Want to do a small indoor grow, new at this, need advice

Hey everyone, I'm lookin to do a small grow in a box maybe or my closet, what's about the cheapest route I can go with still finishing with a decent product. I don't want to go through all the trouble and get garbage but Im just starting and learning, looking to spend like $150 $200 or is that totally unrealistic or can I go any cheaper? Looking for a breakdown list of supplies and cost if anyone can help it would be highly appreciated

Im growing in a 3 by 3 closet..i have a 400 hps 4 inch inline fan and carbon filter and i think i spent around 300 bucks

I have a 4x4x6 box=75 for everything. box fan= 15 bucks, 400wmh/hps=200, and other little odds and ends


When I was doing cfl's i had like 200 in it. If you try to do it to cheap then you will mess with your yield,quality,etc...

250 or 400 dual spectrum. And 2 plants. Cheep not the best but will give good yeild. And save for better

If you'r only going to 200 bucks on a whole run I would suggest going outdoor and spending your money on good soil, good seeds and a couple bags of compost as nutrients.

There is always the nickle and dime stuff that adds up. I think if you don't have 500 you should wait until you do. Not 500 initial outlay maybe, but you'll spend more during the first month.

Illegal Smile said:

There is always the nickle and dime stuff that adds up. I think if you don't have 500 you should wait until you do. Not 500 initial outlay maybe, but you'll spend more during the first month.

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Yeah totally. I budgeted £200 for my grow and ended up spending £350+. Little luxuries you will need along the way really add up, thermometers, nutes, pots, trays, drying racks, mason jars, magnifier glass, etc

use a 150w hps from ebay.. 73 dollars shipped... you can even get a 4 inch inline fan and filter for 120 shipped. i have plans on spending 300 for mine but once everything is added its nearly 500... that includes everything i can think of gl man. dont go less then a 150 hps..

You can get an inline fan for as cheap as $20. I'll edit this post in a few moments with a breakdown list like your requested.

- 150w HPS fixture. This is everything you need for lighting, plug 'n play. $78.34 after shipping
- Fox Farm Trio. Good, cheap nutrients. They should come with a feeding schedule. $47.47 after shipping.
- Plant Container. Honestly, just go get a small planting pot, a 3 gallon pot and then a 5 gallon pot from Home Depot. It'll cost you like $2. This one after shipping $10.69.
- pH Control: Up & Down. Simple to use pH up and down. $20.96 after shipping.

---TOTAL: $157.46

Keep in mind, this doesn't have anything to deal with the smell, nor does it account for the reflectiveness of your growing area. If you're on a budget, just go get a can of FLAT white paint and paint your closet. Keep in mind though that it HAS TO BE FLAT. Then get some pH strips for a dollar or so, and you'll be set.

Was gong to list the same things. Don't forget a timer. Dont think you can turn the lights on/off. You'll forget trust me.

Yeah, timers are quite important. Can't believe I forgot that lol. The other $25 or so of your $200 budget is going to be spent correcting stuff or getting small things like timers, etc.

venting and fanning, thermo-hygro meter, proper soil, smell filteration, timer, duct tape?
And you always need something in a pinch - pesticides, extra vitamins \ micros, magnifying glass etc.

If you'r really going to do it I'd use the following:
1. same light the other dude mentioned
2. a good PC case fan or two from a recycling facility
3. a proper thermo-hygro meter. a digital one.
4. best soil you can get
5. a timer
6. best duct tape you can get
7. a few drinking cups and a few gallon totes to make pots out of
8. vinegar for ph down and drinking soda powder for ph up
9. pH stripes
10. Osmocote plus for nutes. You start with the drinking cups with only soil and use the osmocote on the gallon totes once transplanted per the directions.
11. Whatever you can get your hands on for smell filteration. I like ionizers and gel blocks for that size of a grow.
12. Proper seeds. I'd go with nirvana for cheap ass seeds. (far better than bagseeds but far from higher priced genetics)

You can probably get most of the items for free if you ask around. You could also probably get enough osmocote for your grow for free from anyone who have a bottle. or the nursery.


Note that with such limited funds you'll obviously need a very good cab design to make things work well.



Good luck.

You could start on 24/0 to begin if you didn't have a timer. IMO its easier to control the ambient conditions for my plants with a low budgeted set up on 24/0 time.

Thanks guys, I'm looking to just start with 2, so like 3 or 4 hoping 50 percent female success, I live in the USA, can I order seeds legally online, it's not medical in my state. I was just gonna use seeds from good jugs the few you find every now and then, I got 1 from a good batch like 3 weeks ago ive kept in a plastic zip lock bag, how long do seeds stay good for? I'm ok with not ordering them for the first try

you need more then 200 dollars. you can build yourself a cab with some plywood and 2 x 4's might wanna consider that.. you will need something for smell as well imo.. but not right away i can give you a decent list if you would like... but it comes out to 4-500

So what would be a good size box to grow 2 regular sized plants maybe a little smaller for a first grow. I'm trying to figure out if I should convert my closet or build a box

If you have a closet Id say build yourself a DWC setup, line the closet with some mylar, and spend the rest on lighting/nutes. If you wanna go hydro that is. You can do that for sub 200. Definitely get a light timer!!! If your only growing a plant or two for personal than you dont really need separate rooms for veg/flower. Good luck bro let us know what you end up with!

BenRHx said:

Thanks guys, I'm looking to just start with 2, so like 3 or 4 hoping 50 percent female success, I live in the USA, can I order seeds legally online, it's not medical in my state. I was just gonna use seeds from good jugs the few you find every now and then, I got 1 from a good batch like 3 weeks ago ive kept in a plastic zip lock bag, how long do seeds stay good for? I'm ok with not ordering them for the first try

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Its illegal, yet usually works.

BenRHx said:

So what would be a good size box to grow 2 regular sized plants maybe a little smaller for a first grow. I'm trying to figure out if I should convert my closet or build a box

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whats a regular size?
for a 150W you want 2 square feet and 6 feet height. grow the plants until they fill the horizontal space and put them to flower.

Around here we have plastic closets for ~80$ that works very well for that. easy to cut, easy to assemble, easy to find used ones.

BenRHx said:

So what would be a good size box to grow 2 regular sized plants maybe a little smaller for a first grow. I'm trying to figure out if I should convert my closet or build a box

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i built mine inside of my closet. its 33 wide 63 long and is 20 inches deep i got a 150w hps on the way. i would build a cab and use it i wouldnt use your whole closet because then you gotta take everything out of it.. just use half the closet for a cab and other half for clothes or whatever. i used 5 2x4's and 3 sheets of plywood. i have a bunch of scraps too so you could prolly get it for cheaper. i used the plywood for 9 bucks at lowes and 3 dollars for each of the 2x4's less then 50 bucks you could get you a cab.. well more like 60 cuz you need screws door hinges handle etc... still its cheap. gl.