Im Building My Grow Room...Any Help Appreciated

ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
Ok. So the previous renters built a room in the garage I think for their teenage boy. When I moved in I used it for a storage room. Now I have decided to use it for my grow room.

It needed a little work. the walls are 1/8' plywood. There was no ceiling. No insulation. Im in Sacramento , California and the summers are HOT here so it was hot as hell in that room(hotter than outside). And there was no air conditioner.
Poor kid had to stay out there.
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Below you can see there is no ceiling. Bare walls.The window is open, I had already stuck in the AC.

Again no ceiling and bare walls.


So far, I sealed off the window, put in an AC unit, built a couple walls(I still have to put up one more wall), installed a ceiling, and put reflective insulation on the walls.
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No more window. Nice and air tight. AC has no problem keeping things cool in there. I wish that workbench wasn't there, more grow room, but I cant really remove it.


I put up a ceiling. Ill eventually put up insulation on the ceiling.


An outside shot of the mother room. I still need to install a door that I will make out of plywood and another wall and door to seal off the flower room.


An inside shot of the mother room. 4' X 6'



The mother room will be sealed off from the flower room with AC with walls and doors. So I was planning on pulling air from the flower room. I have a 100CFM can fan laying around that I used on a previous tent grow. I was planning on using it to exhaust the mother room while using a passive intake from the flower room to help cool it. For the intake I drilled six 3/4" holes in the bottom plates of my wall( there are 2 because the walls are a little taller than a standard 8' stud). then I drilled a hole from the top to connect the two holes. then I sealed the top hole. this will hopefully prevent light from going through because the holes are offset..
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I drilled the bottom of the 2X4 on this side.


and I drilled the top 2X4 on this side. You can also see the holes I drilled from the top.



Here is a diagram of how I intend to use the space.

I still got alot of work to do and I havent even started to buy any equipment yet. I have a 1000 watt switchable balast and sealed hood. A 150 watt MH with internal balst in hood. A CO2 tank regulator and controller that switches on and off fans at set temps and humidity and shuts off fans when CO2 is on. and a 100CFM can fan. So any suggestions on Equip. is also welcome.

Now for my questions so far.

What is the best type/size light for the mother room?

Will my passive intake through the six 3/4'" holes using a 100CFM can fan work? Is it to much or not enough?

I plan to do hydro in the future but I am gonna go with soil for now til I get comfortable with indoor growing.

What is the best way to utilize my space? SOG, ScrOG, let them grow natural, etc?

How many plants do I put in each 4' X 4' area?

Should I use 1000W or 600W?

I have no intake for fresh air other than my AC which does still blow the fan even when the AC kicks off. Is that enough?

I plan on exhausting the room through my lights to help cool them. What size fan?
Or do I need a seperate fan for each? What size?

How is my overall setup plan? Would you do it differently? If so. What?

Alot of questions I know and Im sure more questions will arise.

Please don't refer me to any books or threads. Ive read them all and doing the best I can off everything I have read and learned. But like I said before the more I read the more confused I get.


Any suggestions are greatly appreciated
 
tea tree

tea tree

Well-Known Member
this is looking really good.

I can say I envy the room.

Is that a mh to flower?

Are you going to veg 24/0 and just have that light spill out?

A 400 I bet for at least four moms. I use one to veg four and have used it to veg like eight.

Exhaust it and use ozone! ozone is nice.

run the strain of your dreams in a room that looks like that. go all out at the shop.
 
jcommerce

jcommerce

Well-Known Member
You're off to a good start, but there are several things I'd change. A couple of quick thoughts:

1) 1st of all, you've got your lights mixed up. You want the MHs in the mother room and the HPS in the flower room.

2) You ABSOLUTELY need to have fresh air intake and exhaust out of the room. A 100CFM fan is not going to be anywhere close enough to what you'll need for this setup. I would plan on at least something in the 700 CFM range, but better yet 900 CFM. Along with this, you need to buy "The Speedster" fan control (Google it). It's by far one of the best investments I've ever made....they're about $30 and they allow you to dial in the absolute perfect airflow to maintain optimal tem.

Gotta go eat dinner, but I'll be able to answer more questions you may have shortly. And also....GO HYDRO. It is SOOOO much easier than soil. Believe me, you won't regret it.
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
tea tree said:
this is looking really good.

I can say I envy the room.

Is that a mh to flower?

Oops. No that was a brainfart. I meant MH in the mother room and HPS in the flower room.

Are you going to veg 24/0 and just have that light spill out?

That Im not sure about yet. I was thinking that I would go straight to flower and use either either SOG or ScrOG teqnique. If I do veg, Ill probably go dark for a few hours.
Undecided.


A 400 I bet for at least four moms. I use one to veg four and have used it to veg like eight.
Thats what I was hoping to be able to use. except that I was hoping to cram 6 mothers in there. You think thats to crowded for a 4' X 6' space? and you think 400W is enough for that space?

Exhaust it and use ozone! ozone is nice.
Im not to concerned about smell where I am.




run the strain of your dreams in a room that looks like that. go all out at the shop.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input:peace:
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
jcommerce said:
You're off to a good start, but there are several things I'd change. A couple of quick thoughts:

1) 1st of all, you've got your lights mixed up. You want the MHs in the mother room and the HPS in the flower room.
Oops that was a brainfart.:eyesmoke: I totally meant the other way around. Thanks for pointing that out.


2) You ABSOLUTELY need to have fresh air intake and exhaust out of the room. A 100CFM fan is not going to be anywhere close enough to what you'll need for this setup. I would plan on at least something in the 700 CFM range, but better yet 900 CFM. Along with this, you need to buy "The Speedster" fan control (Google it). It's by far one of the best investments I've ever made....they're about $30 and they allow you to dial in the absolute perfect airflow to maintain optimal tem.

The 100CFM is actually for the mother room only. That space is 4' X 6' and I plan to use a passive intake pulling cooled AC air from the flower room. is 100CFM about right for that space?

The second room my flower room is 8' X 10'. Would you say that a 700 CFM fan is about right for that space? I checked the fan controller out and it is now definitely on my shopping list. Thanks.

So are you saying that my window AC wont pull in enough fresh air? The fan on the AC does still pull in fresh air. Even when the AC kicks off the fan keeps running and pulling in air from the outside.
Because pulling in air from outside would defeat the purpose of my AC. Its not unusual to have 90- 100 degree heat here in Sac. and I dont have anywhere to pull cool air from.
Im not argueing Im just asking.

Gotta go eat dinner, but I'll be able to answer more questions you may have shortly. And also....GO HYDRO. It is SOOOO much easier than soil. Believe me, you won't regret it.
You think so? I wanted to from the start, but everything Ive been reading says to start with soil because its more forgiving. Then move onto Hydro when I get more comfortable.[/quote]

Thanks Alot for the input:peace:
Click to expand...
 
jcommerce

jcommerce

Well-Known Member
Ok, I read a little too quickly through your post the first time. That AC should do a pretty good job of keeping your room cool. But if it was really hot in that room before the AC was installed, that little unit is going to be quite challenged to keep it cool along with what looks like two 1000 watt HPS lamps, and the 400 MH mother lamp. That's a lot of wattage for realtively tight confines. I don't claim to know everything, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I've upgraded my grow room 4 times so far starting with the small box in my signature journal, up to the 12 bucket recirculating deep water culture system I have now, complete with 6 foot light mover, 740 CFM fan system and Super Spectrum (combo 400MH/600HPS) lighting. I use my old grow box and homebox for mothers and clones now (just establishing a little cred here).

Here's what I'd do with your setup:

1) I would ditch the light mover, or go to a 4 foot light mover (I have a 6 foot light mover in a similar length area and it's overkill. 4 foot is plenty for that area because you have to account for the extended length of the hood beyond the end of the track) I personally think with two 1000 watters, you'll have plenty of coverage without using a light mover.

2) I would invest in air cooled / glass hoods for all of your HID lights. Then I would buy a 740 CFM fan and mount it on your work bench to allow it to exhaust hot air from the lamps to the outside (I'm assuming there's another window next to your AC, or at least room to duct hot air out?)

So here's how the fan system would work. The fan will be pulling air from your hoods and pushing it outside. The ducting will run from the fan/bench, through each of your HPS hoods, then into the mother room and into your MH hood. This will prevent the need for another fan servicing your mother room because there will be negative pressure in the mother room because this will be the terminus of your fan lines. The negative pressure and suction in the mother room will allow you to drill several large holes or rectangles on the wall, near the floor in the mother room where cool, fresh air will be drawn in (you can hang black flaps over these holes to prevent light leakage into your flower room) For this method, you're going to need A LOT more intake into the mother room than the small holes you've drilled. You want enough allowed intake to essentially prevent there being negative pressure in the mother room. You simply want nice, smooth, unobstructed flow.

I hope this is making sense. You're essentially running a full, in-line cooling system where your AC is providing cool air into the grow room and the fan system is drawing some of that cool air up and through your lights to cool them and exhaust your heat back outside. This is where "The Speedster" will allow you to perfectly fine tune your temperatures to the ideal grow levels.

Next up, I'm going to convince you to go hydro right from the start. I promise you'll be glad you did. It's not hard, there's a learning curve to it, but so is the case with soil. Even learning soil, you're going to have to nearly start all over again to learn hydro. May as well learn hydro right from the get go. It's way more fun, faster growth, easier nutrient and ph adjustments, and better yields. Trust me, I've done both over many years.
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
Thanks for your input J. I dont really think Ill have a problem cooling that space with That AC unit. Last week it was 108 degrees here and I fired up the 1000W HID that I have along with a 250W and the floro's that are in that room without any ducting hooked up just to see if I could keep it cool in that heat.and it kept it at 72 degrees with no problem. Your instructions totally made sense. I will definitely consider all your suggestions. Much appreciated.
 
jcommerce

jcommerce

Well-Known Member
ruva said:
Thanks for your input J. I dont really think Ill have a problem cooling that space with That AC unit. Last week it was 108 degrees here and I fired up the 1000W HID that I have along with a 250W and the floro's that are in that room without any ducting hooked up just to see if I could keep it cool in that heat.and it kept it at 72 degrees with no problem. Your instructions totally made sense. I will definitely consider all your suggestions. Much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Cool! (pun intended). Don't think I'm going to let you slide by without addressing the hydro thing. You're apparently committed to this project as proven by the work you've done thus far. With a little more hard work, you could have the most badass setup around. That room needs an RDWC (recirculating deep water culture) system. I'm just running mine for the first time after stepping up from regular DWC, then to Ebb and Flood, and now RDWC. RDWC is bar far the easiest to maintain and run. I could leave my house for a week and it would be all good! Think about it, seriously.
 
DocBrown

DocBrown

Well-Known Member
Sorry I can't be of any help with some advice but your room is turning out very nice. I'll keep checking back on your progress. Keep up the good work.
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
jcommerce said:
Cool! (pun intended). Don't think I'm going to let you slide by without addressing the hydro thing. You're apparently committed to this project as proven by the work you've done thus far. With a little more hard work, you could have the most badass setup around. That room needs an RDWC (recirculating deep water culture) system. I'm just running mine for the first time after stepping up from regular DWC, then to Ebb and Flood, and now RDWC. RDWC is bar far the easiest to maintain and run. I could leave my house for a week and it would be all good! Think about it, seriously.
Click to expand...

haha. You definitely got me rethinking the hydro. I mean that is what I had intended from the beginning. But like I said before the more I read the more confused I get. There are so many different ways I can go. Which one to try? then I decided fuck it. Ive done soil outdoors. I know I can do that. With Hydro there are so many different types of systems. and none of them are cheap or easy. But what the hell, I consider myself fairly intelligent. Im sure there are less intelligent people than myself figuring this stuff out.
So Im gonna research RDWC a little deeper. And I am seriously reconsidering.
Ive still got alot of work to do on my room so I have time to think about it.
 
Tyrannabudz

Tyrannabudz

Well-Known Member
After seeing what you can build. Being in construction and a licensed plumber, I can tell you, you will easily be able to construct a hydro setup from scratch. You can easily costruct a RDWC setup using 6" pvc sewer pipe. All parts can be purchased at home depot or plumbing supply shop. Consider a 6" length of pvc w/ holes drilled in it using a hole saw. Placing net pots in drilled holes. At both ends you could either glue on some fixed caps (not wafer caps) or use some Jim caps(thick, neoprene cap w/adjustable band clamp). You can purchase these at the plumbing supply house w/ drains already fixed to them. Or another suggestion would be reducers at the ends to which you can fix your feed and return pipes to. The reducers for the return or drain side should be "offset bell reducers" they have the smaller outlet of the reducer offset from center so when installed in the low position all water can be drained thoroughly. Or if you like, the normal reducer where both ends of the fitting are center may help because there would always be a small amount of nutrient solution in the bottm of the pipe. That would then be flushed on every feed cycle. Bulid a rack or pedestal from wood and notch the horizontal supports to hold the pipe in place, and use "holey iron" to secure the pipe. Pump solution into one end and it drains out of the other end via 1" pvc or whichever suits you best. On the feed line it is important to know that if you are using one pump to feed say four pipes the piping or manifold needs to be equalized to ensure the same amount of nutrient is reaching all the pipes at the same time. Meaning the tee feeding the manifold on the outlets or the two ends should have the same length of pipe in them. For example imagine the tee installed on a horizontal plane, the pipes coming off either end need to be the same length same with the pipes coming off the tees or 90's whichever the case. Also I would suggest sloping the pipes or table at 1/16 per foot. This will drain adequately but not too fast. Good Luck
I talk a lot a shit for a guy who grows in soil. But when I do go Hydro this is the type of setup I am going to build.:joint:
 
vandewalle

vandewalle

Well-Known Member
why dont you just have one large room for mothers and clones seeing as how they are going to be on the same light cycle and that way you wouldnt have to move them far or at all. and then have one large room for flowering because that will be on a 12/12 cycle, this way you can have a very easy perpetual harvest, and depending on yor grow method you can just keep adding more clones every 4 weeks and have a harvest every month.
 
Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia

Well-Known Member
Looks like you've got the space and resources to make a pretty enviable setup...if only we could all be so lucky...

I think you've got the right idea going soil first to get a feel for the space and then moving over to hydro. Though with all that room, you could do a little experimenting with dwc/ebb&flow/whatever to see what you like. You could even try some Coco Coir...its like growing hydro in soil...or is that soil in hydro???

Is money an issue? Because you're going to be pulling some serious electricity, especially with an a/c running 24/7. And all that other shit is way expensive. But you probably know that already.

High Output T5's would do well in your clone and mother space (which could probably be combined)--they are super efficient and much cooler than MH.

Get some good seeds. Again, you seem to have the finances to back the rest of this investment, so don't cheap out there. Get a nice mix of sativas and a nice mix of indicas...with all that space you can try them all and find YOUR favorite...

Good luck. I'm jealous thinking about how awesome your operation will be :leaf:
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
Tyrannabudz said:
After seeing what you can build. Being in construction and a licensed plumber, I can tell you, you will easily be able to construct a hydro setup from scratch. You can easily costruct a RDWC setup using 6" pvc sewer pipe. All parts can be purchased at home depot or plumbing supply shop. Consider a 6" length of pvc w/ holes drilled in it using a hole saw. Placing net pots in drilled holes. At both ends you could either glue on some fixed caps (not wafer caps) or use some Jim caps(thick, neoprene cap w/adjustable band clamp). You can purchase these at the plumbing supply house w/ drains already fixed to them. Or another suggestion would be reducers at the ends to which you can fix your feed and return pipes to. The reducers for the return or drain side should be "offset bell reducers" they have the smaller outlet of the reducer offset from center so when installed in the low position all water can be drained thoroughly. Or if you like, the normal reducer where both ends of the fitting are center may help because there would always be a small amount of nutrient solution in the bottm of the pipe. That would then be flushed on every feed cycle. Bulid a rack or pedestal from wood and notch the horizontal supports to hold the pipe in place, and use "holey iron" to secure the pipe. Pump solution into one end and it drains out of the other end via 1" pvc or whichever suits you best. On the feed line it is important to know that if you are using one pump to feed say four pipes the piping or manifold needs to be equalized to ensure the same amount of nutrient is reaching all the pipes at the same time. Meaning the tee feeding the manifold on the outlets or the two ends should have the same length of pipe in them. For example imagine the tee installed on a horizontal plane, the pipes coming off either end need to be the same length same with the pipes coming off the tees or 90's whichever the case. Also I would suggest sloping the pipes or table at 1/16 per foot. This will drain adequately but not too fast. Good Luck
I talk a lot a shit for a guy who grows in soil. But when I do go Hydro this is the type of setup I am going to build.:joint:
Click to expand...
Yeah. thats true. I had considered making my own. I saw a tutorial somewhere on how to construct an aeroponic system from 4" square pvc fence post. But your idea sounds cool too.

I saw an aeroflow-2 120 system on craigslist. The guy is only asking $400 dollars for it because he lost some of the parts and constructed the missing pieces out of PVC pipe. But it is to large to fit in my space. Do you think I can customize it to fit in my space by removing some of the pipes?

Here is the link: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/grd/1256477966.html
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
vandewalle said:
why dont you just have one large room for mothers and clones seeing as how they are going to be on the same light cycle and that way you wouldnt have to move them far or at all. and then have one large room for flowering because that will be on a 12/12 cycle, this way you can have a very easy perpetual harvest, and depending on yor grow method you can just keep adding more clones every 4 weeks and have a harvest every month.
Click to expand...

That is a good idea. I think I will scrap the clone chamber and just put my mothers and clones in the same room.
Thanks.
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
Jerry Garcia said:
Looks like you've got the space and resources to make a pretty enviable setup...if only we could all be so lucky...

I think you've got the right idea going soil first to get a feel for the space and then moving over to hydro. Though with all that room, you could do a little experimenting with dwc/ebb&flow/whatever to see what you like. You could even try some Coco Coir...its like growing hydro in soil...or is that soil in hydro???

Thats true I could always do both for awile.

Is money an issue? Because you're going to be pulling some serious electricity, especially with an a/c running 24/7. And all that other shit is way expensive. But you probably know that already.

Money is not really an issue.I mean, Im hoping to recoup a little by growing a little extra than I need, but if I dont sell a gram thats OK too.

High Output T5's would do well in your clone and mother space (which could probably be combined)--they are super efficient and much cooler than MH.

vandewalle also suggested that I combine my clone and mother space and I think I will definitely do that. Do you think a 2' X 4' space is enough for cloning? that would leave me with a 4' X 4' space for my mothers. unless I put the clones up on a shelf with my mothers below. any thoughts on that?

Get some good seeds. Again, you seem to have the finances to back the rest of this investment, so don't cheap out there. Get a nice mix of sativas and a nice mix of indicas...with all that space you can try them all and find YOUR favorite...

Im definitely gonna try not to skimp here. The thing is I got an outdoor grow going right now and dont really plan on getting this up and running til after I harvest outside. So I have a few months actually to get this room ready.

Good luck. I'm jealous thinking about how awesome your operation will be :leaf:
Click to expand...
Thanks. Dont get too jealous. At least not until I get a successful grow. Until then its just a money pit. LOL
 
Green Cross

Green Cross

Well-Known Member
ruva said:
That is a good idea. I think I will scrap the clone chamber and just put my mothers and clones in the same room.
Click to expand...
ruva said:
Thanks.
Click to expand...


Great space you have there. Ruva

You may be too far along to make the changes I’m going to suggest - not sure which walls are already up - but since you're already thinking about losing the mother room, and housing the clones with the mothers - which does seem more convenient and efficient - What about this:

1: Extend the workbench, hang some 8” T-5's over it and use it for cloning, and make that room the mother room.

2. Extend the light mover room into the area that you had intended to use as the mother room for a 12’ run?

Benefits of this plan.

1. The air that you’re drawing from the first room is still relatively cool when it exits.
2. Your light mover could run the entire length of the garage.
3. This saves you the trouble of building a 3rd room.
4. More efficient use of the 1000w light
 
ruva

ruva

Well-Known Member
Green Cross said:
Great space you have there. Ruva

You may be too far along to make the changes I’m going to suggest - not sure which walls are already up - but since you're already thinking about losing the mother room, and housing the clones with the mothers - which does seem more convenient and efficient - What about this:

1: Extend the workbench, hang some 8” T-5's over it and use it for cloning, and make that room the mother room.

2. Extend the light mover room into the area that you had intended to use as the mother room for a 12’ run?

Benefits of this plan.

1. The air that you’re drawing from the first room is still relatively cool when it exits.
2. Your light mover could run the entire length of the garage.
3. This saves you the trouble of building a 3rd room.
4. More efficient use of the 1000w light
Click to expand...

I like your thinking but the walls are up and Im just too far along to make those kind of changes.
 
Tyrannabudz

Tyrannabudz

Well-Known Member
Anything is possible. The setup I described can be built to suit. You can use any pipe size as long as there is space for root growth. Those aero flo systems are a very simple setup. For the price of that aeroflo kit ($400) you can build a few home made setups.:joint:
 
jcommerce

jcommerce

Well-Known Member
Ruva,

First of all, I agree with the idea to keep mothers and clones in the same room, no need to complicate things.

Below is a link to a "how to" RDWC system called "The Bio Buckets". It's the method I used for my setup and it is by far the best and easiest method of hydro I've used to date (I've previously done DWC, drip systems, and ebb/flood).

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=8182

This guy's setup is over the top (in a good way), but I built my system more simply. My system can run up to 12 buckets with a single reservoir (plus a 27 gallon auto top off reservoir), a single pump, and a single 3 inch PVC return line. It took a decent amount of work to set it up, but considering the work you've done thusfar in the room, this will just be a final step. The RDWC method is much easier than I expected and I've been able to maintain much more consistent Ph levels than with other hydro methods.

Now that my system is set up and running, it is so unbelievably easy to maintain, it's crazy. I honestly spend about 5 - 10 minutes a day at most working on it (and often that's just looking at the plants because my Ph and nutrient levels stay consistent and don't require any work) and I'm able to skip days at a time, no problem. With my automatic top of reservoir, I could literally leave for a week and not worry about it. With my previous methods, I would have been too concerned about Ph flucutaion to leave for that long.

Even though the author of "The Bio Buckets" is not the best speller or writer, it will be clear enough to understand. Take the time to read it and, since I sense that you're on the fence, I think you'll be swayed to do hydro.

The basics of hydro are very simple and you only need a few tools for the trade:

1) A Ph meter - about $40 on Ebay and a very handy and easy tool to use.

2) A TDS/EC meter - for metering PPMs or parts per million of Total Disolved Solids.

3) A Reverse Osmosis filter - not absolutely critical (you can use tap water), but it allows you to start with completely clean, pure water. It's also nice to have in your house for your drinking water. About $120 - $150 at Depot, online, etc.

That's it man!

My favorite thing about hydro is that if there is a problem with Ph, nutrient deficiency, toxicity, etc., you can immediately bring the water back to where it needs to be for each and every plant in your system because they're all on the same "circuit" of water so to speak. You know with each and every plant what their Ph and nutrient levels are at.

With soil, you can have different Ph and nutrient levels in each bucket. So if you have 12 plants, you've got to individually test Ph and nutrient levels for each pot and adjust each one. VERY time consuming....VERY. Plus, if and when you do have a problem, you have to flush, test, flush, test, etc. etc. It's much more difficult to get levels back to optimal, and it's more difficult to really gauge where your true levels are compared to simple H2O hydro.

Because so many more people in the world grow veggies, fruits, houseplants, etc. etc. in soil, there's a misconception that hydro is more difficult and harder to learn. We grow up as children thinking soil is the easier method because that's all we see our parents and grandparents doing. This simply is not the case...now, more than ever, with the absolute abundance of information on the internet, it's all there for you to learn, practice, and succeed.
 
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