Stealth is #1 priority.

Hello everyone, I was not sure which forum to post this in.

This will be my first grow! I have spent time reading different forums, books, and articles and I am not sure where to start.

I have considered growing using a grow tent, pre-built grow cabinet, and building my own box/closet. I'm looking to stick to a budget of $800 and less. Hopefully this is a realistic number... it's an area of approximately 3x3. (Actual- w:38 d:36 h:78 )

I consume about 6-8z per month minimum, looking for good yield for personal consumption, while being limited to 10 plants. This is a legal medical grow, but I also need 100% stealth. No light leaks, no scent, and near silent.

I was looking at a 600w HPS/MH system, but I am worried about the temperature in that area. Is there a way to keep it cool enough, while keeping stealth?
Is the 600 overdoing it, or should I downgrade to a 400? Is HID the best way to go, or would CFL or another lighting option be the way to go?
600w stats: HPS Bulb Lumens - 89,000 & MH Bulb Lumens - 55,000.... 400w stats: HPS Bulb Lumens - 54,000 & MH Bulb Lumens - 36,000

4" 190 CFM Carbon filter... is this enough and how long would something like this last?

I would like to do hydroponics due to the cleanliness. Would a 24-7 nutrient monitor be a good idea?

Any ideas, or suggestions would be appreciated and helpful from experienced growers!

Thanks everyone!

Nice man! Cograts on first steps!

I would recomend LED technology - good yields, good PAR efficiency. With 4x - 5x CREE CXA that place would be rocking. Next thing, using LED's you don't have a need for uber-ventilation, because it is not giving away as much heat as HID lights, so in the end, everything will be a lot quiter.

Carbon filter will be only needed when you start to flower, when everything gets funky

Do the hydro if you want. I don't know what is 24-7 nutrient monitor - some device wich measures nutrients? why?

Go for it, learn something new and you will discover.
Many my friends like push to commercial, like yeah - 1000W HID - 20 plants, why my plants are shit - damn i need another 1000w hid, but problem is in soil, in aeration, stress and many more probs...
So better be master in place you have, before you make an upgrade if so, but as this is your first grow - read, read, read

Great reply ^^^

Too bad our medical scene isn't on par with the rest of the country.....write to your senator regarding the concentrate bill and the dispensary bill....tell them you won't vote for them or for any incumbent unless those bills are at least voted on before November. Then call the governor's office and tell them to temporarily tax medical marihuana in Detroit's city limits as a solution (even if just partial) to the Detroit bankruptcy. As someone in Northern Michigan, who does not espouse the corrupt political views and actions leading the the city's insolvency, do you really feel like you should be paying taxes into a package to bail out Kwame's misdoings? It's an important time to be vocal.

For a first grow, I'd use soil or something easier to manage. Personally, I'll probably never go hydro because a friend lost an entire plant to an equipment failure (within a very short time period). If you aren't doing a perpetual harvest, then you can't afford to lose a plant if you need 6-8oz per month. I have nice results with 600w HPS digilux bulbs in xxxl hoods, run by lumatek ballasts. It's easily expandable (I have four but started with one a long time ago). For something like that, a 6 inch vortex can adequately cool 4 of them, so I'd think that your 4inch would be enough for one light. The carbon filter adds some drag...if you will expand, then I'd go with a 6 inch fan. I don't scrub, so having cool neighbors who know what I do and who are looking out for me is my carbon filter...I'm also in a real low crime area without a bunch of juveniles in the neighborhood.

I did hydro from day one and it was stupid easy to learn imop it is easier than soil for me. Good luck.

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If odor is an issue for you I would get a grow tent..3x3 if you prefer; and either a 400 or 600 i think 600 is way more worth it. if hydro i imagine a 6-8 bucket (5 gal bucket) dwc system surrounding a vertical cooltube. having done like 6 different setups this would be best in my opionion. once you get better you can go with soil but there are secrets (most shared on riu) to getting it right otherwise you get not great results. dwc (deep water culture) is easy.

lets look to see if it's in your budget
in bucks -estimated

200 600watt digital ballast
20 600watt hps bulb (go with hps,mh is for experienced users and hps users complain about mh) - to be replaced every 6-12 months
40 Cooltube verticalible (not a word; you could get this for 40 bucks it's a deal but some places will try to charge a 100)
250 Find a good tent 3x3
175 4inch blower you get what you pay for and a broken blower means possible odor leaking
175 4 inch blower (yes x2)
150 carbon filter (thickness matters but go cheap and by amount of carbon in it, they need to be replaced once in a long while)

lets see.. not including the dwc stuff and other misc things like a fan... you're looking at
1100

and a nutrient monitor is a HUGE waste of cash.. too fancy for you. DWC in a 5 gallon is SIMPLE and good for you. to start i would just get a ppm meter .. 30 bucks compared to 300 and you really don't need either to tell you the truth. ok maybe if you're starting out i'd get the simple ppm. i know i got mine a decade ago ! lol ok...

but hey you're fortunate enough to be in a medical state so why not..
..check out my link on how i tested a system similar to this with soil(secret soil)
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i tell ya what .. get a 2x2 tent with 1 blower and carbon filter and take it from there
here is an idea to keep it simple. look around the site for detail on other stuff
Simple

Either the medicine you're gettin aint too good or you smoke a lot of weed. Not to be a critic (who am I to criticize?), but that is almost enough weed to last me for a whole year. I don't know if I would say hydro is cleaner (it can get kinda messy), but if you need to try and yield that much I would go with hydro. I think a tent is also definitely the easiest route as far as ease of set up, but I don't know if that would be as stealth as you would need. Back in the 90's I had a 3x3 ebb & flow table with a growell insert on the top of it that allowed the roots to grow in the air and feed when the table flooded. I was using 2 400 watt hps and although the plants grew like mad, I still only yielded around a quarter pound of buds a grow. But who knows, with some of the high yielding strains today and proper growing techniques, you might be able to keep up with your needs in that area. Best of luck on your grow!