Need some help with ideas for my upcoming grow

[lost in a sea]

well you want 15-20% of the end composition to be EWC....but you obviously dilute the soil mix loads with perlite...

im not sure what that would weigh though....at a guess i would say you need 1 15lb bag per every 3 plants...roughly...

as for a floor covering....theirs black/white plastic, a bit like mylar...this site is in the uk, but im sure US shops sell rolls of this stuff.... it really cheap per metre in length, as its 2 metres wide....and its fairly heavy duty, itl stand being walked on and pots n stuff no probs...

http://www.growell.co.uk/p/0107/Black-White-Reflective-Sheeting.html

 

[SweetIndica2]

Thanks

I already have Black/White Poly Sheeting coming in the mail, i got a 50' x 10' Roll, i know it will be enough for the walls and probably enough to seperate the room but i think i'm going to need to buy more to cover the floor. My only concern is that some people said it's not heavy duty enough for the floor, although the stuff i ordered is 6 mil which is the strongest black/white poly out there from what i have found. The floor is just a bunch of wood planks, they are somewhat rough too which concerns me.

I'm thinking to use 3M Spray adhesive to keep it down and use staples around the edges of the floor to seal it and make sure it stays in place? I'm going to use just the spray adhesive (no staples) to put it on the walls most likely. Will one layer of the 6 mil poly sheeting be heavy duty enough for the floor or should i double layer it? It will be more expensive, but if i have to double layer it i will.

 

[SweetIndica2]

I'm not going to go with a co2 System until after this harvest, but i figured i might as well do some research on it and start learning. What exactly do i need for a co2 setup? How do i work it and set it? Do i use my exhaust system like normal to exhaust the air/co2 so the air/co2 stays fresh? How much would the co2 cost per year on average? I use to play paintball and filling even small 20 oz. tanks cost like $5-$7. I'm assuming a tank would cost atleast $10-$15 per fill? What size tank is a good size, and how long will one fill last?

 

[lost in a sea]

the adhesive will be ok to put the black/white up with on the walls and the floor.....

if you dont think one layer will do on the floor boards then like you said you may need to double layer it......that will 100% be tough enough then.....it depends on how many grows you want it to last.......i would say it will survive 3 or 4 grows, or like a year and a half...before it will need changing....but pool liner like you said would last more like 2 years +...

co2 is really easy.......so long as you can find a US equivelant of some like this below..

http://www.growell.co.uk/p/0811/Unis-CO2-Controller.html

bitch is we have different regulator nut sizes (that screw onto the co2 bottle ) in the UK and US so watch out for that.....the basic parts are the regulator, which is the brassy tap bit which is wired into the controller....

with most modern co2 controllers you set the room dimensions in m3, and the controller releases every 10-15 mins approx the right amount to keep the ppm over 1000....the ideal is 1600 parts per million.....

plants like to be showered with it, so you need to put the tubing as high up in the box as possible, and have it releasing from multiple places if possible as well..

the best way with the bottles is to get two or three of the biggest ones you can hack moving around.....and take em once a year to be refilled....a 20 litre bottle should just about do one grow in a 5x5 foot box....so if you get a few then you wont have to go back for a while....usually a welding supply/brewing place is the cheapest source to fill up from and from a place like that, the prices shouldnt be too bad, as those kinds of customers usually wont accept an unfairly high price...a 20 litre bottle would cost more like $30 to refill, i imagine.....per year, if you did 3 grows in a year, maybe 100-$200 just for the co2 refills, but the co2 (in 3 grows in a 5x5 grow space doing 20 plants) would add like 4000-$5000 worth of bud....

the bottles arent cheap, but co2 is honestly about the best investment you can make.....i know that by that statement there should be hundreds more people running around saying the same thing, but it really will at the least double your yield, and in the most healthy way for your plants...

co2 is not dangerous to humans until levels get ridiculously high, @10,000 ppm you feel sick, and the way controllers like the one above work thats not possible so dont worry about that...

Co2 also absorbs infra red heat from your lights which can cause temps to be 2-5 celcius higher...

by adding co2, you can usually veg for 1 week less and usually harvest at least one week earlier as well.

 

[SweetIndica2]

Alright, thanks. Yea, it sounds like Co2 really helps so i will probably buy a co2 system after this harvest. I'll just go with the panda film for the floor like you suggested and double layer it. It should be sturdy enough. I'll just make sure to be light on my feet so it doesn't rip. THe Pond liner is just too pricey right now, it would be abouit $100 and i just don't have that amount of money to spend on my floor liner alone. After this harvest though, like i said i will have plenty of money for stuff like that.

The damp proofing membrane looks perfect, it's very heavy duty and it's more of a rubbery material rather than plastic. Only problem is for some reason it's only available from the UK, so i would have to have it imported. I have no idea why no places in the US sells it, you would think atleast some company in the US would make the damn stuff. Too bad, because it would be perfect for me.

 

[SweetIndica2]

How long should i veg the clones for after i root them? I want them to be about 3 feet tall at harvest. 3 Gallon pots should be fine right?

When should i start putting them under the 1000W? I figure if i keep it far enough away it will be fine? After they root i'm thinking so slowly move them up to bigger and bigger pots? Say 2-liter bottles, then to 1 Gallon pots and finally to the 3-gallon pots right before flowering?

 

[lost in a sea]

yea ive noticed its hard to get alot of stuff in the US....

if you have a lower power light then keep them under that until you flower them, or they may go a bit mental..

if you want them to be 3 foot at the max at harvest then ideally you want to move them on to 12/12 at week 4 veg ...

but if your transplanting them three times, then you may need to give em 5 weeks veg though......because they will probably need potting into the 1 gallon at week 2 or 3 and up into the 3 gallon at week 4, and then its best to give em a week in the 3 gallon pots before flipping the lights.....they will yield better and otherwise they may not use the final amount of soil properly...once their flipped they dont root out as vigorously..

3 gallon pots are fine.......next grow you may want to top a few things, if not all, and go up into a 4 or 5 gal pot for the final size.........with co2 you should get 3 or 4 oz per plant if you top em/ veg em for longer, and do 5 gall final..

 

[SweetIndica2]

Thanks again.

I've been busy with work lately, but I got the 6mil Panda Film the other day. It's alot more heavy duty than i thought it would be, i'm glad i went with the 6 mil because the 3mil or 4mil stuff just seemed a little too thin. I don't think i will even need to double layer it on the floor, it feels like it will last awhile.

I should have a T5 4 Foot/8 Lamp system by the time i take clones so i will use that for a little bit before they go under the 1000W. The only problem is i have to fit 8-10 mothers under there so i won't have much room, so i will only be able to keep them under there in 16 oz. cups or 2-liter bottles, do you think a week or so under the T5 will be long enough before moving them under the 1000W? Obviously i will keep the 1000W 3+ feet away to be careful. If i see any signs of stress i can always back it off some more too.

4 Weeks sounds good, i'm sure it will depend on the pheno/strain too. Most of the strains i have are Indicas or Indica dominant, but the Mirre has some stretch to it so i might wait to clone them for a week or so after the other strains so they don't grow ahead of the indicas in height before flowering. I'm sure it will all work out though.

I was thinking about the 5-gallon pots, although that might make my footprint even bigger than 5 x 5 feet. I plan on getting the Magnum XXXL 6" AC Hood before flowering if i can, from what i have read it's great for 1000W's, it has a huge footprint and should cover 5 x 5 feet fine from what i hear.

Tomorrow i'm going to start lining the room with Panda Film.

 

[SweetIndica2]

I went to the hydro shop and got another 50' Roll of the 6mil Panda Film since the 50' i have is not quite enough. I also got an adhesive zipper to seperate the room, a 16 oz. Bottle of Floralicious Plus and (25) 1-Gallon Nursery Pots.

I also went to Home Depot to grab all the shit from there that i needed, well most of it:

2 GE Dual Outlet Timers (may bring these back, they stopped carrying the Intermatic and now carry GE which kind of pissed me off. These are only rated for 1250W and of course the Single Outlets were rated for 1875 but they didn't have any Heavy Duty versions, only the 2 prong.)

2 Bags of Espoma Garden Lime (May bring this back also since it's pelletized, but it's all they had so i may have to just use this)

12' Metal Link Chain to hang my light

2-Pack 20W CFL's (for clones)

S-Hooks and Eye Hole Anchors

2-Pack Adjustable Bungie cords

Zipties

Duct Tape

1 Can of 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive

Box of Razorblades

Rubbermaid Container (for watering station)

Empty 5-Gallon Bucket (for hash making)

3 Spray Bottles



I need another Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer, but those were out of stock. I also couldn't pick up the Rootone Rooting Hormone i need either, since it's still Winter they are just starting to stock the garden section but i'm hoping they get some in soon. It's funny because the hydro shop wanted $3.95 for a damn spray bottle, Home Depot had them for like 92 cents or something like that lol.

I could spend all day in HD lol, it's like a grower's paradise in there.

Basically all i need to get now is my Scrubber and Soil Mix, so i'm getting there. Still got some more work to do on my room, but i need to wait till the scrubber gets here before i can set that and my ventilation/lighting up.

 

[SweetIndica2]

Ok, i have another question regarding filters. I was going to go with the EcoPlus Carbonaire 6 Inch Carbon Filter which i found for $110 plus shipping. But i have also been looking at the Can 38 Special 50 6 Inch, which is like $183 with the flange and i also just noticed Hydrofarm Active Air Filters as well and i have always had great experiences with Hydrofarm equipment. All 3 are filled with alot of charcoal and seem like good quality filters.

The Can is a little too pricey although i could get afford it if i had to. The EcoPlus and Active Air would be about the same price since i can get the Active Air Locally. The EcoPlus is like $136 Shipped and the Active Air is like $140 Locally. Which one should i go with do you think? I'm sure both will work fine but i figured i would ask.