Cannabis Grow Room

If you want to grow your cannabis inside then there are a few things you need to consider and obtain in order to set-up a basic, functioning cannabis grow room. A grow room can range from a closet containing just one plant, to an entire large room dedicated solely to growing cannabis. What ever the size, the basic requirements remain the same.

For a basic set-up you will need:

• Light bulb, reflector and ballast
• A Switch Box
• Fan
• A Filter
• Ventilator
• Pots
• A Thermometer
• A Hygrometer
• Reflective Walls
• A Heater ( if necessary ... )

Light bulb, reflector and ballast:

Light bulb:

Cannabis plants tend to grow best under HID lamps (MH or HPS). These cannabis grow lights from 240-1000W and you will need to pick accordingly with relation to how big your grow room is the intensity of light you want to give your plants. In large grow rooms 1000W lights will provide a much better quality grow, but create much more heat and cost you a lot in electricity. In a very small grow room, such as a cupboard, a 1000W light is going to be overkill, (and probably a fire hazard). You will find the most common wattages to be used are 400W and 600W in most reasonably sized grow rooms.

Reflector:

The reflector is a reflective shield that goes behind the light bulb. This bounces back any light towards the plant that would have otherwise been lost upwards.

Ballast:

The ballast is an essential safety box. HID lights require a lot of raw power and can be very demanding and damaging to your homes electricity grid. The ballast acts as limiter, making sure that the light's energy source is effectively managed without putting too much stress on your electricity network. If you plug HID lights straight into the mains power then you run the risk of overloading your circuits and causing a fire.

Switch box:

The switch box is an indispensable tool for the indoor grower. It allows you to set timers to turn your equipment on and off at certain intervals. You will need a fairly powerful one in order to handle to power of the HID lights. A cheap 30 euro switch box will not be enough. The very top end switch boxes can be used to control pretty much everything in your grow room, including lights, ventilation, thermometer temperature control, CO2 release and automated watering devices. This quality of switch box is very expensive and only really used by advanced cultivators in very advanced grow rooms. In a basic set-up you only really need one powerful enough to mange your lighting.

Fan + Filter:

A filter usually hooks up to your ventilation system (fan). It is an important part of keeping your grow room discreet, as they are used to filter out odors. If you do not have one then you may find that your home starts to smell of weed, potentially attracting unwanted attention. The most effective way to prevent this is to use fan in combination with an active carbon filter.

Ventilator:

A ventilation system has a few roles within your grow room. It is used to:

• Control air flow
• Prevent mold
• Stabilize humidity
• Replenish used gases in the air
• Boost yields when used in conjunction with a slow carbon dioxide release (this is an advanced growing technique and is not necessary for small growers)

The movement of air helps keeps your plants healthy. As they grow they use various gasses within the air, if the supply is not replenished then it can have negative effect on your cannabis plants' growth. The movement of air will also help you remove any excess heat and humidity from the room caused by your lights. A slight breeze from your fans is also beneficial for your plants as they grow in the vegetative stage. It simulates a natural wind, which encourages stronger stem, branch and root growth. This is because your plant thinks it needs to be stronger to resist the wind.

Hot air rises, so it is usual for the air intake to be at floor level and the air outtake above your lights. This allows for a decent circulation - as the hot air is taken out of the room it is displaced, drawing upwards the air from below. This makes it a good way of both airing your plants and replacing hot air with cool.

Pots:

Pots come in all shapes ans sizes. You will find that for growing marijuana you will need fairly large ones, (10-20 liters), as cannabis plants grow a strong and intensive network of roots. Ideally your pots will have perforations/holes in the bottoms of them and then put into large trays. This allows excess water to run out of the pot and into the tray, making sure your plants are not over watered. Professional growers will sometimes not use pots with holes, this is because they will have a great feel for their strain and know exactly how much water it needs. It is not recommended unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are doing, it also makes flush your weed very hard should you need/decide to.

Thermometer:

This essential piece of equipment will help you maintain the optimal level of heat in your grow room. You ideally want to maintain a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23.8 degrees Celsius), but slightly warmer temperatures can help some strains grow faster. It is possible to buy digital thermometers with set parameters. When used in conjunction with an advanced room control/switch box, heater and ventilation it can be possible to completely automate the rooms temperature control - this is very expensive however.

Hygrometer:

A hygrometer, much like a thermometer is used to measure conditions within the grow room - a hygrometer measures humidity. Cannabis grows optimally between 40-80% humidity. If you have a good air circulation set-up then you should not need to worry to much, as the introduction of fresh air goes a long way to help maintain humidity levels. If you are struggling to maintain the right levels then it is possible to by humidifiers and de-humidifiers depending on what you need. Much like with temperature control, an advanced set-up can automate the control of humidity with the right equipment – but it is in no way necessary.

Reflective Walls:

It is important to make sure minimal light is lost in your grow room, the more light you can get to your plants the better they will grow. As a result it is essential to make sure that you make the walls of your grow room reflective. Any reflective surface (including your bulb reflector) should be white or made of polished metal.

A very common mistake is to use aluminum foil as a reflective surface, I mean, why not right, its reflective? Wrong. Aluminum foil is a very poor reflector of light and is very heat conductive, It has a reflectivity of 30-60% at the best of times, it is also hard to keep clean and tears easily. The best solution is a cheap, matt white paint. Walls painted with white paint tend to have a reflectivity of 99%, are easy to maintain and are not a fire hazard to your grow room and home.

It is a common misconception that shiny or glossy materials are very reflective, but they are not more light reflective than the color white, (do not confuse light reflection with image reflection). Light is technically “white” as it contains all of the visible color spectrum, thus white things reflect every part of the light spectrum without absorbing any of it.

Heater:

It is always handy to have a heater on stand-by in your grow room. Should your bulbs die you may find that the temperature in the room drops dramatically, especially if you live in a colder climate. A heater will help minimize damage and downtime of the plant whilst you get a replacement sorted.

Extra Tip:

Make sure that your grow room is 100% light tight, and by 100% we really mean 100%. If it is not then you may find light seeps in during dark periods of your grow, if your plants get light when they should be in the dark then it may cause light stress.

The way to test if your room is 100% light proof is to turn off all the lights and stay in their for 5 minutes or so to let your eyes adjust. Once they are adjusted you will be able to tell for yourself if light is getting in anywhere.