growroom questions

[tap]

moo,

just signed up for these boards, been reading em a lot recently, some good info

so, been planning my first growroom, it'll be in the loft and what im thinking is building a 1m d x 1m w x 2-3m h mdf box, 400w hps ip20 lowbay from fastlight and a couple of cheap extractor fans from b&q (pulling air in and out of the growbox into the loft, would i need to cool the light too?) then having 16 plants in 20cm square pots (are they big enough?), my overall goal is to be completely self sufficient so i dont have to piss about with expensive dealers to get quality green, but i dont know how accurate my yield/etc calculations are..

so i thought it'd be best to ask the knowledgeable people here

firstly, would i be able to fit 16 plants in a 1mx1m footprint and would 1x 400w hps be sufficient for them? (400w hps = ~1m sq usable light output?)

and secondly, would 16 plants in 20cm pots on a 2month/2month veg/flower cycle produce enough for me to smoke ~1oz/week? (~16oz each harvest every 4months)

its all ideas atm, so if anyones got any advice on that plan then it'd be welcomed

also, electrics, currently theres no electrics in the loft at all, and i plan to have a couple sockets and a light up there along with the grow room stuff, dont know much at all about electrics so how would i go about connecting it all up so it works and doesnt kill me and set the house on fire? and fuses/volts/amps/etc required to run it all, contactor-relay and gfci things? basicly i havent got a clue, but dont want to attempt something without knowing about it first, so again, any advice welcome

lastly seeds, im currently growing about 15 (unsexed) plants that i started in a sunny window in july as a bit of an experiment, quite amazed at how well theyve grown (put em in a cupboard the other day to start em off flowering on 12/12 light, how long til i can sex them?), but i just used bagged weed seeds and ive got a load of seeds ive collected, is it viable to use them to keep costs down, or would i be compromising a lot of yield/quality by not using a decent strain? if i got some decent seeds, could i get away with less plants?

ta, just cant wait to get started

[TrichomeUK]

High there

As an experienced grower, here's some advice:

Seeds: forget bagseed; get some Northern Lights #2/Oasis by Dutch Passion from www.seedsdirect.to

MDF is not good, because it absorbs moisture: use a wooden frame, and wrap it like a tent with 2 layers of thick black and white plastic (available at all growshops).

Use square pots to maximise your space, and therefore don't waste space. There's a link around here to a good square pot supplier.

Alternatively, you could modify your plans and build your room around a hydro system, examples of which can be seen at www.growell.co.uk

The extractors you propose are not sufficient: 4" in-line centrifugal fans would be much better, and you could attach a carbon filter to eliminate the smell (if you did that, it would be better to get 5" exhaust fan with carbon filter, and 4" intake, as the carbon filter will reduce output and the larger fan with compensate).

As well as a flowering tent, build a small tent or box, or buy a wardrobe, for mothers and clones.

Don't veg. for 2 months - they'll be huge!

Grow the (good) seeds (Oasis) to 18-20" in veg. (20 hr light on, 4 off), but take 2-3 clones from each seed plant and label the clones carefully.

You wouldn't be able to grow a full pack to find a mother under only 400W, so I suggest 5 female seeds of Oasis per mother-hunt, which you would have 2 of.

You're sure to get a few good keepers from a pack of Oasis

Regarding yield, once you get going with the clones, expect a gram per watt, when you know what you're doing, so that would be around 400grams = 14 oz. and that could be every 2 months, with a seperate veg. room.

On your first grow, with 5 seed plants, which by the way I recommend you top, to prevent getting too tall, your yield is likely to be around 10 ounces with Oasis (expect less with other strains), provided you learn well and take good care of them.

All the best and have a good one

[MrBenn]

get some Northern Lights #2/Oasis by Dutch Passion

Or other strain you might fancy - Northern Lights based strains are often recommended to first time growers though 'cos they're pretty forgiving of mistakes.

[tap]

thanks for the advice, but a couple of things

about mdf, i was planning on using it due to it being more robust than a tent structure, and also it'd look more like a regular cupboard than a curious tent thing.. if i painted/sealed it up or used white faced hardboard or something to make it waterproof? would there be any other issues than moisture, like retaining too much heat unlike a tent?

extractor fans, ive seen the lti fans on growell but they look a bit expensive, are they what you meant or is there a cheaper alternative that'll do the job?

and finally, seperate clone/mother box, would i need another hps for this?

thanks

[TrichomeUK]

"Or other strain you might fancy - Northern Lights based strains are often recommended to first time growers though 'cos they're pretty forgiving of mistakes."

Thanks for the confusion Mr Benn,

I recommended Oasis, because as an experienced grower, with many strains at my disposal, Oasis is still kicking it with the best: the high is great, the yield is high, it's easy to grow & clone, and the hashish is sublime, so why mess about when you can be assured that Oasis will definately 'do the job' - all round.

Think about it: a newcomer could be put off cannabis growing, thinking it's too hard, or the results aren't good enough, if growing a finicky or inferior strain.

All the best

[chip]

Hi all

Just thought i'd post this to back up what Mr benn and trichome are saying:

Northern lights #2/oasis

click the link to see what plant they are both talking about. I've smoked some and it is a beaut.

Tap, you can get away with using some cheaper extraction fans to start with, couple of bathroom fans or whatever. They arent ideal, but they are affordable. Plus, as you get more experienced and you can afford to invest a bit in your growroom because you havent had to buy any weed, you will be able to see the difference good extraction makes.

A 400w in that space will be fine. 16 plants should be ok as well, from the grows ive seen of it, the oasis/NL#2 grows a good main cola, so you can flower them all quite small, chuck out the males, say your left with 8 females, i reckon you'll get a nice field of bud truncheons in your space.

Dont forget to make sure thst no light can get into your growroom during the dark period. If any can get out when the light is on, it can get in when its off. Plenty of tape, black/white plastic and patience should sort that one out.

The tent is a good idea, check out highlanders thread for an excellent example. I'll post a link in a minute. If someone was to go into your loft space, unless youve doen a real good stealth job, the cuboard will stick out anyway. I reckon its best if you could just take it down easily, fold it away, and hide the plants elsewhere. Highlanders tent does this easily. Ive had to dismantle grow rooms before because of inspections and plumbing work etc, and i am sure its saved my bacon several times.

Anyway, thats enough waffle

best of luck, your first grow is an excellent time to learn, enjoy it, and dont be afraid to ask qyuestions on here. Plenty of people willing to help. We've all made mistakes, so there is bound to be someone around who knows pretty much exactly what you are experiecing.

Chip

[chip]

link to highlanders tent

highlanders tent

Chip