thedudeknows
Active Member
Hi folks,
I'm in the midst of my first grow but I've already started planning my new room design. I should be writing this about 2 months prior, but better late than never.
I've done a lot of reading and seen a lot of setups so I hope I got this right and didn't make some newb airflow error. Check for me!
So, what I'd like to start is a 28-day perpetual harvest per the following schedule:
1st 28 days:
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
2nd 28 days:
- move veg plants to flower 1 tray
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
3rd 28 days:
- move flower 1 plants to flower 2
- move veg plants to flower 1 tray
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
4th 28 days:
- harvest flower 2 plants
- move flower 1 plants to flower 2
- move veg plants to flower 1 tray
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
......
(cycle now in motion)
All the while I'll be obtaining new clones and maintaining mothers for 4-6mos. My grow method will be SOG for now, using coco/perlite mix and GH hydro nutes + other goodies. I will root clones in jiffy cubes or similar, then plant rooted clones directly in their final destination 3gal pot. I'm also going to top-feed manually for my first few cycles to get the hang of things, then perhaps automate once I fully understand the best conditions for the room/phases. Pots will be placed/rotated for even light coverage/exposure.
We'll start with a not-so-much-to-scale room layout plan:
These are my basic necessities:
The entire room will be framed with 1/4" stripping atop all walls and across the floor at the 11x11' boundary. B/w poly will line all walls and the floor (which is carpet), additionally lined by a painters drop-cloth or 6+mil plastic. This will also create a divider between the 11x11' and the rest of the room.
The room itself will have a 6" Vortex as well behind a carbon can. This is where I think I'll get the most noise, so any testimonies on these 6" fans' noise levels would be great. Rated at 49dB it seems pretty reasonable, like a tiny window a/c unit. Was also thinking about using insulated ducting here, if that buys me any noise suppression. Also any quick tips on perhaps insulating the fans themselves without burning them up would be great.
From the diagram you can see I have 2 open-air 4x4' trays lit each by (1) 150w CFL 6500k grow light. This area's air is heavily circulated by 2 oscillating fans working one of the trays each. Considering bumping to 200w, thoughts?
The diagram also shows a flowering box within the room. It will be lined with b/w poly to keep daylight out while the flowering plants sleep. I want to run flowering lights at night for the $ cost advantage.
The flowering box will be lit by 2 separate lights, one for each tray. Both HPS, and at this point I'm thinking 1000w per 16ft^2 would be really nice to have. Comments on this appreciated. Also note that I will be using dimmable ballasts with glass hoods so I can keep the lights close and harden off early/ease off late bloom plants. I'll hang the lights from simple chains and adjust as needed.
The flower box will be self-ventilated into the general room area by a 6" Vortex inline, split to pull air through both vented hoods. Cool air will circulate up through the bottom of the flower box through louvered vent covers on 3 or all sides (still deciding). The front of the flower box will be framed and the b/w poly used as a door in conjunction with either magnetic tape or velcro. When closed the box will be light sealed. Small fans will circulate air up through the plants and out through the hoods. I was thinking about using a small 6" clip-on fan (not batt. powered) in each bottom corner of the flower box pointed at 45deg from the floor towards the lights.
Some of the specific questions I have include:
1) is this exhaust flow setup going to work? consider that I may run the flower room fan at 50% and room fan at 100%.
2) I am not opposed to forced-induction cooling (maybe a 4" inline on some ducting running to the floor from the intake inlet). But will it be needed? Is the only way to know to test it out?
3) is 2x1000w overkill? Keep in mind I may expand to 4x8 or 6x6 trays or similar later and I like scalability.
4) harvest/drying/curing will take place in another room, needn't worry about that
That's it, thanks for making it this far. I am open to all options including equipment, just keep in mind I already have (1) 1000w HPS and some CFL reflectors. Please feel free to critique, this is my 4th or 5th draft but I am sure it can be improved greatly with the community's help.
Thanks and
I'm in the midst of my first grow but I've already started planning my new room design. I should be writing this about 2 months prior, but better late than never.
I've done a lot of reading and seen a lot of setups so I hope I got this right and didn't make some newb airflow error. Check for me!
So, what I'd like to start is a 28-day perpetual harvest per the following schedule:
1st 28 days:
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
2nd 28 days:
- move veg plants to flower 1 tray
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
3rd 28 days:
- move flower 1 plants to flower 2
- move veg plants to flower 1 tray
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
4th 28 days:
- harvest flower 2 plants
- move flower 1 plants to flower 2
- move veg plants to flower 1 tray
- root new clones (clone box 7-14 days) then veg 14-21 days
......
(cycle now in motion)
All the while I'll be obtaining new clones and maintaining mothers for 4-6mos. My grow method will be SOG for now, using coco/perlite mix and GH hydro nutes + other goodies. I will root clones in jiffy cubes or similar, then plant rooted clones directly in their final destination 3gal pot. I'm also going to top-feed manually for my first few cycles to get the hang of things, then perhaps automate once I fully understand the best conditions for the room/phases. Pots will be placed/rotated for even light coverage/exposure.
We'll start with a not-so-much-to-scale room layout plan:
These are my basic necessities:
- Exhaust and intake must come from same window
- Noise is a concern for neighbors
- Perpetual harvest
- Light flower box at night/dark during daylight, and run veg lights 24/7 without enclosure
- It gets hot in here during the summer so I'll need to get an a/c unit; for now count on winter weather conditions ~55F day/40F night intake air temps.
- Room space is precisely 11x11x8'
- Flower box height + carbon can won't fit in 8', so exhaust is run at an angle straight to outlet; open to ideas here.
The entire room will be framed with 1/4" stripping atop all walls and across the floor at the 11x11' boundary. B/w poly will line all walls and the floor (which is carpet), additionally lined by a painters drop-cloth or 6+mil plastic. This will also create a divider between the 11x11' and the rest of the room.
The room itself will have a 6" Vortex as well behind a carbon can. This is where I think I'll get the most noise, so any testimonies on these 6" fans' noise levels would be great. Rated at 49dB it seems pretty reasonable, like a tiny window a/c unit. Was also thinking about using insulated ducting here, if that buys me any noise suppression. Also any quick tips on perhaps insulating the fans themselves without burning them up would be great.
From the diagram you can see I have 2 open-air 4x4' trays lit each by (1) 150w CFL 6500k grow light. This area's air is heavily circulated by 2 oscillating fans working one of the trays each. Considering bumping to 200w, thoughts?
The diagram also shows a flowering box within the room. It will be lined with b/w poly to keep daylight out while the flowering plants sleep. I want to run flowering lights at night for the $ cost advantage.
The flowering box will be lit by 2 separate lights, one for each tray. Both HPS, and at this point I'm thinking 1000w per 16ft^2 would be really nice to have. Comments on this appreciated. Also note that I will be using dimmable ballasts with glass hoods so I can keep the lights close and harden off early/ease off late bloom plants. I'll hang the lights from simple chains and adjust as needed.
The flower box will be self-ventilated into the general room area by a 6" Vortex inline, split to pull air through both vented hoods. Cool air will circulate up through the bottom of the flower box through louvered vent covers on 3 or all sides (still deciding). The front of the flower box will be framed and the b/w poly used as a door in conjunction with either magnetic tape or velcro. When closed the box will be light sealed. Small fans will circulate air up through the plants and out through the hoods. I was thinking about using a small 6" clip-on fan (not batt. powered) in each bottom corner of the flower box pointed at 45deg from the floor towards the lights.
Some of the specific questions I have include:
1) is this exhaust flow setup going to work? consider that I may run the flower room fan at 50% and room fan at 100%.
2) I am not opposed to forced-induction cooling (maybe a 4" inline on some ducting running to the floor from the intake inlet). But will it be needed? Is the only way to know to test it out?
3) is 2x1000w overkill? Keep in mind I may expand to 4x8 or 6x6 trays or similar later and I like scalability.
4) harvest/drying/curing will take place in another room, needn't worry about that
That's it, thanks for making it this far. I am open to all options including equipment, just keep in mind I already have (1) 1000w HPS and some CFL reflectors. Please feel free to critique, this is my 4th or 5th draft but I am sure it can be improved greatly with the community's help.
Thanks and
