Grow room possibilities...

[socker1314]

I pretty much visited this forum for the first time a few weeks ago and have been doing lengthy sessions of on and off readings and this is what has me sparked. I may start growing simply because it seems like a badass hobby plus you get all the mj you could want. As for growing, I most likely will be getting something along the lines of a hydrohut mini (3'x3'x6'). As far as budget goes, I have 750-850 to spend on my kit. At first I was thinking of going with a 400 Watt HPS/MH(veg) w/cool tube setup, but then I started thinking about yields. I'm not going to have a separate room for vegetation and flowering, so I want maximum yielding. I would like to harvest around 16-20 oz., but I'm not sure how realistic that is depending on the strain. I've also looked into going with a 600 watt HPS or 1000 watt HPS setup. Now, these are the things that go into consideration for a grow room:

Closet sized (about a hydrohut mini)
Very Low Odor (not sure to go with carbon scrubber or ozone generator)
Low Noise Output (I need it to be stealth)
Yield: I would like to yield min. 12 oz. max around 20-24oz

With the money I have and my goals in mind, what would be the way to go? I would probably get a digital ballast as well, because this needs to be near silent in my closet. Also, a couple other things to mention. I won't be able to vent the grow room outside of my house, so would a carbon scrubber be more practical? Then again I've also read ozone can get rid of mold, which may be a big factor if I'm going to grow in my closet. Also, I read somewhere else here that it is possible to have a carbon scrubber inside the grow room but not venting outside (basically scrubbing itself and spitting out the cleaned air into the grow room) and was wondering if it was ok and how effective that method is. And.... Finally..... I've been doing some research on some higher yielding strains that also would have lower odor. If you have any comments or suggestions as to what strain I should use to begin with, please feel free. These are some that I have been looking at:

1.) Golden Skush
2.) AK47
3.) Serious Seeds Chronic
4.) Northern Lights
5.) Chrystal
6.) Big Bud
7.) DP's Powerplant
8.) Boggle Gum
9.) Super Skunk X Big Bud
10.) Kali Mist

 

[mushupork5]

kali mist! kali mist! i haven't grown it per say, but its an amazing plant. as far as odor is concerned, i'm not sure with the kali, you probably know more from searching.

about your plans:
space: good.

estimated yield: ehhh. 400w will yield about 10 ounces at .7g/watt. I don't think you will be able to near the 20oz goal that you want, especially on your first grow (expect low g/w). A 1000w lamp can help you get to the required about of light to get to your goal, but heat problems will be a concern, plus that is too big for your space. A 600w will be ideal for that space. a hydro hut is also not going to keep out the noises of fans and ballasts and various other hums.

stealth: like i just said, noise will not be suppressed with a hydro hut. its going to make some noise, but you can hide that. the box that im building puts out a little more noise than the computer that i have. putting the box near the computer will help mask that noise. or you can get a little aquarium, a desktop fountain thingy. there are lots of noise makers you can buy that will drown out the hums of a grow.

odor: another factor of stealth. carbon scrubbers work great. ozone is ok as well. ozone is bad for the environment and bad for your health. granted that you will probably not be exposed to it very much, why risk it with a big ozone generator. i think the best combo in your position is to build a carbon scrubber (plenty of plans on this site) and get a special lightbulb made by Ozium (a small CFL). The Ozium bubl has a very tiny ozone generator in it. put this in your ceiling fan/fixture, bedside table, what have you. the combination of the carbon scrubber and the small ozone from that light bulb will work all the wonders you need.

costs: to keep your costs down, and they go up alot quicker than stay down, i suggest that you BUILD it all yourself. Cool tube is easy to do, carbon scrubber easy, you can build the hydro hut out of PVC and mylar plastic (or look at the mills pride thread).

more on mills pride: i was looking at the mills pride thread and someguy said the big ole c22 (i think) was on sale for $57 from $159 or something like that. those work great for grows (obviously)



so,
you will probably want to do a soil grow (don't mess with hydro for your first). get soem good organiz soil (fox farm is great), add some stuff to it (like perlite, bat guano, word casings... easy to research here/grow store) and you are set. hope that helps and good luck with setting all your stuff up.

 

[socker1314]

I was thinking about getting a decent little Ozone generator (289.99) from bghydro because it would be absolutely quiet. Is ozone really that dangerous if I keep everything enclosed in my closet in my bedroom and just open it up once or twice a day? I just know a carbon scrubber will make a decent amount of noise (aren't those inline duct fans extremely loud?). Would maybe incorporating CO2 produce bigger yields? About the money, I'll have about a grand to spend, and I will not hesitate dropping 850 if that will be easiest/effective. I just need something very very reliable. What is all that C22, c99, etc. stuff. Are those stealth cabinet designs and sizes basically?

 

[MTF-Sandman]

For the most part your plan sounds decent...but it's gonna take a good yielding strain/pheno, a great environment and some experience to pull more than 1lb off a 1k.

The biggest problem I see with your setup is cooling...what's your plan for cooling and dehumidifying?

You can run a scrubber so that it recirculates in a sealed room, but those rooms are fully climate controlled with CO2...and that's not very practical in a closet.

 

[SEEDYNONO]

why doesn't everyone who considers ozone also consider the vaportek optimum 4000?

cheaper, safer, work better.. i don't understand why not a single hydro shop has started carrying them. you have to get in touch with a janitorial supply store or other vendor to get one but its worth it.

 

[Guest]

I have mine still in the box,I'll be needing it here in a few weeks.Hell I agree its cheap compared to most ozone units,even cheaper than a hydrofarm ionizer and rezdog says it'll kill the smell of a rotting corpse.Thats good enough for me,considering I often germinate my seeds in the bellybuttons of dead rotting hookers.

 

[socker1314]

For the most part your plan sounds decent...but it's gonna take a good yielding strain/pheno, a great environment and some experience to pull more than 1lb off a 1k.

The biggest problem I see with your setup is cooling...what's your plan for cooling and dehumidifying?

You can run a scrubber so that it recirculates in a sealed room, but those rooms are fully climate controlled with CO2...and that's not very practical in a closet.

Well, I think I'll go 600w hps and maybe mh (if it will help, yes) just because 1000w in a 3'x3' space isn't too practical. I was thinking about having a fan sucking air in from my closet, passing through the cooltube, and exiting through the back of the hydrohut. That would cool off my lighting. I would have a couple mounted fans on the inside for circulating the air. I may get an ozone generator and just run it on a low timer setting in the grow room. As for dehumidifying, should I get a dehumidifier? Isn't optimal humidity around 50-60%? If it's too dry won't you get mites and if it's too humid you'll get molds and stuff, right? I just need people to aim my in the right direction as far as equipment goes too. I'm willing to spend the extra cash on whatever tweaks I can do. The main issue is stealth. My parents will visit my house sometimes and I need this to be un-noticed in my closet. So, even if I do a lot of research, get nice equipment, and nice strains, my first grow will most likely suck? I know from my other hobbies that it takes a LOT of hands on experience (car audio) and it takes a while to be successful. But is growing honestly THAT stressed on the grower? I should be able to have pretty high yields given I keep my environment in stable conditions, correct? And, that seems to be it. Let me know what you think

 

[socker1314]

Well after doing all my research on growing indoors, I think I'm going to grow outdoors. I have a really good location for growing and I think this will be my plan. Above my room at my real house there is an attic that only I can fit in and have access to. It's about 20 feet X 30 feet X 15 feet. Now, there is not much insulation and there are no floorboards or anything, it's just a space. I think what I'll do is get 3 to 4 large flouro's, veg about 30-50 plants or whatever, as many as I wish, and then go plant them in groups of 3-4 in my location. I've only done minimal readup on growing outdoors so I know very little about what to do outdoors. I have no clue what survival rates I will get, yields, or anything. Anyways... back to the attic. After growing the plants (shouldn't have any conflict) I would take all the buds to my attic somehow and have a setup up there for drying the buds. Since the area isn't completely sealed off from the outdoors, i was thinking about getting a really nice ozone generator, plus it would kill all of the mold. If I did have a really powerful ozone generator and ran it like crazy for a couple weeks up there to cover the smell, would my family be ok? There really isn't much air flow from the attic to the house, but there is some air flow from the outdoors to the attic (where the ceiling meets with the ground, there are some decent sized gaps everywhere). How strong is the odor when drying the buds? I'm looking to harvest anywhere from 3-5lbs (gotta last me the entire year and then some). Does growing outdoors make the buds more or less potent and tasty compared to growing indoors? That's pretty much it, I was just concerned with the drying. Also, for curing the buds, where would be a good place to hide and store them. My friend who has grown said I should put everything in big jars and put them in a safe housing and bury them near my house and every month go back and get a few oz. To me, outdoors seems much safer in my choice since I'll be living with 3 other guys next year, and a grow room in the closet may not be the easiest thing in the world.

 

[mushupork5]

growing outdoors is going to be a problem, you probably will never see results until this time next year. hence, why people move indoors for the winter. you can much better control your convironment indoors than out.

 

[socker1314]

Yeah I was really only planning on growing over the summer next year though. If I don't grow over the summer, I'll probably just get a bloom box from northern lights simply because it would fit in the corner of my closet perfectly sideways, and I could slide it out to take a peep. I'm thinking about what to say it is when my parents see it, lol. I'll just claim it's a part of the A/C for the house or something, lol. I know that thing is rather pricey, but with all it has to offer, it seems like an OK way to go. The CO2 seems rather impractical for such a small space though. I just like the setup and it looks pretty stealthy and not as much time is required to build it obviously since it comes in a crate the size of a mini cooper.

 

[mushupork5]

its pricey, needs to be lightproofed, pumps should be replaced, and noisey. but, if you can afford the, what, $3200? go for it. you should mod out a C22 or C24 instead, it will be much easier to play off to the rents. check out the "Mills Pride Club" thread, there is TONS and TONS of help on there for you. questions already answered.

and co2 is ALWAYS better

 

[Guest]

Hey socker1314

Hey socker1314

Thanks for the PM. Here is some of the info i told you i would post. Also I forgot to answer your question on drying your buds. They smell to high heaven when drying. So you will need a dry well vented area for your havest to dry. i dry mine in a shed with a heater going along with a fan for air movement. this keeps mold from growing on your buds.

Peace,

Thisbuds4u