I was considering the Grobo smart growbox (or some other “smart” growbox) because I’m a total newbie.
Having something that is reassuringly caring about my daily medicinal intake seems like a fantasy, in almost “too good to be true” way.
So my question to anyone who owned both Grobo stuff (or any other smart grow system) and normal growing tent with PH monitor and all that good stuff - is the “smarts” worth it?
And even if is, how well does Grobo’s smart growbox compare to competition OR just in general how good/reliable it is and if the “recipes” are actually useful or not?
I’ve seen a lot of people commenting a lot on subpar long term parts quality (at least now I know to not expect buying Grobo used), but how good is the actual selling point of Grobo smart growboxes.
PS. Sorry if it’s in the wrong category, I’m new here.
Grobo is not something we really discuss in any detail here but peruse the forum and observe member’s general feelings on the Grobo. You should be able to discern your answer from there.
Yeah, I kind of got the impression even from just the little time on here.
But even speaking in general, would anyone think “smart” growing of any kind (and brand) was actually helpful in any way?
(as in detached from any problem with Grobo’s products, just if the smart growing part was worth it or not)
Because what I worry that even other brands “smart” systems would only work for like 20 of the most popular varieties, and basically be pure “manual mode” for anything else.
I have literally no experience so I’m trying to learn from other’s experiences.
This is a great question @medicatednewbie! Here’s what I will tell you about my OWN personal journey for some input. My first ever grow was in a Grobo. I thought “this is all too difficult, I need the automation, don’t want to wast my money failure after failure”…boy was I wrong! I had some failures in Grobo (learning curve) however midway into my first successful Grobo grow, I was already setting up a tent. Grobo’s marketing team was GENIUS. Looking back it was like any infomercial you’ve ever seen. Take a very simple process, but blow it up to make it an issue. I still grow in my grobo for new strains and possibly to house a mother in the future, however my tent is easier to run, yields more, and is more enjoyable than the Grobo. The state of the company is irrelevant at this point. I will say that the “smart box” introduced me to growing expensively, but I will NEVER stop growing in my 3’x3’x6’ tent! 2 plants at a time and I’m like a kid waking up to christmas every time I unzip my tent.
Here’s some closing words a lot of us “seasoned” growers will lean to. The smart box is an introduction, and if you get the bug you will move to a tent…guaranteed, if you have the space. If you start in a tent with no experience at all…THIS community will get you growing!
P.S. EVERY plant is different, and no “smart box” is set and forget. They all take work and the tent is just more enjoyable IMHO!
Honestly even more than the Grobo, I was interested in systems that prevented “f-ups” more than fully smart growboxes, like what the “out-of-reach expensive” BC Northern Lights’ The Roommate is.
(as I mentioned I was thinking that the Grobo would probably only work automatically only for few most popular varieties)
So what I’m really interested in was if there is some “half-DIY” IoT solutions that monitor/control the the most crucial stuff but are flexible enough to use with any tent/most growing methods.
And I’m sure that will add up to the Grobo’s pricepoint, but I hope something adaptable & “half-DIY” exists that’s less expensive than BC Northern Lights “cheapest” in their lineup.
The reason being not only that I’m a newbie but because I need something that would work somewhat consistently so I could rely on it to give me consistent “%” yields since I need it for daily medical reasons to be more exact.
Yeah, less something “experiment till you do it”, but “oh it will work well enough” until you learn it better, and never really fuck up so much I won’t have anything for myself for 30 days because I was out of it from pain and didn’t manage it properly.
So are there any like somewhat adaptable & affordable-enough monitoring/control solutions for any tent you’d know of?
Honestly I don’t even know what are the most crucial things that need to be controlled/monitored.
Last I saw about a week ago, even BC Northern Lights have closed their doors .
This is all dependent on the type of medium you grow in. I stick with hydro since that’s what I learned with grobo and it makes sense to me. Soil growers will have to chime in as far as soil goes.
You can set up a tent that’ll outperform any “grow box” for a much more reasonable price!
This again is the type of medium. Hydro needs ph, temp and EC monitored, I have a monitor that does all 3. Humidity and temp of the tent are important as well, new fans have monitors and controllers that come with them reasonably priced. Ultimately, if you have the space and 1-2hrs per week to spend tending to your tent, it’s a much better option.
This was the end of my FIRST 2 bucket grow and I started trying to grow July 2021. 12 oz’s dried and cured
If I was buying a used tent make sure they have all the pieces it has the bottom tray an that there is no holes or rips in it since the purpose of a tent is to have a closed environment
Tell u what friend, spent a ton of money on the box in the early days because I was intrigued by hydro. Long story short, went back to tent and soil because it costs less and I personally get better results. Glad I tried, but wouldn’t recommend it to anyone at this point! Use the money on high end grow equipment for a soil grow and you’ll get more fire product with less hassle
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make sure they have all the pieces it has the bottom tray an that there is no holes or rips in it since the purpose of a tent is to have a closed environment 
