Temps and RH will change once equipment and plants are in place. You’ll need to dial it in once you’re up and running. But you’ve got the right idea and I wish you luck :-)

JWM2 said:

Temps and RH will change once equipment and plants are in place. You’ll need to dial it in once you’re up and running. But you’ve got the right idea and I wish you luck :)

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I know everyone says keep it simple, but the list of mechanics is pretty long, not super expensive, but more than i first thought

Start with the basics and add as needed. Buy the best lights, fans etc you can afford so you won't be looking to upgrade next cycle(been there done that lol)

the.seek3r said:

Start with the basics and add as needed. Buy the best lights, fans etc you can afford so you won't be looking to upgrade next cycle(been there done that lol)

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Buy it nice or buy it twice ;-)

JWM2 said:

Buy it nice or buy it twice ;-)

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Gotcha !:)

Also a good idea to plan out how you want to grow....ie sog, scrog etc

For a 4 x 4 area I would get a 1000w Hortilux HPS. Is a high pressure sodium, that's blue enhanced. 2100k I believe. Weve used these for both Veg, and Flowering for decades. Bulbs can be had for around $70
If you veg for 2 months on 18-24 hours, I myself would buy a new bulb for flowering.
Id probably use a Hydrofarm 8 inch Raptor hood.

We also use 1000w Gavitas, but for general purposes you wont beat the Eye Hortilux for the money, and is perfect for a 4 x 4 area. Youll need about 2 feet between light, and top of plant canopy. You can get closer, but the room temps, and ventilation have to be really good.
Key is getting air to your plants, and also ventilating the heat out, or having a big enough area the heat is just dissipated. You need fresh air 24 hours a day though, and I like to keep air blowing the plants 24 hors a day. On both 24, and 12 hours time periods. Constant breeze.

What kind of seeds/genetics???

Jmaes Mabley said:

For a 4 x 4 area I would get a 1000w Hortilux HPS. Is a high pressure sodium, that's blue enhanced. 2100k I believe. Weve used these for both Veg, and Flowering for decades. Bulbs can be had for around $70
If you veg for 2 months on 18-24 hours, I myself would buy a new bulb for flowering.
Id probably use a Hydrofarm 8 inch Raptor hood.

We also use 1000w Gavitas, but for general purposes you wont beat the Eye Hortilux for the money, and is perfect for a 4 x 4 area. Youll need about 2 feet between light, and top of plant canopy. You can get closer, but the room temps, and ventilation have to be really good.
Key is getting air to your plants, and also ventilating the heat out, or having a big enough area the heat is just dissipated. You need fresh air 24 hours a day though, and I like to keep air blowing the plants 24 hors a day. On both 24, and 12 hours time periods. Constant breeze.

What kind of seeds/genetics???

Click to expand...

What r ur thoughts about LED’s, the HG 288/301 samsung’s, my thought maybe 3000/3500. I could diy (4) using (2) Meanwell HLG-240H LED Driver. I really like building stuff :0)

Seeds?!?! My head is spinning and I haven’t done a hit in 30years hahaha. I dont know what i would grow, a daytime smoke and a nighttime smoke, (2) of each. Im a non stop putterer around my house. So, daytime energy is a must.

The samsung boards will work well. 3k is probably sufficient start to finish. I have 3k and 3500 in different things and they both work very well. In cobs 3.5 is better all round but I am not sure about the boards.

And for seeds pick a decent sativa and indica or a heavy indica cross.
Sativa Blue dream is a really decent choice
Indica A lot of choices. Critical Mass/Cheese/White Rhino are all heavy indicas (Strong narcotic). Gorilla glue and northern lights are good too (70/30ish indica)

I think a hybrid around 50 50 makes a better choice if you dont want to be couch locked. They start off a bit sativa and then the high gets relaxing.
60/40 ish sativa to 60/49 indica are a great balance
King Tut, white widow, ak47, jack herer,

They are all good easier to grow choices. I would pick blue dream or Jack Herer and northern lights to make it easy. And both have awesome results.

A NewPhase said:

hello all, im in a state thats on the verge of legalization. Literally in a couple weeks we may just be a recreational use state !!!!!!!
Now for the somewhat bad news, home growing may only be open to medical prescription folks, For the first wave.......

In the meantime, i can plan out my grow area in my basement. Tent, medium, lites, filters, inline fans, a slew of electronics.

Inadvertently i have monitored my temp/RH 68°/45-50%

A 4x4 would be a great start !

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A NewPhase said:

I know everyone says keep it simple, but the list of mechanics is pretty long, not super expensive, but more than i first thought

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@ A NEW PHASE

All the advise here is great. Jmaes Mabley & GWHEELS offer well thought out plans.

But if this is one of your first attempts, I have opposite advice.

You might want to dial it back with the advanced equipment right now. Sometimes this hobby can easily get away from you. Starting SIMPLE STUPID will allow you to make mistake and still harvest good yields.

We know too many gardeners who get into this hobby and start to feel like they are falling down a rabbit hole of expensive equipment.
You will not have as much to monitor/correct because you grow is simple and manageable. You can learn more form the plant as an Indoor beginning Gardener. The Buy it Twice mentality doesn't apply here at this stage. You will need to replace equipment over the years. So why not update as needed, and according to your skills and the needs you've learned about your habitat and the genetics you grow.

Most off all you'll be saving 1000's of dollars.

-just an experienced viewpoint.

Are you in a budget or unlimited funding?

m8ty said:

Are you in a budget or unlimited funding?

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I wouldn’t say my budget is unlimited, but $1,500 is about what i figured at the outset for nutes and mechanics(hardware)

Wts, what are ur thoughts of that price point, i do understand i can spend less, but I rarely do when i get into something, which im hoping will be a new venture/hobby headed into retirement :0)

A NewPhase said:

I wouldn’t say my budget is unlimited, but $1,500 is about what i figured at the outset for nutes and mechanics(hardware)

Wts, what are ur thoughts of that price point, i do understand i can spend less, but I rarely do when i get into something, which im hoping will be a new venture/hobby headed into retirement :0)

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Remember there are a lot of pieces that go into a good grow tent. You don't need the baddest LED in town, if you can't afford the right humidifier or dehumidifier, Thermometer/Hygrometer, PH Meter, nutes, soil, perlite, airpots, carbon filters (two good ones @ a time if your genetics are skunky), a fan to bring in air, variable fan speed modulators, a fan to exhaust air, an oscillating fan to move air, zip ties, lots of light hangers, surge protector, CarbonDioxide Bag or Tank, UVB light for 20-30 minutes a day, gardening and LST tools, PH Up&Down, and the list goes on......
So when you spend money on your first lights, (since you have decided on LED) don't blow your cash in one spot.

LED
1) a PAR value of 650ish @ 18" or better
2) The PAR values are high enough to fill your canopy area
3) COLOR - You want 2 color spectrum peaks: A)Purple through Blue, B)Dark Orange through Dark Red

Jmaes Mabley said:

For a 4 x 4 area I would get a 1000w Hortilux HPS. Is a high pressure sodium, that's blue enhanced. 2100k I believe. Weve used these for both Veg, and Flowering for decades. Bulbs can be had for around $70
If you veg for 2 months on 18-24 hours, I myself would buy a new bulb for flowering.
Id probably use a Hydrofarm 8 inch Raptor hood.

We also use 1000w Gavitas, but for general purposes you wont beat the Eye Hortilux for the money, and is perfect for a 4 x 4 area. Youll need about 2 feet between light, and top of plant canopy. You can get closer, but the room temps, and ventilation have to be really good.
Key is getting air to your plants, and also ventilating the heat out, or having a big enough area the heat is just dissipated. You need fresh air 24 hours a day though, and I like to keep air blowing the plants 24 hors a day. On both 24, and 12 hours time periods. Constant breeze.

What kind of seeds/genetics???

Click to expand...

Is this advice based on a cost point of view or do you feel the bulbs offer a more “sunlight” or a truer “sunlight”.

Im open to any advice. Kinda like tube amps vs solid state, i get the reasons why people like either or both :0)

Tubes for me thank you.
I do have a new Axe FXIII, but run it through tube power/preamp, and regular speakers. No FRFR for me either, unless its a Meyer MJF212. And the 212 is $5000 used.



2001 Fender Cyber Twin I got new, ad has been my grab, and go/practice amp ever since. Though it does have 2 x 12ax7 preamp tubes, its solid state power amp, and digital effects. Also put in 2 x Celestion Cream/90w Alnico/2 x NOS Mullard/Blackburn I61 tubes. Great amp, and has been very dependable. IMHO though, the distortion on solid state power amps is nowhere near the same vs a tube amp, when power amp tubes interact with the phase inverter tube.

On the other hand, Ive got an exact copy of a 1966 Marshall JTM45 non tremolo head from Metropoulos Amplification. He used as many of the original components possible. NOS Mustard caps. Mine is the LTD ED. $2000 in tubes alone. 2 1956 coated glass x Marconi Osram KT66s. 2x Mullard 10M Mastr Series Gold Pins. 1957 Mullard MC1 Longplate, Mullard 1961 Fat Base GZ34, 4 x 12 Pulsonic Celestion G12Hs loaded in a cabinet made by Pete Mather. Its an exact copy of the Marshall JTM45/100 Bottom Oversized TVB cabinet with EC Collins Pinstripe cloth. This cloth was used on London Bus Seats, and they quit making it in 1968, so they went to Basketweave. It takes 8 hours, done by hand to make a piece large enough for 1 TVB cabinet. $500 just for the cloth, and it does make a difference in sound. All the early JTMs had this cloth. Hendrix, Clapton, Page all agreed at the time, that these cabinets were the best sounding cabinets they had heard. 66 JTM45/100 was Hendrix favorite amp.

But to answer your question.

The Hortilux HPS 1000w puts out 1600 umol, and costs $70, and has plenty of Blue to limit any unnecessary stretching of plants, though I do like to 1000w Gavita better, if you have the height, and can control the added heat. Gavita is 2100 umol, but the Hortilux is perfect for 4 x 4, and Gavita is probably overkill, as its good for a 6 x 6 max.
We VEG, and everything with a 1000w Hortilux. Not for rotting cuts of course. But if its a growing seedling/plant, its getting 1000w light.

A 1000w Hortilux is like 62.5w Sq/ft in a 4 x 4
The SUN, is over 100w Sq/ft.


But we use both, and have used the Hortilux for 2 decades.

Either 1 of these lights will penetrate at least 3 feet. 4 is more like it, and they offer unsurpassed light energy. Hortilux is $70. Though the Gavita is rated at 50,000 hours, and only loses 10% output, and can be had for $100.
Been growing with HID since 76/78. Been so long I cant remember exactly. First outdoors plants were in 1972. Mom found them though, and ripped them up.
Used the Super Nova advertised in High Times when they first came out. Actually used the buld that was used in submarines before that, but they wouldn't Warranty the bulb in shipment. It was very fragile. But the Super Nova came out just a few months later, and was much more robust.
Sorry about the underlining

The 1000w Hortilux HPS is 62.5w Sq/ft. In a 4 x 4 area
The SUN, is OVER 100w Sq/ft. AVERAGE, so it can also get quite a bit brighter. We will say 115w Sq/ft
So at that rate a person would need around 115w Sq/Ft, and the bulb to deliver it. Need a 1500w bulb that will put out around 225,000 Lumens in a 4 x 4.

Also many argue you cant compare LED/HID because of HID efficiency, which I say is poppycock, as the thing we are trying to reproduce is the SUN. Wecompare our lights to the sun. The sun is the most efficient of all, and also does not suffer from the Inverse Square Law light artificial lighting from any source.

Professionals measure the SUNs Energy by Watts per Sq/Ft, Lumens, W x Sq/M and BTUs. I probably left other measurements out.

A NewPhase said:

What r ur thoughts about LED’s, the HG 288/301 samsung’s, my thought maybe 3000/3500. I could diy (4) using (2) Meanwell HLG-240H LED Driver. I really like building stuff :0)

Seeds?!?! My head is spinning and I haven’t done a hit in 30years hahaha. I dont know what i would grow, a daytime smoke and a nighttime smoke, (2) of each. Im a non stop putterer around my house. So, daytime energy is a must.

Click to expand...

Very good choice on the hlg 288 or 301 quantum board leds. You will save in cooling costs and electricity $$, and you wont have to replace the hps bulbs twice a yr. I went from hps, to cmh, to cob led, and now currently using all hlg qb leds for veg and flower.

Rootbound said:

Very good choice on the hlg 288 or 301 quantum board leds. You will save in cooling costs and electricity $$, and you wont have to replace the hps bulbs twice a yr. I went from hps, to cmh, to cob led, and now currently using all hlg qb leds for veg and flower.

Click to expand...

Thanx for your endorsement on the LED’s.