First time grower. Going all in. (5x5/DWC/LED HLG-600)
Hiya guys and gals,
First of all, I want to say that I’ll be posting this same thread in several forums in order to get more opinions, my intention is not to spam!
With that out of the way let’s get right into it:
I have some background and experience in organic agriculture and permaculture and have grown veggies and other edibles on and off for a number of years, always outdoors and in soil.
This is going to be my first time growing cannabis, at least seriously…A few years ago I had some Fruit Autos in soil on a windowsill that yielded some grams each, but that’s not much of a grow. This time I want to get a bit more serious about it and build an indoor setup since I have the time, space and some money I can invest right now.
I’ve been researching quite a bit for the past few months and have recently put together an equipment list which you can see here: https://goo.gl/14QKSn
I realize it may be a lot of stuff for a first time grower but I’m willing and able to shell out a bit more for the peace of mind, that being said I know that the experience is also important and have been researching on that as well. But I’m fairly confident I can have a good go at it.
I already have my 5x5 tent which I purchased last week so I may adapt the setup recommendations you give me based on the size of the tent.
I’m planning to have 4 photo-period plants in my tent although I’m open to autos, and In terms of yield aspirations, I’m happy with whatever I get, that being said, of course I would like to maximize yields however possible and have been extensively looking into plant training methods.
I’ve decided to go with LED’s because of the lower power consumption needed for the tent size and also because of the heat HPS setups can give off since I live in a warm climate. And lastly because I really like the idea of growing with LED’s, it just seems fun!
FYI, power rates in my area are $0.08 kWh.
The DWC setup I have planned is two 10 gallon containers with two plants each. I’ve decided to go with hydroponics since I’ve always wanted to learn and experiment with hydroponic setups. I’m planning on going with a top-fed DWC. Is the cost of extra water and air pumps, and air stones worth the pros on having a top-fed system versus a normal DWC? I’ve read it only really matters when starting since the roots can’t reach the water yet.
Another thing I’m thinking of is heat problems within my DWC. The average yearly temps where I’m located are 20C - 32C (68F - 89F). Next week I will be begin testing and recording temperature in the room the tent will be located and later on in the tent with all equipment, all prior to starting the grow.
I would appreciate any advice you can share but here are some questions off the top of my head:
I’ll be keeping detailed journals of my grows so feel free to tag along!
I’ll leave it at that! If any of you have the chance of going through the equipment list to get a whole picture of the setup that would be awesome!
Drop me a line or two with your recommendations and experiences.
And I always appreciate links to books, videos or any kind of info, and links to similar setup grow journals
Happy growing!
-Guabasa
First of all, I want to say that I’ll be posting this same thread in several forums in order to get more opinions, my intention is not to spam!
With that out of the way let’s get right into it:
I have some background and experience in organic agriculture and permaculture and have grown veggies and other edibles on and off for a number of years, always outdoors and in soil.
This is going to be my first time growing cannabis, at least seriously…A few years ago I had some Fruit Autos in soil on a windowsill that yielded some grams each, but that’s not much of a grow. This time I want to get a bit more serious about it and build an indoor setup since I have the time, space and some money I can invest right now.
I’ve been researching quite a bit for the past few months and have recently put together an equipment list which you can see here: https://goo.gl/14QKSn
I realize it may be a lot of stuff for a first time grower but I’m willing and able to shell out a bit more for the peace of mind, that being said I know that the experience is also important and have been researching on that as well. But I’m fairly confident I can have a good go at it.
I already have my 5x5 tent which I purchased last week so I may adapt the setup recommendations you give me based on the size of the tent.
I’m planning to have 4 photo-period plants in my tent although I’m open to autos, and In terms of yield aspirations, I’m happy with whatever I get
, that being said, of course I would like to maximize yields however possible and have been extensively looking into plant training methods.I’ve decided to go with LED’s because of the lower power consumption needed for the tent size and also because of the heat HPS setups can give off since I live in a warm climate. And lastly because I really like the idea of growing with LED’s, it just seems fun!
FYI, power rates in my area are $0.08 kWh.
The DWC setup I have planned is two 10 gallon containers with two plants each. I’ve decided to go with hydroponics since I’ve always wanted to learn and experiment with hydroponic setups. I’m planning on going with a top-fed DWC. Is the cost of extra water and air pumps, and air stones worth the pros on having a top-fed system versus a normal DWC? I’ve read it only really matters when starting since the roots can’t reach the water yet.
Another thing I’m thinking of is heat problems within my DWC. The average yearly temps where I’m located are 20C - 32C (68F - 89F). Next week I will be begin testing and recording temperature in the room the tent will be located and later on in the tent with all equipment, all prior to starting the grow.
I would appreciate any advice you can share but here are some questions off the top of my head:
- What is the best plant training combination for beginners? Topping+LST+ScrOG?
- Is it really worth it going with 24/0 over 18/6?
- What are some good visual indicators it’s time to flip to flower?
- For people who know about quantum boards: I’ve seen the official HLG-600H DIY Kit has a Slate 5 Quad Predrilled 740mm Heat Sink, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I contacted HLG and they linked me to the Slate 6 Quad Heat Sink which seems to be 950mm in length. Is this going to be a problem in my 5x5 tent footprint-wise?
- Next think I want to do in the spreadsheet is calculate my total kWh consumption of all my equipment. What’s the best way to calculate this?
I’ll be keeping detailed journals of my grows so feel free to tag along!
I’ll leave it at that! If any of you have the chance of going through the equipment list to get a whole picture of the setup that would be awesome!
Drop me a line or two with your recommendations and experiences.
And I always appreciate links to books, videos or any kind of info, and links to similar setup grow journals
Happy growing!
-Guabasa
Comment