I’m trying to start doing my first grow ever and need some guidance in this journey.
I was looking into getting a 3x3x6 but I’m starting to lean more towards the 4x4x6. I’m trying to be able to grow 3-5 plants depending on what you guys suggest. I was looking into getting this tent VIVOSUN 36"x36"x72".
I was also looking into getting the following lights VIPARSPECTRA UL Certified 450W LED Grow Light, with Daisy Chain,Veg and Bloom Switches, Full Spectrum Plant Growing Lights for Indoor Plants Veg and Flower. The reason why I would like this is because of the price just not knowledgeable enough to say if this will be enough light for 3-5 plants. Please advice on other lights around that price or if I need to go with 600W instead.
Carbon filtration kit that i found with somewhat reasonable price is VIVOSON 6inch 440 CFM inline fan. Please advice if any other one at a better price.
First off, Welcome to ILGM! You will have a limited number of posts until you have read and spent time here at which point the ‘trust level’ goes up.
Here’s what I would recommend to start: determine your budget, figure out how much space you have, lastly decide on how much cannabis you would like to have in jars. In addition, what are you looking to get out of your cannabis? Medically? Sleep aid? Like to get high?
Once you have that going on it will inform the decision making process. In the meantime here are a few things to think about:
That light is nowhere near enough. The rule of thumb is 50 watts from the wall per square foot of grow space. That light draws 200 watts so a 4 X 4 would need 4 of them. Before purchasing anything, look at Horticulture Lighting Group for their Quantum Boards. You could start with something like a QB288 in 3,000K—now THOSE lights only need 25 to 30 watts per square foot so you can see the difference. Ya can’t cheap out on lights, unfortunately.
You are going to need a bunch of other stuff and lights are just the first (and most important) component. You need good PH and TDS meters, fans, controllers, fabric pots, decent soil or media (do NOT buy Miracle Gro), any nutrients you want etc.
I am one of the rare growers who thinks autos are harder to work with. I would suggest you start out with photoperiod WW if you are going with that strain.
Boy @Myfriendis410 nailed it. You will find that many on this forum like the HLG offerings for lights and with good reason. The HLG lights are as good if not better than most and your results will be much better because of them.
As they said a budget will really help us with our recommendations
Welcome and I was a grower with the Viparspectra PAR600 lights. I had one initially from May 2018 till Oct 2019. I added a second one in October and said screw it and purchased my HLG 260xl rspec kits.
And I can tell you from personal experience you won’t be growing 5 to 6 plants under that light at all. It won’t be good for 1 to be honest. Now the exception would be 1 plant that is done as a Scrog screen. Otherwise you will be wasting seeds as the dominate plant will hog all the light. I’ve been through it with my very first grow. My White Widow killed off 6 of the 8 plants. The other one that did make it didn’t even produce 8 grams dry and cured.
As for tent…I went with the 4x4x80” and you can grow 4 plants but with my HLG lights you get this mess. Unless you hard core train them and I prefer monster plants.
The far right corner the plant is so big she has forced the one plant to grow up the side of the tent. The other 2 she has pushed them partially out of the tent.
It’s a dense jungle that I will be trying to eliminate some of the problems that occurred while I was gone for 2 1/2 weeks.
@Myfriendis410 I second that on the White Widow Photoperiod. She is pretty good at taking some serious stress and still bounce back. A pretty hearty strain in my humble opinion. Like you, I can’t stand Autos as you have no real control like a Photo offers.
And you know I don’t do pH testing and you can also say my grows do produce and do get out of hand. I did get a TDS meter but blah. Mother Nature doesn’t do any of that at all.
My motto is keep it simple. Be in tune with your plants and also remember you can always get help. I’m on a lot so don’t be afraid to tag me aka use it exactly how it shows.
I always thought that beginners should start with autos but i take your word.
I have tons of space for a grow tent and would like get 4-5 oz each plant. If i get a 3x3x6 would a 1000W would do it? and yes will start looking into that
@Bunnymalo h no, no, no. Photos you can control the growth. My GSC Beast Vegged for 3 months and when I replaced my lights with the 260xl rspec, they took off.
Autos do what they want, when they want. You can run a Auto and Photo with a 18/6 schedule. The Auto will flower when it s ready with no intervention. Now a Photo you can Veg as long as you want aka keep it from a 12/12 light schedule. Because when you do flip to 12/12, you are forcing it to finally start flowering. The Auto does it on its own terms.
And White Widow is a great strain to first grow. I’ve seen many say that was also their first strain. It’s a awesome strain for a beginner.
What kind of cash can you put on a light? Because all those watts listed from lights being sold on Amazon is completely misleading most of the time.
I’ve ran 1 Viparspectra PAR600 which pulled around 275 watts from the wall. It’s not a bad light for 1 plant. If a plant isn’t controlled, you are screwing yourself. Because it’s not enough light for 2 plants.
Take a good look this photo and you can see how dark it was on one side aka over half the plant.
The importers on Amazon are intentionally misleading with their light titles. Those “1000w” lamps do not draw 1000 watts or put out the equivalent of a 1000w HPS.
Their excuse is the LEDs they use technically could handle 10 watts each, and they put 100 on the board. Then they drive them at 1 watt each with a cheap inverter. You always want to know what model LEDs they’re using, and what the lamp pulls from the wall.
I think most beginners try to fit too many plants in their tents. 2’x2’ is kinda the minimum I want for a mature plant in most situations.
Hello and Welcome!!! I wouldn’t go with the Vivosun exhaust. I bought that same one and the fan started making a horrible noise only a month in. Heard a lot of people having problems with them as well. Good luck on your grow Hope this helped
I wished I would have joined a forum right off the bat as it would have saved me $450 on lights that just isn’t enough. Like suggested…learn your budget first and foremost. Secondly…before purchasing, get advice before pulling the trigger. There are plenty of knowledgeable growers here that have seen it all.
Don’t ever speak to me like that again!! @KeystoneCops For the record I may or may not have 18 in a 2x2…
@Bunnymalo everyone has offered fantastic advice so far, but welcome to the forum of ILGM. We always have a light hearted attitude with humor, and you’ll catch on. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and tag any of us with the @ symbol.
What about Horticulture Lighting Group HLG 260W QB V2 LED Kit? would I be able to use this one on a 3x3? if so, Can I do three plants? and when you say “photoperiod WW” is this the same as fem?
@Bunnymalo Honestly it would be better to select the 260xl rspec. It’s the newest light of theirs. It also allows more spacing. The heat sink is able to hold 3 QB288’s. But to have three, you would need a different Meanwell driver if I understand it correctly.
I think you would be ok with just one long as you don’t let the plants grow wild like I do.
Look at my Toilet Bowl Seed journal and go to the last post. You can see what 2 of these kits can do. Plus you can see how they cover a 4x4.
For the 260xl which is designed for a 4x4 which you need two kits…
If you can space and the budget you should consider going 4x4x7 or8. It will allow you to have a little more space in tent to work and maybe space to grow a little more. But like @Myfriendis410 said nail down your budget and work from there. Definitely put lights on top of list.
For the record I may or may not have 18 in a 2x2…
