20,000 Watt Medical Grow Op Construction

[collective gardener]

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Pic 1. Tahoe x Chem Dawg 3 weeks into bloom.

Pic 2. These are not my plants. This is Commercial J's harvest from his house grow op. He pulled 7 Lbs of Bubba from 4 - 1000 watt lights dimmed to 750 watts. He is the best grower I have ever met.

Pic 3. Some plants cooking under a T-5. I like to five them 5 days under the T-5 to root into the blocks before placing them under the 1000 watt MH's.

Pic 4. Overall bloom room pic. The room doesn't have as many plants as it should have. I botched the schedule and don't have any plants ready. I just spread out the existing plants to take advantage of all that extra light.

Pic 5. Here's a Bubba nug my wife had just trimmed.

 

[TheLastWood]

Damn u typed that all twice?

That's dedication

 

[tommyo3000]

How did your friend pull that much off of 4kw? what kind of setup?
thanks!

 

[SupaM]

CG, Your work inspires me to do more in my personal garden. I have learned a lot about doing things bigger and better reading your posts, and of course, enjoying the pics. Thanks, and All the Best!

 

[hellraizer30]

hell yah CG very nice harvest

 

[collective gardener]

OMG. I typed the first post...tried to post, bu lost it...and re-typed a shorter version. Then...5 mins later...it shows up posted.

Tommyo, Commercial J got 7 from 3Kw. He runs his 1k lights dimmed to 750 watts. The reflectors are Magnum XXXL's. Crazy thing is, this is just his home "hobby" grow op. His commercial op is in my same warehouse complex and is the best looking op I've ever seen...in person, online, or in High Times.

His home op grows the same Bubba cut that we grow (I got it from him). His rooted cuts go into 4" rockwool blocks under a 1000 watt MH on a track style light mover. He tops at around the 6th node. Once the plants show good growth after topping, he up cans into 6 qt containers filled with 80% rockwool croutons and 20% #4 perlite. Everything is hand watered once per day with 1.5 EC Cutting Edge 3 part nutes and 2ml/gal magnesium sulfate added in.

The last run was 28 plants on an 8x8 tray. He usually runs closer to 35 plants, but had some laggers this run that he tossed (meaning, gave to me).

The atmosphere is 78F, 40% - 50% RH, and 1000ppm CO2 with 50ppm of deadband.

He's a leaf removing machine. Anyone who shit talks removing fan leaves needs to look at his results. He removes most interior fan leaves all throughout veg. After the stretch in bloom he lolipops and removes any outside fan leaves that interfere with neighboring plants...usually most of them. The plants look pretty lanky after this thinning, but they fill in quite nice with smaller leaves that don't shade bud sites.

He does a tapered flush. Week 7 gets 1.0 EC and week 8 gets pure RO water.

The plants finish about 36" tall with multiple main branches. Pre-98 Bubba doesn't form large colas, nor are the bud sites very close together (better than most OG's, but nothing like Casey Jones or Blue Dream). His high yield comes from the size of the individual buds. They're fucking huge...tennis ball size of pure fat (calyxes). He credits the large bud size to low deadband on the CO2, made possible by totally sealed room. He never enters room more than once per day, and always just 30 minutes before lights off. By doing this, the CO2 remains totally consistant all throughout the day.

As you can see, he keeps it simple. He's been growing this same strain for 7+ years now. It took him 4 years before he broke 6 Lbs. There's something to be said for sticking with a strain and learning to grow it perfectly.

 

[C.Indica]

Amazing story, I recieved a Lemon Skunk clone that I intend to keep around with me for a very long time.
Any chance you could get us some photos of his commercial op?

 

[tommyo3000]

CG- thank you thank you thank you!

I have a 3kw flower room BUT my problem has been insufficient vegging. Everything is dialed in just like your buddy as far as environment...
Sweet!
I just need to veg bigger plants to fill my room up fuller..
That was great info. thank you for taking the time!

I use GH three part -- i have been reading about Cutting Edge Solutions, tho....

WHy does your buddy not use their chelated Cal and Mag?
Did he used to use GH Flora Series three part?

Any opinion on Cutting Edge over GH Flora?

 

[collective gardener]

CG- thank you thank you thank you!

I have a 3kw flower room BUT my problem has been insufficient vegging. Everything is dialed in just like your buddy as far as environment...
Sweet!
I just need to veg bigger plants to fill my room up fuller..
That was great info. thank you for taking the time!

I use GH three part -- i have been reading about Cutting Edge Solutions, tho....

WHy does your buddy not use their chelated Cal and Mag?
Did he used to use GH Flora Series three part?

Any opinion on Cutting Edge over GH Flora?

Both of us spent a decade with GH Flora. I think every grower has some GH experience. My good friend and Weed Super Hero Mellow Kitty can take a toke and tell you if GH was used to grow that sample.

Cutting edge has the 3 parts and 3 additives. Both Commercial J and myself us the Mag Amp additive which is magnesium sulfate. The other 2 additives are basically Ca and K. The nice thing about the Mag Amp when using rockwool is that it lowers the PH and keeps it there. 50 ml of Mag Amp in 30 gallons of nutes will put the PH right at 5.5 - 5.7, ideal for rockwool.

I'm trying some AN with this run with mixed results. The bud set was great and my node spacing improved. However, I'm getting quite a bit of necrosis on the leaf margins...something that never happened with Cutting Edge. That's the one great thing about Cutting Edge. It may not be some super turbo charged fortified nute, but it produces green healthy plants every time. I have never had so much as a blemish in a leaf using cutting edge.

As far as Cutting Edge vs GH, we prefer the Cutting Edge. The reason is this: Cutting Edge has produced 100% blemish free plants regardless of the strain with 1000ppm and using exactly as directed. I cannot say the same for GH. In the many MANY years I used GH i often had to make adjustments in ppm and also add cal mag and some form of k to prevent leaf blemishes. I also noticed that with Cutting Edge that when we start the flush, it takes a week before we start to see leaf color changes. This tells me the plant was well loaded with proper nute balance. With GH as soon as we cut off the nutes the color change was quite fast, tellling me the plant was living "on the edge" of a nute def.

You're right in that great yields are all about the veg. I've said it a million times, great yields are the result of healthy plants in the perfect canopy shape/density. I believe that canopy shape can be determined in veg. Blasting the plants with as much light as they can take in veg keeps node distance short and makes for a bushy plant. Why can you not get what you need in veg?

 

[lamabile85]

Much Props for you and this grow and thanks for your advice concerning the myth of the "Cultivators License." Your thread is motivational to do what you're doing especially on the scale you're at. Kudos!

 

[collective gardener]

Amazing story, I recieved a Lemon Skunk clone that I intend to keep around with me for a very long time.
Any chance you could get us some photos of his commercial op?

I can get some pics next time I'm there. I just have to remember to bring my camera.

Pics don't even do it justice, though. It's a series of several rooms in what can only be described as a growing facility. He runs around 40 lights in bloom on a 20/20 flip settup. There are 2 veg rooms., a mother room, a clone room, a ballast/controls room, drying room, and trimming/mixing/hashing/hanging out room. I'm talking 2 - 5 ton A/C units. The A/C is a central system with beautifully installed hard ducting, motorized dampeners, and centralized dehimidification system. Anyways, I'll see about some pics in the next few days. He may not want any pics online. I'll have to ask.

 

[Wolverine97]

Both of us spent a decade with GH Flora. I think every grower has some GH experience. My good friend and Weed Super Hero Mellow Kitty can take a toke and tell you if GH was used to grow that sample.

Cutting edge has the 3 parts and 3 additives. Both Commercial J and myself us the Mag Amp additive which is magnesium sulfate. The other 2 additives are basically Ca and K. The nice thing about the Mag Amp when using rockwool is that it lowers the PH and keeps it there. 50 ml of Mag Amp in 30 gallons of nutes will put the PH right at 5.5 - 5.7, ideal for rockwool.

I'm trying some AN with this run with mixed results. The bud set was great and my node spacing improved. However, I'm getting quite a bit of necrosis on the leaf margins...something that never happened with Cutting Edge. That's the one great thing about Cutting Edge. It may not be some super turbo charged fortified nute, but it produces green healthy plants every time. I have never had so much as a blemish in a leaf using cutting edge.

As far as Cutting Edge vs GH, we prefer the Cutting Edge. The reason is this: Cutting Edge has produced 100% blemish free plants regardless of the strain with 1000ppm and using exactly as directed. I cannot say the same for GH. In the many MANY years I used GH i often had to make adjustments in ppm and also add cal mag and some form of k to prevent leaf blemishes. I also noticed that with Cutting Edge that when we start the flush, it takes a week before we start to see leaf color changes. This tells me the plant was well loaded with proper nute balance. With GH as soon as we cut off the nutes the color change was quite fast, tellling me the plant was living "on the edge" of a nute def.

You're right in that great yields are all about the veg. I've said it a million times, great yields are the result of healthy plants in the perfect canopy shape/density. I believe that canopy shape can be determined in veg. Blasting the plants with as much light as they can take in veg keeps node distance short and makes for a bushy plant. Why can you not get what you need in veg?

Word on the veg time being critical, also allowing the plants a week or two to root into their final container prior to initiating flower. With proper veg/transplanting I'm pulling an average of 1200g/1kw light. w00t

 

[C.Indica]

I can get some pics next time I'm there. I just have to remember to bring my camera.

Pics don't even do it justice, though. It's a series of several rooms in what can only be described as a growing facility. He runs around 40 lights in bloom on a 20/20 flip settup. There are 2 veg rooms., a mother room, a clone room, a ballast/controls room, drying room, and trimming/mixing/hashing/hanging out room. I'm talking 2 - 5 ton A/C units. The A/C is a central system with beautifully installed hard ducting, motorized dampeners, and centralized dehimidification system. Anyways, I'll see about some pics in the next few days. He may not want any pics online. I'll have to ask.

Sweet, I'd love to see it, if possible.

Sounds like something you wish you could have, haha.
Why the two veg rooms? Are they seperate schedules or just overflow?

And when you say 20/20, do you mean lights? And does that mean he runs 30/10+ for veg?
What are you and his personal observations on this lighting schedule, and how does he keep track of lights on times?

I totally understand about the internet, it's a wonder so many people can safely post pictures on this website.
CG you literally pump dozens of ideas into my skull with every read, thanks.

 

[Wolverine97]

He means that there are 40 lights total, but only 20 run at a time, using a flipbox to control the cycles. Nothing to do with hours on/off.

 

[MrEDuck]

Man commercial J's grow sounds impressive. And 7lbs of your Bubba from 3kW?! I'm trying to imagine what he'd get from a high yielding strain.
I have a question that maybe one of you can answer. This run I had two plants that took almost 8weeks to show preflowers. Both stretched like the other plants, they had ample light and nutes. I've never heard of this before. Up until they finally showed sex we were referring to them as the amazing asexual marijuana plants. I'm keeping them as curiosities for now but wanted to know if anyone here had any ideas. I made a thread but no one replied. Surely I'm not unique.

 

[collective gardener]

Sweet, I'd love to see it, if possible.

Sounds like something you wish you could have, haha.
Why the two veg rooms? Are they seperate schedules or just overflow?

And when you say 20/20, do you mean lights? And does that mean he runs 30/10+ for veg?
What are you and his personal observations on this lighting schedule, and how does he keep track of lights on times?

I totally understand about the internet, it's a wonder so many people can safely post pictures on this website.
CG you literally pump dozens of ideas into my skull with every read, thanks.

As Wolverine says, there are 2 bloom rooms. Each room holds 20 lights, for a total of 40 lights. However, he only has 20 ballasts (actually, 10 Lumatek dual 600 watt ballasts). The ballasts run 24/7 and the flip box sends the juice to one room for 12 hours and then "flips" to the other room for 12 hours. This is the best way to utilize every amp of power the building has to offer. It also avoids that 12/12 power draw sig that some folks are concerned about. Instead, the power sig is on all the time.

The 2 veg rooms are because each veg room services a bloom room. Commercial J uses all T-5's for veg in his commercial grow. The low heat lights and 60% humidity allow him to do his entire veg in 4x4x4 rockwool blocks. Those are then buries in 80% rockwool croutons and 20% perlite the day they go into bloom. This is because of space restrictions. There would not be enough room in veg for all those plants in 6 qt pots.

The clone room has over a 1000 plants capacity. He uses a fraction of that. But he does clone 2 times the amount of cuts he will need. He eliminates the biggest 10% and the smallest 40%. The guy is totally anal about even canopy height. This is because he puts the 600 watt lights very close to the plants tops.

I should not that his grow is 100% California compliant. Their collective has hundreds of patients. He has the same attorney as we do, who is super conservative on what he'll let us do.

 

[collective gardener]

Pic 5 is our new "D Bubba" mother plant. This is one vigorous Bubbster.

Pic 8 is the Tahoe x Chem Dawg test plant. I blasted this one with ALOT of MH light to keep is short. We'll see if I can get some yield from this one. I'm trying to find the best way to grow this stuff. The quality is so good that I want to get it into production soon.

Pic 10 is the Tahoe x Chem a little past weeh 3 of bloom. This is another tester, grown large, lollipopped and super cropped. It's starting to show some promise. This one will come down to bud size.

The last pic is the tahoe cross mothers from Commercial J. As you can see, the T-5's just are not enough light for veging this strain. The plant is too stratched to even work with. I'll be turning the whole thing into clones and tossing the rest.

Most of the other pics are the bloom room. You can see the perpetual sittuation going on. About half the room is on week 6 and looking quite nice. The AN gave me some necrosis on the leaf margins that I'm not too pleased with. Fortunately, the bud size and node spacing are great. I hit these with Yellow Bottle final today. That stuff is pretty good for pumping up the buds...better than gravity in my experience.

 

[tommyo3000]

Both of us spent a decade with GH Flora. I think every grower has some GH experience. My good friend and Weed Super Hero Mellow Kitty can take a toke and tell you if GH was used to grow that sample.

Cutting edge has the 3 parts and 3 additives. Both Commercial J and myself us the Mag Amp additive which is magnesium sulfate. The other 2 additives are basically Ca and K. The nice thing about the Mag Amp when using rockwool is that it lowers the PH and keeps it there. 50 ml of Mag Amp in 30 gallons of nutes will put the PH right at 5.5 - 5.7, ideal for rockwool.

You're right in that great yields are all about the veg. I've said it a million times, great yields are the result of healthy plants in the perfect canopy shape/density. I believe that canopy shape can be determined in veg. Blasting the plants with as much light as they can take in veg keeps node distance short and makes for a bushy plant. Why can you not get what you need in veg?

Wow! and another thank you. This is great info to chew on. I have been using GH Flora Series for a few years now without most of the additives. I like to use some silica and fulvic acid, but that is about it on extras.. I kept things clean with H2O2 or bleach before getting a reservoir chiller for my nutrient solution.

I have no reason for my poor vegging.. I basically have two 3x3 flood/drain tables that I veg in, but the tables are too small and shade out the bottoms.. I just didn't plan out the veg thing at all. I "MEANT TO" build another controller and ebb and grow system for veg so that they could explore their 5 gallons of hydroton in veg. I did not get around to it. To compound it, I have had pretty damn huge plants and good yields vegging in the tables and throwing 'em in to the ebb and grow buckets at 12/12.. however too many buckets.. like 20 per side of flower room...

I figure with better vegging I could do 8 plants per side of flower room.. so 4KW total and 16 plants total..

I've got everything dialed-in except the veg system and technique..
I am building the abb and grow for the veg room this weekend.. I have the parts and am pumped to start growing some thick canopy..

I do not have a community of grower friends in "real life"... Well, I do, but they are so old school or lazy about it. That's cool for them, but I have been obsessed with cannabis and growing for...hmmm.. 18 years probably to the day ( it was a september evening in the little league dugouts when the "jamaican red hair" BLEW MY MIND forever) Point being, thank you for helping me out with your time and expertise. I value your contributions to the community.

 

[Beansly]

Hey CG. I want to say that I'm a big fan of your work and philosophy(I sound like a fanboy....I'm not a fanboy...). For a long time now I've been struggling with the idea of moving to hydroponic grows but I'm scared to death that I'll be losing something if I switch from organics. I know it's a myth but I come from a family of farmers and it's been kind of pounded in my head. Please convince me that the weed isn't gonna taste like crappy chemicals.
A friend of mine want to invest in me and my grow and a big part of the budget is going to soil and organic amendments, but idk because I just wanna go hydro but I don't wanna grow crap. Please help me.

 

[fatboyOGOF]

View attachment 1708873
Here's a 4 week Bubba Mother. She's one of 5 large mothers we decided to bloom out as a part of going to way smaller plants.


View attachment 1708843
This stuff is a lifesaver. Prevents and kills PM, as well as killing spider mites and fungus gnats. It's the only effective chemical I've tried that does not burn pistils if sprayed in bloom.

The pics below show the new settup:
Pic 1. The 5 mothers we decided to bloom out. Future mothers will be smaller.
Pic 2. 50 Bubbas 10 days into blooming on an 8 x 8 tray under 4 - 1000 watt lights.
Pic 3. Closeup of a top from the 4 week blooming Bubba mother.
Pic 4. Top view of blooming Bubbas.
Pic 5. 50 Bubbas blooming.
Pic 6. 25 Bubbas in veg ready to be placed on Hugo Block.
Pic 7. Nice even canopy of the 50 bloomers
Pic 8. One of the 50 Bubbas pulled out for pick. Planted in rockwool croutons on 2 gal pot.
Pic 9. Future mothers: 3 old Bubba, 1 new Bubba, 3 Tahoe x Chemdog.
Pic 10. 50 rooted clones which will be vegged and take the place of the 5 mothers in bloom in 4 week.
Pic 11. Corner of 50 tray and 5 moms in bloom.
Pic 12. Bubba moms 4 weeks into bloom. These will yield around 1 lb/plant.

Sorry I had to do the pics this way. The simple uploader wasn't working so I had to upload as a group. Enjoy.

i just started wandering throught this thread and will be at it for awhile.

it's a very impressive set up and grow! Well done!

i always found it odd, that from the day we start to grow, we hear to keep the lights as close to the plant as possible, yet whenever i see a large grow, the lights always appear to be 3 or more feet above them. is this just to cover more area? does the cluster of so many lights, produce so much light, that 3 or 4 feet off the plants doesn't noticeably reduce the bud weight?