New Grower Total Newbie with first time questions

[theolestuffy]

Whats up AFN. I am totally new to this forum as well as the growing experience in general. I have not yet started a grow, but rather in my research stages. I have always thought that the more knowledge you gain about what you are doing, the less mistakes you will make along the way. I know this thread is going to be similar than a lot of other ones and is going to have a lot of basic questions, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

So here is what I am thinking of doing for a set-up, any feedback on this would be great!
-Mylar grow tent- 4ft wide, 4ft length, 6.5ft tall
-Lights- Here is where I don't know what to do. I have read many reviews on the T5 as well as using CFLS. Which one is going to be the best one to get the highest yields?
-Bubble boy bucket- I have read many reviews about this system of growing. It looks like it is going to be daily maintenance but the plants that I have seen grown in it look amazing. I have read about checking the EC/PPM, this is a newbie question but what is the EC/PPM and how do you measure the levels? What kind of nutes would I need for a setup like this?
-Do you recommend staying away from the bubble bucket and just go soil?
-Sea of Green- Is it worth doing on a Autoflower? What is the purpose of doing this? Will it increase bud output? The reason I am thinking of doing it this way is because I want to run 4-5 plants at a time in the tent.
-I have a friend in the HVAC business, so I know I can get the ventilation system hooked up in there, what is the best way to hide the smell of the plants?


I know there are a lot of questions here and I am sure I will have more to come as I take this new adventure. On average, if I grow 4-5 plants, what would be the total output of the plants?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, hopefully this will give me along with other newbies some very valuable information.


ONE LOVE

 

[Guerrilla]

Carbon scrubber will kill your smell. With a inline fan to match cfm rating.
Go soil if this is your first time. Lot more forgiving. And I'd go LED over t5.
Mars hydro led is a awesome brand for the money.

welcome to AFN by the way lol

 

[theolestuffy]

Beautiful! Thank you so much for the reply! I was looking at the Mars Hydro Led and the prices were right where I need to be, the only question is, what size light would I need for 5 Plants. Would the 400W be fine or would I need to upgrade to the 700W

 

[1guy1plant]

Welcome theolestuffy. I am on my first grow as well. I am growing in about the same size space. I picked up two of the mars-hydro 300 watt original panels and they are working great for me. I have six plants at various stages under them and they are doing good. I will eventually add some more but for now they seem ok. I originally started with cfl's and in that size space you will spend more on bulbs and cords etc... than what you can buy an LED. I got a 6 inch fan/filter combo off amazon and I duct it into my attic where I spliced it in to my dryer vent out the roof. I have had no issues with odor except when I open the closet door. You could probably go with a 4 inch filter and they are cheaper.

Originally I was going to go hydro and I am so glad that I did not. The set up is more expensive and the learning curve is greater. With soil you are a lot more likely to harvest your first few grows (IMHO). I eventually would like to try hydro out but I learn something everyday growing in soil and it is a lot more forgiving. Spend the money on a water ph pen and a soil ph meter and some decent nutes. Good luck and have fun and don't worry about asking questions everyone here has been very helpful.

 

[Chester]

Probably should get 2x400w ... after a few grows 4 plants should give you 6+oz every three months ... SOG & SCROG are advanced grow techniques that can increase yield but if 6+ is sufficient I'd wait til you had a few grows under your belt ... I recommend soil for new growers and still use it myself ... welcome to AFN ...

 

[theolestuffy]

Awesome, your guys info is helping out a lot. What type of soil do you recommend using for the autoflowers? Do you think it would be smarter for me to start off trying to grow 1 or two plants first to try and get the hang of it or should I just start with the 4 or 5 I was planning on doing. I am going to order my seeds online, probably in a pack of ten. My only thought is that I don't want to try and plant half of them and have them all die on me and have to wait for the seeds to come in again. Also what type of strains have you guys found that work the best. This is going to be one of my hardest decisions because of how many strains are available out there.

 

[flynfish]

hey stuffy you sound like I did here is what I did. I listened to these guys, and I started my first grow with one seed my freebie so if it died or something happened I learned and didn't cost me that much. I used ffof soil and am using on second grow. I used cfls on my last grow which was my first and they are al right I spent as much on light I could have bought two panels of led. I got a toppled 96x3 and my temps and rh have been fine in tent. have fun. welcome

 

[Cannabinoid Connoisseur]

Go soil, go soil :styles rasta:

 

[1guy1plant]

You can spend a month researching soil mixes. As I am a newbie too, I decided to keep it super simple (after spending a month researching. I am lucky that I am self employed or I would have been fired 3 months ago) I figure the more I grow the more I can start adding supplements and see how they do. I am using 1 part top soil/compost ( home depot), .5 part cow manure(home depot) and 1 part peat moss or coca or vercilumite, (my favorite so far is the coca, least favorite vercilumite.) and finally 2 parts perlite. I know that there are a lot of other items people add and I am sure that they all have merit but IMHO for us noobs a simple base is the place to start. If you have problems with deficiencies during your grow the guys here will be able to help with what supplements to add and you can add some the next time you mix some soil from the beginning. I have had trouble with the ph of the mix being to high so last time I added alittle soil acidifier but a little goes a long ways. Also, stay away from anything that has time released nutrients if at all possible.

You are on the right track.

 

[gone1]

Hey welcome to AFN! Soil apears to be easier at the beginning but i started with bubbleponics and i have to say it isnt that difficult, so if you really want to try it out its not like a beginner cant do it.
:Sharing One: