leftys hydroponic grow room (Building a hydro ebb and flow system)

lefty said:

hey stoney i think ur right .im going to go with the one room and learn all i can from that then expand after the first or 2nd harvest into 2 or 3 rooms . what do i need to get started w/ ur model ebb and flo(sorry havent read FYI yet will do tonight)kind of got hung up. but if u let me ni whats needed to get started at least i can try and pick some of the items up. my room is CLEAN.walls painted white no windows....thanx......lefty

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Here's a shopping list for you to get started with. You'll need a few more things that have to wait until you have these first. Let me know when you've got all of these on hand and we'll go from there.

I use the "Cadillac" of light bulbs and ballasts. A digital ballast for each light is something I strongly suggest. Again, more cost, but in this case, you get what you pay for. No degradation of light and a smaller light bill. I use the Hortilux LU 430S/HTL/EN 430 Watt light with a digital 430 watt ballast for each of my lights. If you buy "bargain basement" bulbs and ballasts, again, you get what you pay for here. You'll want to buy at least one extra bulb as a backup.


1.
You need 4 of these. I would buy an extra or two just in case.
1" 90 Degree Slip Fit Bulkhead Fitting
See the photo below.

2.
25' of soft black plastic hose that will tightly slip over a piece of 3/4 inch Schedule 40 PVC. Make sure it's a nice tight fit. I use soapy water to lube it when I push it over the PVC.

3.
20 Stainless Steel Hose clamps that fit easily over the hose you buy. These are the clamps that will insure it not to leak all over your house. Buy good quality ones.

4.
13"H x 14"W x 18"L Rubbermaid Tubs that are colored dark enough not to let in light. Black if you can find them. My last are blue. These need to be flexible plastic, not rigid breakable ones. You can go a little larger, but no smaller in any of the directions.

5.
Two submersible pumps, (one is a backup pump in case of failure).
I got mine at Home Depot. Beckett 185 gallon/hour at 1" lift.

6.
A reservoir for your nutrients. I use a 25 gallon tub that fits into a closet next to my grow room. Yours will be just outside the room your building, so you can go with any size. I would suggest nothing larger than 50 gallons and the HEIGHT OF THE TUB CAN'T BE MORE THAN 12 - 14 INCHES. This is very important. The bottom of your grow tubs will be just above the TOP of your reservoir. Every inch of height of your reservoir and tubs takes away height of your plants. Keep the reservoir as short as possible with the proper volume. Shop around for the best one. It's a ***** to find them sometimes. Let me know if you find really good ones online.

7.
Two 400 or 430 watt HPS lights with reflectors. You can use the air cooled reflectors to maximize your cooling. I strongly suggest this. More cost, but well worth it. The air cooled reflectors pull air through, over the light and out of the grow room. This will radically help the heat buildup in the room.

8.
General Hydroponics "Flora Series" 3 part hydroponic nutrients. One gallon of each of the 3 parts.

9.
Hydroton clay balls for your media. You'll need enough to fill all four tubs to the top. Get the tubs first so you can calculate the volume of hydroton you need. I use half "River Rock" from Home Depot. It's way less expensive than hydroton and you can use half the volume of this to save considerable money if you like. It makes no difference to the grow.

10.
Peat Pellets for your seedlings. You'll use these for your seeds right after germination. Rockwool cubes can be used, but I have better luck with the peat pellets. I buy them 100 at a time. They are about 18 cents apiece.

lefty said:

hey stoney i think ur right .im going to go with the one room and learn all i can from that then expand after the first or 2nd harvest into 2 or 3 rooms . what do i need to get started w/ ur model ebb and flo(sorry havent read FYI yet will do tonight)kind of got hung up. but if u let me ni whats needed to get started at least i can try and pick some of the items up. my room is CLEAN.walls painted white no windows....thanx......lefty

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Great, I would build the room with the future in mind. Make it with an inside diamention of 6' x 4' with the 6' side along the 16' side of your room.

This will allow you to have room for your reservoirs outside the rooms for easy filling and maintenance on the 3' strip of room left along the outside of your 4' side. It will also allow room for your doors to swing out, not in. This is best for the grow area. Make sure you use a door that is light tight and latches very well. I would suggest a good lock on it as well.

hey sb thanx for your time and knowlege i really appreciate it u seem the only one really interestd in helping a newb like myself. im going out today to h.d. to get a rubber strip to put under my door to keep light out (have a pretty big gap).while im out i will look for all the things u have mentioned also want o look in yellow pages to see if there is a hydro store near me. id tell ya where im located but chances are ur not from here and wouldnt no any ways.you no how it is .well ive just about got the painting done want to throw up a partition like u said fix door ,shop for ur list,take down shelves put down waterproof kills(paint)then get back to u with what ive found .i dont live in that small of town so i should b fairly successful.once again THANX..THANX..THANX.....LEFTY...(PUT THE KILZ ON THE FLOOR)! OH YA IM GOING TO ORDER SOME SEEDS FROM NIRVANA SEEDS (ITRIED ONCE B FORE BUT I FORGOT TO MAIL THE LETTER)(DUH!) IM GOING TO ORDER NORTHERN LIGHTS (10) AND(10) A-K48S WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT THE AK48S FOR NEWB.?

lefty said:

hey sb thanx for your time and knowlege i really appreciate it.
WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT THE AK48S FOR NEWB.?

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From Nirvana's website:
(Link to page)

Since the mid 1990’s "AK" strains have been increasingly popular. Our AK-48 is one of the strongest early finishing strains available anywhere. AK-48 produces hard buds with an exceptional penetrating aroma. AK-48 is an indica/sativa hybrid yet it retains most of its sativa qualities in its high. AK-48 finishes in as early as 48 days if conditions are perfect.

Plant type: Best suitable for indoor growing.
Plant height: Short- Mostly Indica
Stoned or high?: Stoned- Indica Body Buzz
THC level: Strong 15-20%
Flowering Weeks: 7/8
Yield (Sea of Green on one m2) : 400/500
Harvest Month: 10
Grow difficulty: Moderate


I think you've chosen a couple of great strains to start with. You'll find the NL easy to grow and the AK will be a ***** as a seedling, but will grow strongly after it sexually matures into alternating nodes. At that point, you'll be off and running.

Good luck to you man. Lots of people here will help you. Everyone's just backing off and letting me handle it for now. You and I will need Mutt's help later when it's time to ventilate the room. He knows where all the cool stuff is for that. Bro Grunt can help with the air cooled lights if you decide to go that direction. Between all of us here, we'll get you up and running man, with the perfect grow room for your space!

While building this one, we might get a few converts to hydro...

thats a good idea starting in one room, but build it so you can add on later.i started in one small room and now have four-1 for cloning and vegging,2 for my nft tables and 1 drying room

stevo and nsb thats what im gonna do .1 room to add onto later . today its go out and shop for stoneys list . have found hydro shops in the y. pages .rooms about 99 percent clean painted floor and walls put strip on doorr . ready to set up ebb / flow system and lights. need to order seeds TODAY!!! stoney(OR ANYONE ELSE) SHARE W/ ME ABOUT THE AK48S TROUBLES WHEN T IS A SEEDLING PLEASE?!?

go with the orginal ak47 from serious seeds//now thats a good strain.Very easy to grow like all serious seed strains.There a bit more $$/££ but well worth it imo.

have about every tthing on ur list havent sat down to try to put anything together though just ordered seeds yesterday so hope i get them should have things ready (hopefully)by then if i run into any difficulty illask! still need to get clay balls and nutes. found a hydro shop and they are very helpful. do u think they no what im growing.? i was thinking of using a 50 gal aqarium for resivior ok? also still looking for hps that are cooled.! CANT WAIT TO GET STARTED .this weekend i should have everything and b ready for ur set up instructions....................thanx!..lefty i have just located a in country seed bank and all thier seeds have changed names but i am goig to go with something called blak widow *great white shark.also will order some kush varieties.!

No, no aquariums for reservoirs man. It needs to be a plastic tub with a lid that will allow no light. It needs to be unbreakable just in case. 50 gallons is two big. I use a 25 gallon and it's perfect. When you change nutrients from vegetative to flowering, the change over needs to happen quicker than a 50 gallon will allow. Also, the nutrient renewal isn't fast enough in a 50 gallon reservoir and you'd have to start dumping nutrient down the drain because the plants useage won't be fast enough. Please, if you use my design, it's already been proven to work just as it is and all the parts have a purpose for being what they are. If you use other parts, I can't guarantee your success.

You should go with only one kind of weed for your first grow also. It's going to have enough difficulties without adding to the problems by having multiple strains to adjust for. Easy man! Eaaaaassssssyyyyyyyy. Don't go nuts on me now!

Hhahahhahaah. You're doing fine man.

Have you bought the black tubing yet? That's needed before buying the rest of the parts. It needs to have a 1" ID and be very flexible.

i think i can find a 25 gallon drum ill let u no what i got . glad i mentioned the tank . no light huh. i ordered several strains of weed but ill only go with the northern lights . also yes i got the tubing. im also waiting on seeds . there are also 2 other hydro stores im going to check out this weekend to buy nutes and cooling lamps.ect..

I altered your title a little so folks would know we are building the hydro system in this thread. I hope that's cool with you man.

lefty said:

i think i can find a 25 gallon drum ill let u no what i got . glad i mentioned the tank . no light huh. i ordered several strains of weed but ill only go with the northern lights . also yes i got the tubing. im also waiting on seeds . there are also 2 other hydro stores im going to check out this weekend to buy nutes and cooling lamps.ect..

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You don't want light hitting the nutrient solution at any time. It grows algae and the algae eats all your nutrients and causes imbalance and harm to your plants. That's why the hose had to be black and the tubs colored.

That's also why following my directions is very important. The construction of this system has been refined over and over because of hidden problems I've run into. I've gotten them all worked out now, and that's the system I've posted in the DIY area.

The distance of the drain holes in the tubs is VERY CRITICAL. Make sure you discuss that with me BEFORE you drill them.

Take a piece of your black hose to Home Depot or wherever you buy your PVC and see if 3/4" schedule 40 will fit snugly into your hose. If so, you'll need a length of the PVC and all the 90 degree fittings and Tee's that are necessary to build the configuration I've shown in the drawings in the DIY area. You'll need hose clamps for each place the hose and PVC meet. Make sure to use Stainless Steel clamps. Do you know how to properly glue PVC?

how do u glue pcv.....................thanx.................lefty ill find out from my local hardware store guy how to glue pcv have all holiday weekend to work. let me know whats next stoney? stoney?.....................................................................................................................stoney?..........................s.b.?hello?!?....ok thanx..lefty im going to the library to print out the fyi part of your kit. so i can refer(no pun) to it downstairs. i dont have a printer b back in an hour! (oh ya i start school a week from monday cant wait. they have 20 greenhouses something like 100 acres under glass.half being grown in hydro and aero.rockwool i think its incredible. boy i would like to have that place for my growscant wait to learn about that stuff and apply it to what u guys have taught me at home). oh ya this is turning into your thread (which is fine w/ me they say when the student is ready the teacher will show!) alter away!

what about the gluing of pcv. and could u please tell me about the drain holes (spacing)? thanx lefty also tell me how to post pics on the site have digital cam. never used it might b good time to start .

also please tell me how to put pictures on this site i have a dig. cam. but never posted or sent pics b fore . this might help in the build.thanx lefty ( i start school nxt mon so i hope to have alot of this ready to go .doesnt have to b but it would b nice)

Ok Lefty, first, to post a pic, when you go to the message area where you type in what you're posting, (except in PM's), scroll down some and you'll see a button that says "Manage Attachments". When you click on the button, another window will open. In that window, for each file you want to upload, click on the "Browse" button and then work your way to the file you're uploading. Once it's showing in the little window, you can do the next one. When you've selected all the pics you're uploading in that message, then you have to click on the "Upload" button. The pics should be "JPG" files. Others will be too big.

Try a test one to see if you can do it. If not, you might get a message that the files are too large or the pic size is too large. If you get either, just set your camera to take smaller pics.

I'll cover the gluing of the PVC in my next post.

lefty said:

how do u glue pcv? I'll find out from my local hardware store guy how to glue pcv have all holiday weekend to work. let me know whats next stoney?

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You need a few things to work with your PVC.

A PAIR OF SAFETY GLASSES SHOULD BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. THIS SHIT GETS IN YOUR EYES, YOU'RE BLIND. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SLING IT.

1. A PVC cutter that will cut 3/4" PVC. The small one will do. No need to spend the bucks on a big one.

2. A can of PVC cleaner and a can of PVC glue. Use the clear cleaner. The purple stuff looks like shit.

3. A file and some sand paper that will lightly sand PVC. Ask the guy at the hardware store what grit to use. I don't remember, I usually just feel it and I know what I'm looking for.

4. Ok, practice on a couple of small pieces with the cutter, file, sandpaper, cleaner and glue before you do a real piece. I'll walk you through a test piece.

5. Get a couple of extra 90's and cut four, 4 inch pieces of 3/4" PVC.

6. On the end that you're going to glue, use the file to bevel the sharp edges off the end of the PVC. You want it to be a 45 degree bevel on the outside edge.

7. Sand the end up to the point where the fitting will cover. Make sure to sand the end of the PVC also.

8. Wipe the PVC clean with a clean lightly damp rag and then wipe it again with a dry rag. Getting the PVC clean with a bevel is the most important step in making a good join.

9. Only clean and glue one piece at a time. You won't have time to do more than one at a time correctly.

10. Ok, get both the cleaner and glue cans open and just set the tops on them to cover the opening.

11. Work over a drip pan.

12. Using the little sponge end in the cleaner, wipe the end of the PVC fast, going round and round until you've cleaned the entire surface that you're going to glue. The end too.

13. Now, quickly set that aside and do the same to the fitting you're going to glue onto the pipe piece.

14. Quickly, lightly apply glue to the entire surface of both pipe and fitting. That's the outside of the pipe piece and the inside of the fitting.

15. Quickly, using a slight, turning motion, twist the fitting and pipe together until they have pushed completely together.

16. DO NOT EVER TWIST THE TWO THE OPPISITE WAY. ONLY TURN THE PIECES ONE WAY!!!!!!!!! The complete twist should only go half way around before it seats. Apply enough pressure to do it this way.

17. Number six is VERY VERY IMPORTANT. If you twist the opposite way, it will cause it to leak almost every time. Just twist ONE WAY while pushing them together.

18. After pushing them completely together, quickly wipe the excess glue off so that very little is left showing. Set the joined pieces aside for 24 hours.

Now I'll tell you why you have to do it all in this manner.

The cleaner not only cleans the PVC surface, it also softens it in preparation for the glue. The cleaner has to stay wet until the glue hits the surface. That's why I kept saying QUICKLY.

While the cleaner is wet, you put the glue on. This glue is designed to melt the two pieces of PVC together where the two actually become one piece. The plastic melts together very well if you're fast enough and use the slight turning motion while pushing them together.

When it drys, it will be one piece of PVC instead of two. Doing it properly will make it so it will never leak.

Practice on a couple of pieces and then we'll move on. Let me know when you're ready. It's better to ruin ten practice pieces than one real one. Wet carpet is not funny.

Good luck man. Tell me when you've finished practicing. The pipe, fittings and stuff are cheap, so practice until you feel very confident. Let me know a couple of things:

1. Did you get the pieces together before the cleaner/glue dried?
2. Are the pieces free of any excess glue on the outside?

the guy at the store said something about rockwool for a medium. i didnt tell him what i was growing . also what kind of nutes should i buy .(something with high nitrogen )first for the veg stage? also setting up the cloning space -should i use the rockwool to start my starts bought a bubbler but havent looked at it or read it(still in box).this just kind of produces humidity right. should this b in an area by itself?cameras being looked at by my sis.ill b ready to go with that when she shows me.also bought some rooting gel.cloning going to b a good part of my grow. want to master the techniques. i have heard when u are cloning to cut most of the leaves off the clone so it doesnt expend energy(the clone) i no im getting ahead of myself. im going to the hardware store to c how to glu pcv now will post it nxt time............thanx all thanx zappy for the pm.good advice..................lefty

I'd get you tap water tested for hardness. A bunch of people use Gen Hydro's flora series. 3-part mix. Get ya through whole grow. They have a hard water mix incase your Water is too hard.
When cloning, You only remove the bottom leaves that will be dipped in the hormone. The rest stay on.

I prefer peat pellets for growing. Less maintenance while the clone or seedling is growing only in the starter. We have to get your grow room and hydro units setup and running before we get into cloning. You don't want to overload before you get the place set up. For nutes, I use the General Hydroponics flora nutes Mutt mentioned. They work great. A gallon of each will get you through a full grow and then some. It's about $100 bucks.Good luck on the PVC joining. Let me know how you do. Let me know when you're ready to do the real thing. We'll figure out your exact plumbing needs at that point.

i live in a big city and i dont think my water is hard . soap lathers real good.i ordered my seeds and confirmed they are on thier way.(yay). IM READY BEEN READY.WAITING ON U!TELL ALL ON THE PVC.AND THE REQUIREMENTS ON THE DRILLING.sorry im yelling.ha!school starts monday.sedds should b here nxt week .would love too get this thing rolln........thanx lefty.space is cleared ,painted got the stuff on ur list . resivior(not clear black tub 25 gals)whats next. u said ud tell about the pcv and dimensions on the drain holes . so.......................thanx,lefty also ill call water co. and ask about the specs on the water.i just finished writing then i looked up at the posts ahead of me and low and behold stoney posts on the pcv.man that guy is always one step ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(i should read b-for typing huh!ok now this is a diffrent story!ill practice then i will report back tom. morning to get started!........stoneys always one step ahead!!!!!!!!mutt u said he was the man!ha!.lefty,(oh ya thanx)....................i was just looking this glu job over and wow. i need to practice. give me today and i should b fine gonna spend a couple of hours on it. want to b good u no. just had a q on ur lights. u use the best .(caddy u called it)...using the upgrades do they save alot of electricity.(dont want my bill to skyrocket).thanx hey stone i hope ur not upset w/ me but i have elected to go with a different strain (only one at first)AFGHANI(FROM NIRVANA)They said it was fairly easy to raise w/ a GOOD buzz if done right! wadda u think???? ..thanx lefty