Indoor Atulip's Auto Adventures

[Atulip]

Maybe a little less manic now... hopefully the doc won't change my meds when I go later this week... wish me luck...

Lighting has changed completely after @Delps8 mentioned the value of the Viparspectra xs1500 Pro. It's under $100 for 150w comparable to what I was looking at before, just a bit less efficient(than last years model), but at 2/3 the price per watt.



The rest of the plans have changed a bit as well. I'm still going with living organic soil... just in one single 2'x4' grassroots bed now. And I was thinking about a 5'x2.5'x6.5' tent, but live stoners talked me into the 6'x3.5'x8' for the extra breathing space and height. I plan to put 2 of the Viparspectra xs1500Pro($85 currently on amazon) in it to start, and if I think I need it or later the budget allows it, I may expand to a pair of 3'x3' lights(looking at the Migro 250s currently(250w, $229 each)). (Can you tell I really want a migro?)

I was going to stick the 2'x4' bed on a botanicare flood tray, but my local hydro store went up on their prices($150 now!)... so I'll be building a small wick bed out of 2 by 4 and pond liner for $40. I'm gonna make this a wick bed, so the whole thing is like a giant earthbox. It'll have 3 inches of depth, so 2 cu ft of perlite is needed as well, should hold around 10 gallons of water.


Well... let's do the math and see where I am on budget.

$200 - Viparspectra XS1500 Pro x2
$219 - BudBox Pro GT-1 6'x3'7"x8' Tent
$128 - Vivosun 6" Fan and filter kit
$ 47 - Vivosun clip fan x2
$100 - Grassroots 2'x4' Fabric bed + PVC needed
$ 67 - DIY pond liner wick bed filled with perlite
$231 - Build a Soil Light Recipe x 7
$ 64 - Colorado Worm Castings(free worm eggs too)
$ 30 - Straw mulch
$ 28 - Craft Blend
$ 20 - Misc (already have timers, surge protector, etc)
$1235 Total

Pretty similar to the partial budget of the larger tents. Benefits of this is no reaching over more than the 2'x4' bed(a bit more with the front gap/plant overspill), a nice 9"+ gap between the bed and the tent walls, the added 18" in height over regular tents, and a 10 gallon wick bed. Main downside is it'll block my exhaust window, so I'll have to cut a hole out of the ceiling.

 

[Atulip]

I think my manic bender is finally coming to an end, and I've settled on some plans... As much as I like the idea of a 6'x3.5'x8' extra tall tent, I'd have to put it in a sub-optimal location in the grow room... I found a 5'x3'x6.5' tent for 100 bucks, which allows me to place it back in the original corner of the room I wanted to, and it's slightly larger than a standard 5'x2.5' tent.

The corner of the room is about 8.5' long by 5' wide, big enough for a drying tent to fit beside the grow tent, which can double as an intake fan if needed. Here's a layout I slapped together:

Here's the costs breakdown; not much has changed besides the tent, added an extra bag of perlite in to mix half in with the soil for maximum aeration on the wick bed, and increased the misc budget a bit for unexpected costs.

$ 220 - Viparspectra XS1500 Pro x 2
$ 104 - Zazzy 36"x60"x78" Tent
$ 128 - Vivosun T series 6" Fan and filter kit
$ 47 - Vivosun clip fan x2
$ 100 - Grassroots 2'x4' Fabric bed + PVC needed
$ 40 - DIY pond liner wick bed
$ 54 - Perlite 2 cu ft x 2
$ 231 - Build a Soil Light Recipe x 7
$ 64 - Colorado Worm Castings(free worm eggs)
$ 32 - Straw mulch
$ 28 - Craft Blend
$ 50 - Misc
$1098 Total

Drying tent runs another $150 or so with 4" fan and filter and 2'x2' tent, but can be purchased a little later. I'm almost in the original budget of $1,000... Now to just to save the money, and not blow it on a dirt bike or something. I'm aiming to be growing in 3 months. I'll be happy if I get it in 6 months with my money management skills... Check out my new book Manic Money Management - "You got money? Just spend it already!"

 

[Atulip]

With bad news from the mechanic... I'm trimming down our budget for next years grow tent.

I recognize the biggest costs are initial soil and the fancy AI controller. So I'm swapping the AC infinity back to the Vivosun T series for half the cost. The tent will be big enough for a pair of 50 gallon pots to fit snugly. So that actually increases soil volume overall and allows for 2 different beds. This cuts soil cost down a bit and reduces the need for 2 lights initially by running only 1 pot. Also removed craft blend, found I have a little left in the garage, probably plenty for a few grows.

Included all sale prices I found.

$ 84 - Viparspectra XS 1500 Pro
$ 104 - Zazzy 36"x60"x78" Tent
$ 128 - Vivosun 6" T series Fan and filter kit
$ 30 - clip fan x2
$ 25 - Gardzen 50 gallon pots x 2
$ 165 - Build a Soil Light Recipe x 5
$ 30 - Wiggle Worm
$ 16 - 100 Red Wigglers
$ 16 - Straw mulch
$ 50 - Misc
$ 648 Total

Another Pot and light can be added for $85 plus the dirt cost($50-200). I could experiment with a different base soil in the second pot. I lose the self watering wick bed but I could add something like the thirsty earth ollas pretty easily later.