This is the list of indoor grow room supplies that I wish I had when I started growing.
It covers all of the equipment that you’ll need on a daily basis when growing cannabis indoors.
Not all of these items are essential if this is your first grow and you’re on a tight budget, so don’t stress if you don’t have them all, just use it as a rough guide.
Read on to find out what each item is for, why you should use it, and if there are any budget-friendly alternatives.
Indoor Grow Room Supplies
1. Seeds
The first thing you need to get hold of is some good quality seeds.
If you can’t get them locally, then you’ll need to get some online.
However, you need to be careful here.
There are lots of terrible seed banks out there with horrible customer service, poor quality seeds, and slow shipping (trust me, I know from experience)
Please make sure that you buy your seeds from a reliable seed bankthat will actually reply to your emails if something goes wrong
The two seed banks that I use right now are:
1. WeedSeedsExpress
2. ILGM
Both these seed banks ship from California and offer fast 4-day shipping to in the USA, excellent customer service, and some great free seed offers.
If you’re still unsure, check out my detailed guide on the best seed banks to order from, which covers most of the most popular seed banks and the pros and cons of using each.
2. Seed Starter Plugs
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In my opinion, Seed starter plugs are by far the best way to germinate cannabis seeds.
They are small lumps of peat moss with the perfect air-to-water ratio.
You simply pop your seed in the pre-cut hole, pinch it shut, add water as directed, then leave it under a standard lamp or by a window to keep it warm.
After a couple of days, your seed will sprout and it’s a simple job to transfer it to a large 5-gallon fabric growing container, where it will stay until it flowers.
I find that seed starter plugs enjoy much higher success rates than other germination methods.
Alternatives – Cheaper methods include using a wet paper towel or planting your seed directly in the soil. However, more seeds may fail to germinate this way, and seeds can be expensive.
3. Fabric Containers
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If you’re using soil as your grow medium ( and I recommend that beginners do ) you’ll need to add some kind of container to your indoor growing checklist.
Small containers are fine for young seedlings, but you’ll need larger containers (2 – 5 gal ) to accommodate your plant as it grows.
Instead of messing around with multiple container sizes, I like to keep things simple by germinating my seeds in starter plugs and then transferring them straight into 5-gallon fabric containers, where they stay until harvest.
I recommend using fabric containers. They provide excellent results as their porous walls allow your plant’s roots to breathe and they also prevent overwatering.
Alternatives – Standard garden pots will also do the job if you have them lying around. Just make sure they are large enough!
Oh, you’ll also need a large tray to catch water runoff.
4. Grow Tent
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Grow tents provide the ideal growing environment for your plants.
A good grow tent will protect your plants from mold & pests, control the smell, reduce light loss, and generally make it much easier to control your plant’s growth.
They are 100% essential for your grow room if you want to maximize your yield and ensure that your indoor grow room is efficient.
A cannabis plant requires at least 1 square foot of space to grow in. It’s vital that your grow tent gives your plant enough room to breathe and allows you enough space to tend to your plants.
Alternatives – Some growers choose to build their own grow tents. This option may be best only if have an awkwardly sized grow space.
5. LED Grow Light
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Lighting is your plant’s food source, so choosing the right light is important.
The best LED grow lights will maximize growth and encourage higher yields.
LED grow lights are also easy to use and extremely energy efficient.
For optimal results, your plants need at least 50w of actual power (the watts it draws from the wall, not the total number of LED’s the light has) per square foot of growing space.
I used to be a big HPS fan, but since moving to LED’s, I’ve seen my plants flourish, yield increase and electricity costs go down.
They are a no-brainer.
Alternatives – HID (high-intensity discharge ) grow lights are powerful and effective but run hot and require extra equipment ( ballasts ) to run. Fluorescent grow lights can also be used but are not as effective as LEDs or HIDs
6. Timer
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Next up on my grow room equipment checklist is timers.
Timers are a very important bit of grow room equipment, as they automatically simulate day/night cycles for your plants.
Your light source plugs into the timer and the timer are then plugged into the wall.
The timer then automatically turns the grow light on and off at the right times so that you don’t have to do it manually.
Look for timers that can handle high wattages (at the very least higher than your lights’ total wattage) and can be programmed to control cycles for hours or even days.
7. Rotating / Oscillating Fan
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Regulating your grow tent temperature and humidity Is vital for strong and healthy plants.
Rotating fans like this provide constant air circulation inside your tent, preventing mold growth, and helping to strengthen your cannabis plant’s stems and branches.
Choose an oscillating fan like the one above that can be mounted on the frame of your grow tent. This keeps it out of the way.
8. Inline Fan & Ducting
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They provide your canopy with a constant stream of fresh air (oxygen) – the perfect growing environment for hungry plants.
There will be at least two ventilation holes in your grow tent.
One hole for a fan to pull fresh air in (typically the bottom port), and the other to expel stale air out (the top port).
Ducting is attached to the inline fan for the air to pass through and into a filter ( see below )
9. Carbon Filter
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To set up your carbon filter, you’ll need an inline fan ( to suck the air out of the tent ) some ducting ( to suck the air through ) and a decent grow tent with ventilation ports.
10. Thermo-Hygrometer
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They are essential as they’ll help you quickly resolve any environmental issues inside the tent.
I’d recommend getting one with big displays so they are still legible even from outside the tent.
11. PH Meter
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Maintaining a good PH level is vital when growing cannabis.
If your PH levels are too high or too low, your plant will not be getting the correct nutrients required to flourish.
Ideal soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0, while hydroponics ideal PH is between 5.5 and 6.5.
PH meters are easy to use, you just stick them in your soil or the water you’re about to pour on your plants and they will give you a reading.
12. Pruners
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They are an essential bit of weed-growing equipment as they can also be used to increase yields by performing basic plant training.
Alternatives – You can use a pair of heavy-duty scissors from your house, but make sure they have been sterilized so that you don’t pass on any bacteria to your plants.
13. Watering Can
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A standard portable watering will keep your indoor plants hydrated.
Look for watering cans made from sturdy materials with long spouts.
Alternatives – Some growers like to use a battery-powered liquid transfer pump, which allows you to pump water from a much larger water jug ( meaning fewer trips to the tap ) but I like using my trusty watering can.
14. Spray Bottles
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Spray bottles like these will be required if you’re planning to mist your plants or utilize foliar feeding.
They’re definitely handy, but I would not say they are an essential bit of kit.
15. Ball of String
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This useful bit of grow equipment can be used to support your plants or to train them to increase yields.
You can also string to secure any fixtures inside your grow tent or to hang drying buds from after harvesting.
Every grower should have a ball of string in their kit 🙂
Alternatives – Some people use cable ties, but they’re single-use and plastic, so…. don’t do it!
16. Duct Tape
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Duct tape like this is essential for any grow room ( or house for that matter )
It’s one of my favorite bits of grow equipment.
This versatile bit of growing equipment can be used for fixing injured stems, sealing grow tents, labeling plants, and making your ventilation airtight.
17. Latex-Free Gloves
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Gloves like these will protect your plants from contamination and protect your hands from sticky residue when harvesting.
Make sure the gloves you buy are latex-free, food-safe, and powder-less, to prevent contaminating your freshly grown buds.
18. Protective Eyewear
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A good pair of grow glasses also make it much easier to inspect your plants under your lights, which helps to prevent eye strain.
Alternatives – Many growers simply use a pair of decent quality sunglasses which also offer UV protection.
19. Bud Trimming Machine
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They essentially do the same job as pruners but will do it in half the time.
Bud trimming machines like this one are very useful for growers with hand mobility issues or growers looking to reduce their harvesting time.
Alternatives – A good set of pruners or a strong pair of kitchen scissors are all you need to trim your harvested buds if you want to save a few bucks.
20. Air-Tight Mason Jars
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Mason jars like this are the best choice when it comes to curing and storing your weed.
They protect and prolong the shelf life of your dried buds and help maintain their potency.
The best jars have a large storage, thick glass, and an airtight seal.
Alternatives – You could also use vacuum bags but they don’t offer the same airtight seal and protection that a sealed glass jar does.
21. Power Strips / Extension Leads
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You may have run out of sockets after purchasing some of the electrical items on this list.
A trusty power strip like this will come in extremely handy, making sure you can plug in and run everything at once!
And that completes our grow room equipment checklist.
22. Soil
A few readers have emailed asking what soil I use.
I didn’t include soil in this list as I don’t really class it as equipment, but I like to use this organic super soil from Amazon.
It already has the perfect blend of nutrients so you don’t have to worry about nutrient mixes in the early stages of your grow.
23. Nutrients
If you’re a beginner, I recommend that you DON’T use nutrients on your plants.
Destroying your plant’s health by adding too many nutrients is one of the most common mistakes among growers.
Keep it simple.
All you need is the pre-mixed soil I mentioned above.
If you really want to give nutrients a go, then check out my guide to the best cannabis nutrients.
Free Cannabis Seeds? Check out my list of the best seed bank promotions – Including FREE Seeds, discount codes, and giveaways!
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this grow room equipment checklist useful.
It should provide you with everything you need to set up a highly efficient grow room.
You might be thinking “wow, I can’t afford all this stuff for my grow room”
Remember, you don’t necessarily need to use every bit of weed-growing equipment on this list.
If you’re on a tight budget, the best advice I can give you is to just grow one plant.
Growing one plant means you’ll need a smaller grow tent, a less expensive grow light, and consume less power.
If you’d like to know more about growing, check out our easy-to-follow beginners guide that teaches you how to grow big buds indoors
Good luck with your grow rooms
Originally posted 2018-09-07 11:37:53.
James Alexander
I have everything on the list except for the bud trimming machine. Nice article.
Thanks for your comment Jeffrey – good luck with your grow 🙂
What kind of dirt do i use
Hey Oscar! I didn’t include dirt as I didn’t think it could really be classed as “equipment” However, I have added an edit with my soil of choice.
I found your info to be very useful,I really liked how you talked to me not at me. Thanks for breaking down what tool box items do.
Hi James, I’ve only ever grown outdoor and only really getting into the intricacies of indoor growing now. I am on a bit of a budget though and I was wondering if inline fans for old air extraction and clean air input are really necessary? If they are necessary, would I need two inline fans… one for input and the other for extraction? Thanks in advance
Thanks for the comment Dave! It really depends on if you are bothered by the smell of an indoor grow. No extraction fan usually means to carbon filter and therefore a very smelly grow. If that is not something you are worried about then you could just use a desk fan to circulate fresh air around the tent while leaving some of the tent ports open. You may lose a little bit of light this way but it shouldn’t make much of a difference to final yield. Good luck with your grow!
Thanks so much James! Really appreciate the help. And great article by the way, its helping me a lot!
Hi James,
thank you very much for the helpful information and the effort you put in this article.
i got some premium O.G.Kush seeds from Amsterdam and this will be my first time ever to grow, i’m planing to grow indoors. i would really appreciate it if you can refer me to an online guide for beginners.
It’s not easy to get an indoor set up going perfect it takes time
And also needs set up the correct t way to help control it better so the carbon filter and rvk fan attached directly then some ducting afterwards and for bringing in air the rvk fan can be sat on the floor inside the tent with the ducting sitting near a window to suck in cool air if they are set up like
That u will help to control temperatures I usually use a kitchen thermometer the probe type and hang it so the probe is the same height as the top of the plant so I can see what the hottest temps are if they are to hot even with good ventilation and tent set up right then u will simply need to raise the light a couple of inches at a time To keep the temps perfect I live in a cold country compared to a lot of places yet I still need a double filter with rvk fans to extract the hot air and a 5 inch rvk fan to bring fresh air in and I have a 16 inch fan blowing down on the plants and a small fan blowing into the bulb I have a 1.5×1.5×2.0 metre tent and 1000w of light and one thing that I didn’t see mentioned on the list is (smart co2) bag which will supply the plants with enough co2 for the entire grow and will help the plants deal with higher temperatures I have some OG cookies (original OG kush x girls out cookies) from Barnet’s farm and there going really good there bushy and also 2.5 feet already on day 8 of flowering and there in soil using 25 litre pots and also using Sensi grow part a and b and Sensi bloom part a and b and also the advanced nutrients starter pack so b52/big bud/voodoo juice and overdrive but I purchased it decanted in 250ml bottles to keep the cost of the grow down and I also went to the local garden centre and bought cheap soil due to the price difference between the soil from there or the soil from a grow shop I also bought my equipment Second hand and just scrubbed it and cleaned everything and disinfectant and then I bough brand new ducting and bulb die to the fact I didn’t know how many times it’s been used and they fade after a few grows that’s using hps bulbs also a good money saving tip there is no need to buy a separate 250/400w veg bulb and a 600w flowering bulb simply buy a dual spectrum 600w bulb and turn the ballast down to 400 during grow stage and then turn it back to 600w for the flowering stage
Hey bro….. What size of air carbon filter and air intake inline fan i use for a 4×4 & 6×6 grow tent. And please man iam little bit confused about led light. Please give me suggestions of led for a 4×4 grow tent with 4-5 plants that give good buds and quantity with a budget led ………… And yes i have a option of vivosun 1200w creb, is that sufficient for 4 plants
I was thinking of getting myself a spider farmer 4000 for my indoor grow
So uh…. My girl hates me now because all I do in my mancave is grow and smoke hahaha. I love this. Ahe told me to spend more time in the house than on my motorcycle with my friends. So, thats what I’m doing hahaha. Thanks man, I dont need another plug to give me “hit or miss” weed.
Yes very good article; have had success with outdoor grows; now want to grow indoors, very quietly
Best list like this out there. Thank you!
Does this system need a CO2 tank?? I live on reservation and we are starting hemp. I wanted to grow indoor year round hemp in my basement to start or warehouse but I didn’t see CO2 tank. I Big is this set up for?