Newby from Zululand

[Cyclone]

Goodday all

I want to start getting tent lighting the whole works ...maybe guys can give me advice or maybe a complete growtent lights preferably led...any help would be appreciated

 

[1000Hills Nursery]

@Cyclone 

Welcome

Many guys here successfully flower in tents with LEDs and will definitely be able to assist you.

 If you can dedicate a room to growing then with that budget you could build a small veg and flower garden all in one in one room.

 

[Bos]

Welcome to the forum,
Plenty of info here and many knowlegable indoor growers that can assist.
We from the same area but I grow outdoors.
Enjoy.



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[Cyclone]

Shot chaps as it looks to me the most important thing is the lighting..and I would like to go led..the tend I wanna start of size wise is the 2.4 ×1.2 ×2...what lights would be working the best in that setup

[Roasty]

Sup Man,

That is quite a large area you plan on lighting, not gonna be cheap if you want full light coverage, I think you should be looking in the region of 400 real watts and up, locally the cheapest are from grow opz, check their range, if you gonna cheap Chinese type LED box with average components you gonna need like 3 or 4 of those "1000 watt " ebay lights to get some better results.

I went the china grow box Diy route, Built in a 75cm x75cmx150cm thick wood, with extraction fan and air intake and diamond Mylar( +/_ 3.5K) set up in my garage , can comfortably grow 3 medium sized autos in there, they busy preflowering at the moment, enjoying the spectacle :)

[PsyCLown]

So in terms of LED lights, the exchange rate is shit at the moment so importing lights yourself is probably not worth it and suppliers are likely to increase their prices now or will be forced to with their next shipment so best advice I can give you is to get lights now while people still have some local stock available.

 

I would recommend the chinese Quantum Boards, I think @Ill_Evan may be able to help you out once the lockdown is over. You will need a few to cover that space though. It won't be cheap and you need to realize that the largest the space you want to grow in, the more equipment you need and the higher the initial costs will be - you can always start with lights to cover half the tent and then later on purchase more lights to make use of the full tent.

Alternatively purchase two tents, have one for veg and one for flower - initially start with just one and while that grow is going it gives you time to save up for more equipment and a 2nd tent.

 

You need to decide what medium you want to grow in as well - soil, coco or hydro (water).

Soil the costs will be high on a recurring basis if you are purchasing good quality soil. Coco and hydro will be cheaper to maintain as hydro is just water from your tap as the medium (Or RO if you really want to) and coco you can purchase 5KG bricks pretty cheaply as well as the CalMag required to buffer it and Perlite in larger quantities is not expensive either. When I worked it out the difference for me was like R1600 vs R300 (soil vs coco).

 

You will need a good quality PH pen, do not skimp on a PH pen. I can recommend the HM Digital PH pens, I love mine! Get the storage fluid and obviously some of the correct calibration fluid.

An EC / PPM pen is a good idea as well, I would suggest getting a pen which gives you the EC and not just PPM. You can go for a cheaper pen as these typically seem to be a lot more accurate and do not require calibration as often as the PH pens do. Also the accuracy is not as vital as a PH pen. I do not feel there is a need to spend a lot of money on a EC pen for growing cannabis.

You will want to get a bottle of PH up and PH down as well, good to have both on hand. In terms of nutrients, once again there is lots of choice. A lot of them are very similar but pricing can differ drastically.

GHE Flora series and Hortimix are both good to start with, Hortimix being far cheap. Biobizz is also decent but not cheap and more aimed at people wanting to do an "organic" soil grow.

 

Extraction fans, I quite like AC Infinity, they are a bit pricier but IMO well worth the extra money spend for the additional functionality, the excellent quality and warranty as well as the quietness and the fact that there are 10 speed levels available to you.

You will want to consider a carbon filter which will help prevent the smell from the plants seeping into the room / area you grow in. If you do not care about the smell then it is not needed. Futurama have decent carbon filters at a reasonable price. I personally prefer these over the Quantum filters sold at many other places.

 

If you are filling that tent up with plants, you may want to consider an automatic watering system if you decide to not go the hydro route as watering the plants by hand gets tiring very quickly!

 

Once you have your grow going, you will want to look at training your plants and the various training methods available.

LST is a good method and works well, everyone has their own personal preference as to how to train a plant with LST. Making use of twist ties and clamps works well if you are using fabric pots.

Another good option is to look at mainlining your plants or if you find yourself in a situation where your plants are too big then LST and/or topping work well too.

 

I would also advise against using auto flower plants while you are starting out. WIthout the proper knowledge and therefore the proper care, your results with auto flowers will most likely be disappointing as they do not allow any room for error to achieve a decent yield from an autoflower. Also to make your life easier, get some feminized seeds to start with, no need to worry about identifying what is a male and female or having males take up unnecessary space in your tent.

 

I am sure you have many more questions, or will have as your journey continues. Feel free to ask!

[SkunkPharm]

Ok if it was me.
Set up iso board insulated grow area.
In a 2.4 x 1.2 grow area you will need at least 400-500w per 1.2x1.2m area.
At least a 6" or bigger extraction fan
At least 4 fans. 2 under the canopy and 2 above the canopy.
8x20l grow bags.
160l of grow medium.
If you are going to grow with salt based fertilizer you will need a pH and EC pen
If you grow in organic soil you will have to invest in a good soil inoculant if you do not already have super awesome compost.
My 2c's.
Enjoy growing. Best investment I have made.


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[Cyclone]

Shot for the advice  all now I can start working on a plan of action...

 

[Cyclone]

Shot bru, must honestly say there is plenty of info on the group and blokes aint shy to help with advise

[Bakstein420]

@Cyclone if you're a hands on kinda person, check out the DIY section. Some really good ideas there that can save you a buck too.

[420sake]

Greets @Cyclone  - the natal boys are cooking it up.

Doing some trialz on an organic grow in the nursery with LEDs and an Atom battery on a solar panel with very good results, collaboration style.

Will be keeping an eye on your results there.

[Cyclone]

Shot 420sake wanna start off but this lock down frustrates the living daylights out of me but once its lifted my journey will start