Little help for first time grow?

I've been thinking about it for a while and I finally have the money and the time to go through with it.
It will be some sort of Autoflower strain, I am open to suggestions if you feel so inclined.
My grow space is super small, just 22" x 30" and then like 5.5 ft tall. I am planning on making my own grow tent out of PVC and Reflictix.

I'm only panning on doing 1 plant because my grow space is so small, so what kinda lights do you think would be best in there for just one auto flower plant? I was looking towards either LED's but idk how many watts I would do, or an alternative would be 150 watt HPS lights. So please give your best suggestions for what kind of lights and how many watts considering its only going to be one plant. IF I do HPS lights, should I have two different bulbs for veg and flowering if I am growing an auto flower, if so what should the two wattages be?How far should I put the lights that you recommend, if I remember right HPS lights are a lot hotter and so they would obviously need to be farther away and LEDs would be closer to the plant, but I don't know how far for either of them (this is a big thing for me considering I need to know how big to make my grow tent). Also note that I'd like to keep it as cool as possible temperature wise so I don't have to drop very much money of an intricate fan system or anything.

Also, what should I do about soil/nutes? Thats the only part of the growing process that I am unsure about which is why I'm starting with auto flowers because I read that they don't react as much to poor nutes. What kind of soil do you guys think I should use and about how much (in height) should I use in a 3 gallon pot. I know I need to put some rocks or gravel at the bottom to allow excess water to drain, but how many inches of soil should I put above that layer of gravel?

I'm also trying to keep the budget to at the most about $400.

My last question is a very specific so here we go: I want to have an intake and an exhaust ventilation hoses. So my question is whether or not computer fans would work instead of the regular fans that hook straight up to the vent hoses. The computer fan I was think of wasAlso, regardless of the fan type, where should I put the fan; like should I put it at the end of the hose or should I put it between the hose and the grow tent. Like should I put it at the end of the hose for the intake and then put it between the grow tent and the hose of the exhaust or any combination of those?

I'm trying to get all this stuff figured out before hand so that I know how it will fit in my small grow space. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You can squeeze 2-3 plants in. If LED, you need a little higher budget to get a good light. Look into Area 51 and their's. 3 gal pots are fine. I put a little straight perlite at the bottom and then a soil mix with about 25% each of perlite and vrmiculite. Up to you if you go for your own mix or buy something. I prefer to conrol my nutes so I mix my own.

If odor matters, don't skimp on an exhaust fan and filter combo. Phresh filters rock IMHO. Filter into fan then out of the tent. For intake, passive is fine.

yeah that space is quite tiny. if you run a 150w hps you're going to need an air cooled hood and that means you will have to purchase an inline fan which you say you may not want to do. computer fans might be enough for that small of a space if using led. i don't know a lot about led but i have heard good things of area51 which is what growindad suggested.

don't run autos just because you're afraid of nutes. everyone is afraid of nutes when they first start homie, or at-least i know i was. i was quite literally petrified to feed my plants for some reason, lol. you don't need to put any rocks or gravel in your soil. you can use sunshine mix #4 and the lucas formula for nutrients. once you transfer to your final pot you can use some dolomite lime and earthworm castings and after that you might not even need to add nutes for the rest of your grow.

dont make you own tent. If you dont know what materials to source, you may offgas your plants. Use a closet and build up a divider wall or something. or make a box out of wood with your vent holes. Make your environment first before buying any lights. for one plant you can easily flower using a t5 fixture with (4) 2' bulbs of 3k spectrum. Just train her and keep as much of the plant material as close to the light as possible. computer fans will not help any. an hps setup may have you go over your budget if you plan on covering all your basics(temps, humidity, etc) Unless if you live in the arctic circle and growing outdoors under 20+ hours of light, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING AUTO

150w hps would be good thats what im using and my Dimensions are - 24" x 21" x 48" (14.0 cu/ft)

i use a grand wardrobe box from uhaul and i use computer fans for intake/exhaust and i have a gro1 fan up top to keep the light cool and i have fans at the bottom of the box to keep air moving around

I personally wouldn't put more than one plant in that space....and I'm a guy that packs in plants into small places.

You have a few options.....A 150w HID would be good, but depending on your ventilation could make things a bit too warm. I don't know enough about LED's to speak with expertise about them, but I suspect you'd get a good grow under a quality light.

I favor T5's for your set-up....say a 6-8 bulb 2" T5HO. It's cooler than HID's, cheaper than LED's, and with the right mix of bulbs you can go from veg to flower without a bulb change.

I don't know if you'd get away with no ventilation though as T5's do throw some heat. You should have an exchange of air in your tent anyway.

You may be tempted to go with CFL's as they are really inexpensive, but end up being just as hot as an HID.

I agree about not making your own tent. The last thing you need is to have a fire. Believe it or not, Walmart has grow tents online that are dirt cheap and will probably cost you the same as making your own.

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=grow tents

lilroach said:

I personally wouldn't put more than one plant in that space....and I'm a guy that packs in plants into small places.

You have a few options.....A 150w HID would be good, but depending on your ventilation could make things a bit too warm. I don't know enough about LED's to speak with expertise about them, but I suspect you'd get a good grow under a quality light.

I favor T5's for your set-up....say a 6-8 bulb 2" T5HO. It's cooler than HID's, cheaper than LED's, and with the right mix of bulbs you can go from veg to flower without a bulb change.

I don't know if you'd get away with no ventilation though as T5's do throw some heat. You should have an exchange of air in your tent anyway.

You may be tempted to go with CFL's as they are really inexpensive, but end up being just as hot as an HID.

I agree about not making your own tent. The last thing you need is to have a fire. Believe it or not, Walmart has grow tents online that are dirt cheap and will probably cost you the same as making your own.

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=grow tents

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I'm now thinking about going with Dubbz's idea of the wardrobe box. I was kind of confused by the info you gave me on the T5's. When you say 6-8 bulb 2" T5HO", what do you mean exactly. Like 12" or 24" bulbs? And do you mean a setup with 6-8 bulbs at a time? Also, what does the 2" represent, the circumference of the bulb or something along those lines?

Lastly, could you provide me with some links or something to cheap T5 setups, you claim its pretty cheap but I'm seeing 2 foot 4 bulb light fixtures for like $100 and you said I need 6-8 bulbs which is obviously going to cost more. I was looking at a $65 150-watt HPS light system.

I 've come to terms that I'll probably need some ventilation going on. I figured if I save $50 by using a wardrobe box instead of a tent then I can have a decent ventilation system to go along with it. I think I'll do 4" dryer duct pipes and have an intake fan and an outtake fan with a carbon filter on the outtake. It would lead to the bottom of the door of the closet and pull and/or blow out air underneath the 1" crack between the bottom of the door and the floor.

TheShaaark said:

I'm now thinking about going with Dubbz's idea of the wardrobe box. I was kind of confused by the info you gave me on the T5's. When you say 6-8 bulb 2" T5HO", what do you mean exactly. Like 12" or 24" bulbs? And do you mean a setup with 6-8 bulbs at a time? Also, what does the 2" represent, the circumference of the bulb or something along those lines?

Lastly, could you provide me with some links or something to cheap T5 setups, you claim its pretty cheap but I'm seeing 2 foot 4 bulb light fixtures for like $100 and you said I need 6-8 bulbs which is obviously going to cost more. I was looking at a $65 150-watt HPS light system.

I 've come to terms that I'll probably need some ventilation going on. I figured if I save $50 by using a wardrobe box instead of a tent then I can have a decent ventilation system to go along with it. I think I'll do 4" dryer duct pipes and have an intake fan and an outtake fan with a carbon filter on the outtake. It would lead to the bottom of the door of the closet and pull and/or blow out air underneath the 1" crack between the bottom of the door and the floor.

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yea its good for one or two plants 3 max with more cfl lights with the hps but my last grow came out male but went good now i have a star dawg clone should go well

ok I think I may be able to help u out here. first cfls makes the buds airy idk if u want that or not. t5s are great for vegging im not sure about the flowering effects though. but t8s are more energy efficient. a 4-6 bulb t8 would be nice for vegging. u could get the light closer and it would make a lot less heat than the hps but the hps would make better buds.. pick a route with the lights. http://www.lowes.com/pd_283285-1390-GU9804-T8-BKSS_0__?productId=1208545&Ntt=t8+fixtures&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=t8+fixtures&facetInfo= . next I think u should hit ebay and buy a cheap tds pen and a cheap ph pen. don't get anything fancy keep it around or under $10 each. you can build a small tent out of pvc from home depot and cover it with panda plastic (that's at least 8mils thick if you want it light proof) and a zipper door both of which are on ebay. if you run an extra pvc pipe through the center of the top of the frame youll have something to hang the light from. as far as the lights falling and setting fires I just don't see it happening unless someone football tackles the structure. t8/ t5's are kinda lite weight and hid lights (HPS) come in three parts bulb, cord, and ballast and u only need to hang the bulb and cord. you really can tie them to the frame with twine and be ok. you should just go a head and buy a small fan (keep it around $20) and a hygrometer lowes have the digital ones that gives temps as well for $10. grab some 6 or 8 in ducting / dryer hose (which ever is cheaper ) and attach it to the panda film and your good to go. since u want a small space you need to top and scrog. and don't cut yourself short with the autos. autos are hardier but they grow on a time line so if u do fuck it up it stills trots along. the problem with that is u want to be problem free by the time u flower but if u stunt an auto itll still try to bud giving u tiny buds bud with a normal strain u can extend your veg until shes perfect

If you don't want to 150w hps because of heating problems. Do cfls. Home Depot has a light cord, y light bulb connectors and Cfls. They're a bunch of good grows doing well off 6 cfls and some years connectors. If you need help reply to me. I will even send you my last big bud auto if you do a grow journal with it if you really want to do a auto grow. With cfls and 1 plant you won't really need super ventilation in that space just 2 small fans. 1 for your plant and 1 for blowing air out. Simpsampson420 blessed me with the pineapple express in my main picture for free so I have to pay it forward. Just let me know.

Your you will save a bunch of money and producertainly decent buds without hurting your pocket on the light bill and keep about 200 of your budget.

TheShaaark said:

I'm now thinking about going with Dubbz's idea of the wardrobe box. I was kind of confused by the info you gave me on the T5's. When you say 6-8 bulb 2" T5HO", what do you mean exactly. Like 12" or 24" bulbs? And do you mean a setup with 6-8 bulbs at a time? Also, what does the 2" represent, the circumference of the bulb or something along those lines?

Lastly, could you provide me with some links or something to cheap T5 setups, you claim its pretty cheap but I'm seeing 2 foot 4 bulb light fixtures for like $100 and you said I need 6-8 bulbs which is obviously going to cost more. I was looking at a $65 150-watt HPS light system.

I 've come to terms that I'll probably need some ventilation going on. I figured if I save $50 by using a wardrobe box instead of a tent then I can have a decent ventilation system to go along with it. I think I'll do 4" dryer duct pipes and have an intake fan and an outtake fan with a carbon filter on the outtake. It would lead to the bottom of the door of the closet and pull and/or blow out air underneath the 1" crack between the bottom of the door and the floor.

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Sorry for the typo....that's supposed to read 2' not 2".

I buy most of my grow equipment on Craigslist and have had good luck doing so. If you go with a T5 set-up and are shopping on C/L, be sure to stay away from fixtures that were used for salt-water tanks as they'll be very corroded.

You could probably grow one or two plants under 150w HPS system.