SOIL I could use feedback on this setup, please!

[Smelly]

Hi everyone! I have been looking into everything and getting some advice on buying, but now I'm getting close to actually ordering the materials. I think I'm ok, but I would love it if y'all could take a look and let me know what I'm not thinking about. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Here's what I'm thinking about. The problem is that I am WAY over-thinking this and just want to move on, so any input helps me just pull the trigger. Anything that is a good value and less expensive that what I'm looking at is fine by me

Goal - Photos in Soil. Gives me - a new grower - control over veg stage and final height, which should lead to good yields, i think? Soil keeps costs lower. Planning on 3-4 plants in 4x4 space but in a 5x5x6.5 tent so I have room to move about. Heat is an issue, so prob spend the $ on a LED to be safe. Indoors with a carbon filter

light - spiderfarmer sf4000 for about $540. Couldn't decide so I forced myself to pick one and ask this forum for advice. Open to any and all suggestions!

Tent - spiderfarmer 5x5x6.5. tallest i could find outside GG tents for $150 more. Not cheap at all. Wish they came like 8 feet tall. Should I just get the GG just for the height and additional yields?

Fabric 5 gallon pots. Should I get bigger like 7 or 10?

Fan - AC Infinity cloudline s6 $120

carbon filter - vivosun 6 inch. $51

ph meter - bluelab metcom combo meter - $253. Apparently it is good. Looks like an alien probe. Could be why it's so expensive.

therm/hygro - Grower's Edge Digital Thermometer Hygrometer with Remote Sensor - $40 with remote! It's like a dress with pockets!

soil - FFOF i guess?

some cheap light timer. does it matter?

anything else I need?

Thank you!!!

[F10werChyld]

You're spending way too much on the pH meter. I think you can do better than that light for $540 as well. You can buy two Viparspectra 450s for about $240 and that will provide plenty of light in your tent. Wait for the feedback from the forum, then press "go" and get some beans in the dirt!

[Smelly]

As first commenter, you win the prize of my everlasting appreciation. Spend it wisely lol!

Agreed on meter. part of why i posted but someone swore by it. Anything you like? And the light was what broke me lol. I had to stop looking at lights!

Thanks!

[JDU]

Howdy Smelly, welcome!
First I think you'll like that light- I have similar Mars Hydro fixtures & I love em. They have a slightly larger footprint that the Spider & cost a little less.
I paid $150 for my 4x6x7 tent. It's by far a better outfit than any I've seen. Look up My Urban Greenhouse & see if they made a comeback.
3- Spend a few bucks on a good timer!! I've had a cheap one fail & a few mos ago a grower on here shared a pic of their near catastrophe & it was sobering. Check the wattage rating & stay below it- even if you need to run 2. Same with power strips & 3way splitters.
Lotta folk like the FF soil but it sure is expensive for something designed to need you to purchase their nutes to finish a grow. I was encouraged to check my local nursery for good tomato soil. I paid $25/yd (that's the bed of a standard pickup truck - filled level with the wheel wells.)
But yeah- you've got a pretty good handle on things & a good start- keep readin!

[Smelly]

As second commenter, you get nothing. Same value as first prize tho lol!

Yeah, I looked at the mars hydro a lot as well. I'm hoping they are worth the money, but I looked at 2 lights side by side a lot as well, like the commenter above suggested. I'm hoping y'all can help me decide. But I think this one is good, im just worried about needing 18" of space to avoid light burn.

My Urban Greenhouse appears to be closed still, sadly.

Timer - sorry, could you clarify a bit? I've already smoked today so you may need to use small words lol! When you say this - "Check the wattage rating & stay below it- even if you need to run 2" - do you mean check the actual wattage of the lights and make sure that the timer is rated for the actaul wattage drawn by the lights? Or something different. I remember reading about this but not what exactly. Sorry for the hand holding!

And thanks for the advice on the soil. I'd rather buy all of this local anyway, so I appreciate the idea! Once I'm done with quarantining and test negative, I'll hit up the local nursery and see what they have!

[JDU]

Haha! Day late n a dollar short again! Damnit!

Yes that's exactly what I mean on the timer.

I had the same 18" lighting concerns on my 1st grow & even made a pest of myself 2nd guessing everyone on here only to find that I didn't need anywhere near the height I have. Plus you can LST them out wider & keep em shorter & git the same yield.
I hope ya feel better soon!

[Smelly]

Not sure if I can respond in the same comment box above or not JDU, but i tried to figure it out lol.

ok thanks for the clarification! I figured that might be the case, and I'm glad I'm not the only one overthinking this. I'm just really happy and excited lol.

i plan on manifolding them. I think I forgot to mention that. Too hard for a rookie?

I feel better, just weak. Wasnt life threatening, just like a shitty, weird flu for me. lasted about a week plus recovery

[JDU]

You can comment again- just go to the 1st post of the thread & tap comment.

A manifold is pretty easy & a good idea for sure.
Thats good. I know a guy who didn't make it.

[Smelly]

that sucks. Bad news abounds lately. But it will be better!

[Gingerbeard]

Let's see how succinct I can be.

Leave the photos alone. Get yourself feminized. You can veg feminized as long as you want. Just like photos but without the high chance of males.
Go with 7 gallon pots. The bigger the pot, the bigger the plant. I just grew 4 plants in a 4x4 with 5 gallons. Going with 7 gallon for the final.
If you have that much money to spend on lighting, take a look at HLG. They have options, on some models, that can be hooked up to Bluetooth. I have the HLG 360 elite. 4' veg coverage, 3' flowering. HLG is out of stock on the one I have. But it can still be found.

[Smelly]

Forgot to mention that I would be using fem seeds. seems to be worth the money since time is not free.

money is tight, but if it is worth it I may be able to scrape it together. I'll check out that light, thanks! Anything you would recommend for less on the lights?

[SoOrbudgal]

It's going to take a couple grows with this setup to get the feel for what it can do and what you do with it. Don't know if that makes sense but WTF anyway. You got top line LED but that's a large tent 5x5. Took me several grows to understand light heights and position rotating plants. Man you could stuff that with autos in 3gal pots. Have fun, somethings are only learned by trial and error please don't shoot the messenger. Have fun and ask away.

[Smelly]

That's what I need to hear! Size of tent cant be bigger than 5x5 but if it is WAY bigger than what I need to yield about .5oz/week that I can step it way down. I just have no idea what yield to expect lol!

If there is a decent light for less I'm open to that, I just have no clue and just am worried about the heat in my area.

Let me ask it this way - if you were going to start from scratch, what would you use and how would you grow?

[Canuck147]

Get a better fan - Vortex - quiet and get the variable speed controller.

If you've read much on this forum most of the posters with big time problems all grow with Fox Farm soil - hot soil I would never use.

[Smelly]

Appreciate the feedback of FF. I'm leaning towards a local nursery soil at this point. Would love to stay local if possible!

and will check out the fan. Thanks!