Advice for someone on their second grow ever.

[Tigersfann420]

Hi I am a mm patient in the process of my second grow ever I would just like advice and opinions if anyone would. I am running two 1000 watts lights of HP's and two 1000 watt led lights with 14 plants, is that to little of wattage? They are all in 10 gallon pots and about the 2nd week of veg. Air cooled HP's units with fresh air intake going to outside fresh air. Also using Co2 gas's set on automatic timer to run ten minutes a hour at about 800ppm is that enough Co2? And what will my electric cost be a month? Sorry for so many questions.

[AmishRnot4ganja]

I have a veg area (5x8) with 3 400 watt MH lights. I veg 8 plants at a time in 2 gallon pots containing a soilless mix and keep 6 bonsai mother plants under 2x4 t5 lights. I veg for about 6-8 weeks (depending on strain) under the MH lights. I don't cool the lights because my veg room is just 4 white tarps hung in my basement = not a sealed room.

I have a 5x10 flower room (sealed) with two 600 watt HPS air cooled lights in which I flower 8 plants at a time. I get sufficient yield for my needs.

I used to use big pots but discovered that I get the same yield using two gallon pots. I have to water the small pots more often, but this gives me greater control over the feeding schedule and level of nutes in the pots.

One consideration when using 1000 watt lights is how close they get to the plant tops. It is easy to burn the tops with those flame throwers. You will find that plants placed around the outside edge of the lights will do better than ones directly under the lights. Don't forget to turn your plants 1/4 turn every day in order to keep them growing straight.

I don't use CO2. It costs about $100 a month for electric with my set up. I can get 16 ounces every two months with this arrangement if everything goes right. I stagger my schedule so that I harvest two plants every 2-3 weeks.

Edited November 3, 2017 by AmishRnot4ganja

[mibrains]

8 hours ago, Tigersfann420 said:

Hi I am a mm patient in the process of my second grow ever I would just like advice and opinions if anyone would. I am running two 1000 watts lights of HP's and two 1000 watt led lights with 14 plants, is that to little of wattage? They are all in 10 gallon pots and about the 2nd week of veg. Air cooled HP's units with fresh air intake going to outside fresh air. Also using Co2 gas's set on automatic timer to run ten minutes a hour at about 800ppm is that enough Co2? And what will my electric cost be a month? Sorry for so many questions.

hello

awesome!

so the general rule of thumb on plant numbers under the light is more about your hoods foot print... LED lights tend to put out a very specific foot print with very little light fade to the surrounding areas so the canopy must be tight... an HPS tends to throw more light to the sides and also there is typically a reflector / hood around the bulb so you get the reflection value as well as direct shine...so aas far as plant numbers you have to consider your hood foot print and then decide how many plants will fit into that space... you say air cooled hoods with fresh outside air how are you cooling your room? that will answer the question on the co2  typically you want to shoot for 1200-1500 PPM during lights on...but co2 only works when you have met ALL OTHER PLANT NEEDS... so remember to get everything else under control before you use co2 or it is totally wasted..

plants can only grow as good as their strongest limiting factor - water quality. air temp, food, humidity all need to be dialed in...

you can get a power meter reader from most box home good stores and it will tell you exactly how much electricity each fixtures uses... but sounds like just the lights you describe (no fans, AC, dehumidifier chillers,  or pumps) then i would say 4 lights will cost you between $40-$75 per month depending on your schedule and location... i run mine at night from 11pm to 11am i have the after hours rate from consumers so i get off peak price... also its cooler at night so way more efficient to operate..

[Restorium2]

9 hours ago, Tigersfann420 said:

Hi I am a mm patient in the process of my second grow ever I would just like advice and opinions if anyone would. I am running two 1000 watts lights of HP's and two 1000 watt led lights with 14 plants, is that to little of wattage? They are all in 10 gallon pots and about the 2nd week of veg. Air cooled HP's units with fresh air intake going to outside fresh air. Also using Co2 gas's set on automatic timer to run ten minutes a hour at about 800ppm is that enough Co2? And what will my electric cost be a month? Sorry for so many questions.

If you get your fresh air from inside your house you will save money on heating(in Michigan winters).

[mishigami bear]

It makes sense to utilize the heat produced by the lights for winter heating. But control of odor is primary.

That's why air-cooled light fixtures, that can be vented independently of grow-space air, are so great. 

[Tigersfann420]

I have a 1300 cmf inline fan running for my exhaust and a normal fan running for intake I have 6.5 pH reverse osmosis water to water plants with. And running a few fans on the plant. My temp in room has ranged from 74 to 80. depending on how many fans I have going. What should my humidity be in veg? I can provide more information if needed.

[Tigersfann420]

1 hour ago, mishigami bear said:

It makes sense to utilize the heat produced by the lights for winter heating. But control of odor is primary.

That's why air-cooled light fixtures, that can be vented independently of grow-space air, are so great. 

How bad will oder be with out a carbon filter? It is in the country and a few neighbors are family. I don't care about the inside of the house smelling at all.

 

[mishigami bear]

How stinky depends on the strain.  It is up to you whether you can tolerate the odor. But carbon filters are cheap enough that it really is worth it.

[Tigersfann420]

24 minutes ago, mishigami bear said:

How stinky depends on the strain.  It is up to you whether you can tolerate the odor. But carbon filters are cheap enough that it really is worth it.

I will probably get a carbon filter then. Im growing some nine pound hammer and super glue and a couple of very good clones of a great cut of animal cookies.

[t-pain]

i would say that carbon filters are a must. you can smell a marijuana garden growing from 100+ feet away. at least i can haha. usually they start smelling right in that first week or so of flowering.

the other thing, yeah no one cares about the house smelling. but guess what? thats where you and your clothes are. so after you leave your house, you REEK of fresh marijuana.

 

 

for plants, you know the limit is 12 plants per patient, right? ok just checking... you said a different number up there and i dont want you to be over your limits. yes clones count as a plant, seedlings count as plants, males count as plants. police even try to count plants in the trash as plants, so make sure to cut/chop/break/blend all leaf waste too...

 

like someone else said, if you get the peak time rate from DTE/consumers it might save you some money. but depending on your other usage it might not.

i dont know much about co2.

make sure your electrics are all properly wired and count the amps and wattage to make sure you are not overloading them. check to make sure your wires are not getting hot, any ballasts are above the ground and are mounted on non-flammable walls. be sure to keep a working fire extinguisher handy just in case and test your fire alarms. fire safety does not take long and will save you big in the long run.