Apartment Growing?

[arpnuke]

I'll be living in an apartment in a few months. I'm thinking about starting up a rubber made tub grow (already have the tub constructed). Does anyone have any experience with growing in an apartment? Security is my top priority and I'd like not to get pegged on my first grow. It's exciting considering the first grow

Also, would it be a good idea to order seeds before I move from my current address?

 

[marx2k]

If it's your first grow, I'd suggest bag seeds. I wouldn't get designer genetics for your first grow. Get one under your belt so you'll know the pitfalls. Even if the bagseed is crap, it's all about experience. Genetics only get you so far.

I have no experience with rubbermaid tub grows, but I do have experience with apartment grows and the one word to describe it: STRESSFUL.

Knowing that your landlord can come in at any time and do whatever they want is not only irritating, but anxiety provoking. I've had to shut down grows twice because the landlord, in the middle of my grow, needed to get to the roof and I was on the top floor. Even though he used a different room to get on the roof, I take NO chances. If security is your TOP priority, you need to consider your landlord big time. Your neighbors too. They nosy? Do you pay your own electricity? What do you plan on doing about odor control? What are laws like in your state? Do you have closets that you can do it in versus a rubbermaid tub? I've seen some grows from rubbermaids but the only thing I've ever grown in one was mushrooms.

 

[Big Brother]

Apartment growing

Apartment growing

If you have a 3x3 ( 9square foot closet) you can grow to good size plant in either soil grow or in bio buckets which are huge hydro buckets and the plants will be great, and a suggestion, for lighting nothing less than 425 watts metal hallide and use a switchable ballast so that you can go to bloom) and go to HPS

 

[Japanfreakier]

I've grown in a lot of apartments and it's all about the airflow. If you are blowing enough air out your window with a strong fan, you'll be sucking air under your front door so the smell won't make it out there. To filter the smell going out the window you can use a charcoal filter or an ozone generator.

If you are doing a closet grow and are handy, I'd suggest doing something along the lines of what I did. I made a frame inside my closet and a shelf on top. The shelf has a round hole that my fan sits in, and the front end is has a diy charcoal filter. The garden is accessed by removing the "door" which in my case is just a big piece of card-board type plastic that I cut to fit the size. I have smokers come over and they don't realize there is a garden 3 feet from them. (Fish tanks to mask sound)

Other than that be a good neighbor, pay your rent on time and so on.








In this graphic you can see that I also built a wall around the garden. I use a big water proof plastic sheet and lay it in this box. I doubt the plastic box I'm using for my dwc would ever crack, but I've heard of boxes cracking before and you don't want to leak into your downstairs neighbor.

 

[Guest]

please don't listen to bigbrother on the biobucket issue (his other info wasn't far off if at all).
biobuckets are STUPID in an apt only because of the sound a proper biobucket setup generates from falling water. think of constantly hearing a toilet flush, then about twice as loud and all the time.

Bubblers and EF systems onthe other hand are nice and quiet if you go with hydro. check out my dresser grow. Its stealthy enough and if im really concerned i just unplug it, tuck in the wires, cover up the vent holes so air doesn't get in or out, and im good. closets can be good for the security factor but they hold a lot of heat.

japanfreakier has some good ideas. Especially the window open idea. Keep odor filtration going (get a goood scrubber) but also keep a window cracked to keep your apt slightly cooler than the hallway so the warm air moves from the hallway into your apt, and out the window. Its a nice way of keeping smells in using convection.

There's no reason to overcomplicate stuff. If you can though, try building redgreenery's 150w cab instead of the rubbermaids. It's abit more expensive initially but you'll appreciate the stalth later when you don't have to explain to someone why those two rubbermaids are sitting like that.

If you need any advice shoot me a pm

 

[b8man]

I'd go for a cheap wardrobe to be honest. A 4 inch in-line fan with a carbon filter attached and 250w - 400w HPS for flowering. Usually the fans are pulling air so fast through the drobe that providing you have a window open the plants get enough oxygen. Keep strict rules about replacing the carbon in the filter every 12 months and you should be fine. Invest a little time in it and you can make it stealthy enough to survive a quick inspection.

And although bagseed is good for learning for it's cheapness, it does increase the risk that you get something that stretches too much for your space. I'd advise getting a Mandala indica strain because they're cheap and good.

 

[Japanfreakier]

I've grown using a lot of methods and was surprised how quit biobuckets are actually, and believe me I have above the recommended drop height and flow. I used a simple plastic trash can (100 liters) and with the lid closed you couldn't hear it out of the rm. It might be because of the depth of the water in the trash can? I have no idea but it was about the same or less than dwc with air-stones. Now Aero? That's loud.

 

[Japanfreakier]

I'd go for a cheap wardrobe to be honest.

Yeah, I forgot they are cheap and big in the states. Here they cost about $400+ for anything big enough for a garden.

 

[newbgrow]

I recommend getting something like the HydroHut. I'm thinking about doing an apartment grow as well. I'm mainly worried about heat and smell - but I guess those could be taken care of with a little bit of creativity. The problem is putting a window AC and the lights under the same circuit (same room) might be a bit of overload. Hmm... something to ponder on.

 

[Guest]

I recommend getting something like the HydroHut. I'm thinking about doing an apartment grow as well. I'm mainly worried about heat and smell - but I guess those could be taken care of with a little bit of creativity. The problem is putting a window AC and the lights under the same circuit (same room) might be a bit of overload. Hmm... something to ponder on.

you don't need a window a/c in an apt grow unless you're goin pretty hardcore with co2 and everything. All you need, as mentioned above, is plently of airflow. If you can get your hands on a stanley blower for $25-45 it'll move all the air you need from a 150w grow to a 1k depending on how you have it set up.

hydrohuts are good for apts in that they are easy to move in and out without much suspicion, quick to take down in case an inspection is coming, can grow quite a bit, and keep the smelly air in the growspace.
However, i think you might find some kind of small 'closet' type storage product might do the job on a smaller scale for a lil less money, a lil more drilling and assembly, but a lot stealthier.

and ill back off my previous opinion on biobuckets. i guess i was under the impression that for them to really work how they're supposedd to you need at least a 1 foot drop. Proper sound deadening and/or a fishtank can always help out with that though

just remember that the smaller you make your setup, the more attention you'll have to give to making sure your environmental values are in check

 

[Japanfreakier]

If you're doing soil than heat won't be as much as an issue for you than hydro. Depending on how much power it might be better to just buy a water chiller and take care of air temp with good venting.

 

[Japanfreakier]

One thing I've never understood about those little cabs. Why don't the plants grow into the light? How short do you have to flower? I'm used to flowering at about 20 inches.

 

[newbgrow]

Are you sure? It gets kind of hot around here ambient temp at so cal. Those 600 watters or even T5 fluoros can get kind of hot after a while.

That's a nice setup you got there irishSoCo. Only I'm not that handy with drills and stuff.;-)

 

[Guest]

ha, thanks newbgrow, but its really a lesson in how not to do a cab. its sooooo messy. my utility room is a lil emptier without 2 airpumps in there now but the main chammber is just a mess. Besides that the panasonic whisper fan gets mad loud after 2 months of pulling through a 12"x12"x 1" thick bed of activated carbon.

as japanfreaker mentioned, soil will be easier as far as not having to deal with rez temps. I forget im in a cooler climate and the hottest i see all year is 95-100*F and thats for a week or 3 at most.

you might end up ducting in A/C'd air, but probably won't have an a/c running in the tent or whatever you use. if you go with the hydrohut original, (i think its 4x4x7 or something) then i'd say just go with a 600w in an aircooled sealed hood bringing in fresh air and exhausting out clean hot air. THis will do wonders for your temp. Besides that, just have a nice sized blower a stanley or a 6" vortex on a speedster to control speed/volume/noise.

 

[Echoes]

You'd most likely want a grow cab (I guess a Rubbermaid would work though it may not be ideal.) Make sure it's lockable, odor-proof, low noise, no light leaks and don't tell anyone. If it's a cabinet then a landlord has no right to open it (unless maybe it's smoking or something is malfunctioning and there is imminent danger,) especially if locked. If it's in a closet, then they can just open that right up and look in it (unless it's in a cab that's in your closet.) Just be a good neighbor, pay your bills on time, keep up on things like inspections/exterminators, etc. It can be done relatively easily.

 

[sugabear_II]

I've grown in apartments before.

I built cabinets for my grows and put locks on them just in case you never know if a landlord will stop by. Check out my "sugabear's den" thread for ideas on how to build out a cabinet for growing indoors.







I would recommend buying seeds before you move. Nothing against bag seed but it's an unknown and you are taking same risk so you may as well have good genetics to go with it.

 

[panopticist]

I've only grown in an apartment setting, with no issues.

Be nice to your neighbors, pay your rent on time, and learn how to fix household issues on your own (to avoid contact with the complex's repairmen).

I suggest getting all of your gear at places like Home Depot and the like, so you don't have to have it shipped to your apartment. At my complex, all packages over a particular size go to the office for pickup by the individual, and some companies still don't get the concept behind discreet packaging.

Get to know your neighbor's schedules, that way, when it comes time to move your supplies inside, you can do so without anyone around to watch or ask questions. An even better idea is to wait until late in the evening when everyone is sleeping or occupied by the T.V. etc. and transport your gear then.

Every once in a while, you'll have to purchase things like soil at inopportune times. For these occasions, take a couple of bookbags or a duffle bag and some heavy duty trashbags. While still in the Home Depot parking lot, you can break your bag of soil down into two smaller trashbags, and transport those inside of your book/duffel bags.

In an apartment, everything you do has the potential to effect others. For this reason, I would suggest staying away from hydro. While I'm sure there are many people who can build a DIY water-tight system, there are probably just as many that can't. You don't want to run the risk of springing a leak, and having your downstairs neighbors call the office to report it. Soil is much quieter and easy to conceal.

Most of the closetspace in apartments is relatively small, so you probably won't have room to pull off a Hydrohut, so a small cab grow or a rubbermaid would be ideal for your situation.

Here's my setup...


The top cab is for clone/veg, with roughly 100w of CFL bulbage.
The bottom cab (in the 2nd pic) is for flower, with 150w of HPS goodness.

Oh and don't forget your carbon scrubber...

 

[sugabear_II]

word to the carbon scrubbers!

also wanted to mention if you can afford a "luxury" apartment with an attached garage it will make the transport of things into and out of your apartment much easier.

-suga

 

[marx2k]

I forgot to mention that I also rented a 2 bedroom but lived alone. That made things much easier

 

[HAPPYTREE]

Also, would it be a good idea to order seeds before I move from my current address?

I would do your first grow with bagseed or some cheap (but excelent ) genentics
from mandala mike.

I would also go ahead and order those dream seeds b4 you move seeing as right now you have a safe address.

I would also take all these suggestions into account and when you get into the new place decide what situation will work 4 you.
I really like the idea of a prefab utility wardrobe /closet. If you make it very stealth yuo could just shut the fans off and have it in the corner of your bedroom and know one would be the wiser.

If you do soil your up keep and the ability to move them somewhere under not so ideal situations is alot easier.

goood luck,grow safe

HT

Ps i now use my prefab closet for drying(it used to be 4 my clones and moms vegging space