RDWC 1000 watt Gorilla Tent, T5 Mother Area, T5 pre-veg tent, Cloning Station
- Thread starter jcommerce
- Start date
jcommerce
Well-Known Member
I've set up rooms with 4 times what you've got in 1 day.
Just costs a lot of -Money-.
If you could set this bedroom up in a single day, I'd kiss your ass on Times Square. With soil or coco, sure, maybe...but not with multiple DWC and RDWC ops. Nevertheless, thanks for the props!
jcommerce
Well-Known Member
I didn't, but I can. I ended up breaking out my 1/10 HP chiller and have it running. They are horribly counterproductive as they require a pump in your reservoir (heat source) and they need to exhaust the heat dissipation (another heat source). I've considered running a satellite plumbing rig off of my existing RDWC pump, so as not to have a heat generating pump in my rez but, wow, just another job with cutting, gluing, plumbing, snake wrestling, etc...not to mention the down time on my plants while the PVC glue cures.
My chiller has brought the temps down from 78F to 73F. I know that dissolved oxygen is greatly lessened the closer you get to 80F, but with all of my reefing experience and growing high end SPS corals, along with the fact that the most healthy reefs (at least for now) in the world in Papua New Guinea and other parts of the coral triangle, all thrive in high 70s to mid 80s. This lets me know that there's still plenty of oxygen in the water at these temps (from tides, winds, etc). I, for one, believe that this can be applied to hydroponics with the right tools and methods in place. Products like Aquashield, Hydroguard, and Hygrozyme have been developed exactly for these conditions. Knock on wood, but I've never had a root rot problem, even with higher than optimal water temps using these products. With the incredible amount of circulation via the main rez pump, the jet heads (or air stones), and the introduction of fresh, external air with an airstone in the main rez, it's not too far fetched to think that the plants will do well and thrive. I've seen it many times before. Just consider that some outdoor, black smartpots hit 140 - 150F, or higher, when getting hit with direct, mid-summer sunlight and air temps in the 100s. Those roots, while maybe not ideal, still produce 6 - 10 LB plants.
All this being said, I added some Hydroguard today and hooked up the chiller. I normally wouldn't have taken these steps, but the foam kind of freaked me out because I've never seen it in my many years of DWC hydro. The optimist in me wants to say that it's the bennies in the organic Botanicare line I'm using (just like a tea foams), but who knows? I'm hoping I can eliminate the chiller....they suck (both power and figuratively).
Luckily, it's getting hot in my neck of the woods and I've specially ducted the AC into this room and it will be running more and more regularly in the coming days and weeks. I ran it today and it dropped the room temps drastically which, obviously, causes the water temp to drop with the ambient room temps being lower. And in the winter, it's very cool in this basement room. I like the challenge of tackling curve balls along the way in room setups.
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Deusracing
Well-Known Member
I have to say that is the baddest ass home brew kit I've seen.... I like units like that.. IF you find time do you have a equipment list on materials for that.. Im not comfortable on 1400.oo for current culture.. only spend money on lights..
jcommerce
Well-Known Member
^^^ Thanks man. Well, here's a rough list of the parts in the flower tent. Almost everything is available at Lowe's (with the obvious exception of the tent, lights, fan, filter, etc) except for bulkheads, jet nozzles, and a couple other odds and ends. Much more appreciation and sense of accomplishment than buying a UC in my opinion. I prefer the flow dynamics of this setup as well....and NO AIRSTONES! (except for one in the main rez)
- 8' x 8' Gorilla Tent
-Sunlight Supply XXL Ocho hood w/glass
-3 ft. Light Rail
-740 CFM Hyperfan
-750 CFM Phresh Filter
-Phantom 1000 watt electronic ballast
-27 Gallon Strongbox Tote main reservoir (Lowe's)
-RO line from main RO pressure tank
-1/4" adjustable float valve (for auto RO top off) Bulk Reef Supply
-Pondmaster 12 Mag Drive Pump
-3/4" Bulkhead (to connect reservoir to Mag Pump) Bulk Reef Supply
-8 x 10 gallon rubbermaid totes
-8 x 2" thread/thread bulkheads (for drain lines) Bulk Reef Supply
-8 x 2" barbed Schedule 80 PVC fittings (they are inserted into the 2" bulkheads. make sure to use teflon tape)
- 2 x Watts 6' Corrugated Dishwasher drain hose (Every foot or so, there is a smooth section for cutting sections. Cut in center and attached to 2" barbed fitting)
-3/4" PVC tubing as needed for spacing between totes (I bought 4 x 6' sections)
-3/4" thread/thread schedule 80 riser (for pump outled)
-8 x 3/4" x 1/2" slip/slip/thread Sched 40 "Ts" (slips are 3/4" slips and 1/2" thread)
-1 x 3/4" slip/slip/thread (to split water flow off of pump outlet)
-8 x 3/4" slip/slip 90 degree elbows
-6 x 10" Sched 80 PVC risers (for first 6 bins)
-2 x 12" Sched 80 PVC risers (for last 2 bins...remember that the return flume is sloped so the farther away from the rez, the higher the risers need to be)
-8 x 1/2" slip/thread couplings (to attach sched 80 risers to flex risers)
-8 x Gilmour 06WJ jet nozzles
-8 x Orbit 150psi Flex Risers (Home Depot)
-8 x 1/2" slip/thread (male thread) couplings (to attach flex risers to the jet nozzles)
-3" black sewer PVC for return flume (length as needed...mine is about 6.5')
I'm sure I'm forgetting a thing or two, but there's a start. I can do a video walk through to make things seem a bit clearer than mud.
Deusracing
Well-Known Member
Its cool i just found a source that has undercurrent buckets unlabeled and uncut. lids fit perfect or they come with standard lid
Deusracing
Well-Known Member
Deusracing
Well-Known Member
That is the cleanest home brew I've seen yet and i thought mine was good.. LOL
Deusracing
Well-Known Member
Yeah that we be more electrically efficient... IM all about saving costs on electricity.. Simply because I pay the bills. LOL and nothing leaves the house.. IM digging it
jcommerce
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the props guys. I want to get a good time lapse camera for the flower room, but I need it quickly!! ; )
There are several reasons I use light movers in smaller grows like this. 1) Electricity. While our big room has 90 amps dedicated and 240v power, it's much more efficient and can handle 8 lights, no problem. However, in small bedroom like this one, I'm running 110v on two circuits, one for mother/veg/clone/hyperfan) and the other exclusively for the flower tent. Both are on 20 amp breakers. The light mover allows me to use a single 1000 watt lamp to cover a larger area. While it's not the same as two lights, it does give me results almost as though I was using two, but at half the power. 2) Elimination of Shadows. A stationary, HID lamp is a single point light source. When stationary, there are shadows created by fan leaves and the foliage beneath those leaves will constantly be shaded (with the exception of some strong wall fans). The sun is a single point light source as well. However, what does the sun do throughout the day? It moves across the sky, so plants are hit from myriad angles while traveling its path during the day. A light mover mimics this action of the sun, allowing lower foliage to get direct light when it otherwise would not with a single light. 3) Ability to have lights closer to plants. Since the light is moving, the canopy is less hot than having a light sitting stationary, directly above it. The leaves get a cooling, rest period when the light is not directly above, yet they still get constant light from the lamp. This allows you to have your light(s) closer to the plants. (If you are able set up your light mover with an air cooled hood, like mine, then you are able too further reduce the distance from light to canopy)
T5 fluorescent linear lamps are NOT single point light sources. They deliver the same light across the entire lamp and, therefore allow a multitude of angles hitting the plants. This is why I like to use them for vegging and as supplemental lighting to my HIDs.
There are several reasons I use light movers in smaller grows like this. 1) Electricity. While our big room has 90 amps dedicated and 240v power, it's much more efficient and can handle 8 lights, no problem. However, in small bedroom like this one, I'm running 110v on two circuits, one for mother/veg/clone/hyperfan) and the other exclusively for the flower tent. Both are on 20 amp breakers. The light mover allows me to use a single 1000 watt lamp to cover a larger area. While it's not the same as two lights, it does give me results almost as though I was using two, but at half the power. 2) Elimination of Shadows. A stationary, HID lamp is a single point light source. When stationary, there are shadows created by fan leaves and the foliage beneath those leaves will constantly be shaded (with the exception of some strong wall fans). The sun is a single point light source as well. However, what does the sun do throughout the day? It moves across the sky, so plants are hit from myriad angles while traveling its path during the day. A light mover mimics this action of the sun, allowing lower foliage to get direct light when it otherwise would not with a single light. 3) Ability to have lights closer to plants. Since the light is moving, the canopy is less hot than having a light sitting stationary, directly above it. The leaves get a cooling, rest period when the light is not directly above, yet they still get constant light from the lamp. This allows you to have your light(s) closer to the plants. (If you are able set up your light mover with an air cooled hood, like mine, then you are able too further reduce the distance from light to canopy)
T5 fluorescent linear lamps are NOT single point light sources. They deliver the same light across the entire lamp and, therefore allow a multitude of angles hitting the plants. This is why I like to use them for vegging and as supplemental lighting to my HIDs.
