Small space semi-perpetual grow?

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
I have a small closet(12" deep x 32" wide x normal ceiling height-84"?). Would it be possible to set this up as a perp grow? I'm thinking a small mom area,probably bonsai moms in soil under either T8(I have these now),T5,LED or CFL's,a small cloning area(I just built a DIY EZcloner), and a hydro flowering area under a hps(prob 400W) in a cool tube.I'm pretty sure I have the mom and cloning area figured out.

I'm more worried about the flowering area.I've just started researching hydro systems and I'm not too sure a 12" x 32" footprint will fit many plants-I'd like to rotate 4 clones every other week in a SOG.How do I construct a hydro system in these confines that can support plants at diff stages of flower-allowing for height adjustment and different nutes? I've seen perpetual grows like this where each stage has it's own reservoir, is this necessary?Could I get away with 2 Res's- 1 for weeks 1-4, and 1 for weeks 5-8? or 1 res for everything?I've been racking my head over this for a couple weeks,I've got clones started for moms so I'm figuring I have about a month or so to get the flowering are going before I start taking cuttings. Any Ideas? or should I say screw it and just rotate Autos thru it?
 

postitguy

Active Member
Don't do autos. I've grown a few different strains about 1/2 didn't flower until I switched to 12/12. Most weren't very potent either. I wouldn't recommend doing two reservoirs for four plant in different weeks of flowering. It may work but you'll definitely be hurting your potential yield and flushing will be a pain in the ass. You could do a passive hydro SOG with a soiless mix, but that requires daily care/watering. A better choice would be to buy / make 4 DWC buckets. The reservoir is built in and they're fairly hands free. Just top em off and check the pH a couple of times a week.
 

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
I did an auto Big Bang outside this yr,it was a freebie, It wasn't to bad smoke but the yield sucked. I forgot about DWC buckets. So could I do buckets with 4 spots per bucket? My guy at the hydro shop was saying ebb&flow, which I like the idea of, but the logistics in the space I'm working with aren't good. Going to research DWC, I'll be back. Thanks postitguy.
 
I have an almost exact same space im working with, its half of my walk in closet space, but i have a frankenstein form of Dwc-Bubbleponics:plumbed to a seperate reservoir for refill, water lvl, and drain purposes. Dwc is by far the easiest way to do have a perpetual grow cause i just pull out and change the bucket netpot lids, and having each bucket plumbed with a nice airstone changes the growth rate and plant reaction dramaticaly. Look into bubleponics mate.
 

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
I'm liking the DWC. Now I'm thinking 4 5Gal buckets with 4 sites each, rotating a bucket every other week.Could I leave each bucket dedicated to a stage of flowering and just pull the top and move it? Will my first stage bucket need some sort of top drip seeing how I'm planning on popping clones in as soon as they show roots, or should I use smaller buckets for the first stage, I think my hydro shop sells 2 and 3.5gal buckets that fit a 5Gal lid, like a cut down 5Gal bucket.
 

postitguy

Active Member
I think have a bucket dedicated to each stage is a great idea. I would definitely top feed the smallest one, just in case. Sounds like you're getting it figured out. Can't wait to see it when you get it up and running.
 
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