Need Help!

alright so i'm really liking the aerogarden...but is it the best? i have a hydroponics shop near by that i'm going to go check out but i know for a fact it will be more expensive and i heard that the lights on a NICEEE setup are costly and will rack my electric bill up. i want to start a small 2-4 plant aeroponics/hydro garden but i dunno what to use. www.texashydroponics.com is the store i found and they have alot of awesome shit. i want to use fox farm for neuts. but my main problem is electricity and lights! what is the lowest cheapest way i can go? i dunno i just need some help i am a begginer

Yo Witebombs,

You can get a pretty good set up, or even build one for well under $300 including lights. Texas hdyro is one of the places with good low prices. To answer your question about the aerogarden, my gf has one and I've followed some of the posts on this site and it does not seem to really get the job done. Its just not made for plants that get bigger than 12 inches or so. Your yield is gonna be pretty pathetic using that system.

A 400 W HPS will probably increase your power bill by around $15 - $25 every month. You can get a dirt cheap one that works just as well as any other one you would buy at High Tech Garden Supply Their cheapest 400 w system is $120. They also have cheap fluoro lights if you really cannot afford that much of a power consumption increase.

You can build an aero garden set up that would give you a lot more space to grow several plants, check out the post by Major Toke in the DIY section. https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/4473-diy-aeroponic-unit.html

I built an ebb and flow system with a tray, resevoir, food and drain kit, water pump, air pump and air stones for about $175. You can find all those materials at Texas Hydro. It's not aeroponics but it still works awesome.

Peace

awesome. well i want to go with the aerogarden but i want to incorperate more lighting maybe? i was thinking what if i used the aerogarden setup like normal and then used a 200-400 high pressure sodium bulbduring flowering or whenever i'm supposed to use it. when would i want to start using the HPS bulb? should i use the aerogarden light and the HPS bulb when i start using it? will fans work for keeping a good temp?

The problem with the aerogarden is the amount of space and the lighting. Getting an HPS or MH light will solve the lighting problem but you only really have space for one healthy plant using the aerogarden. I've seen pictures of people growing up to three, but they are usually long and lanky and unhealthy looking.

The lights that come with the aero garden are fine for the seedling stage, but a few weeks in you are gonna want to start using a stronger light , such as the HPS or MH or a lot more of those cfl's. If you only plan on growing one or two plants a 150 or 200 watt would be fine but 400 would be better, especially for the flowering stages. 400 W light is good for a 3x3 grow area.

If you have already spent money of the aerogarden then you probably wanna go with it. but further down the road if you wanna grow 3 - 4 plants than you might wanna build a bigger aero set up.

ohh yeah, the whole fan and temp issue all depends on ventelation and how confined your grow area is. You should def have a fan for air circulation and to strengthen the stems though.

my goal is just a 1 or 2 plant garden so that work good.
every HPS light i find is really expensive....and will heat be an issue? should i get a 200 watt or just say screw it and get the 400 watt?
thanks for lookin out man!

ah cool. yeah i plan on just throwin the aero garden in my small closet (need to take measurements) with an HPS light and some fans ! i'm not looking to grow a pound i just want to grow some nice smoke for myself.

For $120 you can get a good 400 W HPS at High Tech Garden Supply You'd end up spending just as much if not more if you bought the correct amount of cfl's or fluoros for your grow. They also sell 250 W HPS at the same store if you feel 400 is too much for your situation.
If you will be leaving the closet door and you have a fan etc, than you will probably be able to control the heat. If your situation requires you to keep the closet door closed than you might be able to vent the closet by building an exhaust intake system (easy to do). You could also purchase the HPS light with an air coolable reflector that is not that much more expensive.

Either way, If your situation permits it, you should def go with the 400 W.

you could do ebay, i was able to get a 400hps and a 400 MH for 85 each. One turned out to be a home made balast (the MH) even though the add said otherwise, but ohwell it works well so I dont really have any complaints.