New Indoor Hydroponics... PICS!

[tangerine dream]

Ok, I am setting up a new indoor grow room. I have never grown bud before however I have done a lot of research.

I am going to attempt a Hydroponics set up, which hopefully you should be able to recognise with my rough mock up of what I'm hoping it will look like. Because the room is reasonably large (6' 9" x 2' 7" x 8' 3") I was looking to have separate flowering and vegetation rooms, this way I can keep mother plants in one room and continually clone them, then once they have reached the right size I can move them into the budding room.

This entire room is located in my basement and has already been cleaned out and painted white, I am going to line the walls with tarpaulin and then place mylar around where the plants will be situated. Ventilation will be achieved through a combination of oscillating fans and squirrel cage fans (1 large oscillating fan in the small alcove located at the back, for the flowering room, 1 small oscillating fan located near the entrance, for the vegetation room, and 1 squirrel cage fan located at the top of each of the rooms)

In the vegetation room I was thinking of having a combination of cool white and warm white fluorescents for the new clones and a 600w metal halide bulb for the mothers and older clones (I may later choose to just have the mh lamp). The flowering room would contain a 600w high pressure sodium bulb.

The images attached are a very rough design of what I would like the room to look like (just the plants, not lighting/ventilation etc) and although it may not look like this in the end I wanted you guys to have an idea of the shape of the room. All the attached images are to scale.

Dimensions:
Large room - height 6' 9"
- width 2' 7"
- depth 8' 3"

Small room - height 4' 7"
- width 2' 9"
- depth 2' 7"

At the moment this is all hypothetical and I am open to change if you can help think of any ways to manage my space better. At the moment the small room is only being used to fit a largish oscillating fan because it can not be easily accessed without having to disturb the plants in the flowering room.

 

[tangerine dream]

Obviously I will keep you updated with pics once we have started the build, and advice throughout will be appreciated.

 

[pcduck]

:ciao: T-D

Looking at your set up you have a real nice start.

I would like to point out where I see where you may need improvement.

For lights I would suggest t-5's for veg/mother room. An eight bulb t-5 would be sweet in there.

Your flower room is under lit. Most growers like to have 5000 lumens per square feet. Your flower room with it's dimensions would need approximately 106,600 lumens. Most 600's put out between 88,000 to 98,000 lumens so more would be needed. Two 600's in that space would be cranking it, 2 400's would work though. Having 2 would also give you better light coverage.

Not sure about your squirrel cage fans as I do not know the cfm's. I like have negative pressure in my grow room when my ventilation fan is operating.

 

[Locked]

I agree with pc...I use HO T5's for veg and get results like this>>http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=198043&d=1353178627

I would go with two 600W HPS in either cool tubes or ventilated hoods. 5000 lumens a sqr foot in veg is the minimum. I like to shoot for more like 7500. jmo

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

So are you going to split the larger room into 2 rooms? How big will each room be? Will you actually have room to keep mothers and veg plants?

I dislike mylar. It is hard to work with, wrinkles easily and does not wash well at all. I would either paint the walls flat white (the easiest and cheapest) or use panda film.

I would go with T5s to veg.

 

[ShOrTbUs]

What type of hydro setup do you intend to use? I"m worried about the dimensions you chose. Since the space is less then 3' wide, it looks as though when you go into your room your going to have to move your plants around alot to get things done. Creating a lot of extra work that you wouldn't need to do if the dimensions of your space were different.

 

[tangerine dream]

Shortbus- I was thinking dripper system for the veg room and Ebb n Flow for the flowering room. I was also worried about having to move things around, but I think if I set things up right and with some help I could change water without TOO much hassle. Obviously I would like the room to be wider but this is all I have to work with.

The Hemp Goddess- My flower room would just be 1 room (as seen in the plan), the smaller room connected to it would be used to house a larger oscillating fan. The walls are already white, but I'm going to be lining them with white tarpaulin to make it water proof, help with the air tightness and just generally keep this room separate.

pcduck & Hamster Lewis - I was considering getting 2 bulbs for the coverage reason, but I would then need to purchase an extra ballast and extra set up would be required, but if you think that 1 600w wouldn't be enough then guess I have no choice. You think I should use florescents for the veg room rather than MH then? and particular reasons?

Sorry I have been late responding, I only have chance to check these threads when I'm at work, will be checking throughout today and tomorrow though.

 

[pcduck]

You think I should use florescents for the veg room rather than MH then? and particular reasons?

Yes...Less watts, less heat, able get the plants real close to reduce stretch, the HO T-5's work great in veg. I have a 4 bulb in my 2 x 4 tent and just love it.

 

[tangerine dream]

But it seems as though they aren't very concentrated at the blue end of the spectrum which is what I thought you needed with vegetative growth.

 

[tangerine dream]

Also PC you mentioned about the squirrel cage fans, what sort of CFM's would I need for each room?

 

[pcduck]

They make both veg bulbs(6500k) and bloom blubs(2700k) for the t-5's.
Just make sure you get the 6500k's.

You have roughly 120 cubic feet in your flower room. I like exchanging my grow room air about 3-4 times a minute. So a 360cfm would work but I would go larger because of any additions(carbon filter,ete) made will cut down on the cfm's. I like the brand Vortex for my fans so I would put an 6" in the flower and a 4" in veg both with speed controllers.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

But it seems as though they aren't very concentrated at the blue end of the spectrum which is what I thought you needed with vegetative growth.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. You can buy HO T5 tubes in the 6500K range which is perfect. Where is your vegging space going to be?

I really see no reason to line the walls of the room with a tarp. But if you do, make sure that it is reflective. Just because a surface looks reflective, does not mean that it is--take foil and mirrors for instance.

A 600W is not enough light for the space you are planning. Because the room is long and narrow, you really need 2 lights. Even a 1000W would be hard pressed to adequately light the ends of the room. I have a 1000W in a space 3 x 6.5 and it is just enough to do the 6.5' of length.

I have never used a squirrel cage, but I have 440 cfm centrifuge type fans on both my 1000W and my 600W. I use a speed controller with both fans.

 

[tangerine dream]

pcduck & The Hemp Goddess - Sorry I must have been looking at the wrong type of bulbs but I see now that they should be perfect.

So I have been looking at my flowering room lights and I am in agreement that 2 lamps are necessary, would 2 400w be enough or should I just double what I already intended and get 2 600w? It seems like 2 400w would be a little less that optimal.

Thank you for the ventilation advice also! I will take a gander at the Centrifugal fans.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Yes, IMO, 2 600s would be great.

Not saying that the squirrel cage fans wouldn't work. I am just not familiar with them.

 

[Hushpuppy]

In my experience, the squirrel cage fans work great but are noisier than the centrifugal fans, and they are awkard to set up and connect up to your stuff because of their shape makes the weight off balance and the output flange is always square rather than round. You won't regret getting 2 600w rather than 400w because the higher lumens and the dual light angles will really eliminate almost all of the shadowing that can cause the lower buds to not fill out as good. With the higher lumens will come denser, more potent buds.

 

[Old Resin]

How many plants do you plan on flowering? It doesn't look to me like you have room for an ebb n flo unless you are going to put the resevoir outside of your room. Also, you may want to consider a wall mount fan or two, and pitch the squirel cage. IMO it would be better to seal the room for CO2 enhancement and cool your lights with a fresh air source-in one side and out the other, or from the outside space if it is cool in your basement.
I know THG will freak when I say this-but a booster fan that kicks on with your lights with a fresh air source will cool your lights and save some money. I cool two 1000w hps this way-you can lay your hand on the fixture.
If I read your print right-you are going to split the large room for flower and veg? If so-1 1000w hps should do you for the flower side-and one t-5 for the veg. Of course, if you seal the room for Co2-you will need an air conditioner and a de-humidifier. I tried to edit your pics with my recomendations but was unable to.

These hydro units would fit in your space and are very flexible and cost effective-I have 6 of them-
http://www.hydrogrowersusa.com/en/products.php?id=645

 

[tangerine dream]

Old Resin- The reservoir I was thinking could be stored underneath the tray which would contain the plants... if not it could be stored underneath the oscillating fan in the small alcove. The room will be sealed but I haven't decided how I'm going to supply the plants with extra co2 yet.

Just to make sure everyone understands my pictures. If you look at the floorplan there are 2 rooms, 1 larger room and a very small room attached (in the 3d model you can see it has an arched ceiling). The smaller room will contain a table with a fan on it and possibly the reservoir underneath. The larger room will be split into 2 rooms the flowering room and the vegetation room. The bud room will be approximately 6' 9" x 2' 7" x ~5' and the veg room will be 6' 9" x 2' 7" x ~3.5'.

I thought that would be enough for an ebb n flo. I was looking at budding 4 plants at a time (possibly 6 occasionally if possible, but 4 is what we're currently looking at growing). I really thought that about 12.5ft² would be plenty enough room to bud 4 plants, am I being really naive?

I am going to be purchasing some of the products for my set up tomorrow, probably just lights, ventilation & a partition for the entrance, room separation and for ensuring the room is sealed. Any links which people have found to be good would be greatly appreciated, I'm in the UK. Thanks a lot for the hydroponics set up you linked it looks brilliant. I have been thinking about making my own, it doesn't look particularly difficult and then it can be perfectly customised for my obscure room dimensions. But this still hasn't been decided.

Hushpuppy your input on lighting is also appreciated.

 

[pcduck]

2 400w be enough or should I just double what I already intended and get 2 600w?

Room dimensions:

2.58' X 8.25' = 21.28 square feet. The square footage(sqft) of your flower room.

21.28sqft X 5000 lumens(min lumens needed for flower) = 106,425 lumens needed.

A 400 watt Digilux bulb initial lumens is 60,000 lumens X 2 would be 120,000 total initial lumens. That gives you 5639 lumens/sqft for your flower room.

A 600 watt Digilux bulb initial lumens is 95,000 lumens X 2 would be 190,000 total initial lumens. That gives you 8928 lumens/sqft for your flower room.

The shape of your flower room really dictates that 2 lights would be better then 1.

Both would work, but the 2 600's would be better, growers choice.

These dimensions were taken from your original post. And know I see you have changed,

6' 9" x 2' 7" x ~5'

so these are no good

 

[tangerine dream]

My flower room wont be 2.58' X 8.25', the shape of the room essentially renders the smaller room (with the arched ceiling) useless for growing, so the 2.58' X 8.25' room is going to be split into 2 rooms. 1 room that is approximately 2' 7" x ~5' and another room approximately 2' 7" x ~3.5'. If you look at the 3d models you should be able to see how I intend to use this space. The smaller room (4' 7" x 2' 9" x 2' 7") will be used for storage of the fan and possibly reservoir for the budding room.

I have just made another picture which should explain things better.

 

[pcduck]

2.5 X 5 = 12.9 sqft X 5000 =64,500 lumens needed. 1 600 would work for flower room. Would be a bit more difficult to get good light spread because of the length. May need to turn hood to find best coverage.