Last Minute descisions before buying for first grow?

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seanbomb1

Member
So I have been collecting items over the past 2 weeks from work pay budget to start my first grow. So far I have the following:

Black Orchid Grow tent 100x100x200cm
5" inline fan with rate of 164cfm/280m3/h
All required ducting.

Also have 5, 30w cfl lights ( from a shroom grow)

Have also just ordered my feminised seeds.
1x Cherry Bomb
1x THC Bomb
1x Nirvana Northern Lights.

I have a budget of around £150 for this week.


So here is my questions to finish my setup I believe I only need the following:

Carbon Filter
Grow Lights
Nutrients
Soil and pots.

At my local hydroponics I can get the following items:
Carbon Filter: Rhino Carbon Filter 125 x 300: £64.95
Soil: Biobizz All Mix Soil 20l: £6.95
Nutes: Biobizz Grow 500ml and Biobizz Bloom 500ml: £11

For lighting I can get 2x 125w cfls for £21.95 each. Each giving 9000 lumens.

Or should I go for a 250w hps? Keep in mind I have these 5 cfls here too I was thinking of using for under the plants?

I know most will say hps for lumens and yield or whatever but what I am worried about is the heat that it will produce?

If I go hps, what will my temps tend to be?
Should I get magnetic or digital ballist?
Certain brand or will the cheapest be fine?

Or just stick with cfls...?

My room temps are 26c-28c normally.

Thanks
 
Holylander

Holylander

Well-Known Member
Hey guy, that all sounds really nice! Those are some really personal decisions re your lights so I'm not sure what you should choose, HPS will add heat and then you will need to think of cooling because 26-28 is already warm. But you can definitely push back the carbon filter into a later budget round if you want, because you probably will not need it for a while starting from seed. Probably at least a month. Good luck with your new grow, sounds great.
 
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mrblu

Well-Known Member
not enough lighting for 3 plants. i would recommend 400 watts for 3 plants atleast and not a long veg on them. 250 is good for 1 nice size plant maybde 2 plants with a short veg.
 
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Growingforpeace

Well-Known Member
I would go with the HPS since you do have a nice fan already and the cash to get another in necesary. With cfls If you want to do more than a couple of plants gets less and less practical. If you decide to go cfl use lots of 23-27 watt cfls rather than a couple huge ones. You can get way more wattage for cheap and more of an even lighting situation with all of them placed as opposed to one major cfl over a couple plants. For soil make your own for cheap and you'll have enough for a few grows get some basic soil or if you want some ffof or some black gold or pro mix anything like that is good add some perlite, vermiculite, worm castings, and any other EWC you like. For carbon filter if your only going for a couple plants you can make one for about 3 bucks each. Other than that use wat you can get your hands on.
 
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seanbomb1

Member
Thanks guys, I'll get a hps this week and carbon filter next week. Are you sure 250w hps wont do? 'Cause I think the 400w may increase my temps quite a bit... That is depending if they give off alot of heat?
 
fir3dragon

fir3dragon

Well-Known Member
400w does put off quite a bit of heat, you would need a cooltube, 6 inch inline fan and a carbon filter for smell/ventilation for the 400w your gonna need temps down to about 70 degrees intake to keep the temps in the tent cool
 
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seanbomb1

Member
Right now my room is sitting at 29'c. This is mainly because of the bearded dragon in my room with its light and heater. Also the sun for most of the day is beaming straight into my room windows. My temps will be sky high with the 400w will it not then?
 
fir3dragon

fir3dragon

Well-Known Member
if im right, thats 82 degrees. yes thats too hot already for a 400w hps. if you throw a 400w hps in there on top of 82 degrees unvented its going to go well over 90 or even 100 quite easily..
 
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seanbomb1

Member
Should I run my inline fan just now and check the temps in the tent? may be lower than my room with the fan being there..

Also in the next month my room will get real cold. Live in scotland. Will this be a better time to use a 400w or just go with the 250w
 
fir3dragon

fir3dragon

Well-Known Member
seanbomb1 said:
Should I run my inline fan just now and check the temps in the tent? may be lower than my room with the fan being there..

Also in the next month my room will get real cold. Live in scotland. Will this be a better time to use a 400w or just go with the 250w
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your not going to be able to get your tent temps lower then your room temp. your room temp is the problem. 82 degrees is over the max i let my 600w get to. i only let it get a max of 80. no matter what light you go with, 82 is too hot i think. even cfls throw off alot of heat and since trhey need to be close, you need a bunch of them so you need to get them room temps lower then 82 for anything to happen.. i mean it will grow, but when it flowers its going to be very fluffy and heat effects yield too so you wont yield as much and it just wont grow as good as it would in optimal temps. i personally wouldnt even mess with anything lower then a 400w, when i first started growing about 2 or 3 years ago, i started with cfls out of walmart for veg, and quickly bought a 150w hps for flower.. few weeks into flower the 150w wasnt doing what i liked so i quickly upgraded to a 400w and used it until this grow im on now (my 6th) i now got a 600w with a phantom ballast where as before it was a htg magnetic ballast but anyways what im trying to say is you dont wanna start with a lower wattage and then upgrade and waste the cash like i did.. i mean i sold my light on craigslist but i was also risking alot selling a grow light on craigslist too specially in a not legal state
 
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seanbomb1

Member
Okay, well I think its the bearded dragon causing alot of heat so my mum is letting me move it to her room tomorrow. Will post back results to see if its lowered at all
 
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seanbomb1

Member
fir3dragon said:
ok, i will be here lol. are you growing in a tent in your room?
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Yeah got it in the corner of my room. Checked the temps of my bearded dragons vivarium. Under the light its 110f and lowest point is 85f. Must be that which is causing the heat, or atleast some of it...
 
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seanbomb1

Member
so haven't moved dragon yet. but left window open overnight. Temps are at 22c. There is no sun today and heat has been 22c constant? is that suitable?

Also my seeds came today :D
 
fir3dragon

fir3dragon

Well-Known Member
seanbomb1 said:
so haven't moved dragon yet. but left window open overnight. Temps are at 22c. There is no sun today and heat has been 22c constant? is that suitable?

Also my seeds came today :D
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thats 71, yeah thats perfect temps.. dont let them get too low at night though. good luck man. your temps are great now!
 
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