Aethyr Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Hey there, congrats to everyone on a great site. I never realised there was so much information available on the subject, but I think I'm about ready to get growing. Got an old wardrobe which I'm planning to use as a grow area. Current plans are using shelf on the top for early veg using 3 compact floros, and a 400W HPS in the main area for main growth and flowering. Also thinking of starting with Northern Lights, main grow area is only 127cm tall, so I'm guessing my maximum plant height will be rather limited. Is NL going to be viable or is there another strain I should try first. Keep up the good work everyone. Cheers, Aethyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strider Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Northern Lights are a great choice for a first grow. Grows short, low in odour, fairly resistant to spidermites and strong enough to put you on your back. You're going to have serious overheating problems in a wardrobe with 400w unless you spend real money on fans. Any chance of using the whole room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Hi & Welcome Good luck with your grow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aethyr Posted June 29, 2003 Author Share Posted June 29, 2003 Thanks for the tip Strider, do you think I'd be better off just going for a 250W HPS? For ventilation, I was just going to use a couple of 80mm PC fans, ambient temps in the room are about 20° in summer and 16° in winter. Does the HPS really generate that much heat? Don't want to get too ambitious at this early stage, and would prefer to keep it small for the sake of the local constabulary anyway. The grow is for purely personal use so 2-3 plants is all I intend to grow. Aethyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 400 hps wardrobe grows peeps tend to use 4 inc rvk . I agree with strider you will get heat probs so maybe start small then when you get more experiance upgrade if need be. Myself im a 250w man cause of my space and i even had heat problems at the begginning. Next to your light i would say the next most important bit of hardware would be a good extractor a bit expensive but well worth it in the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strider Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Does the HPS really generate that much heat? To me, it seems almost the same as the equivalent wattage in electric fires. RVK fans are the dogs whatnots, quiet too. Any light intensive area needs more spent on fans than lights. Dunno what to say about the 250w. Not really enough for personal unless you're a light-weight and only a fiver cheaper than the 400w. If money is tight, it will cost you less to get some start up ounces. (But more long term.) Will still need some ventilation though, an output fan is still needed. Then add an input fan, then a 2nd 250w. If your first fan is good enough to handle the 400w, might as well get the 400w. Tricky. 2 separate scrog grows might be nice, was planning something like that in a wardrobe for my eldest, but he went off the weed. (He's just rebelling.) Would justify the 2 x 250w and the 2x fans, gives a harvest every 6 weeks and only 2 plants if busted. Is it an MFI type wardrobe, or an Anne Twacky wardrobe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aethyr Posted June 29, 2003 Author Share Posted June 29, 2003 I cant afford RVKs at the mo, most of my spare cash is going on the light. Got access to plenty of PC fans tho, so I'll probably see how I get on with these until i can afford bigger outlaw. I`ll be able to keep the doors open for the first few weeks anyway, won't I? Then by the time I get to 12/12, I could maybe afford extra ventilation. 80mm PC fans tend to do about 30cfm, and since the wardrobe is only about 17 square foot, I thought I'd get away with it. Dunno what "Anne Twacky" is, soz. Wardrobe is prolly MFI, nasty chip board thing, with a hardboard back. Aethyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 (edited) What you trying to say m8 250w. Not really enough for personal unless you're a light-weight Edited June 29, 2003 by saldo1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemlok Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 nowt wrong with a 250w to get to grips with, trust me my 400w hps knocks out a huge amount of heat you will need as much extraction as you can get ! with a 250 you will still be able to do 3/4 plants or just 2 great big ones, are you growing just for yourself or is someone sharing ? pots and soil ? this is just my humble opinion and all the hydro fans will probably disagree but i think soil is much more forgiving and you dont have reservoir of xxltrs of water to change every week i know the 400w are only £5 dearer, but if you cant get rid of the heat you wont be able to grow !! lots of folk start with 250w and stick to them, but if you want the 400w you will absolutely have to get some serious extraction kit. whatever you decide we will always try our best to help. take care hemlok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strider Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 (edited) Didn't mean to knock the 250's, they have their place, but don't think I could go harvest to harvest with one. Some lateral thinking can help with the heat problems. I've got a 400w hung vertically now. This lash up is just to see how they grow around it. Admitedly the cellar is cold to start with, but the highest temp so far is 73'F. Not bad for summer. http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?act=...T&f=47&t=13479& (How do you get the link to be "click here"?) Got a pic for alternative ventilation, but no thingy for the attached file. Any one know why? I put the pic here. http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?act=...ST&f=49&t=13686 (Anne Twacky means old fashioned. Some big wardrobes in the junk shops.) Edited June 29, 2003 by strider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Ok strider mate I get a bit touchy when peeps slag the 250 off i will admit a 400w would give better yeilds and maybe when ive got a few grows under my belt i might upgrade but it works for me at the mo i might go short between harvests but im fine with that . Im just going from my own experiance when first got my light even though it was small the heat still gave me probs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strider Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 saldo1, We all have our spots. I get touchy when people insist you need a TDS meter. Errr ... where did my weed come from then? IMO, a 250 in a small space (with OK temps) will produce more than a 400 in the same space frying the plants. If there is ANY chance of using a bigger space, I'd go for that, but that isn't possible for all. I got the 400 to start with, saw the temp damage in the cupboard and promptly cut the ceiling out. (Unvented loft as well, surprised it worked.) Aethyr, heat rises, so a vent/light trap (big as you can make it) at the top of the wardrobe will help a lot. For veg, you could just remove the top. How big is the room? Any chance of partitioning off a chunk of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_larg_fat_one Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Ya know, whats this with the lights thing??? In the wild these plants dont have anything other than the lights provided by nature.... I am running an experemental grow using 100% organic with no special lights and IM impressed with the result, average height is 4ft all healthy and no special heating or cooling or air circulation either. The growing medium IM using may not be universally acceptable but its a Perlite / Vermiculite and general purpose compost thats not too PH intensive, most of the plants love it. So IM just wondering why people go out and spend £100's on equipment when I have sofar proved that I dont need it??? As using Lights will make a noticable difference in your electric consumption, and not alot of people know that ALL electric companies are REQUIRED BY LAW to report all anomillies in your lekkie bills..... How do you think Growers get caught? (I am assuming that you are paying for your lekkie and not stealing it!)... If you loose the TV & Video or switch to a Gas cooker then you can mask that consumption quite easily or your alternative is to increase you power consumption over a year to avoid being picked up in the power supplier logs. So IM curious as to why people are pushed or go out and buy expensive lights when you can use lo-tec equivalents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sittingrelaxing Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 hi alfo, So IM curious as to why people are pushed or go out and buy expensive lights when you can use lo-tec equivalents... i haven't got a garden,but i've got a wardrobe............. How do you think Growers get caught? most police raids are from grass's.......... they could only raid you if they had proof or suspicion...... (but not suspicion alone imo) if someone said they knew i was growing,and that it's in there now....... they would get a warrant easy... but if all they had, was,that i use alot of electric........ i could have a sunbed,tumble dryer, electric heater,massaging chair,electric blanket.. and if high bills aroused suspicion my nan, sister and most people i know, have bills that fluctuate up and down.... and how much it cost's to raid,they need to now it's there,not just a suspicious sr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VRG Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Hi alfo, a plant can be grown with minimal lighting, but I don't think you'll get any buds! IMHO "You get out, what you put in" In the wild these plants dont have anything other than the lights provided by nature.... When you say "lights" i pressume you are refering to our sun. B) The same sun that if it were to just f*ck off and leave ALL life on this planet would end!!?? It is impossible to create the sun indoors, HID lights are the closest we can get. and these have NO WHERE NEAR as much light output as our sun. So.... In the wild these plants dont have anything other than the lights provided by nature.... By using HID lights you are trying to get as close to a natural environment as possible. But no where near perfect. So I wish you every bit of luck (you will need it) in your quest for bud indoors using no artificial lighting! Again, Good Luck! VRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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