Help with my 24 plant setup!!!!!

Hello all
im helping a friend design a grow room for his new apartment and told him i will get expert advice so i made a design and i am hoping the professionals and experts here on RIU can help tweek the design and help with the many questions i have. maybe when this thread is done it can help many others design their own grow rooms in detail.

so to start: all the basic design information is in the pic above as far as equipment, ill have 2 large reservoirs with air pumps for water, everything will be on digital timers, i will have Co2, dehumidifier, heater, A/C unit ready if necessary. AM I MISSING ANYTHING?

ANTI-DETECTION
Q1: im wraping the room with insulation and then panda plastic to help hide IR signature. will this work for the size of my setup?

Q2:what kind of insulation works best for hiding IR.

Q3: will this size setup be noticable to the power company? (ill be running HPS during the day and MH during the night to minimize energy usage fluctuations however there will be a six hour overlap time that will show a spike, "but its also the time when ppl get home, prepair dinner etc aprox 1pm - 7pm".)

Q4: if i suck the air from the flowering room through a carbon filter and let it out in the veg room which can then dispurse into the rest of the apt will this deal with the smell issues of a grow this size?

Q5: am i missing any security factors?

FLOWERING ROOM
Q1: will using 9 gallon pots in a scrog setup give a bigger yeild then using 5 gallon pots?

Q2: if i have 12 plants under 1 light, is a 600 watt HPS enough? is a 1000 watt HPS enough? (there is lots of space to grow so im not worried about that factor and i would prefer to use 600 watt to keep power usage down) lemme know.

Q3: if i use a squarrel fan to suck air from the rest of the apt into the room and channel it into the flowering room will this be sufficient fresh air for 24 plants?

Q4: shoud i set up my grow cycle for 3 months since some strains take more then 2 months of flowering to ripe?

VEGETATIVE ROOM
Q1: is 4 T5 flourescent tubes enough light for 50 clones on top of a heat mat?

Q2: is a 400 watt MH light enough for 28 rooted, potted clones?

Q3: is a 1000 watt MH light more then i need for 24 plants in 3 or 4 gallon pots? can i use a 400 or 600 watt MH light? (these plants will be topped and LST'd if that makes a difference)

Q4: should i switch from MH to HPS say a week or two before i move the plants into the flowering room? trying to avoid shock i guess...

Q5: is it ok to have the exhaust air from the flowering room channeled through the carbon filter and into the veg room? i figured it wont smell and the heat and humidity from the flowering room would benefit the rooting clones in the veg room.... (this air will also be dispursed into the rest of the apt)

Q6: will having 1 squarrel fan pulling fresh air into both rooms work? will they both get sufficient fresh air or will most end up in the veg room (see diagram above) i was thinking i would make the exhaust tube to the veg room smaller to force most of the air into the flowering room.

aside from all the soil im am going to have to deal with as compaired to some sort of hydro system ebb flow or whatever can anyone point out any other problems i may have missed?

im sure ill be back with more questions soon.....

THANKS IN ADVANCE I HOPE kiss-ass

Carbon filter should start the airflow process. Hence, they do not have two port holes for in and out ... just the out. The "IN" is the pre-filter wrapped around the canister. Attach that to your light hoods, then attach THAT to your inline fan and exhaust the air to outdoors (never mind outdoors cuz you're running Co2).

And IR detection is illegal in the US. 2001 Supreme court ruling.

Fans and more fans didnt see them on the list....Really looks good good luck

seperate the locations of the intake from the exhaust for the flowering room, you dont want to suck the hot air back through the system, might give you issues in the summer

edit:

security concern-
apartments do inspections for maintenance...

smokingrubber said:

Carbon filter should start the airflow process. Hence, they do not have two port holes for in and out ... just the out. The "IN" is the pre-filter wrapped around the canister. Attach that to your light hoods, then attach THAT to your inline fan and exhaust the air to outdoors (never mind outdoors cuz you're running Co2).

And IR detection is illegal in the US. 2001 Supreme court ruling.

Click to expand...

oh ok so i am basically sucking the air out of the room through the filter then the air is sent over the lights and out of the room? as opposed to sucking up the air through the fan then passing it through the air filter and out of the room right?

and as far as IR better safe then sorry

IAm5toned said:

seperate the locations of the intake from the exhaust for the flowering room, you dont want to suck the hot air back through the system, might give you issues in the summer

edit:

security concern-
apartments do inspections for maintenance...

Click to expand...

ya sorry the pic doesnt do justice but i wont have intake and exhaust pumping through the same vents, exhaust vents will be at the top of the room and fresh air vent will be at the bottom of the room

I can't tell the flowering room dimensions, but if the drawing is to scale and based on pot size and veg time, more light... best guess without more info is 4 x 600w, but you might want 6 x 400w or 4 x 1Kw.

As to the power company, modern homes consume crazy power, my PC has a 1Kw power supply and it's sitting next to a 1500w space heater, forget the my electic dryer and more gulpers of power... other than the regularity of on/off which needs to be checked at the meter they might as well be looking for a fart in a windstorm.

mrclark said:

I can't tell the flowering room dimensions, but if the drawing is to scale and based on pot size and veg time, more light... best guess without more info is 4 x 600w, but you might want 6 x 400w or 4 x 1Kw.

As to the power company, modern homes consume crazy power, my PC has a 1Kw power supply and it's sitting next to a 1500w space heater, forget the my electic dryer and more gulpers of power... other than the regularity of on/off which needs to be checked at the meter they might as well be looking for a fart in a windstorm.

Click to expand...

hey mrclark thanks for the info, as for room size i dont have specs yet, my friend doesnt actually have the apt yet. since im still concerned about power costs i guess i could go with 4x 600 watt lights........fart in a windstorm lol thats jokes.

Q: can a regular apt bedrooms electrical wiring handle this kind of setup or will the odds be i need to go in and rewire?

With the respiration from that many plants you may have humidity issues if your venting back into your apartment - you may need a dehumidifier. I work for a property management company, they inspect all their apartments every few months. It would be kind of tough to hide this grow. If you're above someone consider noise that may be heard from below, or worse scenario, water leaking from yours to the downstairs unit. A typical circuit breaker in the US for a bedroom is likely going to be 15A, so add up the amperage from all your equipment to see how close you are. It's advisable not to run it right at the edge due to potential fire. The set up looks great btw. Good luck

joeblow3302 said:

Q: can a regular apt bedrooms electrical wiring handle this kind of setup or will the odds be i need to go in and rewire?

Click to expand...

If you're going to run HALF the stuff you've got drawn you'll need to rewire. If the apartment has a 240v dryer outlet, you could get a power panel and run everything off that.

This isn't the type of grow I would consider for an apartment. You need at least a condo or duplex with a single car garage imo.

WillMunny said:

With the respiration from that many plants you may have humidity issues if your venting back into your apartment - you may need a dehumidifier. I work for a property management company, they inspect all their apartments every few months. It would be kind of tough to hide this grow. If you're above someone consider noise that may be heard from below, or worse scenario, water leaking from yours to the downstairs unit. A typical circuit breaker in the US for a bedroom is likely going to be 15A, so add up the amperage from all your equipment to see how close you are. It's advisable not to run it right at the edge due to potential fire. The set up looks great btw. Good luck

Click to expand...

hey will thanks for the input, ill have a dehumidifier, a/c, and heater jus in case.
about the apt inspections and noise those are very valid points, im thinking he should look into a townhouse, or a private rented condo. once we have the equipment ill look into the amp or maybe check the specs online before hand.
thanks you for your insight

smokingrubber said:

If you're going to run HALF the stuff you've got drawn you'll need to rewire. If the apartment has a 240v dryer outlet, you could get a power panel and run everything off that.

This isn't the type of grow I would consider for an apartment. You need at least a condo or duplex with a single car garage imo.

Click to expand...

ya im thinking i will tell him to get a townhouse or condo. as for the dryer outlet that is a great idea, i didnt know i could do that lol thanks

fresh air looks like it is coming from the apt? Prob worn, but add some co2 for all those plants or at least some major intakes from the outside.

I think that after 2 months of veg you're going to have some beasts and 1000 watters will be necessary. But as was said, more light and more fans. That means youll need an 8x8 space with 4 1000s, covering 4x4 each and 6 plants. With your plant numbers and veg time, I'd think 4 1000's. Plus your veg, and everything else, makes an apartment not an option IMO.
What I would do is get 2 4x8 grow tents and stick 2k in each one. Then use just 2 ballast and flip flop between the tents, putting them on opposite 12hr cycles. That way your running a constant 2kw instead of 4k spiking every 12hrs.Id run the the 1k mh in a 4x4 and then moms cuts and preveg in 2nd 4x4 with shelves in it. i like tents though. Once you get going I think you might reconsider either veg time or plant numbers, or both. Be careful bro

Thats way too much for a common apartment. It seems like half that grow would be more practical in an apartment. If you have a special circumstance, well that's something, but it seems you'd need to pull off a 240V like smokingrubber said.

roorsmoke said:

What I would do is get 2 4x8 grow tents and stick 2k in each one. Then use just 2 ballast and flip flop between the tents, putting them on opposite 12hr cycles. That way your running a constant 2kw instead of 4k spiking every 12hrs.Id run the the 1k mh in a 4x4 and then moms cuts and preveg in 2nd 4x4 with shelves in it. i like tents though. Once you get going I think you might reconsider either veg time or plant numbers, or both. Be careful bro

Click to expand...

hehehe that's exactly what im about to do. Except screw the switchable ballast, I just bought 4 of them. I dont care about the power spike. And I'm sealing each tent and adding Co2! Moohooohahhaaaahaaaaa.

This dude get busted? lol, Because this setup in an apartment is begging for it.