1st Grow, Need help with what all i need

Okay so I am going to be making a semi stealth grow box. I live in an apartment complex and I am only growing for personal use so 1 or 2 plants is all I want in the end. I have done hours upon hours of research but I feel like everyone does something different. I am considering using a pc case to do my grow in just because I have an extra one laying around and I dont plan on growing 5 foot tall plants.

So my question is.. What all do i need to get growing?

Specifically - What size bulbs (I was planning on doing CFL bulbs just because its small). I've read that some people do like 3 26w 2700k cfl bulbs during vegetative and 2 26w 6500k cfl bulbs for flowering. Is this what i should be doing in my box? Also what brand of soil/fertilizer do i need. Im looking to pick up all the stuff i need at my local walmart or hardware store and not have to order anything online. Im not looking to spend very much money either. I've seen these builds go for under $100 and thats ultimately my goal for this project. Im just using random seeds i've collected over the years so im not even sure what ill get. Im basically just doing this for the experience.

Thanks in advance

Unless you NEED to use a PC case for ultra stealth reasons, I would suggest using something a bit bigger.
PC cases add extra problems to a grow due to severe limits on space.

Hmmm well stealth really isn't that much of a big deal to me. I guess i could maybe build a box of some sort. Any ideas or links to others? I was pretty set on using the pc design since i already have one and am not really planning on producing much, 2 plants at the most.

Is there like a guide or a step by step post that will show me exactly what i need to do when growing in a pc case? I am pretty set on using 4 26w 6500k cfl bulbs for vegitation and 4 26w 2700k cfl bulbs for flowering stage. Any thoughts?

There's lots of books out there. Check out "buds for less". It's a step by step guide to growing with CFLs and it's mostly pics without a ton of text so it's a quick, easy read. That's how I got started.

I'll second that, "Buds for Less" will definitely set you on the right path. If you followed the book "to the letter" you would get half a pound of bud.

i think you should consider doing a box that would fit at least a 150w HPS thats only 2.5-3 squared feet with 3 ft height or so. that should give you anywhere between 2-5oz's depending on skill and strain, and this will be every 4-5months if you're going from seed, so it's like one oz/month. so the more bud you need to be self sufficient the bigger the room and light you need. i'd rather do a grow with a 600w when i have the chance and get the most out of it and store them and quit growing for a long time

Whats the difference between a 150w hps and what my setup was going to be? Aren't hps bulbs expensive and then i would have to get ballists and lots more wiring correct? Id rather stick with cfl's. Many people have had success and its fairly cheap

And i actually downloaded that book the other day, i just never got around to reading it. I will definitely follow it. Thanks guys

cfl's are good to veg but not good to flower. if your risking growing, better grow something decent. 150w hps is cheaper than 150w cfl's gives more lumens/less heat per watt and is easy to wire, no rocket science, and if it's too hard for you to wire the ballast, i suggest you dont grow cuz you would need higher iq to grow

Okay so I have changed what i am building in. I found an old dresser, about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Will be perfect to grow 1 or 2 plants. So now my question is, Should i go with one 150w hps light? If so, what brand and where can i buy one?

a 5x3 area is too big for 150w, you would need like 800watts to fill it up. this will give you too much bud. if you want you can use part of it and use 150 or 250 watt or a 400 or a 600 lol thats up to you, but with this space, you sure will grow more than you could smoke. 600w lights are the most efficient. roughly you would need 50watts HPS per square foot minimum start planning

I have a 400w for a 4' x 4' x 6.5' tent and it's sufficient. I've also got a 250w for my 2' x 2' x 4.5' room, and works well for veg for up to 9 plants. I would suggest a 250w for that size space, a 150w would work, but not as good for flowering as the plant will be taller, and the 150w won't have as much light penetration as the 250w would. HID lights are much more efficient and powerful than CFL's and are much easier to wire and set up.

biffchicken said:

I have a 400w for a 4' x 4' x 6.5' tent and it's sufficient. I've also got a 250w for my 2' x 2' x 4.5' room, and works well for veg for up to 9 plants. I would suggest a 250w for that size space, a 150w would work, but not as good for flowering as the plant will be taller, and the 150w won't have as much light penetration as the 250w would. HID lights are much more efficient and powerful than CFL's and are much easier to wire and set up.

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theres no way a 400 could cover 16 sq.ft(4x4) maybe you use part of that room to flower in? when flowering you need a minimum of 5000lumens per sq.ft and thats almost what 50wHPS would give out. my space is also 5x3 and i use 2 400's for it

Okay i mis spoke earlier, The dresser is only 3 feet wide by almost 2 feet deep and around 5 feet tall. Its a small dresser. Can i put a 150w hps bulb in there and just use that from seed to harvest running on a 12/12 schedule? Any thoughts? I am only doing 2 plants top