20,000 Watt Medical Grow Op Construction

stonestare

Active Member
Yes I have read that but I wanted to be sure, He has been playing with an nutes and was curious what he is using currently. I plan to use the grodan blocks like he uses them. Growing inside is all going to be new to me and I just dont want to waste 100 bucks on seed because I did something wrong like using too much nute or using a nute when its not needed.Also do you feed cal mag every time you water since the grodon blocks have no nutes to them andwhat is being used during the veg period. I use ironite with bat guano to feed my outdoor plants.I am no longer able to grow outside so I have to move indoors.If I could see where he is dialed in I can use that as a baseline.I have no acess to clones so I have to go from seed.
 

sharpshoota

Active Member
Im moving from indoor to out back to indoor myself. and i start from seed to, no clones in my state haha
I would reccomend earth juice grow as a good organic base for veg. but CG will help you.
good luck to ya
 

sharpshoota

Active Member
CG could you explain how difficult it is to suspend those inline fans from the ceiling and the ducting I see at the beginning of your thread it looks almost like bungee cords are supporting them but I can just never picture how they would hold to a point where one would be comfortable with leaving them there for awhile if you get what i'm saying I have a small setup where my inline fan just sits on the ground and basically pulls the air away from the light out of the closet. Also is two fans per row of lights standard? which inline fan would need more CFM the intake or the exhaust?
not sure how he has his setup, but i can answer your other ?'s
you want your outake to be a higher cfm
1 fan per row is ok. 3 light max.
but if your running a huge fan like cg, you can exhaust more lights
 

recirculator

Active Member
Hi CG and everyone

I'll start by saying I found this thread while googling some random issue, and found it to be so good, I've just registered for the forum and this is my first post here.

My question for you is regarding your 4" cube onto the 6" cube. I have recently begun using exactly this setup as my new designated grower status in Canada allows me 25 plants (previously I've been using flood and drain tables with 4" rockwool cubes and lots o' plants).

I have found that when I placed my 4" cube onto the Hugo block, within about 1 minute or so the 4" cube has enough water sucked out of it that it feels as though "it is so lightweight you could pick up the whole plant and block with a leaf blade without breaking it."


In my system (did you guess that I have a recirculating system), the solution is simple...I just run the drippers on 15 minutes every hour until the roots have a chance to take hold in the bottom block. The one plant I had on the side ( my system is built for 24 so I had a 25th one I was hand watering daily) was so dry, and the top of the hugo block too, that the plant got stunted and the roots never descended into the Hugo until I sliced it in half (the hugo that is) and placed a plastic bag in between the two layers. Finally this allowed the top cube to retain enough moisture to allow the plant to come back and then once the top half of the hugo was rootbound I removed the plastic bag and she was ok after that.

So my question is have you encountered this phenomenon and what is your 4" onto Hugo transplant procedure if you have one.

Thanks and much respect

The Recirculator

Happy Happy
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
CG could you explain how difficult it is to suspend those inline fans from the ceiling and the ducting I see at the beginning of your thread it looks almost like bungee cords are supporting them but I can just never picture how they would hold to a point where one would be comfortable with leaving them there for awhile if you get what i'm saying I have a small setup where my inline fan just sits on the ground and basically pulls the air away from the light out of the closet. Also is two fans per row of lights standard? which inline fan would need more CFM the intake or the exhaust?

My fans are all mounted using the hardware supplied with the lights. I use a piece of neopreme from an old wetsuit as a vibration dampner.

I believe that 150cfm/1000 watt light is a good starting point for cooling capacity. I use a 750cfm for 4 lights.
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
Hi CG and everyone

I'll start by saying I found this thread while googling some random issue, and found it to be so good, I've just registered for the forum and this is my first post here.

My question for you is regarding your 4" cube onto the 6" cube. I have recently begun using exactly this setup as my new designated grower status in Canada allows me 25 plants (previously I've been using flood and drain tables with 4" rockwool cubes and lots o' plants).

I have found that when I placed my 4" cube onto the Hugo block, within about 1 minute or so the 4" cube has enough water sucked out of it that it feels as though "it is so lightweight you could pick up the whole plant and block with a leaf blade without breaking it."


In my system (did you guess that I have a recirculating system), the solution is simple...I just run the drippers on 15 minutes every hour until the roots have a chance to take hold in the bottom block. The one plant I had on the side ( my system is built for 24 so I had a 25th one I was hand watering daily) was so dry, and the top of the hugo block too, that the plant got stunted and the roots never descended into the Hugo until I sliced it in half (the hugo that is) and placed a plastic bag in between the two layers. Finally this allowed the top cube to retain enough moisture to allow the plant to come back and then once the top half of the hugo was rootbound I removed the plastic bag and she was ok after that.

So my question is have you encountered this phenomenon and what is your 4" onto Hugo transplant procedure if you have one.

Thanks and much respect

The Recirculator

Happy Happy

This is common with rockwool. First off, soak the Hugo Blocks overnight prior to use. This will increase their holding capacity...the more water they hold, the less will be sucked from the 4" block. This should solve your current problem. I experienced the same thing when in a hurry and skipping the block soak step.

Make sure the root coming from the 4" block are not holding the block slightly off contactg with the 6" block.

After placing the 4 on the 6, water just the 6 for the first couple waterings. The idea is to tease the roots into the 6" block.

Last, and absolutely the most important, let the block dry out between waterings. Rockwool holds an assload of water, yet water is fully available to plant right to the last drop in the block. If you have experienced a block dried out enough to cause wilting, you'll know how feather light that block needs to get before wilting. When the rockwool is allowed to dry out between waterings, a large root structure will develope. Also, I've found that growth is fastest when the blocks are between 50% wet and dry enough to almost wilt.

Try placing the rockwool Hugo Block into a 2 gallon pot with some Hydrotons in the bottom. For larger plants I fill the pots half full with a rockwool crouton/perlite mix. It's important to only add rockwool croutons to a pot that will be holding a plant so big the block cannot hold 24hrs of water. Otherwise, the block will stay too wet and the roots will not bite into the pot medium.

Rockwool can be a bitch. That's why it's not a good medium for noobs. But, once you make friends with it, it can be a very productive and easy medium to use.
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
Rack of Bubba.jpgHarvest time again. Here's a rack of bubba. This is the tightest node spacing we've ever had from Bub.


Rack of Tahoe.jpgHere's the Tahoe. It's easy to see why the Tahoe is more expensive.

Tahoe Close Up.jpgHere's a tahoe Close up.
Tahoe Close 3.jpgAnother Tahoe.
Tahoe Close Up.jpg...and another
Bubba Stock.jpgHere's a Bubba branch.

This is just the beginning. We have about 40 plants to harvest.
 

Attachments

kamie

Active Member
View attachment 1979634Harvest time again. Here's a rack of bubba. This is the tightest node spacing we've ever had from Bub.


View attachment 1979642Here's the Tahoe. It's easy to see why the Tahoe is more expensive.

View attachment 1979659Here's a tahoe Close up.
View attachment 1979654Another Tahoe.
View attachment 1979659...and another
View attachment 1979679Here's a Bubba branch.

This is just the beginning. We have about 40 plants to harvest.
looking very good CG. i notice youre not using the drying rack anymore? or was that from one of commercial J's drying pic. i remember a drying rack some 50 pages back. what do you prefer drying by hanging each branch or drying with the drying rack? i just chopped my chem dawgs i have half hanging and half on the rack. i notice with the rack some of the nuggs were stuck on the rack when i pulled them up to check and hanging had no issues.
 

sharpshoota

Active Member
cg,

when you ran your sealed ops, did you drop your co2 ppm to 300 during the last 10 days b4 harvest? or something similar?
 

patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
Hey CG your in inspiration to us all! Im about 50 pages back yet but I'm reading all your posts and learning a lot. I'm sort of new, had this hobby now about a year. I currently have a space a little larger than a 10x10. I have 4 1ks with raptor hoods, lumateks, and digiluxs. My room is sealed with a 8inch fan cooling lights and a 14k btu wall ac. I didn't have money to get co2 so I ran that boost bucket to maybe just keep the ppm high enough to grow. Didn't work out the best, I'm currently running all advanced nutes except great white. I just got a co2 tank, regulator and ppm4 controller. I don't want to do fresh air in because it gets pretty cold here in the Cali mtns. My question is, with a wall unit ac and the fan for the lights, is it even worth it for me to run co2? Im worried that I won't be able to control ppm good enough and it will stunt growth or make my meds turn shwag. The way I was doing it before I wasn't getting the yield, but everything comes out fire. Thanks for your time!
 

Ty13

Active Member
I just have to say, THANK YOU CG!!! Thank you for such a wealth of knowledge and sharing everything. I'm only on about page 12 right now because I got home late but even in the beginning posts you've helped me with the idea of using the OSB wood to sheet the inner walls and/or ceiling.

I have a ~15'X15' sealed room I'm building and I just did complete the outside drywall. I was planning on using drywall for the inside as well after my electrician gets me set up but now I'll save the hassle with that and go your route with the OSB. This might sound so simple to some but finding this information so early on in your thread compels me to keep on reading, knowing that the experience you're sharing is invaluable to most all and especially myself in my first real grow.

Mine is budgeted for about 10-12K.
-Running drip hydro in 5 gallon buckets(flower)
-6 x 1K hps w/Quantum dim. dig. ballasts(flower)
-About 4-T5's for veg. in ebb n flow 3x3 and some of the same 5 gal. buckets
-24K btu mini split(flower) 9K btu(veg.)
-Co2 burner with Sentinel CH-4 control
And more...

I'm really looking forward to reading about experienced take w/the air cooled lights w/regards to venting/inline and booster fans and possibly a fan w/backdraft damper to share some of the left over Co2 during the last 6 hours of light for the veg. while flower is dark.

Once again, THANK YOU!!!
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
looking very good CG. i notice youre not using the drying rack anymore? or was that from one of commercial J's drying pic. i remember a drying rack some 50 pages back. what do you prefer drying by hanging each branch or drying with the drying rack? i just chopped my chem dawgs i have half hanging and half on the rack. i notice with the rack some of the nuggs were stuck on the rack when i pulled them up to check and hanging had no issues.

We scoped dried weed on the rack and dried weed branch hung. The branch hung weed had more intact trichs. I think working with individual buds knocked off more trichomes. So, we now trim on the branch and do a small touchup when buds are removed from branch.

Back "in the day" (lamest phrase EVER) we would have never concerned ourselves with such a small quality detail. Now, everything's about staying on top of the quality heap.
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
I know it's not your style, but have you seen Lordjin's Tahoe OG grow?
I have not. I have seen quite a few "Tahoe" grows that were not real Tahoe. In this month's High Times there is a great pic of Tahoe in the "Top 10 Breeders" section. Ours looks exactly like that...even a little better. Tahoe is such a unique plant. Those little pointy and near leafless buds are hard to mistake. It's a hard plant to grow that would NEVER survive in nature. This plant takes a while to get used to growing. It must be topped a couple times to bush it up some. It also needs support. The thing is a nute hog, as well...sucking up 1500ppm with no problem. One day with bad light and it stretches enough to fuck your yield by 25%+. But, after learning its quirks, I am now happy to have her on board. In fact, I just took 50 cut of Tahoe. I may run a whole 8x8 tray of her.

It may also be one of the most "in demand" So Cal strains. The dispensary we deal with carries 70+ strains. They have a very strict maximum price policy (on what they charge and what they pay wholesale). BUT, they made an exception for our Tahoe. They pay us their max price + $500/lb. They sell it as a "limitted supply" strain, and charge accordingly...alot, with no breaks for quantity. The last 1/2 lb we brought them was gone in one day. If you can find a real Tahoe cut strong enough to grow...do it! This is THE definition of elite OG. I don't know how good the Cali Connection athoe seeds are. Initial reports aren't too good. Seems like there's 2 Tahoes going around: Tahoes grown from Cali Connection seeds which are readily available and decent quality, and the far superior "clone only" variety. Once again it pays to have great friends. We scored the clone only from Commercial J, who gave it to us for testing.

I'm SOOOO tempted to sell cuts of her. She'd command a premium price.
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
Hey CG your in inspiration to us all! Im about 50 pages back yet but I'm reading all your posts and learning a lot. I'm sort of new, had this hobby now about a year. I currently have a space a little larger than a 10x10. I have 4 1ks with raptor hoods, lumateks, and digiluxs. My room is sealed with a 8inch fan cooling lights and a 14k btu wall ac. I didn't have money to get co2 so I ran that boost bucket to maybe just keep the ppm high enough to grow. Didn't work out the best, I'm currently running all advanced nutes except great white. I just got a co2 tank, regulator and ppm4 controller. I don't want to do fresh air in because it gets pretty cold here in the Cali mtns. My question is, with a wall unit ac and the fan for the lights, is it even worth it for me to run co2? Im worried that I won't be able to control ppm good enough and it will stunt growth or make my meds turn shwag. The way I was doing it before I wasn't getting the yield, but everything comes out fire. Thanks for your time!

You have 2 choices. Run a sealed grow and add CO2, or run an open room and bring in as much fresh air as you can keep the right temp. People get into trouble when they blend the 2.

As long as your lights are getting their supply air from somewhere other than the grow room, the only air exchange will be the wall AC unit. The question then becomes, how much CO2 will you use keeping the ppm right? If you can run the CO2, do it. You'll get better yields and the quality will not be affected.
 

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
I just have to say, THANK YOU CG!!! Thank you for such a wealth of knowledge and sharing everything. I'm only on about page 12 right now because I got home late but even in the beginning posts you've helped me with the idea of using the OSB wood to sheet the inner walls and/or ceiling.

I have a ~15'X15' sealed room I'm building and I just did complete the outside drywall. I was planning on using drywall for the inside as well after my electrician gets me set up but now I'll save the hassle with that and go your route with the OSB. This might sound so simple to some but finding this information so early on in your thread compels me to keep on reading, knowing that the experience you're sharing is invaluable to most all and especially myself in my first real grow.

Mine is budgeted for about 10-12K.
-Running drip hydro in 5 gallon buckets(flower)
-6 x 1K hps w/Quantum dim. dig. ballasts(flower)
-About 4-T5's for veg. in ebb n flow 3x3 and some of the same 5 gal. buckets
-24K btu mini split(flower) 9K btu(veg.)
-Co2 burner with Sentinel CH-4 control
And more...

I'm really looking forward to reading about experienced take w/the air cooled lights w/regards to venting/inline and booster fans and possibly a fan w/backdraft damper to share some of the left over Co2 during the last 6 hours of light for the veg. while flower is dark.

Once again, THANK YOU!!!

Sounds like a nice settup. You'll find that CO2 in the veg room will speed up veg growth a bunch. I sometimes fire up my CO2 burner when I need veging plants to speed up. They double in speed with some extra CO2.
 
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