First indoor setup - Tight Budget...

[AfrikaansePotkop]

Hi everyone, 

I am currently looking to purchase an indoor setup for myself. Nothing fancy or big. Just enough to be a new hobby. I am always willing to invest in more stuff later, just dont have the money right now.

So basically my budget is Around R5k. I am willing to go over, but anything lower is always preferred.

I got a quote form MarijuanaSA and want a few opinions on it, or just a whole new quote for those that are willing to make one.

It seems to have all the important items in it. I can buy a few items that do the same at lower prices, like on takealot. I am looking at 0.8x0.8 or a 1x1 tents. What would be better? I want to grow around 2 to 3 plants at a time.

Then, I would really like a cheaper light to use but just cant seem to find a good option that is less than 1k...

 

So basically, I am asking for assistance in selecting all the basic items for my first ever indoor grow. Whatever saves me the most money and gives me enough items to get away for at least 2 harvests before investing more.

I already have soil and pots from my outdoor plants.

Any help will really be appreciated as I barely know what I am buying with indoor growing equipment.

 

I have a small list of just a few items that I am putting together to use as a purchasing guide. Here it is for a general idea of what im currently looking at:

 

[Martin7318]

Looks about right in terms of all you will need. More light is always better, but unfortunately it is the most expensive piece of the puzzle. In a 100x100cm tent I think a single 100w light with 3 plants may not give the best results but it will work. Avoid cheap lights like the blurple stuff and cheapies on Takealot.

Look at the 2nd hand market for lights, I see lots of people selling full setups for quite cheap, could find something better for the price I rate. I'm not sure about either of the nutes you have listed there, but I'm sure someone else can give you a thumbs up or down there.

What Medium/Soil do you plan to use? Good soil is a must.

[ChrisCPT]

1 hour ago, AfrikaansePotkop said:

Hi everyone, 

I am currently looking to purchase an indoor setup for myself. Nothing fancy or big. Just enough to be a new hobby. I am always willing to invest in more stuff later, just dont have the money right now.

So basically my budget is Around R5k. I am willing to go over, but anything lower is always preferred.

I got a quote form MarijuanaSA and want a few opinions on it, or just a whole new quote for those that are willing to make one.

It seems to have all the important items in it. I can buy a few items that do the same at lower prices, like on takealot. I am looking at 0.8x0.8 or a 1x1 tents. What would be better? I want to grow around 2 to 3 plants at a time.

Then, I would really like a cheaper light to use but just cant seem to find a good option that is less than 1k...

 

So basically, I am asking for assistance in selecting all the basic items for my first ever indoor grow. Whatever saves me the most money and gives me enough items to get away for at least 2 harvests before investing more.

I already have soil and pots from my outdoor plants.

Any help will really be appreciated as I barely know what I am buying with indoor growing equipment.

 

I have a small list of just a few items that I am putting together to use as a purchasing guide. Here it is for a general idea of what im currently looking at:

 

My 2c, maak daarmee wat jy wil

 

You are going to want to upgrade somewhere in the future.. 99% of people do. I would rather spend a little more now and have a setup that can be upgraded somewhat. 

For lighting, look at GrowOpz, he has decent affordable options. If those line items in your quote is ex VAT (too lazy to add them up) and I suspect they are then the price of that light is actually R2500.. for R3000 you could get two 75w lights from him, giving you more light and flexibility as well as the ability to save on electricity when plants are small. Plus, if one fails you atleast have something to tie you over till the warranty is sorted.

When it comes to extractor fans, that one will probably do but I prefer running a larger fan at slower speeds.. 150mm minimum.. much better on the noise level and puts you in position to easily upgrade or turn up extraction when needed (especially during late flower). I think theire is a website like fans.co.za or something that does not add the mark-up that grow shops do.

Lastly, 80 x 80 is super small. Something bigger would offer so much more flexibility. In an 80 x 80 one or two plants max.

 

I know that all of the above is going to push up costs.. but in the long run you will not regret it. A slightly larger investment now will save you money down the line.

And as Martin7381 said, see what you can find in the 2nd hand market.. people often sell tents and other gear for dirt cheap. If you are patient you will be rewarded. Just be careful of buying lights in the 2nd hand market. You have no idea how hard they were driven and generally will not enjoy a warranty.

 

 

[SkunkPharm]

https://growopz.com/products/prototype-sale-85w-bridgelux-vero29-2700k-90-cri-fixture
 

if you by 2 of these you would be sorted. Timers you can buy at brights for under R200. Fans at hydro biz. Extractor fan at AC/DC 2nd hand tent. Buy organic living soil and just feed explode grow. And a bit of bio bloom and you will be sorted for your first grow.

[AfrikaansePotkop]

1 hour ago, Martin7318 said:

Looks about right in terms of all you will need. More light is always better, but unfortunately it is the most expensive piece of the puzzle. In a 100x100cm tent I think a single 100w light with 3 plants may not give the best results but it will work. Avoid cheap lights like the blurple stuff and cheapies on Takealot.

Look at the 2nd hand market for lights, I see lots of people selling full setups for quite cheap, could find something better for the price I rate. I'm not sure about either of the nutes you have listed there, but I'm sure someone else can give you a thumbs up or down there.

What Medium/Soil do you plan to use? Good soil is a must.

Yeah the light is really taking up a lot of my budget... I'll stay away from takealot then and see if I can invest a bit more in the light to ensure it works good for 2- 3 plants.

The 2nd hand market really is great, and yeah, as you said, it'll save me money. I have seen quite a few nice listings, will see if I can share a few on the forum to discuss with people.

The nutes I'll have to learn a bit more about yeah...

 

Well currently I am just using organic potting soil, but when I get the indoor setup, I am more than willing to invest in better mediums and see what works best for me. As this will be my first ever indoor, I'm willing to experiment and learn with different mediums.

Thank you for you reply!

[AfrikaansePotkop]

51 minutes ago, ChrisCPT said:

My 2c, maak daarmee wat jy wil

 

You are going to want to upgrade somewhere in the future.. 99% of people do. I would rather spend a little more now and have a setup that can be upgraded somewhat. 

For lighting, look at GrowOpz, he has decent affordable options. If those line items in your quote is ex VAT (too lazy to add them up) and I suspect they are then the price of that light is actually R2500.. for R3000 you could get two 75w lights from him, giving you more light and flexibility as well as the ability to save on electricity when plants are small. Plus, if one fails you atleast have something to tie you over till the warranty is sorted.

When it comes to extractor fans, that one will probably do but I prefer running a larger fan at slower speeds.. 150mm minimum.. much better on the noise level and puts you in position to easily upgrade or turn up extraction when needed (especially during late flower). I think theire is a website like fans.co.za or something that does not add the mark-up that grow shops do.

Lastly, 80 x 80 is super small. Something bigger would offer so much more flexibility. In an 80 x 80 one or two plants max.

 

I know that all of the above is going to push up costs.. but in the long run you will not regret it. A slightly larger investment now will save you money down the line.

And as Martin7381 said, see what you can find in the 2nd hand market.. people often sell tents and other gear for dirt cheap. If you are patient you will be rewarded. Just be careful of buying lights in the 2nd hand market. You have no idea how hard they were driven and generally will not enjoy a warranty.

 

 

I would really love to be able to spend more but money is too tight to get a bigger budget. I'm considering rather to buy bits and pieces over time...

You really have a good suggestion with the entire light situation, I'll definitely take a look at rather buying 2 lights from them. Thanks for that.

I'll look at bigger fans as you suggested. And definitely will look for a website that doesnt add the markup. You really have good points about the noise levels and it will be great to have more control over the airflow.

I'll take a look if I can get a 1x1 or preferrably then a 1.2x1.2 tent then. The used market has a lot of options for tents at least.

And yeah, you're right about rather investing more now... 

The lights I'll try to get new rather than used.

 

Thanks for the reply!

[AfrikaansePotkop]

21 minutes ago, SkunkPharm said:

https://growopz.com/products/prototype-sale-85w-bridgelux-vero29-2700k-90-cri-fixture
 

if you by 2 of these you would be sorted. Timers you can buy at brights for under R200. Fans at hydro biz. Extractor fan at AC/DC 2nd hand tent. Buy organic living soil and just feed explode grow. And a bit of bio bloom and you will be sorted for your first grow.

Thanks for the reply, ill go througb all those suggested stores and see what I can get for myself. Thanks!

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

@AfrikaansePotkop

when it comes to lights there are actually more options to choose from than with tents. 

although the measurement and advertisement of Watts is not the best indication of "grow light performance" especially when talking about LEDs, you can kinda use it to guide you.

whatever tent you get, just remember for every square foot (30.5cm) you want about 30watts of light. if you going with a 1mx1m tent you get roughly 3ftx3ft. 

X = 30Watts/square foot × (3ftx3ft)

= 30W/SQF x 9ft

= 270Watts - you'll need atleast this much for your 1mx1m tent. you could go up to 300Watts. 

the reason why I am saying this: 

https://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Rather than buying two shitty lights of around 100w, which would still be insufficient, rather buy something legit that you won't have to upgrade after your first grow and struggle to sell because it's of little to no value, saving you the headache, the school fees and a whole bunch of your time.  

[AfrikaansePotkop]

2 hours ago, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

@AfrikaansePotkop

when it comes to lights there are actually more options to choose from than with tents. 

although the measurement and advertisement of Watts is not the best indication of "grow light performance" especially when talking about LEDs, you can kinda use it to guide you.

whatever tent you get, just remember for every square foot (30.5cm) you want about 30watts of light. if you going with a 1mx1m tent you get roughly 3ftx3ft. 

X = 30Watts/square foot × (3ftx3ft)

= 30W/SQF x 9ft

= 270Watts - you'll need atleast this much for your 1mx1m tent. you could go up to 300Watts. 

the reason why I am saying this: 

https://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Rather than buying two shitty lights of around 100w, which would still be insufficient, rather buy something legit that you won't have to upgrade after your first grow and struggle to sell because it's of little to no value, saving you the headache, the school fees and a whole bunch of your time.  

Making my own light like in the link you suggested could really save me a lot of money. I'll definitely look into making my own light instead of buying. Thanks for the advice!

[SkunkPharm]

You can also import. @ORGANinc. just bought himself a sweet light from china. 

[ORGANinc.]

Indeed I’ll post some pics once it’s up. @AfrikaansePotkop there are many threads with great instruction for ordering from alibaba just a search away

[Pants]

I’ll second growopz. Great service and the best priced budget lights.

Did this under a QB75 last year, with a little help from 4 x 12W daylight mica globes.



Got a 120W for R2500 from him the other day to complete the veg/auto section above this



My space is effectively 2x4 tent size. The 120 length wise fits perfectly

[CoolJ]

Modugow has a 120w for R1950

Currently have 2x 120w and 2 x 90w from them.