First time! Please help

[GrowBeyond]

Hi everyone! First time using this site, and first time growing. I have so many questions! To start off with, what should I buy? I have a 13*10 room with an eight foot ceiling that I'd like to deck out. It has two windows and a large closet. I also have a lot of 18 gallon bins from walmart, a bestVA 1000w led from amazon,and the fox farms nutrient trio. I'm looking for maximum yield in the shortest amount of time, on a budget of $1000 max. It gets hot here in the summer (third floor) and cold in the winter, which lasts a good long while. I don't pay for heat, but I do for AC. I've tried growing a couple plants recently, but have found that an unventilated closet during a heat wave is far from ideal. I have 3 plants (High Density Auto by Heavyweight) that are super tiny growing in 18 gallon bins (2 in 1) with a layer of perlite at the bottom, then 50/50 peat moss and perlite, then a layer of peat moss on top.

So basically, what do I need to do to take my disaster of a closet grow and switch it to a full sized grow room? Here are my thoughts so far

I'm looking at craigslist for air conditioners, so with 1134 sq feet in my room, and 4 HID lights, I guess I'd need 6000 CFM? I'm finding those for around $50, 14,000 CFM for about $250. There's also a 10k portable one, but it's missing a hose, whatever that means. Those are probably pretty big overkill. Normally I'd say heat isn't much of an issue in the summer, but hey, climate change. I also realized that I don't know I'm going to ventilate the room during the winter. I was interested in using yeast to supplement C02 but apparently that barely does anything.
Apparently just putting a box fan in each window should be plenty to cover air flow, but not enough to remove excess heat from weather or lights. But they're not as wide as the window, so I'd have light leakage both ways. Could cover that in cardboard. Plus I'd be worried about running those when it's cold. So I guess the answer is lots of lights to produce enough heat to warm the cold air coming from the fans, or a c02 generator and dehumidifier? I read something about lung rooms, no idea what they are.
I just saw stinkbud's tutorial on aeroponic systems, and that looks great but I'm worried I'd kill my plants. I figure I'll also need a PVC frame to hold each of the lights. Am I off base with the "soil" mediums I'm using? I found that pure peat moss takes at least a week to dry out.
If ran a room full of autos, (which appeal to me because I want to stop paying for herb ASAP) could I just provide 20 hours of light to the entire room and create shade for the younger plants? OTOH, if I can grow the same amount with fewer plants, that's definitely better. And I have a fondness for jack herer, (sannie's seeds) but I'm scared I'll kill them all all

I'm now planning on using air pots (7 gallon) with promix. I plan to start them in my germination tray, then move to dixie cups, then milk jugs, then 7 gallon air pots. The autos I would start in the air pots. I'd soak for 24 hours, then plant directly in the soil, tip up, with a pinch of soil on top to cover it.

I'm trying to follow the nutrient schedule for soil with the fox farms liquid nutrient trio. Is that all I need? I started getting what looked like a calmag deficiency early on. That could also be because I was using distilled water, which I basically have to have shipped to me. Is tap alright?


Are any of my plans less than ideal? Please correct the heck out of me, and thank you for your time

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Let's see

Get a pH pen and ppm pen to check your tap water

Fox farm nutes are good but get some calmag as well and a k booster like Kool bloom for flowering

Ya need to vent the room or tent, is smell an issue? If so you will need a carbon filter

I'd start with soil or Hempy grows till you get a hang of it, then maybe try DWC

I'd also start with a tent, easier to control the environment than a big room, then step up from there

Hid/HPS are very hot,ook into QBs or Quantum Boards like Timber, much cooler a d efficient

Not sure u will need added co2, hold off on that

Hmmmmm that's a good start

 

[improvise]

An oscillating fan to give them some exercise. regards

 

[TorturedSoul]

Respectfully, I'd suggest that a first-time cannabis grower not start with a 130 ft.² grow space.

With that having been said, I'll post a few comments that might be helpful:

a bestVA 1000w led

That... might be adequate for up to five square feet .

I'm looking for maximum yield in the shortest amount of time

Most folks look for quality, lol. With so many people growing their own (and for their friends/family) these days, even the commercial dealers are growing higher-quality strains (as opposed to the stuff that mostly just looks good (to the teenagers, I guess?) in a baggie.

on a budget of $1000 max.

Yeah, that doesn't really scream "reasonably-equipped 130 square foot grow room" to me. If you count the window air conditioner that I had to buy in order to keep my plants and myself from melting, I've got several hundred dollars in a small closet. And I'm poor enough that I look for bargains.

It gets hot here in the summer

Here, too. Sucks, doesn't it?

I don't pay for heat,

That'd be awesome; I'd grow every Winter (but only then, lol).

with a layer of perlite at the bottom, then 50/50 peat moss and perlite, then a layer of peat moss on top.

Why? You'd have been better off (IMHO) growing in straight perlite, and your nutrients would be fine in that, more or less. Treat it as a passive hydroponics setup.

So basically, what do I need to do to take my disaster of a closet grow and switch it to a full sized grow room?

A whopping huge amount of light and some means of removing the substantial additional heat that they produce (along with the "normal" heat you're experiencing due to the location). And all the usual stuff.

I'm looking at craigslist for air conditioners

I did the same thing. Shortly afterwards, I was reminded of why it's not always a good idea to purchase anything more complicated than a hammer used. So that cost me... a bit. Additionally, the older a/c that I purchased would have been less energy efficient - meaning a higher monthly electric bill and a larger load on my electrical system. Err... had it actually worked.

Buy a new one. Generally cheaper to run, cools better... and comes with a warranty.

For a space of that size and the lighting that you'll need to make decent use of it, I'd recommend a mini-split type a/c. You could get by with a large window unit, but you'll pay more for its use each month. If you do go with a window unit, don't even bother looking at the 110v/120v models.

And do not even consider a portable a/c unit! The single-hose units are junk, and the dual-hose ones are... one step above that, lol. But even those... <SHAKES HEAD> You actually can get a really good portable air conditioner unit - for several thousand dollars (and up). For example, see:
Commercial Portable Air Conditioners

But those Suzie Homemaker types? I recently did a lot of research for my mother, and couldn't even find one decent enough for her (NON-growing) needs. Closest I came was a "14,000 BTU" dual-hose model from Whynter. Which would have cost significantly more than a comparable window unit - and then it turned out that the makers of consumer-level portable a/c units were all playing fast and loose with the BTU ratings, and that it's closer to an 8,000 BTU a/c (at best).

Speaking of 8,000 BTU, that's the size of my window a/c (and it appears to be an accurate rating). My bedroom isn't much bigger than the space you've mentioned. It works pretty good - when I'm not growing here . If I run a few hundred watts of lighting, well... I sweat. Cannabis plants are comfortable at higher temperatures than I am (especially when given lots of light and sufficient CO₂, grown in highly-oxygenated DWC hydroponics with heroic amounts of air movement in order to aid transpiration, et cetera. But, again, my grow space isn't the entire bedroom - it's just a little closet.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, 1,000 watts equals approximately 3,412 BTU of heat. It's simple math.

How to convert watts to BTU/hr
The power P in BTUs per hour (BTU/hr) is equal to 3.412141633 times the power P in watts (W):
P(BTU/hr) = 3.412141633 × P(W)
So
1W = 3.412141633 BTU/hr

Example
Convert 5000W to BTUs per hour:
P(BTU/hr) = 3.412141633 ⋅ 5000W = 17060.71 BTU/hr

...therefore, once you figure out your room's base heat burden (whatever you want to call it), you can simply add your lights' actual wattage draw and plug in the number. Add a bit for overhead, and don't forget about other electrical devices in the room.

so with 1134 sq feet in my room

That'd be cubic feet. And don't forget to do a real good "site survey" in order to estimate your base load. Factors such as being on the upper floor of a building, lack of insulation, not being particularly well-sealed (heat gets in, cool air escapes), whether or not one of the room's walls happens to be an exterior wall - and whether or not that exterior wall is a South-facing one (in the Northern Hemisphere), et cetera are all very important and these things aren't always mentioned in the a/c ads.

and 4 HID lights

Are you thinking four 1,000-watt HPS lights? You could probably stand to have one more. Perhaps a 1,000-watt metal halide to give you both additional illumination and a fuller spectrum (and a bit of UV, if it's an open fixture and an unjacketed bulb - but open fixtures make your cooling a little more complicated).

I guess I'd need 6000 CFM?

Uh... are you still talking about air conditioners, or have you switched to discussing your ventilation setup, lol? If the former, that'd be BTU (and the number would be woefully inadequate).

I'm finding those for around $50, 14,000 CFM for about $250. There's also a 10k portable one, but it's missing a hose, whatever that means.

Ah, okay, you're still talking about air conditioners and have simply confused British Thermal Units with Cubic Feet per Minute.

I also realized that I don't know I'm going to ventilate the room during the winter. I was interested in using yeast to supplement C02 but apparently that barely does anything.

LOL. For purposes of this discussion, you may safely remove "apparently" from the above sentence. If you're interested in setting up a sealed room, running all air-cooled fixtures with sufficient airflow to remove the bulk of the heat they produce via duct runs that are completely separate from that grow room (in other words, pull air from somewhere else, pass it through the lights, and send it on out without ever letting that air mix with your grow room)... Then you'd have a good candidate for a CO₂ tank, regulator, and (hopefully) a monitoring device for same. As mentioned above, that'd also raise the "happy temperature zone" of your plants. Which would all be great; but on a $1,000 budget, well... you can't get there from here .

Apparently just putting a box fan in each window should be plenty to cover air flow

Not worried about the rather massive amount of odor that you'll likely be sending out into your neighborhood from a grow that size, lol? Do that around here and you could save everyone lots of hassle and, instead, just deliver yourself to prison and ask them if they have room for one more resident, lol. I could grow enough to (in theory) go to jail just in my little closet. And that little closet, if run hard, can and will fill the entire house (and, occasionally, part of the yard) with odor.

Hopefully, you live in a jurisdiction where it is perfectly legal to grow 8 pounds (at a guess) at a time. Or you rethink that whole "open windows" idea and, instead, invest some serious money into high-capacity carbon filtration.

but not enough to remove excess heat from weather or lights. But they're not as wide as the window, so I'd have light leakage both ways. Could cover that in cardboard.

You are not exactly filling me with confidence here. PLEASE tell me you live on your own island, or at least in the middle of your own 130-acre property.

One of the goals of successful cannabis growing is to not look - or smell - so suspicious to your neighbors and random passers-by (/mailmen/gas company employes/salesmen/etc.) that one of them calls LEO to report suspicious activity.

Plus I'd be worried about running those when it's cold.

Me... I find myself hoping you make it that far.

So I guess the answer is lots of lights to produce enough heat to warm the cold air coming from the fans, or a c02 generator and dehumidifier?

Nothing wrong with doing both. When the environment changes, change your setup. 130 square feet? That's commercial, so consider stuff like this just the cost of doing business.

I read something about lung rooms, no idea what they are.

AfaIK, among other things, it's where you install your massive air conditioner, lol. Probably a little beyond your starting budget to set up such a thing.

I just saw stinkbud's tutorial on aeroponic systems, and that looks great but I'm worried I'd kill my plants.

Yeah, probably not a method you want to follow as a newbie grower trying to dive in at the deep end. Go with DWC, ebb & flow, soil, or soilless. Hempy if you don't mind the possible inconvenience of hand-watering and then collecting runoff from an entire room full of plants, I suppose.

I figure I'll also need a PVC frame to hold each of the lights.

????

Most folks use hooks, and chains (or cables) to hang lights.

Am I off base with the "soil" mediums I'm using?

See above for my opinion on that (I dislike peat-based mediums in general, and especially for cannabis) but, aside from that, how well are your plants performing now? That won't really tell you about long term (up to harvest time) when the peat starts compacting/decomposing and you're (guessing here) experiencing pH issues, but if you aren't satisfied with a couple plants' performance in it now, that'd tell you something right there. And you did mention that they were tiny...

If ran a room full of autos, (which appeal to me because I want to stop paying for herb ASAP) could I just provide 20 hours of light to the entire room and create shade for the younger plants?

Folks (optimally) use 18 or more hours of light when growing auto-flowering cannabis plants, so, yes, basically.

OTOH, if I can grow the same amount with fewer plants, that's definitely better.

You could, in theory, fill that space with ONE plant. (I did type "in theory" ). In order to end up with N amount of harvest, a person can grow many plants or a relative few. However, if the latter, the person will need to keep the plants in the vegetative phase for a sufficiently longer time so that they can get larger. Conversely, a person could achieve the same goal with next to no (or even zero) vegetative time, by keeping mother plants and filling the room with rooted clones. See: 1,001 Ways to Skin a Dead Cat .

And I have a fondness for jack herer, (sannie's seeds)

Try the original version (by Sensi Seeds, one of our long-time forum sponsors).

I'm scared I'll kill them all all

Don't be scared, lol. I kill every single cannabis plant I grow, sooner or later. With a lot of effort and a little luck (or do I have that backwards? ) I manage to kill them on harvest day instead of somewhere along the way.

I'm trying to follow the nutrient schedule for soil with the fox farms liquid nutrient trio.

Bear in mind that the nutrient companies are in the business of making a profit. Therefore, they're happy to sell you more nutrients than you actually need. Additionally, auto-flowering strains, in general, don't tend to be heavy feeders (although there are some exceptions). Start LOW; you can always add more if the plants require it. Learn to read your plants - they'll "tell" you what they need (and when they've been given too much). That plus being able to tell the difference between a deficiency, a lockout that is caused by too much of something else and/or incorrect pH, and so on. Take a good, long look at the links in our mega-FAQ and learn all the relevant information:
How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know
(It's there for a reason.)

I started getting what looked like a calmag deficiency early on.

"calmag" is not a thing. It's two things, calcium and magnesium. Which one do you feel that your plants were deficient in? Just like with people, those two elements should be consumed at a certain ratio. I'm not feeling particularly intelligent right now (lol), so do not take this as gospel, but IF I remember correctly, it's 3:1 Ca:Mg. Screw up the ratio, and it can look like something else.

That could also be because I was using distilled water, which I basically have to have shipped to me. Is tap alright?

It's what I use, and mine is... not the best. (Wait... You actually pay to have distilled water delivered?! Never mind...)

But your question is sort of comparable to some random woman - who I have never actually met, or even seen) asking me if she's fat(*). I mean... HtH should I know, lol? What does your water quality report show? Some people's municipal water, I wouldn't even drink. Others are probably every bit as good as the bottled water (and far cheaper). IDK what country you reside in, but AfaIK, every municipal water authority in the United States does yearly water testing and publishes the information (and they mail a copy out to every customer here for those who are too lazy to view their web site). Or you can take a sample in to have it tested in many locales. Or send it off to one of the many companies that exist for that purpose (and for making a buck, of course). If you decide to have it tested, be sure to let your water run for at least 30 seconds in order to get a sample of your water instead of "your water plus whatever happens to be in your pipes."

Using (MY) tap water, I can often get by with adding Epsom Salt for a little extra Mg. I get a little more sulfur than I really need that way, but it's usually not too bad. I have more Ca in my water supply that I strictly need (or want, for that matter), and much (certainly not all) of it appears to be in an available form.

It is important to have a clue about what, exactly, is in your water. Just as important as knowing what's in the nutrients you're using.

Again, I'd start smaller. Fill your closet, not the room. Or buy a tent - or even a couple - and stick them in the room, then grow in the tents. I once got over 12 ounces from about eight square feet of floor space. If your only goal is to supply yourself with cannabis, well, how much do you need, lol? If, OtOH, it is to sell, taking the time to become a proficient grower first will definitely stand you in good stead (and the minor delay while you grow a round or three will more than be made up for, long term, by the tremendous increase in your knowledge and experience that those initial grows provide - without the chance of losing time, money, possibly even your freedom).[/quote]

(*)Speaking of fat chicks, lol, that reminds me: Why do women so vociferously insist that they want men to be honest with them, and then show by their actions that the truth is, they want anything BUT honesty? First time my (then) wife asked me if her dress made her look fat, I instantly, unthinkingly, and honestly replied, "No, of course not - that'd be your big @ss." The rest of the evening did not go well .

BtW, I just did four edits trying to correct the quoting after I goofed on ONE "end quote" tag and this... this... this thing then pissed all over the rest of my post. I hope the fourth time was the charm, because I figure that's enough tries. If not, maybe you can still figure out which words are mine.

 

[Diggler420]

I would start reading some of the grow journals. They are packed full of good info and most describe their set up in great detail.
Pop a seed and start a journal. Good luck.

 

[improvise]

Great info @TorturedSoul. Yeh here in the UK i dream of using the whole room one day. hopefully real soon lol. regards