Setting up your grow room!

[Keeno]

Setting up your grow room

There are many things to consider when setting up a grow area, I'll try to cover some in this post.

Research, research, research!

I've seen many growers asking questions about setting up, normally after they have purchased all their kit. They have run into issues and need help only to be told that they need to spend more money.

There is no such thing as a stupid question, we have all started somewhere, but a little research can save you a lot of time and money. There is plenty of info out there and plenty of help here should you need it. Do not commit to buying a set up before you know what you are after and how it all works!

What are you after?

Are you growing for medical reasons? Do you need a lot of bud? Do you want to grow a small plant as a hobby of sorts? All these questions and the answers to them will mean you will need different items for your grow area. We are all here so we don't have to buy shit street weed and pay ridiculous money for it. Bare this in mind when getting you kit together, its not cheap to set up properly but its a lot cheaper and safer than buying of the street.

What area are you working with?

This is important, if you are after a hobby grow with a couple of ounces at the end of it then you don't need to go large, if you are after a larger amount for medical reasons or your just a professional stoner your going to need a larger area. I've seen some of the best grower I know using tiny grow rooms and producing truly stunning plants. It's not all go big or go home here, but the extra room has other benefits.

Certain types of lighting require larger spaces, more head room. This can be due to the heat they put out or the intensity of the light itself. Also when looking at your area factor in the fact your pots/system will be a certain height, your fans, filters and lights will also take up room.

Kit

Now you know what you are after and the space you are working with its time to think about that all important kit. First and foremost, do not buy a cheap complete kit off Ebay or a similar site! They are often poorly put together using unbranded items they are not up to the job.

Tent/Groom.

Firstly you know your grow area, so you need something to grow in. You can't beat a custom built grow room but not everyone has the means to do this. This brings us to grow tents. There are so many grow tent manufacturers out there it's impossible for me to give a recommendation on specific brands, but as with most things you are getting what you pay for, bare this in mind. Grow tents are also great for other reasons, many of us growers may need to one day erase every sign of our grow, for whatever reasons it happens. A grow tent gives you a Sealed area which can be taken down leaving no sign it was ever there.

Lighting

Now you know you the space you are working with its time to look at lighting. There are so many different types of lighting available these days and all have advantages and disadvantages. LED, HPS, MH, CMH, the list goes on, I'll cover the differences in another topic. We will focus on the basics of each for now.

HID Lighting:
High intensity lighting covers a few different types of lighting. HPS and MH being the most commonly used. This is a tried and tested lighting that has grown countless plants over the years. The main issue with this types of lighting is the heat it produces. Dealing with that heat in smaller spaces may become an issue. This type of lighting comes in a variety of wattages, the most common being 250w, 400w, 600w and 1000w. You can buy dimmable versions, this is a very good idea as it allows you to adjust the output wattage allowing you to lower it if you are struggling with heat. There are also kits you can use with this type of lighting, cool hoods, cool-shades etc, these will also lower the heat put out by these lights making them easier to manage.

LED lighting:
Led lighting has come a long way in recent years. Many growers now claim that LED lighting is as good HID. This is not a cheap option, you can buy cheaper panels but again you get what you pay for. LED lighting produces very little heat and will often use less watts than HID lighting, meaning running costs will be cheaper and temperatures easier to deal with, but a decent LED light will cost a lot more than a HID set up. Again, research research research! Very important before buying a specific brand or style of LED light.

Fans, Filters, Extraction and Intake:

In this section we will cover the most important item in your kit in my opinion, that is your filter. It's all good if you live in a place where you can grow weed legally, unfortunately that isn't the case for many of us. These plants stink, I cannot stress this enough. It doesn't matter if you are smoking weed all day in your house, the smell of a plant in flower will stink your street out.

Your lighting will be a big part of the size and type of extraction you will need. Extraction and intake refers to the movement of air in your grow area. Your plants are living things, they need a good constant supply of clean fresh air to thrive. Its is also very important to maintain a negative air pressure inside your growing area, this means you are pulling more air out than you are putting in, this will ensure there all air exiting your growing area is passing through your all important carbon filter and removing all smell.

It's difficult to give a rule of thumb for the exact size of extraction fans you are going to need to cope with the heat your lights are generating. Different ambient temps, grow room location will mean that the exact same set up will have different temperatures/humidity to each other. That being said, a good way to get an idea is to have a look in the forums diary section to see what other growers are achieving with certain types/sizes of extraction/intake.

Fans:

Fans are your lifeline, they bring in and extract the air needed to control your environment. For extraction there are many types, rvk, ruck, box, the list goes on. The 2 most common types used are rvk and ruck. These are powerful and reliable fans, both pretty quiet. For ultra stealth options there are box fans and hyper fans but these cost a lot more than the equivalent rvk or ruck fan.

When buying a fan you don't want to buy something that may not be up to the job. A larger more powerful fan can be controlled with a fan controller, these range from simple cheap controllers to expensive ones full of features. I will always buy a fan that's slightly over powered to my needs as I can control the extra power if needed with a controller. For extraction you want to stay away from the cheaper inline fans, I don't like to use them at all, but they are cheap and do a okay job for intake.

Filter:

Your carbon filter is very important, buy the best you can. This is the item of kit that will remove the smell of your plants. Rhino pro filters are tried and tested, they are not the cheapest option out there, but when it comes to your security and safety its best not try to save a few £`s.

It is very important to make sure that the fan you are buying doesn't extract more air than your filter is able to deal with, this will cause smell leaks and kill your filter much faster than the manufacturer states it will last. I always like to use a filter that will cope with more air than the fan will be putting through it. This will extend the life of your filter and make life easier on your fan.

Ducting:

Ducting will connect up your fans and filters. Its very important that all connections are air tight. There are a few different types of ducting available to us growers. Standard aluminium, combi and insulated ducting being the most commonly use. Insulated is quieter than the other 2 options. All do a great job, like many of the things on this thread its down to individual growers needs to choose the best one for the job.

Fresh air!

Ive already mentioned the importance of fresh clean air moving through your grow room. Your plants need it, it will help control temps etc.

How do we supply fresh air?

In a ideal world you will want to be bringing air through your intake from outside, in a ideal world you will want your extracted air going outside also. This creates an issue for many, for many reasons you may not be able to do both of these options. Holes in walls, ducting running around, there are many reasons for this.

I'm not gong to sit here and give bad advice, you want to be doing at least one of these things. if not both. A tent sitting in a enclosed room recycling air through intake and extraction is not supplying fresh air. This will also cause a build up of heat. So some planning need to go into this.

Growing medium/system

Like the lighting this topic is huge, I will do a write up on the many different types of growing medium/systems at a later date, for now I'll list some of the more popular options the different options available.

Soil
Coco
Dwc
Rdwc
Oxypot
Nft

There are many more, this is something each individual grower needs to look into. Each have advantages and disadvantages. Some can be set up with ease, some take a bit of knowledge. Some are more time consuming than others. There are reasons to use and not to use each.

The reason I've mentioned them briefly is additional work may need to be done to your grow room to use a few different options from the above list. Additional equipment is also needed with some.

Additional items

The above information covers the basic set up, there are other items which are needed. For instance clip on/oscillating fans to move air around your growing environment. Humidifiers/Dehumidifiers to help bring your room into the ideal humidity for each stage of growth. Thermometers and humidity readers to monitor your environment.

As I've already mentioned a brilliant source of information and a place to see how and why growers use different items and setups is our grow diary section.

Research and plan every step and you will do okay.

[Donks]

Great post Keeno, i asked a question on fans recently on the forum which you have answered in there. Entirely up to you but you might want to update the rhino filters part since so many reports of leaks. You can also delete this post to keep it tidy

[kbag]

Great post Keeno, i asked a question on fans recently on the forum which you have answered in there. Entirely up to you but you might want to update the rhino filters part since so many reports of leaks. You can also delete this post to keep it tidy

I have heard this a few times about the rhino pro. The Viper is a good a filter also i know the Phresh are good and last well.

[Bulls]

Yeah I would agree that the Viper and the Phresh are better. On recent quality research I think Rhino Pro came out 18 out of 25 position. Well behind many others

[Gone]

great post bud its good to know i have everything covered in the set up sense i do have to admit im running a rhino pro atm and have had it for a couple of years now and ive as of yet not had 1 smell leak (touch wood) thats not to say the other brands are worse or better but with that said she is still going strong and yet to find a strain to kill it off finally lol as im sure its due to die very soon so will look at the other brands when the time comes

[easy-t]

nice info keeno
i have a rhino pr filter,it came with a jacket which ive all ways used
but seen a lot without jackets on what do you recommend does it keep better temps faster outake
cheers

[Bulls]

If you don't use the jacket you're risking of sucking dirty bits through it and failing the filter quicker.

[easy-t]

Cheers bulls can you give them a quick wash in the bath it's manky and probably full of crap

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[Bulls]

I guess you can wash the sock mate , but not the filter lol. You can also clean them with vacuum cleaner mate.

[easy-t]

I guess you can wash the sock mate , but not the filter lol. You can also clean them with vacuum cleaner mate.

Nice 1 never thought of the vac
Cheers

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