New Guy Needs Advice

[Disco Duck]

I am new to this and am just hoping for some general advice. I have set up a closet and think I am ready to get some clones to start my first grow.

I am using a normal closet because it is the only space I have. It is 26 inches wide and I have about 4 feet in length to work with. In the closet I have...

600w MH/HPS light with dimable ballast. I plan on using this light dimmed for veg and full power for flowering.

Rainforest 66. I am limited to 6 plants (legaly) and this seemed like the perfect system for that. I can also use it for the clones/veg if I ever expand to a full room.

2 small fans to circulate air, the closet doors are sliding so there is lots of room to "breathe", I'm hoping that is enough but can leave open one of the doors it it becomes necessary.

I used wallpaper glue and wallpapered mylar to 2x4 foot styrofoam panels I got at Home Depot. Reflectors, they are ultra liht and hang on the walls by a single tack each:-)

The Rainforest came with a starter set of GH nutrients so I was just planning on using their nutrients for this first attempt.

Does anyone have any advice for me based on this. I haven't even begun to learn yet, really, so even obvious advice is welcome:-)

 

[l0g1c4l]

Hey disco duck, sounds like a good set up...though you did not list an exhaust...I run a 400w in a closet about the same size as yours and without a decent exhaust fan it would be over 35 degrees [Celcius] in there.

 

[sky high]

Welcome, disco....

I say set it up and see what you have for temps/etc and work from there.

If you aren't trying for "stealth" here and can modify things I would seriously look at removing the existing door(s) and making a new panel that will fit that is solid and that can be cut on/etc for ventilation needs. As log1c4l says...it's gonna get hot in there and you WILL need an exhaust (and filter for odor) in that space. Sliding doors left open won't work.... and when they are shut they will play hell with you on light leaks (IMO). The best thing, IMO, is to build what you need and set the stock doors aside to be put back in when you are done growing in the space.

s h

 

[Green-Girl]

I am also pretty new and I have already made lots of mistakes so I'll try to give you some general advice so you don't make the same mistakes as me.

Ph test your reservoir every other day - Don't take this for granted like I did! Even if everything seems to be going good Ph test and use the up down to get it to yellowy-orange if your using the drops, or 5.5 if you have a meter.

Measure PPMs and start young plants with about half of what it says on the bottle and slowly increase. Find a chart of PPMs over the life of plant and stick to that.

Keep your light as close to the plant as possible for maximum yield. Hopefully you can air cool your light and have the light almost touching the plants. Get those adjustable hangers from the hydro store, its a must.

Think about where you are getting your water from - tap? Reverse Osmosis? Most growers end up getting an RO machine ($150 on eBay) or you will spend a lot of time lugging water to and from the water machine, unless you want to gamble with tap water.

Buy a temperature/humidity monitor and make sure temps don't go above 80. Wise to do this b4 you have the plants. Know that you may have to invest 100 or so in a blower to air cool your light.

Soak your hydroton overnight and rinse it a couple times

Watch closely for pests! Esp spider mites. Never get clones with tiny white spots on the leaves. If you see your leaves with those spots. rip it off and immediately start treating for mites. Catching this early is really important.

Also when you are picking clones make sure the roots are growing out of the bottom of the rockwool.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Have fun!!!

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Why would you want to dim a 600w in veg? JK

 

[Disco Duck]

Why would you want to dim a 600w in veg? JK

Well, I was under the impression that you didn't need all that light in that stage. Many people just use florescants for that, I thought 600W would just be wasting money on electricity. Would it be better to just use the light at full power all the time?

 

[Disco Duck]

Welcome, disco....

I say set it up and see what you have for temps/etc and work from there.

If you aren't trying for "stealth" here and can modify things I would seriously look at removing the existing door(s) and making a new panel that will fit that is solid and that can be cut on/etc for ventilation needs. As log1c4l says...it's gonna get hot in there and you WILL need an exhaust (and filter for odor) in that space. Sliding doors left open won't work.... and when they are shut they will play hell with you on light leaks (IMO). The best thing, IMO, is to build what you need and set the stock doors aside to be put back in when you are done growing in the space.

s h

Yes, heat and air are the two main issues I've been thinking I am going to have. It is actually a very long closet, like 12 or 15 feet long, and I am just using one end of it. I don't think I could build anything that would turn it into a self-contained area. Especially since I can't really build things, haha. I am in a rented apartment, I can't really do that.

How might I deal with the temp/air in my situation? I thought just opening a door would solve it if I needed that.

And, yes, light "leaks" out all over the place from those sliding doors. Unfortunately it is a small apartment and this is the only space I have to work with.

 

[sky high]

Heat, ventilation and odor are the first things you'll have to deal with.

Opening doors/etc never works for a long term grow. You'll forget it's open/won't open it when you need it open/etc. In the end your plants will suffer....

in veg..light leaks are no problem for the plant. You may light up your entire apartment with orange light if it leaks too much though....and that is, IMO, a tip off as to what yer doin.

in flower...light leaks are a no-no. You need to have that space so light tight that you can crawl in it with all the lights on in your apt. and see NOTHING leaking in. Nothing. Otherwise you will get fluffy buds or herms....

dunno what else to suggest for the space but you need to figure out a "door" or some sort, IMO or the heat is going to prohibit you from having success. The only other thing I can think of is to tuck a protable A/C unit in the back of the space....

good luck

s h

 

[Disco Duck]

What if I always left the closet door open, would that work?

I didn't think light leaking out of the closet would matter, I don't think I have a way of creating a totally sealed area.

What I think I could do is leave the closet door open all the time, I could even find a way to put 2 of my 2x4 mylar reflector panels on the open side. Then I could put a cardboard "cover" around the window so that no light is seen from the outside, in fact the blinds are still seen and the window seems normal. I had already been thinking of covering the window like that.

Would this work ok for a first time "experiment" grow? I am actually planning on moving somewhere with at least a walk-in closet, or hopefully even a whole extra bedroom, and I am really just experimenting and learning this first time through.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, this forum is great.

 

[Green-Girl]

Why doesn't he just get a 2 x 4 tent? Forget light leaking out of the closet, what about light leaking into the closet during the dark hours. That's should be the main concern. Unless you can make the whole room pitch dark 12 hours a day you can't have light leaks.

Make it easier on yourself and get a tent. And get a blower to cool the light.

 

[nog]

Disco, you should look out for a strain that can take high temperatures, ive had it go well over 40C for a few days and it stresses the plants, they sweat like mad, and drop some of the fan leaves, i reckon a reaction to reduce water loss, i have now obtained an F1 that is a cross with a landrace from southern india where daytime temps can be really high. i am hoping they cope better than the previous stuff, it was 38C yesterday and so far so good.

 

[Disco Duck]

Why doesn't he just get a 2 x 4 tent? Forget light leaking out of the closet, what about light leaking into the closet during the dark hours. That's should be the main concern. Unless you can make the whole room pitch dark 12 hours a day you can't have light leaks.

Make it easier on yourself and get a tent. And get a blower to cool the light.

It's funny you mention that, because I went looking at tents after realizng that Sky was talking about light leaking into the closet when it needs to be dark, and not the light leaking out from the big light. I hadn't originally caught what he meant. A found a perfect 3x3 tent, until I realized it is only 6.5 feet tall. The Rainforest is 2 feet tall, the light/hood would hang down 2 feet or more... there would only be space for plants that are 2 feet tall, which doesn't seem near enough. I'm guessing I have the wrong equipment for a tent. Do they make 8 foot tall tents? 3x3x8 would work perfect.

The only truly good solution I can see until I move to a bigger place is a tall tent, 6.5 ft doesn't seem tall enough. What I am planning as a not great solution is covering the window with cardboard, I'll mylar the cardboard so no light shows through. Then it will still be dark in the room even with the closet door open. But I'd rather have a tent, they just don't seem tall enough.

You mentioned finding a good feeding schedule. Is there a better one for GH nutes than comes with the nutes. Where can i find that?

Thanks for the help Green Girl. I am getting very close to actually having this going.

 

[Green-Girl]

I would get a second opinion on this, but I think the 6.5 feet will work because I don't think you need 2 feet for lights. If you properly air cool the lights then the plants can be almost touching the light, which is better for yield, and you can raise the lights to the top of the tent so it should take up less than 1 foot. 1 foot lights + 2 feet rainforest = 3 which would give you 3.5 feet for plants. You just want to make sure you flip the plants from veg to bloom at 18" so they don't get too tall. Maybe someone else can chime in on the tent height thing. I would think its just enough space.

Before you start I would check the temps with your lights on full blast at the hottest part of the day.

For nutrients use GH feeding schedule, not the bottle but the actual schedule over the life of the plant. Also double check it by testing the PPMs and have the PPMs roughly follow something like this:

Seedlings, Early Sprouts 100 to 250
Early Vegging 300 to 400
Full Vegetation 450 to 700
Early Blooming 750 to 950
Full Mature Blooms 1000 to 1600

 

[sky high]

I say screw the tent, disco. Those $$ are better spent on a good fan/filter/temp controller for the fan/etc., IMO.

Partition off the size space you need using the Black and white "Panda" plastic that is found in hydro stores or online. Gonna be MUCH easier than finding a tent that will work and with the plastic you can use all of your height.

Just staple that shit on the walls/door frame/etc....make some good overlap flaps for the door....climb in and see that it is LIGHT TIGHT....and let it rip. A 10 ft x 100 ft roll is about $90 and believe me...if you uy it you WILL use it down the line if you keep growing the plant. It's great for the walls AND floors...keeps shit from getting all wet..like carpet and stuff...LOL.

Set it all up and slap a thermometer in there and start working on temps...........

good luck

s h

 

[TrichromeFan]

disco,
you have air conditioning in that room with the closet? If so is it central, or something else?

 

[Green-Girl]

Sky High is right. The panda will work great. I tend to favor tents so I don't cause damage to the walls/ceiling. But you are in a closet so that's probably not an issue for you.

 

[Hlg09]

I was in the same situation on my first grow as well bro, open air 600 no fan or filter in a closet. I combated the heat by sitting a fan in front of the vent in the room to blow into the closet whilst the door was open, but I ended up having to move them out into the room because they overgrew the damn closet and it was a pain in the ass handling the solution changeouts in four stanalone dwc buckets being in such a cramped space.

 

[420OGFarmhand]

I have a Closet same size & 400-600 bulb things were not happening with just the door opening it hit 95degress
I had to cut a vent hole in the wall to the get some fresh air. When I got the exchanger hooked up things were running at 80 with light on. I wasted a month trying it without outside air just to save you some time.
Time i could have used to Veg out my crop.
Another option is a portable A/C unit about $300
You will have to combat the heat

 

[Disco Duck]

Thanks for all the great advice. I am going to use a tent, after thinking about it I like how it is mobile and still useful even after I eventually move somewhere and have an extra room. I've managed to not waste any money yet, the setup I have in the closet can be used as a veg space to get a head start so really i just set that up ahead of time before I really needed it:-)

So after looking around a lot I want to get a Secret Jardin DR120. It's 4x4x6'8", a little wide for my Rainforest but that's probably a good thing and in the future it fits 4' flourescants to be used as a veg room someday. This will all work out where I am now, and where I move some day in the future.

The questions I have now are about the tent. It seems like this is going to cost like $800. How many can fans do I need? 1 for the light, 1 for intake and 1 for outtake? The tent has positions for 5 6" fans, and those are around $120 each from what I have seen so far. I know I need at least 1 filter too, but can't find anywhere that really explains it well.

How many fans and filters do I really need with a DR120 tent?

 

[TrichromeFan]

Hey Duck,
I am sure that the tent will treat you well. You could use just one fan for exhaust if you are not using CO2. Hooked up to the light, and the other end of the light will suck air in. If you are going to use CO2 then you will need 2 fans. One for the light and one for exhaust. You could add a third for intake, but it is not necessary. I would put an air filter (simple home AC filter) on the intake though, to minimize pests. You will want a carbon filter hanging inside the top of the tent hooked up to your exhaust to keep smells down.