$1320 Budget lets GROW DRO!

SRHninja · Feb 16, 2010

Hi farmers!

Objective: 1. Weight 2. Potency (this being my first grow i need this first harvest to fund my bigger better upgraded second grow! )

Situation: Friends parents own a rent house, looks like im moving in. Middle Class (struggling like every1) way relaxed just pay me type of people. We grew up growing in that house to have our plants trashed by his mom their really not a problem plus im getting a inline with carb scrubber.

Closet Description: 6 1/2 ft wide x 4 1/2 ft in x 5ft'9inch high ceiling

I will obviously have to do some drywall and muddin hahaha.. but that isnt apart of the $1320.00 budget

GROW ROOM BUDGET: $1320.00

My brilliant idea: (unless u guys change that)

1. Im hell bent on buying a 1000 watt HPS (any1 got a suggestion where to buy keep in mind my budget)

2. Also from what i researched my best bet is a Flood & Drain Ebb & FLOW system... as far as rez temps goes...

Can ebb & Flow produce just as well as DWC or any other hydro system?

What about compared to MAINTENANCE and KEEP UP?

And who's going to help me make mine on this budget? haha

Heres the Pics of this mess of a closet and when i say the missing panel inside where you look out and see the stairs on the other side, also NO DOOR, u will know what i meant...

Looking @ where the door is suppose to be

This is a closer look standing outside the door way looking at the right corner and right wall..

Alright now your standing in the door frame looking left

Now your In door frame looking at the right corner

IF you turn right again which is the wall up against to the right of the door frame you see this...

This is what it looks like from the other side

And if your standing outside of the closet this is what the outside of the left wall looks like

I thought about having my intake vent on the bottom and put a dresser that sits high over it so you cant see it good idea?

IDK what they were thinking when they built it..

well guys theirs the closet i have a 1320 budget and i have nothing but that closet as of now that and a dream!!

friction · Feb 16, 2010

you could make your own dwc for cheap enough theres a few threads on it, i would maybe go for 2 x 600 cool tubes it that space so theres better covarage, but i think you should easily be able to get a decent set up with that budget.

_BIG_YIELDS_ · Feb 16, 2010

1320 is enough for your first grow!!! i would use two 600s in that space too for better coverage like friction said, if i were you i would buy used equipment 2 save some money this round, you can get near new used equipment for half price or better on ebay and craigslist, they have used sunlight supply duel 600w ballasts on ebay right now for 200. used!!! and than get 2 used air cooled hoods or cool tubes, in that space youll need 2 get the hot air out!!! there only around 40-60 used, get 2 fans 1 for your lights 1 to pump the hot air out 50-80 a piece used, allways buy new bulbs 600 hortilux super hps bulbs are around 70 a piece, cover the hole room in milar or black and white poly, poly is cheaper, i would also use a dehumitifer in that small space used on craigslist 50-100, i wouldnt go flood and drain because youll have 2 buy a 3x6 table and res its above your budget, go with coco and 3 gallon bags, the coco/perlite will cost around 200, the bags are just 10 cents a piece, start your clones off in 1 gallon bags than switch into 3 gallon when there ready, youll also need the plastic things 2 catch the over flow i 4got what there called, buy 1 25 gallon tub from home depot for 5-10 dollars, just mix your nutes and hand feed it that small of a space you dont need anything fancy, you also need a couple timers, a air pump and air stones, nutrients, ph and ppm meter 20 dollars on ebay, and ducting for your lights and exaust, good luck bro

Malachi · Feb 16, 2010

American Hydroponics makes a 3x6 setup (dual 3x3's) for pretty cheap. You can buy the trays for like 80 bucks each new, and build a frame. You would have to T your pump and run equal lengths to the trays. You can use a cheap rubbermaid brute tote for your resevoir. I agree with the 2 600's, but with ebb and flow you can fit a larger number of smaller plants underneath your lights and reduce your veg time AKA SOG. If the trays are a little over budget you can even build your own tray. Just frame out a 3 x 6 enclosure with 2 x 6's and use plywood for the bottom. Line it with pond liner and get the ebb and flow hardware.

hubcap · Feb 16, 2010

if moneys an issue and you arent dead set on using water applications....
a first run soil grow would save you money up front until you get some weight under your belt.
idk....the baby step approach.

just throwin it out there.

i know aero/hydro gets more weight a lil quicker. i get it.
but theres SO much money u can save for the first run.

idk...i guess what im offerring as an opinion is this:

run dirt first and save approx $500 not having to buy all the hydro gear.
run dirt first so you know any potential yield effecting problems will be at an absolute minumum.
run dirt first to get a lil more initial capital to work with THEN get all the high quality equipment, that you will/can have on hand for years.

idk....just a thought. seemed like cash could be an issue (i, personally think thats a GREAT starting budget. my advice would be to spend the dough on lights, and airflow/scent control. corners can be cut elsewhere in your grow. but dont skimp on lights or odor control.

idk...

just some thoughts to ponder.

u dead set on ebb/flo grow?

-cap

boroboro · Feb 16, 2010

I saved a few bucks on lighting by using a ballast kit like this. Pretty easy to build up if you follow the directions carefully -- all the wires are well labeled. Just put it in some sort of vented metal box. I just have a 400W, not 1000, So I don't know about ballast cooling issues.

I also second the suggestion to use coco. I use coco in smart pots, drain to waste. I don't know how hydro could be cheaper or simpler than this.

Make sure to save enough in the budget for good odor control and security. I had a budget pinch when setting up my last grow, and chose a new odor filter over any other upgrade. Glad I did, as that sour diesel is starting to stink...

SRHninja · Feb 16, 2010

Im dead set on hydro i have done a couple soil grows under 8, 26 watt lights (one plant) i was pulling a little over a oz off each plant. i been floating around cultivation boards for over 6 years.. Im not extremely new to botany or cultivating bud...

And remember guys im willing to CONSTRUCT my own system...

I joined shroomery community did exaxctly what im doing now... a couple mods/Vets over their took me under their wing and my first flush i had a total of 11 oz and been pulling that on a average everysince.. I learned that with absolutly no idea what colonizing or even what a substrate was or how to innoculate or even what that term meant.. i had 100% NO KNOWELEDGE and went from no knoweledge to harvesting PRO HARVESTS on my first grow.. thats my resume lol just to prove to you guys im dedicated and able to learn and produce..

So anyone willing to help me on this journey that is my resume and you will get to see the benefits of your knowledge when im posting harvest after harvest lol!!! i just need to get their!

im def wanting to to do sog Faster is better!

Planned on getting inline fan with scrubber.

Malachi · Feb 16, 2010

OK, well build a 3 x 6 frame with 2 x 6's and a plywood bottom. Get yourself some pond liner they sell for garden ponds and make your own tray. Get some 2-gallon grow bags and fill them with either 50/50 vermiculite/perilite, 50/50 coco/hydroton, or a custom blend. Make a single hole in the bottom for your drain, and run a tube from your drain into a tote. Get a large round trash can, a pump, air-stone, and watering wand for your nutes. Hand water each plant from the top until slight run off. I am assuming you already know 2 600W HPS lamps a carbon srubber and an oscillating fan. This is a cheap hydro setup and hand watering will kepp you in charge of your plants.

Malachi · Feb 16, 2010

MichaelFranti said:
if you go this route most people will put a layer of foam on top of the plywood and underneath the pondliner,
however likehubcap says too, SOIL is your best friend on your first grow,

Good call MF I forgot about the foam, but yea thats the way to go for sure.

SRHninja · Feb 16, 2010

wow, my dreams keep getting shattered lol! i want you all to know that i started growing mushrooms from scratch and my first grow was one the most complicated ways to cultivate but i was took under the wing of some of the mods and vet growers @ shroomery and been harvesting 11 ounces my first flush..

is hydro that hard? i mean if i follow experienced growers schedules for the ogisel, keep a eye on my environment.. i just cant believe i cant do hydro my first time *me being me that is*... i am not happy about soil its slow! i done it b4 with 8 cfls got a oz off a 2 ft plant.... took 5 months... im jus hoping someone steps up and says you get your grow room set up and ill help you with your system/strain the whole way ahaha. how can i go wrong following you guys..

I understand my ceiling is way to short for that 1000 watt system... so i will look for two 600 watt hps do i need to buy two hoods aswell i know the vent system will connect to both...

Since the ceiling is so low and ill have to use 600 wats cant i have a flood and drain tray or DWC? i just want a dro system where i can throw a recipe in for a certain strain and not have to obsess over pH i know im going to have to keep a eye on it, clean the rez sometimes, and top it off i just need to know the information...

Jus when i think im gettin some where its back to the drawing board (i went through this b4 when i went big my first shroom grow) so have a little faith unless its beyond me..

Malachi · Feb 16, 2010

Yea thats cool, use the same way I wrote but put a recurculating res underneath. Easy fix.

Lost · Feb 16, 2010

Hey bro, hydro is kinda hard to get right :)

That being said you could easily make a 2 plant MPB with your setup if thats what you want to do.

You need an a/c of some sort = 400
2 1000k hps w bulbs = 460ish

You need air.. the AP-40 actually puts out about 50 LMP, good for a few tubs and then some.. $140

Now you need to buy the tubs and if you build them they way I did using ebb and flow fittings $35, built including drainage. You will need an extra tub for a res, with 2 MPB's you should be fine with 27 gallons of res.

Now you need a cheap chiller, that is going to be the hardest part. Look to spend about 300 on a chiller. You could get away with a 1/10 hp but a 1/4 hp would be the better move.

Your right about 1400, not including nutes for a quality setup :)

mrdizzle · Feb 16, 2010

3x6 table, with 2 600ws over them, 18 plants in 6inch rockwool cubes vegged for 3 weeks. top feed, for 5mins every 4hr, use the raindrop drip systems, its plastic 1/2 tubing 1/4inc barb connectors, probably need a couple "elbows" and "t" an endcaps, a raindrop white hole punch and 1/4inch tubing use 2 27gal homedepot tubs stack together for extra strenght as your res. get a Ph and PPM gun combo. ph 5.4-6.2 ppm start at 600ppm and work your way up to 1400ppm depending on the strain, give some plant water once a week during res change

I would try to run it without air cooling first just to see if you need to, if you do then air cool the lights with an 8inch hydrofarm booster fanhttp://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=8108, they are 50bucks a piece, use 54w and are actually really strong, a 8inch for your scrubber outtake, have a passive intake but cut a hole and use some ridge ducting and make a couple "t" with an endcap so air will shoot in over the canopy. as you can see from this picture. if it gets too hot then you can add and intake fan. thats pretty much it dude you will have money left over I believe. dont over think it

SRHninja · Feb 16, 2010

very nice lost your mpd shit is beyond me as of now unless your willing to take the time to help me understand lol! its just how the system works buckets inside of a tub that sits ontop of a rez what the hell is goin on in their hahaha.... I CAN FOLLOW YOU BY THE BOOK i just need you to open that book for me lol take the time to explain. and help me along the way.. i appreciate all and any help guys believe that!

Dizzle i like how you put it made me regain confidence haha how ever when i gave those grow room measurements i gave them as the whole room not my grow area.. if i had a 3x6 tray i wouldnt be able to walk in their! when u said table im sure you mean ebb & flow tray?

y couldnt i hang the lights like you do in MPD using DWC?

also MF i cant believe you tried hydro and its not for you.. So soil can grow as fast as hydro? i have little ceiling room so ill have to vege more plants at shorter times lol maybe i should just fill that closet full of 5gallon dirt buckets wall to wall hahaah have to water with a wand...

Come on now no way can soil grow as fast as hydro if thats the case whats the point in hydro other then less of a mess more of a hassle?

(more questions i know guys but were getting somewhere!)

thx!

PS i understand MF about boomers being easy once you have the recipe and follow instructions to a T.. but cant hydro be done just as simple? if i follow the Formulas and tech how can i fail? unless pumps go out or get clogged all that but if i make sure the system is operational and follow these dro guys instructions (this is where im convincing myself!)

bud good · Feb 16, 2010

you can make your own aero system pretty cheap 50 micro sprayers 25 bux 1/2 ' pvc pipes 20-30 bux 396 gph sub. water pump 20-80 bux 2" net cup .30-.90c 2" collars/lids .75-1.00 rubber maid box 10-30 bux cycle timer 60-90 bux you can just use the ruber maid and put the net cups in the lid or build a tube system to put em in and drain back to the rubbermaid box i have been thinking about making a bucket(like the dwc's) aero system with poly tube and a "t" w/ 2 micro sprayers per bucket and have the buckets drain to a rez

SRHninja · Feb 16, 2010

Found a PPM/pH water proof for bucks http://www.amazon.com/Digital-COM-100-Waterproof-TEMP-Meter/dp/B000VVVEUI/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_3

^^^^^is that what I'm needing?

and that duel ballast is just a dimming option not duel as in two lights in one ballast.. thx though big yielder i found one for $400 (still shopping around though)

I like DWC because it was the first system i learned about and understood how it halfway operated, ebb and flow was the second and i like it because my ceiling is so low im probably going to have to do SOG.... unless G.OD tells me other wise... i appreciate all the options guys!

mrdizzle · Feb 16, 2010

with a 6x3 tray you would have 1.5 left in front to the door of the tray to move around, you wont need to get behind the table as your arms are long enough to reach back there

i bought 6 dual 600w lumateks and 4 broke. height will be fine, you only need about 15inch from the res and tray so long as you leave about 8inch of res sticking out from under the table, if they get too tall put a screen up. but a SOG would work great as well

FORGET DWC. its not for you, not yet. crawl, walk, run

Lost · Feb 16, 2010

Word. Its great for a side project, but untill you get it right, you can lose crop after crop and it becomes a money pit...

SRHninja · Feb 16, 2010

I understand dizzle... remember my budget is 20 (for now i still have one good flush of shrooms coming so my budget should increase by a couple hundred) but this budget im on as of now includes everything from seed, ventilation, lights and grow system..

Point me in the direction of a good 600 Watt HPS system with (ballast,bulb and reflector) you guys know which brands to trust to go digital or take the loss and go magnetic...

what about that ph/ppm METER? is that what im lookin for?

http://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-PH-200-WATERPROOF-METER/dp/B000WJ2YOE/ref=pd_sbs_sg_5

edited: first link i posted was to wrong product

Lost · Feb 16, 2010

lol, nothing like bringing a cannon to a knife fight..

$1320 Budget lets GROW DRO!

$1320 Budget lets GROW DRO!

SRHninja

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$1320 Budget lets GROW DRO!

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