Buying my first setup

[MIles]

Hi everyone

I am currently looking at buying an indoor setup with a budget of around R10 000. I have browsed most ,if not all, of the websites that sell the necessary parts in South Africa and haven't really gotten anywhere.I am looking to grow for myself ,so 1 or 2 plants at a time. 

Kits i am currently looking at:

https://www.futurama.co.za/grow-tent-combo-80-x-80-cm-360w-apollo-led/

https://hydroherbafrica.co.za/product/gf-ts-900-tent-combo/

for the most part,these kits are very similar with regards to what they include,with the main difference being the light. Unfortunately, i'm not very clued up on the technical side of things,which makes it difficult to compare the kits. Does anyone have any experience with either light/setup?

I am also open to buying parts individually,as long as i can stay under budget.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Roasty]

Hi Bud,

With that budget you can get much better lights than those, I got the TS 900 lights it is not the best but can def work, it puts out roughly 200 true watts or so, I would rather go for Quantum Board 150 -200  watts will work better, check Growopz for lights , other light type is COB LED also quite a few floating around locally, a lot of the parts could be DIY if you keen, and you will have plenty change left for some nice seeds.

Regards

[Roasty]

you can check out the DIY section, lots of successful builds

[SkunkPharm]

44 minutes ago, MIles said:

Hi everyone

I am currently looking at buying an indoor setup with a budget of around R10 000. I have browsed most ,if not all, of the websites that sell the necessary parts in South Africa and haven't really gotten anywhere.I am looking to grow for myself ,so 1 or 2 plants at a time. 

Kits i am currently looking at:

https://www.futurama.co.za/grow-tent-combo-80-x-80-cm-360w-apollo-led/

https://hydroherbafrica.co.za/product/gf-ts-900-tent-combo/

for the most part,these kits are very similar with regards to what they include,with the main difference being the light. Unfortunately, i'm not very clued up on the technical side of things,which makes it difficult to compare the kits. Does anyone have any experience with either light/setup?

I am also open to buying parts individually,as long as i can stay under budget.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Miles

What part of the country are you?

[MIles]

9 minutes ago, SkunkPharm said:

Hi Miles

What part of the country are you?

hey skunk

I live in Joburg

[MIles]

@Roasty  alright,thanks. I'll have a look.I did look at GrowOpz earlier but i wasn't really sure what i was looking at,haha. Guess i'll have to do some more research.

With regards to the TS900 ,what would you estimate the yield/Watt to be, from your personal experience?

 

[SkunkPharm]

You need to look around here in Cape Town there is alot of second hand equipment on line. Rather buy a new lights.

[MIles]

@SkunkPharm  Would you happen to have any light recommendations in mind,that would work well in a 80*80?

thanks

[Roasty]

1 hour ago, MIles said:

@Roasty  alright,thanks. I'll have a look.I did look at GrowOpz earlier but i wasn't really sure what i was looking at,haha. Guess i'll have to do some more research.

With regards to the TS900 ,what would you estimate the yield/Watt to be, from your personal experience?

 

I think effective coverage about 65x65 cm, I got 2 pineapple glue auto well into flower now, think end yield will be in the region of maybe 80ish grams, if I could I would buy the QB first time,will try and put some bud results so far, not very power efficient if you look at watt/g ratio but I'm happy with results so far, this is my first indoor grow as well, converted now, my buddies all run QBs and their results speaks for themselves, that's my next step

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Roasty

[Roasty]

[Roasty]

these 2 are nice options while they have stock;

https://growopz.com/products/120w-luminus-gen-4-cxm-32-cob-fixture

https://growopz.com/products/220w-dual-luminus-gen-4-cxm-32-cob-fixture

That 220w could prob fill a bigger tent  lol

[MIles]

@Roasty 

1 hour ago, Roasty said:

I think effective coverage about 65x65 cm, I got 2 pineapple glue auto well into flower now, think end yield will be in the region of maybe 80ish grams, if I could I would buy the QB first time,will try and put some bud results so far, not very power efficient if you look at watt/g ratio but I'm happy with results so far, this is my first indoor grow as well, converted now, my buddies all run QBs and their results speaks for themselves, that's my next step

 

Cool, thanks for the input. I'll definitely look into a QB or COB instead. Bud is looking good though

also,thanks for the links to the lights.Out of curiosity,would these come with everything needed to run them or would i still need to look at a power supply of some sort?

Do you think the 220W would be too much for an 80x80,or would i just need to increase the distance from the plant(s) ?

also, i found this but im not sure if its in stock.I have sent an email.Any thoughts?

https://legalgrow.co.za/product/ts1000-quantum-board/?v=edb5dc74af1c

 

thanks

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by MIles

[CreX]

Yo man!! You have a decent little budget. 

So let's start with how much space you have... Sounds like 1mx1m is about what you are looking at? 

Seems legit. 

How are you going to grow them? Hydro or coco or soil? You must get a decent growing meduim of your choice, and a few pots for the plants here's a list of the very important things you need for a successful grow. 

*light - there are tons of guys on the forum with extensive knowledge about the right lights... The lights in your links... Meh... I wouldn't go for them... Blurples are not the future they are the past. 

*good soil or whatever, hier quality the easier the grow

*decent nutrient feed, the higher the quality, the easier the grow

*timer for light cycling 

*area that can be completely dark during dark cycle... A tent is easiest and best for this. 

*circulation fans

*extractor/intake fan for fresh air

*pH meter and a ppm/EC meter... This is very important as a novice grower. 

I know it's not details... But these are the things you need... And I'm pretty sure you can get it all plus more with your budget

What do you think @PsyCLown 

[PsyCLown]

Yeah, I think @CreX pretty much nailed what you'd require.

 

In terms of lights, I love LED's and I personally run QB's. I have tried strips and they work well too but I have never purchased enough strips to cover my area as it was more experimenting but strips are a decent option too especially if you are willing to do a little DIY (can you drill holes? Can you mount stuff? etc.)

I am not a big fan of COB's as their coverage typically sucks, in a smaller tent you could maybe get away with it but still when someone mentions COB's I think of hot spots and then barely any useful light outside of that area.

I am actually going to be putting up some LED strips for sale soon, 3x LED strips around 60cm each, Samsung F Series strips (So LM561C diodes IIRC) and will include heatsinks, Meanwell LED driver and a potentiometer to allow one to dim the lights. Will be capable or around 150W You're welcome to drop me a PM if you are interested, lights can get pricey and they will only be costing more going forward once local stock has dried up and companies need to import new stock - exchange rate is going to fuck everything for us soon.

 

Tent wise, 80 x 80 to 1m x 1m sounds alright, check out what @Ill_Evan is doing with his 80 x 80 tent. He managed 2 plants quite nicely in his tent, even better in his previous grow where he used a scrog net.

 

I feel two of your biggest choices will be:

1. What lights are you going to get - very important as the plants use the light for photosynthesis and weaker lights will be felt.
2. What medium do you plan on growing with? Soil? Coco? Hydro?

Lights will most likely be your highest cost as well. Also don't forget a carbon filter if the smell may be a problem, a carbon filter will help clean the air being pushed out your tent. It can get smelly at times and can lead to unwanted attention depending on where you are growing and your living circumstances etc.

 

Do you have any plans to move over to a larger grow or not really?

Would you like links to every product we recommend or?

[iGrowDagga]

Just to debate on Psyclowns COB comment. 

I personally only use cobs, haven't tried quantum so can't say anything about it. 

But the spread on the cobs are fantastic they definitely do not "Suck" I feel that's more a personal opinion than a scientific one. 

There is only one chip I use tho. Which is Vero29 the 68v version. 

[Trailblazer420]

Just to debate on Psyclowns COB comment. 
I personally only use cobs, haven't tried quantum so can't say anything about it. 
But the spread on the cobs are fantastic they definitely do not "Suck" I feel that's more a personal opinion than a scientific one. 
There is only one chip I use tho. Which is Vero29 the 68v version. 

I personally use only COBs, the spread is not great, your actual output directly in line with the COB will be much higher than if you were to move your reader just a few cm. COB also has a big heat factor compared to QB, as well as much less energy efficient, depending on the output of your COBs anyway. GP weather is great to counteract this at the moment though and my 1.5x1.5 tent is running at an average of 22 deg. My COBs don't allow for indoor summer grow unless I fire up A/C

The upside with COBs are that, with a little electrical know how, you can put together a DIY light, reducing your initial cost, but also allowing for easy expansion.

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[1000Hills Nursery]

@Trailblazer420

Whats the average cost/availability of the cob's and driver to replace a 1000W hps disregarding heat sinks etc.

@PsyCLown

Any local suppliers of qb's and drivers for diy builds or imports only which seems impossible right now? 

[PsyCLown]

@Trailblazer420
Whats the average cost/availability of the cob's and driver to replace a 1000W hps disregarding heat sinks etc.
@PsyCLown
Any local suppliers of qb's and drivers for diy builds or imports only which seems impossible right now? 

I don't know anyone selling just the QB288's themselves.
Drivers can be purchased locally, most of my Meanwell drivers have been local purchases.

Not sure about bringing stuff in from China, I've had something sent from China to the US and I'm still waiting for it to arrive in the US.
Perhaps from China to SA would be different but I believe most couriers still say they're only shipping essential services at the moment but some don't seem to care what's being shipped.

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[Trailblazer420]

@Trailblazer420
Whats the average cost/availability of the cob's and driver to replace a 1000W hps disregarding heat sinks etc.
@PsyCLown
Any local suppliers of qb's and drivers for diy builds or imports only which seems impossible right now? 

The COBs I use do not use drivers, I am aware that probably also impact my power usage. My 100w ebay chips cost me around R80 - R120 each. Used alu to build the frame and added a few fans to keep it cool.

They were bought before lockdown, so importing is now an obvious challenge

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