Tent setup help - Need advice! - First grow

[bsmoke83]

Hi Everyone,

I've just gotten my card, so I'm legal now, and I'd like to start growing my own green. I'm allowed up to 12 plants, so I'd like to have that many if possible. I've been doing a lot of reading, and I think that tents are probably my best bet given my limitations at the moment. I really would love any advice you guys can give so that I don't spend way too much money or get the wrong things for what I want to do. So thanks in advance!


My biggest problem is that I live in a place that even though I'm legal, they want the smell and noise to be minimum. I also have limited space to work with, and can't modify the place (yes, an apartment, yes they are ok as long as I'm legal and nobody complains about smell).


I've looked into the different prefab grow boxes, the bcnl boxes look really cool, but they are pretty expensive for the size, so I've been researching tents.

Unless told a good reason, I will likely be starting off doing soil, since everything I've read said its easier to start there, and I'd like the least chance of screwing stuff up.

I'd like to have one tent for veg, and one tent for flower, and based on everything I've read, people like the Secret Jardin the best (mostly).


I'd like to be able to grow my maximum of 12 plants, so I was thinking of either of these tents for the veg.

Secret Jardin Dark Room Pro DR120 II Grow Tent
Dimensions: 47" x 47" x 79", approximately 4' x 4' x 6.5'


or Secret Jardin Dark Room Pro DR90 II Grow Tent
Dimensions: 35.5" x 35.5" x 71". 2.96' x 2.96' x 5.91'

Question 1: Do you think the smaller of those would be big enough for the veg tent?


The one I'm looking at for the flowering tent is

Secret Jardin Dark Room Pro DR150 II Grow Tent
Dimensions: 59" x 59" x 79", approximately 5' x 5' x 6.5'

Question 2: Is that tent big enough for 12 plants, or should I go one size up to 8' x 8' x 6.5'


Question 3: Once the best size of the tents is determined, I'd like to find out which lights (brands, size, etc etc) that you guys would recommend for each of them.

Question 4: What all (besides lights and carbon filters) would I need to get one of these ready to go? (I'd like to buy it all at the same time so it gets here at roughly the same time.)


I really appreciate any help you guys can give, I know I'm new at this, but I want to learn, and I've been reading as much as possible to try to avoid making costly mistakes.


Thanks!

 

[HiTimes4Me]

Hey brother Welcome to ... As far as your questions go we would need a little more info on how you plan to grow.. i.e. How big are you trying to grow each plant... Obviously the bigger you want them the bigger space you need to fit 12...also did you plan to run all 12 at once or do staggered harvests so you can have it perpetual? Like a few plants every few weeks. Do you plan to use a mother plant or always start from seed? Will you be pruning or training or Au Naturale? But what I can answer is 8x8 is HUGE it's gonna need like 4 1000w's but it would be BADASS you could really get them big in that thing LOL

 

[PrairiePoet]

HF5 is right, we need more info on how you are planning to grow.

I do tend to have larger veg area than flower. Mother(s), clones, and veg going on in the same space. Flower is in a closet (moving to a tent soon), and everything else is open in the room (used to be in another closet, slightly bigger than flower). While I only do 18/6 for the moms and veggies, extra light once in awhile won't hurt anything. They basically sleep when I do. But it gives me plenty of space to move around and work.

Question 3 is way to open to answer. I would find a local garden supply you feel comfortable with and discuss this with them. Building a relationship with them will help you in the long run. Deciding CFL, HID, LED or what ever light system is really going to be your decision. You can get lots of comments from anyone reading this thread, and you can see what folks use in the journals. But I doubt you will get a conclusive definitive answer on that.

Question 4, the one thing first time growers don't think about is pH. Get a good decent method of testing pH. PPM / EC is also good, but as long as you are using nutes as directed by the manufacture and an ideal of the PPM of the water you are using, you can do without it.

Hope this helps, and good luck.