Suggestions for personal grow? cad design pic inside.

[weeeduh]

I need about an oz a week.

Here is what I have so far for my design. But I have no idea if this will be sufficient to keep the green coming in. I haven't even thought of nutes yet.

I want a 400w HPS/MH ballast in the bud zone.
Not sure what kind of light to use in the clone/mother/veg zone.
Will set up a scrog about 12 inches above the buckets.
Those are 3 gallon buckets.
The rez, pumps, and storage are in the space underneath.
I will also have space above the veg zone for ballast.
I haven't figured out the venting other than the light in the flower is going to be vented independently.
I plan on draining down into the rez, but I need to look more into the bubbler systems on here to see if that is a viable set up. I might just go aero from the beginning if it is not cost prohibitive.
I will eventually turn this into an aero system.

So if I plan on 120 days turn around (3 harvests/year) do you think I can pull out a 2 oz per plant with this type of set up? Will it take some special clone or seed to do this? Or do you think this would do good with some decent bag seed?

Please comment on what you think it would take to get 2 oz per plant every 4 months out of this thing! Thanks!

 

[ithinkiam]

Nice shoes. lol.

I am not an experienced grower, but this setup looks real neat. Good luck with it!

 

[weeeduh]

hah, thanks! I am a total newb with growing hydroponics or aeroponics, but I have been reading a lot on these and other forums.

I just wonder what the average per plant would be with different types of systems. I put together what I thought would be the most ideal setup for a DIY cabinet. I just really don't know what to expect.

Seems like .5 grams per watt of light is a benchmark, but based on that, I am only looking at 200 grams which is a paltry 7 oz's out of 8 plants! That just doesn't seem right.

And those buckets are setting in 1' squares with an inch and a half clearance. No way I could get them any closer together. I was thinking that if I was successful at the scrog method, along with a good aero system that keeps the nutrients cool I ought to be able to get at least 1 gram per watt. But dunno.

The other thing I am not too sure about, if I was to upgrade it to a 600watt, then I am looking at 300 grams, still short by about 150 grams. Not sure if that is how it works tho. Its almost like I'd need a 1k watt in there but it seems like over kill, and in that tight a space, man hot hot!

So I am hoping that combining a 400w with aero and scrog will get me better than 1g/watt. I am about to start buying the material, but I just feel like I need some experience to build my confidence that the setup will work, OR that I am dreaming thinking I could get pull 3 pounds out of this box every year!

 

[ithinkiam]

Yeah, I am currently growing for the first time and my setup is verrry simple. I am not using metal halide or HPS mainly because I don't have the space or money. But if I could go that route I definitely would!

Practice makes perfect, though. And it's nice to always have a little help on the way.

 

[Biatchzxz]

I mean listen people can get a gram a watt depending on environent lighting etc. Some can yield a pound per plant. There a lot of things that matter In getting top yield. Also depending on strain ur growing place a big role in final outcome using a 400w is sufficent enoughr grow 1-4 plants nicely I mean anything over that is pushing it IMO. Well you can also grow more smaller plants using SoG/scrog. But if I were you Start off with a few and then if u can or want to clone etc. You can eventually know how to utilize space or whatever. But there are many ways to go about it. As long as u keep a perfect enviorment you'll get top yields (strain dependent ). Obviously a lower yielding strain no matter what you do it will always be a lower yielding strain. Yeah maybe you can grow it better that it was but no matter What it's all in the genes. But hope all goes well and def look around the forum and you'll find tons of great info. Don't forget a lot of people are in your situation as well so ull get great info on here

 

[whatissixbynine]

.

 

[jm420]

If your going to scrog get femed seed or clones ,its a pain in the ass to cull them once the screen is in place.Figure out you venting before you plant anything temps are gonna be an issue.60 days veg may get your goal depending on strainbut i doubt it,
,Your set up loks more like an E/F to me. using buckets like that you res cant be below as well as the fact your 60 inches turns into 45 inches then your lite will take up another 15 inches so no you grow area is basically 30 inches. IMO in a setup of that sixe 7 oz would be a good grow I dont think you have enough area to pull a pound even with a perfect scrog,wich would be tough cuz you can only get at the front of the screen .All in all I like the design needs a little tweaking though .I would personally focus on the enviorment first temps being priority .Aero is cool but for a fisrt timer I would suggest dwc for the simplicity.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

For an easy and simple hudro method, you might want to take a look at the Hempy Bucket.

“The Official Hempy Bucket Thread,” by Southern Seeds
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=98419

Also, at roughly a 2 x 5 flowering area, you might want to consider using two 400's (or even two 250's). But, at 80 watts/sqft you will need to give ventilation a high priority!

“Ventilation 101,” by redgreenry
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112862

 

[bud lover]

i think you should try canna nutes for whatever system you decied to go with, the reason im saying that is you say you want to do 120 day grows were as with the canna way its done on a 90 day term which would give you 4 grows a year and still get 2-2.5oz pp.
also on your cad pic you show your extaction and lighting as ridgid how would you raise them as the plants increase in size or am i just being picky.
ive posted a link to a tent they do on ebay uk im sure you could get somthing like this were you are.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COMPLETE-SET-...arden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN?hash=item53dff0e957
good look

 

[weeeduh]

i think you should try canna nutes for whatever system you decied to go with, the reason im saying that is you say you want to do 120 day grows were as with the canna way its done on a 90 day term which would give you 4 grows a year and still get 2-2.5oz pp.
also on your cad pic you show your extaction and lighting as ridgid how would you raise them as the plants increase in size or am i just being picky.
ive posted a link to a tent they do on ebay uk im sure you could get somthing like this were you are.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COMPLETE-SET-...arden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN?hash=item53dff0e957
good look

yeah you are being picky I just didn't finish up the details of the duct work. I have actually revamped this design a little, I am settling in on a slightly deeper cab 32" as opposed to 27" but about 3" shorter 51" as opposed to 54". I got rid of the bottom section because I am not ready for aero yet (cost), I will probably start out with hempy buckets cause I love the simplicity. I'd probably do RDWC once I started feeling good about hydro before I went aero.

Also, I am pondering going with a vertical 600 rather than the horizontal 400. I think with vertical I will have an easier time keeping the light cool and 600 to get the 3 feet penetration of the light. I will also be supplementing with 12 full spectrum (6500k) 23 watt CFL on the edges 6 on each side.

The veg room is modified as well. Well not really modified just detailed. Ah hell, here is the pic..

The light isn't in this one, I am really just trying to get my wood and cuts sorted out, which I have just finished tonight.

After I buy the wood, I will start up a journal so I can document the build.

I have looked at the tents and stuff, I am just not satisfied I can get what I want out of a tent.

If you noticed, on the left is now a top box for the control room/panel. Underneath are two 6" drawers for drying and curing. And underneath is room for cloning/mothering.

Plus, I am really feeling kind of worthless lately with all my skills going to waste in this recession, so I really feel like building something. Oh, the other thing not pictured here obviously is the ventilation holes. I am laying that out now that I have figured out the proper measurements for airflow.

I have a material list, with prices from home depot including everything I need for doors, sealing the cab for light and air tightness, and ummm oh yeah hasps, paint, nails, caulking etc..

Home Depot only carries 4 inch pvc as far as I can tell. So I could not price that. My new design, should I go with the 600w vertical will only require a small section maybe 2 feet of duct work.

Oh the boxs on the floor, those are the area of affect for 400w (smaller box) and 600w HPS lights. This is based on 10000 lumens per square foot I believe.

I have 11.5 square feet so the 600w 95,000 lumen HPS is a little short on the edges. And this is regardless if I do vert or horizontal.

Anyways, am I rambling? I am rambling.. eeessh! Thank you for the feed back!

Oh and yes, I have revised my plans a little to look at cutting the grow time back from 120 days. Not sure where I got that from. I don't have enough height for that I suppose.

 

[ImaginaryFriend]

Weeduh,

It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the details and tech of designing a grow. Hell, some people might say that that is the best part.

If you do not have a great deal of experience--and need an ounce a week--I would highly recommend starting extremely simple. Rather than developing your own design, consider adopting something tried and true.

When you start your grow, sometime things go well, some times not so much. The number of factors involved are huge. If you keep it simple, fewer things can go wrong. In my current grow, something went wrong. I didn't diagnose it correctly, quickly and make the appropriate corrections. I threw way too much money at the wrong problem, and now things may or may not be salvageable.

I have associated with more reasonable folks who simply get some promix and some really big pots, use a decent food at a decent strength, hung plenty of light over some really solid genetics and were consistent producers.

That said, do whatever makes you happy.

That said, your current designs are representing a rectangular canopy under a square light source. The light supply is coming from a single location and you cannot expect even light distribution over your entire canopy... so your calculations are kinda impractical. If you look for light distribution charts you'll see what I mean--namely that there is a hot point in the middle and light intensity reduces as you move away from that center point. (Light intensity per square unit is the inverse square of the distance from the source.)

So... if you choose to go rectangular, consider it as two adjoining square surfaces, each lit by separate bulbs.

If you go vertical, you have to think of the canopy much differently, as if it is surrounding the light source. Now you are thinking again of a square (or more accurately, a circular footprint for your plants).

More often than not, light is the limiting factor in a grow. So when you look at trying to spread 400W around... well, it may not be the best choice. The science behind lighting is beyond my understanding, but the 'rule of thumb' is to try and spread 50W/foot of canopy. This is grossly over simplified, but sometimes that's a good thing. So a 400W set up should be dedicated to a 34"x34" square. That's not too far off from your original dimensions, if you were to design it with two 400Ws side by side, rather than one four hundred or one six hundred (or one thousand, for that matter) hung in the middle...

For your first grow:
1. Secure a solid genetic.
2. Establish enough light and cooling of that light before you introduce that genetic into a room (i.e. run the system, monitor the environment, modify until it's with your goals) and then introduce genetics.
3. Soil is more forgiving than hydro, hydro is more forgiving that pure areoponics.

Good luck.

 

[Noobie2010]

if you dont vent the temp in your box will keep on rising untill you set everything on fire,or your plants simply die.and what about air filter,or do you want the neighbours to come knocking at your door during flowering season?