Prepping for first grow! :)

AC Infinity
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yes i would get a digital ballast, but if need be the magnetic will do, you just have to buy a MH conversion bulb, not a regular MH bulb. IMO digital ballasts are better, quieter cooler and usually run both MH and HPS without touching or flipping any switches, also most have dimming features which are nice for starting seedlings at 50% so not to distress them. youll be happier in the long run with digital. magnetics are old technology! your choice tho, i know funds are limited. If it were me id wait save and get what i really want! but everyones different.
 
hxxp://plantlightinghydroponics.com/quantum-600w-dimmable-electronic-ballast-p-3392.html


How is this ballast? Looks quite good to me :)
 
i have that exact ballast. finishing up my second grow with it. working amazingly
 
Excellent!!! Thanks Shortbus.


You may all get frustrated with what I'm about to say, but I'm truly thinking I'm sure that I'm doing soil for this first grow. I have a lot of reasons, and I'm sure you guys don't want to hear me blab them all on, and I don't want all of you that have given me info to be upset....just a bit unsure of some things with hydro and feeling like I can get away with a bit more on my first grow with soil.

Either way, my MONEY CAME.. and I'm ordering my seeds right now! :)

Still have time to sort out what type of grow I'm doing, but I want to lean back to soil... then my mind thinks of amazing things with hydro.. I just fight with my mind.


Thanks for letting me have a place to vent :D Leave your thoughts after the beep....





















.....beep!
 
Most videos I watch(from seed to harvest videos... not just "sectioned tutorials") are either soil grows or Ebb and Flo with side rez.... I like that method too but DWC seemed most fun / interesting. So much confusion for me between getting the roots to show in the rooter plugs then.. what? Into 6" bucket net pots right from there? I know someone said 3" pots then to 6" (I think) and I didn't know quite "why" not "how" ... I would love a full seed to harvest video series on DWC.

(Note: If you're upset with my "on the fence" about growing and me going back and forth, then kindly step away from the thread and I understand and respect that. I want nothing but positivity in here while I'm learning. Just keep any replies productive and helpful please.)
 
I am partial to the electronic dimmable ballasts. So....should you buy a digital? Probably. Let's get back to the dollars and cents (sense). You can get a 600W dimmable ballast with an air coolable hood, a MH and a HPS bulb, a timer, and ratchet rope hangers from Amazon for $225. What is your price tag on the set up you are looking at? The bulb you linked is $80. How much when we add a conversion bulb? Digital ballasts are also supposed to use slightly less power.
 
Yay, THG is around the thread!!! :)

Current setup from 1 place:

1 x GH CALiMAGic Qt
1 x Quantum 600W Dimmable Electronic Ballast
1 x Aluminum 3-Ply Air Duct 6 inch x 25F
1 x Active Air 6" 400 CFM In-line Duct Fan
1 x 600W Sylvania HPS Mogul Base Grow Bulb
1 x GH1514 pH Control Kit
1 x Rapid Rooter Organic Plugs 50/bag
1 x Propagation Tray Seed Cell 10x20
1 x Sun Hut Silver 4x4x7 Indoor Greenhouse
1 x Propagation Tray no Holes 10x20
1 x Bluelab PPM Pen
1 x Milwaukee pH55 Waterproof pH Tester
1 x Active Air Hygro-Thermometer
1 x Titan Controls Apollo 8™ Two Outlet 24 Hour Timer
1 x ProGrip 150LB Light Hanger Pair
1 x Floragro Vegetative Growth Nutrient Quart
1 x FloraBloom Flower & Fruit Nutrient Quart
1 x FloraMicro Micro-Nutrients Quart
1 x Propagation Dome 10x20x6 Snug Fit
1 x Eye 400W 6500K Full Spectrum Horizontal Metal Halide Bulb
1 x Quantum Massive 6" Reflectors
1 x Phat 20x6 450 CFM Carbon Filter

Sub-Total: $954.23
United Parcel Service (Ground): $138.26
Total: $1,092.49
 
It looks like you have your bases covered other than pots and growing medium. If you are more comfortable with soil, then that is what you should do. I don't think that anyone here will be upset that you have changed your mind. We all want you to have successful grows. Part of that is being comfortable with what you are doing.

Have you decided what seeds you are going to order? What kind of high you want out of your bud?
 
Thanks THG, you are excellent! :)

I just didn't want the ones that have given so much info in this LONG thread, to get mad that I'm all: "Hydro! ... wait Soil! ... wait.. SURELY HYDRO.. no no .. soil?"
I know I would be a bit frustrated :(

As for my seeds, I've had them picked out for forever! :)

Barneys Farm "Pineapple Chunk" from Attitude (I'm purchasing today, was just waiting for their freebies to change up for the day.. last I noticed the freebies change every single day)

I'm all for a super skunk smell and earthy/skunky taste and pure Indicas are my favorite. All for the body and less for the mind.

The freebies right now are:
-CH9 Female Seeds Blue Lemon Thai
-CH9 Female Seeds Cluster

Didn't care for the description of them or the makeup's. The other day "Cheese" was a freebie... I love Cheese!! :/
 
Woo.. pulled the trigger on the seeds, because hey.. freebies are freebies. :shrug:

But WOO.. $60 was the total after everything. YIKES. I should probably clones these! lol
 
Hey man, don't worry about upsetting anyone. We have all gone through the indecision when trying to get set up the right way. Hydro can be a little daunting when looking at it from the outside. But like THG said, you have to be comfortable with what you're doing. We won't be the ones working with your setup, you will, so ultimately its your call. There are plenty of peeps on here that grow in soil, both organicly and synthetically, so you won't be alone in that venture either.

I noticed in your list of setup stuff that you have listed an "in-line duct fan", is that one of the duct booster fans or is it a centrifugal fan? The "duct booster fans" are worse than worthless. They will mess up your grow because they give you a false sense of ventilation security, and you don't realize that they aren't venting properly until its too late. Make sure you get a centrifugal style fan as they are reliable and properly move the air. :)
 
deinately clone, but grow a few from start to finish and take clones along the way, label these clones in relation to which mother they came from(mother 1, clone 1, mother two, clone two), after you grow, dry, cure, and smoke them, decide which one you like the best, this will be your special clone mother from now on. there are usually a few different phenos from each strain. some show more sativa traits, while other show more indica traits. This method helps you to make sure you get what you were looking for every time! now take all future clones from this plant, btw you might as well flower out all those other clones from the other moms too, i wouldnt throw em away! or you could just pop one seed and you get what you get! just remember if youre looking for indica traits, you might end up with sativa traits with this method!
 
Thats true growdude but you should get a 3 year warranty with any decent ballast, if it goes out after that ill have harvested enough that i wont feel bad buying a new one! JMO
 
Thanks for all the words everyone! I'm sorting thoughts and weighing options.. loving the feedback and content provided! :)

@ Hushpuppy: The fan is one of the kind I've seen that works with the 6"ducting and is a squirrel cage fan or whatever they are called. It's the exact same thing I've seen in a lot of grow setups (through video). Here's a pic of the one that I believe I'm getting:

hxxp://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/images/HF-inlinefan.L.gif
 
Cool, that's the type that you want. They call them squirrel cage or centrifugal type. Those work better than anything else because they create a vacuume(or negative pressure) on the low side and pressure on the high side. If you couple them with a fan speed controller you can nearly make them silent while still pulling out air through a carbon filter :)
 
Nice, I was correct when I said "Squirrel Cage" just before your post, woo hoo!! :)
And yeah, I want a fan control surely.. I took note of that. Cheers Hushpuppy!!


*UPDATE*
I'm going to a hydro store about an hour away today.. going to see if they will make a deal.. I printed out my order from plant lighting hydroponics.com and I'm bringing it with me. If they want to make $1,000+ sale today, they will work with me. And if they do make the deal today, then... I'LL HAVE MY ROOM TONIGHT!!!!! :D
 
I now have everything to get me from seed to harvest! Everything! I even have cloning gel to help with going beyond my first grow! Bwahaha! :)

I'll make a list of what I got from memory:

-6" Yield Labs Reflector Hood
-Ultra Sun 600w HPS and also Ultra Sun 400w MH
-Quantum 600w Digital Ballast
-Sun Hut 4x4 tent (had none, so sold me a year old floor model. Got a great deal! Just have to clean it out)
-6" Hurricane Squirrel Cage fan with ducting and Phat Carbon Filter
-Fan Speed Adjuster
-Titan Apollo 8 Two Outlet Timer
-50 pack Rooter thingies :)
-Prop tray and ventable dome
-PH and PPM pens... not the sweet waterproof ones, but the $40 Hanna ones. I'll get the all in one later when I deal with full water operation.
-PH UP + Down
-Indoor/Outdoor Digital Thermometer
-Sun Grip Light Hangers
-3 gal grow bags x25
-Sunshine Mix Rain Forest
-Clonex (or however the spelling is)
-Nutes... So he talked me out of Flora nutes, and into something a slight bit cheaper that he thinks works just as good. ~XNutrients~ Anyone have any experience with this stuff or thoughts? I thought it was fine... :shrug:

Overall, I got a KILLER deal. I beat my price from Plantlighting Hydroponics.com by a few bucks and got WAY more items. This guy just wanted my business and knew if he helped me with this first initial sale I'd be coming back. I mean.. I have to! lol .. he's 1 of 2 hydro stores in my state! He was awesome to deal with and knew what I was planning on using the tent for, hah.

$1,060 for everything. I don't know if I left anything out of that list, but if I did, I'll come back and edit it.

So, .. Pineapple Chunk from Attitude is on the way, and ENTIRE room is purchased. Now I have to dial it in and get set. I am SO excited everyone... WOO!!!

:D Grow journal will start soon. I'm going to take many pics and some videos to try and really capture the moments and processes. Hope you all tag alone.

~~ALSO~~
Quick question: I have my most of my entire grow out in the garage where it will get to freezing temps tonight... I brought in my HPS and MH bulbs, my Rooter Plugs and the 4 bottles of nutes. The rest should be good ya? I'll let the Ballast get to room temp before I fire the whole thing up.
 
Alright :woohoo: I think you are nearly set :) I don't know if I said it but you will like the pineapple Chunk. I have that one and it is a really good smoke. Very easy to grow and clone. She gets leggy though and will turn into a tree on you if you aint carefull. I do lots-O-training and don't let them get too tall before flipping the lights as they will easily double in size while in flower. I think it would be a good plant for scrog but has to be done under some heavy fence material to hold her down. :eek:
 
Yeah, thanks so much for that Hushpuppy!! :)

I will be getting chicken wire I think OR even hay bailing twine for my scrog. I watched a lot of super cropping vids, and FIM / topping vids...and a few on Scrog. I'm going to attempt all this my first grow.. wish me luck!!! hahaha :D

Also, can anyone chime in about the Xnutrients? And how about cleaning a tent? The tent I bought was his showroom one and quite dirty. I believe just normal dish soap and water, then flush then hang to dry?
 
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