Vert coco setup: 1800w

[BldSwtTrs]

Super tight, dialed to the max. I second best vert setup on ICmag nomination, for sure.

These are kinda like the racks I used to run 2 years ago. Mine were 4 levels as well, 2 gallon smart pots, 4-5-4-5 setup on the rack levels, and finally, each level was positioned 2 inches back from the lower level; imagine the steepest stairs ever.

rbdf

Thanks bro. I like your idea in my head. I used to always wonder if staggering the levels was superior to straight vertical, but I think unless you change your lighting scheme it doesn't really matter.

2 Gallon smart pots are probably perfect. I think I went a bit overboard on size, but the pots I used actually ended up fitting the dimensions I wanted exactly so....

Sick.

I 2nd the opened up/ pulled back picture request!. That'd be sexy.


This is ultimately the direction I'll be taking before too long..scaled back and run reduced wattage in stacks. Juice bills, while only minimal overhead in the grand scheme of things are not good for the stress levels. Not thrilled with the elevated plant numbers, but the yields you guys pump out with these little stacks is incredible.


Keep it cropping fellas..

Thanks bro and will see if I can get a full bare breasted flash of this gal!

As DHF would say plant numbers dictate yield so...

That being said I have ran verts with 115 plants in it and achieved similar yields with vert setups with only 24 plants in it. The 24 plant system required about 3 times as much veg though which ultimately means less yield over time. I try and maximize yield given my constraints which are wattage, space, and time really...

Nice work. That's pretty much what I had envisioned for a rebuild... You're gonna kill it.

Hopefully so bro... I think I could yield pretty well with a certain StrawDD strain that I have heard of... supposed to be high quality and yield really well... hmmmmmmm

 

[bobblehead]

So do you have any build pics to share? And what size pump are you running?

 

[DHF]

The biggest thing about increased plant numbers in a vertical stacked setup is to create that perfect sideways canopy where it`s thick enough ta bring home the bacon , but........

Not too close to the bulbs by end of stretch to experience light bleaching/heat stress/scorching , yet also able for all the lumens to get through the plants and be reflected back at em ftw consistently for no flarfy bullshit by end of cycle.......Then......

That`s when it`s Katy bar the door and yields increase exponentially with dialed monocropped strains....aight........If yas only saw a 2-4 day stall with strippin bitches in the past Bro , feel blessed......but......

Guaranteed the gradual removal will keep the girls from stressin out and put vital plant energy where it belongs.......Swellin nugs........

I`ll be over here on my bucket watchin shit blow up BST......Good luck and.....

Peace.....Freds...........

 

[BldSwtTrs]

That`s my original setup "exactly" except......the shelves/racks were angled as well as the corners spread apart with angled corners covered in reflectix keeping corner plants away from each other to prevent em from growin into each other and choking 1 another out killing yields guaranteed.........anyways.......

Sky`s the limit my buddy.......Handle it.......Waitin fer big things outta this setup once dialed with the right strain monocropped.......and......as already stated above.......

Do NOT rape yo bitches and strip all them fans at once or suffer the consequences........Even though you said yas`ve done it........But I swear.....

Take em gradually over a week or at least several day period and you`ll be a lot happier with final results.......Good luck Bro.....and......

Peace....Freds............

Yea I have to figure out how to not choke out the corners without moving the racks farther away from the light... still not sure how, but I am thinking I can get it done with some sort of training as opposed to changing the plant configuration itself... hopefully...

Next run will definitely use orca directly behind the plants, but this run it wasn't really an option due to the way I installed the plants and planned on training them using trellis netting...

As far as angling the racks goes, I gave that A LOT of thought before building. Having made tons of straight (non angled) vertical systems in the past, it made sense to angle the plants so...

Instead of angling the racks/pots themselves and having to come up with some sort of complicated drain system for my top feed watering system, I decided to angle the plants within the pot themselves...

Here is a (very) rough sketch of how I transplanted the ladies from veg to the 1x1x1' flower pots that they are currently in...

So... when the plants first when in the system they were angled almost horizontally and withing 24 hours and reoriented themselves vertically... By 2 weeks the thick stem itself was MUCH thicker than usual and had completely reoriented itself vertically... this is something i wasn't expecting, but it really cool how the plants adapt.

Maybe the plants would act differently if the racks themselves were angled, but I don't know at this point. What do you think?

 

[bobblehead]

I like the pressure regulating manifold. I've been using one of those and I love how I can control flow to each tube. Really clean setup. Are you emptying the runoff manually? If you plumb it you could walk away from that setup for a few days no worries...

 

[DHF]

Plants respond to the light stimulus.....period......as yas witnessed first hand with your training........but......

The reason I angled mine was to alleviate havin ta hack out the backs of the plants I`d been witnessing all the stadium and bookshelf grows I was seein at the time.......IOW......

Heath`s thoughts were the same in that if the plants were pointed at the lights already , then there`d be less stress on em compared to a plant on a flat shelf and having to turn sideways to get the appropriate lumen absorption.....and.....

Yas wouldn`t have ta lose 1/2 the plant by removing the backs so as to allow the fronts to be all they could be.....anyways.....maybe your plants won`t haveta be hacked as much over the next several runs as yas dial more and more.....Like that training as well.....

Many ways ta skin a mule and the path to Nirvana has many trails......All must follow their own to arrive at the same place.........

Keep hoonin Bro.....Freds..............

 

[farmhouse cat]

Awesome system!
Man, i wish i had the time and energy to rebuild my system. I would make it 4 levels instead of 3 and slightly angle the corner plants on each wall. (it would take some thought and planning to do that on the corners with the plumbing and raingutters) but still doable.

The only way i was able to keep the corner plants from crowing in the square pattern was to stagger the plants on each wall. (removing the corner plants on one wall and leaving them on the next..... And one wall, I call the cap doesnt have plants on the corners at all. But 3 across in the center on each level, leaving the corners open for the two wall directly left and right. Hope that makes sense. I had to sacrifice plant numbers, but in the end it leaves plenty of room now.

Anyway...awesome!

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Thanks brother. Will be trying the gradual strip tonight. Have literally stripped 1000's of plants bare over the past 2 years with good results, but I 100% notice a 2-4 day stall afterward. Hopefully this will fix that...

I take a few during stretch to get the plant use to losing some leaves. It is only a couple every 3-4 days. Then when stretch is over I take them all over a week or two. This seems to eliminate that stall. I top dress with NAPA floor dry to let me know how much they are drinking. It turns white when it is drying out. I have noticed that it would stay tan colored when I stripped them bare. That is how I know they stalled.

 

[GMax]

*puts eyes back in head*

holy shit your canopy is amazing

super clean setup

 

[BldSwtTrs]

I like the pressure regulating manifold. I've been using one of those and I love how I can control flow to each tube. Really clean setup. Are you emptying the runoff manually? If you plumb it you could walk away from that setup for a few days no worries...

Yea I empty it manually, but I did that on purpose. Each rack drains into a 5 gallon bucket for easy moving. I left enough room though so that if I want to leave for a while I can put a 27 gallon tote under each rack and leave... forever... lol

Dripper manifolds are the shit man... these have an in-line filter too so no clogging possible...

Plants respond to the light stimulus.....period......as yas witnessed first hand with your training........but......

The reason I angled mine was to alleviate havin ta hack out the backs of the plants I`d been witnessing all the stadium and bookshelf grows I was seein at the time.......IOW......

Heath`s thoughts were the same in that if the plants were pointed at the lights already , then there`d be less stress on em compared to a plant on a flat shelf and having to turn sideways to get the appropriate lumen absorption.....and.....

Yas wouldn`t have ta lose 1/2 the plant by removing the backs so as to allow the fronts to be all they could be.....anyways.....maybe your plants won`t haveta be hacked as much over the next several runs as yas dial more and more.....Like that training as well.....

Many ways ta skin a mule and the path to Nirvana has many trails......All must follow their own to arrive at the same place.........

Keep hoonin Bro.....Freds..............

Yea need to trim better on the next round... MUCH better...

I got got semi lazy on this setup because I was building two other rooms at the same time and sort of just said fuck it...

I mean they look fine, but could def use some better pruning...

Awesome system!
Man, i wish i had the time and energy to rebuild my system. I would make it 4 levels instead of 3 and slightly angle the corner plants on each wall. (it would take some thought and planning to do that on the corners with the plumbing and raingutters) but still doable.

The only way i was able to keep the corner plants from crowing in the square pattern was to stagger the plants on each wall. (removing the corner plants on one wall and leaving them on the next..... And one wall, I call the cap doesnt have plants on the corners at all. But 3 across in the center on each level, leaving the corners open for the two wall directly left and right. Hope that makes sense. I had to sacrifice plant numbers, but in the end it leaves plenty of room now.

Anyway...awesome!

Yea dude the corners are a bit tricky, but the good news is I can just move the racks back if need be.

I was thinking about staggering the pots, but I like the plant count and dimensions of this system. Any bigger and I think the 600s wouldn't be enough and any smaller and I think you would be losing efficiency...

Still think with the right trimming and pruning it can be done without sacrificing plant count though.

 

[BldSwtTrs]

I take a few during stretch to get the plant use to losing some leaves. It is only a couple every 3-4 days. Then when stretch is over I take them all over a week or two. This seems to eliminate that stall. I top dress with NAPA floor dry to let me know how much they are drinking. It turns white when it is drying out. I have noticed that it would stay tan colored when I stripped them bare. That is how I know they stalled.

*puts eyes back in head*

holy shit your canopy is amazing

super clean setup

Haha thanks man. Could be WAY better though with better pruning, better training, and better cuts. I sort of got lazy once this started because I was building two other rooms.

Next run will be WAY better.

 

[BldSwtTrs]

So do you have any build pics to share? And what size pump are you running?

No build pics because this was sort of thrown together at the last minute.

I was trimming a ton and taking down two other rooms and rebuilding them so I didn't get a chance to take build pics.

I will def be showing lots of detailed pics though and if anybody has any questions I can probable snap pics and explain.

The pump is a 1HP wayne pump. I have like 5 of these and they have always done me right. They are also CHEAP. You can get em for like 140 shipped and they are super easy to use.

Only thing though is if you want to hook it up to a sprinkler timer you would probably need to modify it as it can't be done in factory condition.

I like to be there for every watering though so I just flip the switch on and off as needed...

Here is a pic of the exact same model pump, but used in a different room...

 

[who dat is]

Really nice man, keep up the good work

 

[DHF]

No build pics because this was sort of thrown together at the last minute.

I was trimming a ton and taking down two other rooms and rebuilding them so I didn't get a chance to take build pics.

I will def be showing lots of detailed pics though and if anybody has any questions I can probable snap pics and explain.

The pump is a 1HP wayne pump. I have like 5 of these and they have always done me right. They are also CHEAP. You can get em for like 140 shipped and they are super easy to use.

Only thing though is if you want to hook it up to a sprinkler timer you would probably need to modify it as it can't be done in factory condition.

I like to be there for every watering though so I just flip the switch on and off as needed...

Here is a pic of the exact same model pump, but used in a different room...

View Image

I ran heavy duty Intermatic outdoor irrigation timers that my big ass "shurflo" inline pumps plugged directly into the specified outlet on the timer , and the timer plugged into the wall outlet......simple....babyshit.......

I think the number was RM-88S , but I`ll be back at the farm next week and if anyone wants the part # I`ll get it for yas......anyways......

Peace...Freds............

 

[BldSwtTrs]

I ran heavy duty Intermatic outdoor irrigation timers that my big ass "shurflo" inline pumps plugged directly into the specified outlet on the timer , and the timer plugged into the wall outlet......simple....babyshit.......

I think the number was RM-88S , but I`ll be back at the farm next week and if anyone wants the part # I`ll get it for yas......anyways......

Peace...Freds............

Yea man I have ran it on a standard heavy duty timer before and it works just fine. Unfortunately it won't hook up to a sprinkler timing that can run timed zones with complex programs. I'm sure I could figure it out, but would need to modify it...

 

[BldSwtTrs]

Here is the drainage system...

Each pot is individually fed using a micro sprinkler.

All pots can be fed at once using the 1HP pump that I have hooked up.

Each rack is identical except the drains are all oriented closer to the door for convenience.

Each rack has two 8 station high flow manifolds.

Micro sprinkler fed from 1/4" tube.

 

[BldSwtTrs]

This was the lamest part of my (flawed) design.

Bought these pots before really looking at them because I wanted them to be ridged at the bottom so one half could drain into the gutters.

Turns out that these pots have drain holes already cut all over the bottom so I had to seal them using non-toxic liquid rubber on the inside and duct tape on the outside. It was a bitch, but now they are water tight and only drain into the gutter...

Birds eye view of the drains. All runoff goes straight into a 5 gallon bucket for easy disposal...

Outside shot...


Just took round two of fan leaves tonight. I will be taking a batch each night for a week to finish the job. Hopefully there will be no stall because if that is the case I will be taking all fans gradually.

The corners are definitely getting choked out which will hurt the total yield, but like I said this is round one and I didn't quite know what to expect. Hopefully that can be avoided on the next run...

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Great pictures!

Thanks

 

[catalyte]

: : :

 

[DHF]

Awesome shit Bro.......See whatchas mean bout yer manifolds and such now......and.......

Guaranteed you`ll see a difference in the plant`s attitude with the fans taken gradually...........Good luck.....

Thanks for the show and keep dialin.......

Peace....Freds...........