area is about 20' x 15 ' 20 ft high ceilings
The budget I'd like to stay within is....20 k
My average daily consumption is....5 to 10 gms
I'm am growing this medicine for....Compassion clubs/ Private Patients
My energy costs per Kwh....5.7 to 7.8
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of....1500
I have researched growing, my experience is.... [A lot] [Some] [A little] [None at all] A Lot
I am interested in the growing method(s)....Any
My demands are....15 to 20 lbs a month
My constraints are.. Cannot be there daily, maybe 2 times a week


I already have a grow set up. I just want to see what you come up with

Click to expand...

Wholly crap, a 20K budget... Okay, you'll have to give me a bit and I'll come back and edit this with a thought through room. Initially we're talking 1000w lamps, probably some kind of colosseum style grow with CO2 and all the filtration and atmosphere conditioning fixins. I'll throw in some estimates on installation also when it comes to plumbing or electrical.

I need to research the prices on some equipment and then do the math on the growth period vs harvest. I was sorta intending this for smaller setups (5K to $100) but this isn't out of my abilities, despite never personally spending this much I have been privileged enough to see a few of this scope first hand.

zanza said:

The dimensions of the space I will grow in are.... 53cm high 45cm long and 38cm broad
The budget I'd like to stay within is.... 150€
My average daily consumption is.... 0.3g-0.5g
I'm am growing this medicine for.... for myself
My energy costs per Kwh.... i don t know
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of.... not important
I have researched growing, my experience is.... [A lot] [Some] [A little] [None at all] a little
I am interested in the growing method(s).... any
My demands are.... the plant should not smell too much
My constraints are.... space for the plant and heat from the light

i alredy have at home 14w led light is it enough

Click to expand...

Your size constraints lead me to think that you need to be looking into low heat lighting. LED is a good choice, but 14w isn't going to cut it. If you're going to go LED then that will be the vast majority of your budget. At least 100 Euro on the light. You'll need 90w in my opinion.

An alternative in that small a space is CFL. You'll need to purchase or construct a housing for all the sockets and the bulbs will take up extra space that you don't really have. I think for you LED is a good option.

Your growing method needs to be hydroponic. Since so much of the budget has gone to the LED light you're going to need to look into lower cost systems from the get go, so no microgardens yet.

A simple fix for you could be to build a DWC system using a plastic storage container that will fit snugly into your growing space. By cutting holes in the top of the lid you can drop net pots into the container. fill the net pots with hydroton and start your plants in rock wool in the center of these pots.

You can keep the cubes moist enough with twice daily waterings from the top. You will need to spend 20 Euro or so on an inexpensive air pump and air stone to keep in your reservoir so the nutrient solution stays oxygenated.

I suggest for you the General Hydroponics Micro and Bloom Lucas Formula as your primary source of nutrients. This should round out the end of your budget with the media.

Since we're at the end of your budget you'll need to utilize some things laying around your place (like some bag seeds) and if you have a small fan laying around that will need to be squeezed into your growing space. You'll also need to find some cheap pH test paper to check your nutrient pH on occasion.

In this space, you can expect to grow 6 plants max, and you'll need to start flowering within the first 10 days of life to keep them the right size. This will reduce the harvest per plant but I think you could expect between 5 and 10 grams per plant. This will be an 80 day turn around or so and if you don't have access to female clones then the number of plants you will harvest are subject to a bit of chance. I imagine you could pull up to 60 grams from this setup every 80 days or sooner but there is the potential for a smaller 15 gram harvest if things go fairly wrong. With DWC there is also the potential for complete failure if the nutrient solution is out of balance so you'll need to read up on DWC and the Lucas Formula before starting.

Let me know what you like about this, and what you don't like, and then we can retool it to fit you best.

Thanks for the tips. I would stick with LEDs and hydroponics. However, I am interested in this light http://marlek.si/led-a294/led_sijalka_15w_rast_cvetenje

with that light and my old one i have 30w. what kind of seeds i need to buy? i allrady have pc fans instaled. what type of hydroponics should i buy and what nutrients.

zanza said:

Thanks for the tips. I would stick with LEDs and hydroponics. However, I am interested in this light http://marlek.si/led-a294/led_sijalka_15w_rast_cvetenje

with that light and my old one i have 30w. what kind of seeds i need to buy? i allrady have pc fans instaled. what type of hydroponics should i buy and what nutrients.

Click to expand...

The problem with those LED lamps is that you have 30w of power spread across 168 LEDs. This results in such a low amount of casting power that they litterally need to be touching the plant to provide enough light. As a result they are suitable for growing no more than one, VERY small, plant. So then you'd need more than two of them, I'd say three total for a single somewhat filled out plant.

I think you're better off with getting something like this http://ledwholesalers-com-inc.amazonwebstore.com/90-Watt-High-Power-Full-Spectrum/M/B001NE1PWO.htm

This will allow you to grow at least two plants, if not more, plus you have the other smaller bulb to provide some side lighting. The lower wattage LED units just don't have what it takes, and even at 90w you're still at the bottom of what I think is recommendable but it fits in your budget and your space best.

For Hydro media you need rockwool cubes (2 to 3cm) to start your plants in and Hydroton to aid in moisture and light blocking.

I suggest you look into the Lucas Formula, it is a two part system from General Hydroponics with a successful history and a lot of documented grows on here using that system. Use the search function to answer most questions you have regarding DWC with the Lucas Formula at your leisure.

You can buy pretty much any seed, just try to keep it cheap, Auto-flowering strains allow you to leave the lights on longer so that should be a consideration if the price of them is equal to a pure indica. If anything I'd avoid Sativa strains just because the leaves don't have as much surface area as an Indica and I think that will be a factor when it comes to harvest time. There are many strains you could grow but one that jumped out at me is http://www.*******************.co.uk/advanced-seeds-early-widow/prod_1343.html

For a beginner, I would avoid any advanced equipment like LED's and Even hydro unless you are sure you're going to get your 20K back out of it. Unless you've seen in person an LED producing large amounts of bud without outside help from CFL's HPS, Sodium Vapor, or MH and Sunlight, then I would ignore all posts where people have found God in growing with LED's. It's too easy to grow out a plant and then post a picture claiming this is what LED can do for you. However, look for LED's that are juiced to have 1 watt or more output. 150 bulb for 32 watts compared to 32 bulbs for 32 watts would make all the difference.

1500 bucks increase in your electric bill would get me over to your hose just to save the planet myself.

Attention All Beginners:

All you need to get started is a few CFL's, soil, containers, water and seeds. Once you have a plant, and are tired of sleeping with the lights on, you need the container of dark area. That in itself can be done with 1 board place at a corner of a room creating a triangle.

Sorry for the rant, but this was for newbies to ask questions, not people with a lot of experience.

Love the sandbox....

The dimensions of the space I will grow in are.... 3x4x8 ft
The budget I'd like to stay within is.... couple hundo alrdy got lights no carbon filter or can fan
My average daily consumption is.... a gram or more
I'm am growing this medicine for....me and the lady
My energy costs per Kwh....dunno
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of....100$
I have researched growing, my experience is....moderate
I am interested in the growing method(s)....SOG from my mothers
My demands are....would love 5 or more zips every 70 days or so
My constraints are....i need to have both veg and flower in this closet.... heat smell light leaks are all going to be issues....i need this room to be able to survive without me for 2 days in a row if need be

I make a new post in Growroom Designs & Equipment before i spot this one
but it is a nice idea all setup questioning post to be in a single post
So i will but my questions here too.

Bellow you can see a sketcup of my grow room



1) The dimensions of the space I will grow in are
-- Flower room 1,85m*1,65m*2.6m ( 8 cubic meters or 280 cubic feet )
-- Veg room 1,85m*1,35m*2,6m ( 6,5 cubic meters or 230 cubic feet )
2) The budget I'd like to stay within is 3500 euros or 4700 us dollars
-- My average daily consumption is .. as much as we have
3) I'm am growing this medicine for
-- Me and my friends they all give money for the setup
4) My energy costs per Kwh
-- Not a problem
5) I am comfortable with a power bill increase of
-- Not a problem for the consumption of the equipment we can buy
6) I have researched growing, my experience is
-- I have read a lot but this is cannot replace growing experience so...[A little]
7) I am interested in the growing method(s)
-- Ebb&flood & Dwc
( i will try one differrent setups under every 600 hps for a head to head methods yield comparison )
8) My demands are
-- Maximum yield
9) When setup is beggining
-- 3 weeks from today ( i must all equipment at hand in 3 weeks )
10) My constraints are
-- Realy hot outside temps over 100-110+ F (38-43+ Celsius)
-- No window AC's no dual Hose portable , trying to avoid mini split (they need someone to install them)
-- Trying to avoid CO2 supps ,ppm monitors is expensive + small growing experience
( if i can found cheap way to manage ppm maybe i will think twice )
11) I need most advice on
-- A/C efficiency in the above sketch up (put funs running 24/0 or 3min off - 1 min on)
-- Better ways to setup up air flow
-- Can the AC unit placed in the flower room where the the temps rise more
( what about smell leakage from the AC's exaust ,
maybe a small carbon filter and a fun running 24/0
inside flower room recirculating air )

Sweet sketch erwin!

You DirtyGirl do not laugh at my sketch , you are hurting my feelings

where u at lazy

My shot....

My shot....

The dimensions of the space I will grow in are.... 12 x 12 (do not have to use all of it)
The budget I'd like to stay within is....$1150
My average daily consumption is....two hits.
I'm am growing this medicine for....wife, friends, patients
My energy costs per Kwh....Oh, I do not care
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of....$100 per month...I am at that now with 1400 kw of HPS lights in another room.
I have researched growing, my experience is.... A lot. Idiot when it comes to design, especially ventilation.
I am interested in the growing method(s)....coco, handwater.
My demands are....yield, potency, taste.
My constraints are....want decent ventilation. This room vents (not outside) but to another bedroom through an interior window into another bedroom. Sounds like Lewis Carroll, I know. That other room can be vented outside though. It is 11 feet wide before next window.

The room I am talking about is square, and it has concrete floor, no drain, no water. I have never been able to get my other room to vent well and it has PM now, and needs to be shut down and bleached and left alone.

Thanks

JD Co.

I'm here, I think 2Lazy's heart is in the right place, but it's probably best to stick to what you KNOW as far as helping others.

Me, I have never done a grow smaller than 3KW, so I don't even look at smaller grows. Sometimes guys PM me for help with a cab or tent and I send them to the micro grow section for help, as I'm sure there are guys that know tons more about small grows than me.

I basically only do commercial grows, even 2-3KW is pretty small in my head. But each room should have its own thread, and probably not just 1 post in someone else's thread.

what if i go with cfl bulbs. is 2x23w enough? in my last grow i have one 125w cfl but the temparature was too high.today my brother came to me and he give me hesi nutrients 1xhesi tnt (yelow bottle) 1xsuper vit. so i was thinking to go with soil.

facelift said:

For a beginner, I would avoid any advanced equipment like LED's and Even hydro unless you are sure you're going to get your 20K back out of it. Unless you've seen in person an LED producing large amounts of bud without outside help from CFL's HPS, Sodium Vapor, or MH and Sunlight, then I would ignore all posts where people have found God in growing with LED's. It's too easy to grow out a plant and then post a picture claiming this is what LED can do for you. However, look for LED's that are juiced to have 1 watt or more output. 150 bulb for 32 watts compared to 32 bulbs for 32 watts would make all the difference.

1500 bucks increase in your electric bill would get me over to your hose just to save the planet myself.

Attention All Beginners:

All you need to get started is a few CFL's, soil, containers, water and seeds. Once you have a plant, and are tired of sleeping with the lights on, you need the container of dark area. That in itself can be done with 1 board place at a corner of a room creating a triangle.

Sorry for the rant, but this was for newbies to ask questions, not people with a lot of experience.

Love the sandbox....

Click to expand...

The LEDs was for the Euro grower. Power out there is ridiculously expensive, and his space doesn't allow for much ventilation. CFL lighting was an option but the low vertical space would be hindered by the size of the bulbs. For this grower I suggested LEDs as an option but wouldn't do so for someone with the money to spend.

Admittedly, I just got a kitten, and the little bastard keeps me up all night. When I have time I will get to the larger setup.

Nicedreamz said:

The dimensions of the space I will grow in are.... 3x4x8 ft
The budget I'd like to stay within is.... couple hundo alrdy got lights no carbon filter or can fan
My average daily consumption is.... a gram or more
I'm am growing this medicine for....me and the lady
My energy costs per Kwh....dunno
I am comfortable with a power bill increase of....100$
I have researched growing, my experience is....moderate
I am interested in the growing method(s)....SOG from my mothers
My demands are....would love 5 or more zips every 70 days or so
My constraints are....i need to have both veg and flower in this closet.... heat smell light leaks are all going to be issues....i need this room to be able to survive without me for 2 days in a row if need be

Click to expand...

This can be done... You have the vertical space which you'll need to fully utilize.

I guess for starters you need to remove that dresser, I like what you've done with it but if it's time to get serious then you just don't need it.

What you need to do is partition the room into two spaces. Ideally you'd have a 3x3x4.5 tent in the lower partition. Then you could install a little shelf with some plywood and a few screws (easily patched and repaired if renting) just above the flowering tent. Cut a hole in the plywood to run ducting from the lower partition into the upper one without light leaks, duct tape is your friend, apply liberally.

If you can't find a tent of the right dimensions then you'll just need to do a good job light proofing the lower area. Caulking and Mylar will do the trick. Make sure the flowering chamber has it's own "door." A little plywood, couple of screws and screw driver, and a hand saw is all you really need to do this.

So the lower area I think should be the flowering chamber because you'll need to do the most work in that area and getting to the lights/ventilation in the upper chamber will be tough.

You need to get a ventilation fan with a carbon filter. I think for this space you'll need to ventilate around 150cfm to keep the closet cool enough. Look into blowers, or 4" inline fans as this will work for you. The fan, ducting, wye joint, and the filter with the pre-filter shouldn't cost you more than $200.

You will place the carbon filter in the lower Veg chamber, and try to mount the fan in that handy crawl space you have to vent into. I strongly suggest getting the fan out of the growing space because it does generate it's own heat, however slight, and running ducting to the fan in the crawl space will move the same amount of air.

In the lower chamber you'll need to set up an air cooled hood HID system of 400w or 600w. Connect ducting to the filter and then to the hood and run it through the hole in the shelving. You're sucking "stinky" air from your flowering plants through the fliter, then through the hood to cool the light, then straight out to the crawl space. Keep the ducting as straight as you can.

In the upper chamber you'll connect the lower ducting to a wye joint. Use this joint to connect the upper chamber into the ventilation system, effectively ventilating both spaces with one fan. The upper room is not filtered because I don't expect your vegetating mothers to reek... but if that becomes an issue there is slightly more expensive method we can use to filter and ventilate the entire space.

You'll need to also incorporate a light tight air intake into the space. How you do this is an issue, it might require the closet door to be at least ajar. I suggest using a $25 duct boosting fan in the lower chamber to keep air flow.

In a 3x3x4.5 space I recommend growing 4 clones in a scrog style grow, so right on there. There are a lot of ways to build and install and do a scrog so you'll need to really understand the concept when you get started. Unfortunately this will increase the vegetative time your plants require, but it will also increase your harvest size. So fewer, but larger, harvests.

I'm a humungo fan of coco and I think for you that would be a good option. Another option would be to try and mimic NBG's setup with the rockwool pebbles and the bubbleponics. If you go coco (which I would do to reduce the moving parts) then start several clones 3 to 4 weeks prior to moving them into the growing chamber in maybe 1-2L of coco. When they move into the lower chamber you'll want to transplant them to 3 gallon planters, or so, and really begin to push them as you fill the screen. The extra 10 to 20 days of Veg before transplanting will cut the time they need to fill out the screen.

Figure, even if you are growing a 10 week strain, you'll only need 90 days at most for each harvest. A good 8 week Indica and that would be closer to your 70 day mark. You're looking at a full 9 sqft of bud sites, and could easily top 300 grams per harvest, 10 ounces plus, with a 400w lamp and a little practice. As a beginner scrogger you might be better off expecting half that, which is still those 5 zips you're looking for. Then again, who's to say you don't get it right your first try with all the help this ICMag offers...

I think you need at least 400w in the lower chamber. I recommend a switchable system as your plants need some veg time and the MH will make a difference during this stage. A 600w HPS system would be just fine though, and this is a better choice for the flowering chamber.

In the upper grow space you need a modular kind of lighting. Sometimes you'll need more light when you have clones in there, sometimes that extra light isn't needed. So what I suggest here is something like a 150w MH sun system (Less than $100) for your mother and for budgets sake a clamp light with a 27w CFL bulb for each clone you take with a larger 64w+ CFL centered for them.

Hydro supplements I recommend for everyone is Canna. What Advanced Nutrients spends on advertising Canna spends in the lab. NBG used Canna Aqua in his system with spectacular results on a chronic plant, that's what convinced me. The Lucas formula is just fine and for some people with major budget issues it fits best. If you can afford it though, $200 in nutrients will buy their entire line and should last you through at least 2 grows, and probably into the 3rd. The really nice thing about Canna is that it's all pre balanced for pH, so if you don't have a pH pen then you don't really need to worry too much about it.

erwingruber said:

I make a new post in Growroom Designs & Equipment before i spot this one
but it is a nice idea all setup questioning post to be in a single post
So i will but my questions here too.

Bellow you can see a sketcup of my grow room

1) The dimensions of the space I will grow in are
-- Flower room 1,85m*1,65m*2.6m ( 8 cubic meters or 280 cubic feet )
-- Veg room 1,85m*1,35m*2,6m ( 6,5 cubic meters or 230 cubic feet )
2) The budget I'd like to stay within is 3500 euros or 4700 us dollars
-- My average daily consumption is .. as much as we have
3) I'm am growing this medicine for
-- Me and my friends they all give money for the setup
4) My energy costs per Kwh
-- Not a problem
5) I am comfortable with a power bill increase of
-- Not a problem for the consumption of the equipment we can buy
6) I have researched growing, my experience is
-- I have read a lot but this is cannot replace growing experience so...[A little]
7) I am interested in the growing method(s)
-- Ebb&flood & Dwc
( i will try one differrent setups under every 600 hps for a head to head methods yield comparison )
8) My demands are
-- Maximum yield
9) When setup is beggining
-- 3 weeks from today ( i must all equipment at hand in 3 weeks )
10) My constraints are
-- Realy hot outside temps over 100-110+ F (38-43+ Celsius)
-- No window AC's no dual Hose portable , trying to avoid mini split (they need someone to install them)
-- Trying to avoid CO2 supps ,ppm monitors is expensive + small growing experience
( if i can found cheap way to manage ppm maybe i will think twice )
11) I need most advice on
-- A/C efficiency in the above sketch up (put funs running 24/0 or 3min off - 1 min on)
-- Better ways to setup up air flow
-- Can the AC unit placed in the flower room where the the temps rise more
( what about smell leakage from the AC's exaust ,
maybe a small carbon filter and a fun running 24/0
inside flower room recirculating air )

Click to expand...

I like most of your design. There are a few "flaws," but nothing major. Let's talk heat management first.

Since your outdoor temperatures are so high pulling air directly in from outdoors is going to be impossible. An AC unit that's going to be good enough to cool your entire space is going to run you $500 to $600 so you're really looking at a lot of cash for some mediocre cooling.

I think the better option is to pull the air in from the home. Natural human respiration drops a gram of CO2 per breath, allowing in home CO2 levels to be just a tad higher (especially in bedrooms during the night time if the windows are sealed). Also, I imagine the home already has some kind of cooling system, so by keeping your existing system in place and keeping the home cooled to 76 degrees or so will give the grow space to the air it needs.

You're going to want a fresh air intake into the flowering room because any air that comes through the vegetative room first has already been "breathed" by the plants and warmed by the lights. By the time that air hits your flowering plants it's no longer cool or CO2 rich. Perhaps you need to switch your Veg room and your flowering room if you cant figure out how to get the fresher air in their.

I'm a little confused as to the RO water setup taking that much space. All you really need is a large drum for the water to run into and a drain for the excess. At home RO systems are very water inefficient and are better suited for specialists. For you guys I think having a couple 5 gallon jugs would be a good idea. I have 3 jugs that I fill up every 5 days or so at the water store. I pay 15 cents per gallon, so it's only a few dollars a week for water. It's been really easy to manage and I think installing an RO system might not be ideal for you guys. If you think it'll work then go for it but you need to understand how it all is put together before committing. Jugs are cheap and easy.

Now that I've eliminated the RO system and the AC unit in the veg room you have a whole bunch more square footage to use. I'm confused as to if these walls are put up, where the doors are, etc, but I think you could get away with a single 1000w lamp in that room rather than the 400w. A 400w MH system really has a miserable casting distance, something like 22" from the bulb is less than 2,500 lumens. 1000w MH ballasts are as expensive as the 400w variety, so it's just power cost that becomes an issue (which you said wasn't an issue). I think the 1000w MH is the perfect choice for your Veg grow space.

You did choose the right lighting for the flowering space. That's enough light for 6 fairly large plants, 8 medium sized plants, 18 small plants, or 32 very small plants. Personally, I like to stay within my states laws, so I'd go for 6 fairly large plants, especially considering you have such a large vegetative growing space allowing you to get some bushes.

The last, and most important, change I am suggesting is with your ventilation. I suggest sucking your air rather than pushing it. Sucking air through the filter is the right idea but you seem to be pushing the air through your hoods and that's set up a little backwards. Put your exhaust fans next to the exterior exit (consonance at it's best people).

This has taken me like an hour, I might have glazed over stuff, if I missed something or if you have a question feel free to run it past me. If you happen to be a know-it-all and you see I missed something then please chime and and straighten things out