Nood, first under current
- Thread starter trixP
- Start date
BullnAChinaShop
Member
UC for your first grow could be challenging. Any reason in particular you are going with this method?
Hydroman00
New member
Well I would say you need to give out some more info first. Like how many plants, how many lights? How big of a space? What are temps like in room? Most growers first mistake isn't picking a system its getting there room dialed first. You are becoming mother nature, you need to make sure your room can run at ideal temps before just choosing a system. You should choose how big of a space and how many light and do a dry run in the room for a night to figure out the temps and issues etc. Just my2c
First grow ever eh? I would go with a one part nutrient like flora nova or ionic. Ph about 5.3-5.8 Room temp 75-80 Water temp in the mid-60's to 70 max unless you use a water conditioner like dutch master zone. OR you will need some kind of chiller. Warm water in dwc can = serious problems. You need to add oxygen to the water with either bubblers or turbulant water. These systems work very well but if you are not prepared and have not done your home work you can really have a bad experience. You should do some searching on here and find some successful growers then copy what they have done and apply it to your grow.
Agree to all off this.growing in UC since 3 years and this system may be a little over your head for a first grow experiment.
trixP
Active member
I havn't found meny grows on here using the UC sys,
the UC seems fairly simple,and out yields everything.
My only concern is I havn't seen any systems with a 100% perfect draining system to flush water every week.
I have a hole basement to work with,I want 8 plants, 3000watts all HPS,I will have a chiller and the res outside of the rooms,and may go to c02 latter,I have perfect intake and exhaust aswell.
I wondering if its worth getting a hole kit online or making my own set-up.
My other big concern is the space im working in,theres asbestos behind a few walls,should I be concerned,I was told to spray paint over it and I should be good ????
the UC seems fairly simple,and out yields everything.
My only concern is I havn't seen any systems with a 100% perfect draining system to flush water every week.
I have a hole basement to work with,I want 8 plants, 3000watts all HPS,I will have a chiller and the res outside of the rooms,and may go to c02 latter,I have perfect intake and exhaust aswell.
I wondering if its worth getting a hole kit online or making my own set-up.
My other big concern is the space im working in,theres asbestos behind a few walls,should I be concerned,I was told to spray paint over it and I should be good ????
I had found around 8+ threads regarding UC, it helps if you look up terms for systems similiar in operation or other acronyms people use such as: rdwc, udwc, undercurrent etc.
What in particular were you looking for? Based on my research it appears people either use an outlet (normally capped) or use a transfer pump and a long hose to get it where they want it to go. Does your basement have a pit or other type of drain?
I was also considering this until I noticed that it could easily be built piece by piece for quite a bit cheaper. I was able to save around 35% building it myself over list price. I saw another guy state he saved 40% building it himself. I think much more value can be built into the system than a canned setup allows for, nonetheless I would advocate looking at least.
Bro, fwiw as well as posterity, it would be ideal to have it removed. Sorht of that, I think there are some products that you can use to 'lock' it in, I would at least do more than spraypaint unless you were using that term interchangeably with some sort of spray on product.
Given that you can easily and comfortably fit 4 plants under each 1kw light, why are you looking at 3kw instead? Just curious, to me it would take some staggering to use all three with eight plants and in that regard it seems energy abusive and nolt terribly efficient (aside from actual efficiency in and of itself).
Sounds like you have some decent room to work with. I have a schematic of an UC system I designed, this schematic is to scale and includes measurements for most parts. I can post if it you want a equipment layout with an idea of the space it would take up. I can also show you the footprint it would have underneath 16sq. ft area (a typical 1kw growspace).
GL and always keep reading.
I am in process of making my second UC system it will be 8 site 65liter tub with 4 inch drain for under 50 box per site ,this is my first system ,still rocklng after 3years 5gal with 1.5 inch drain .You can find it there DIY LINK-O-RAMA
trixP
Active member
Harabec,I have lots of room,I want 3K just for more light bigger yield,hell,I'd even like 4k, 2 of each bulb.
I want to use big buckets,like 15GAL,big piping with service spots for clogs and wat not.
Did not think of a seperate pump for flushing.
Only concerns is the asbestos,I don't have the money to have someone remove this, I'm thinking of just making sealed rooms in the room I have to work with.
Been searching,watching all the UWC vids from UG,
I want to use big buckets,like 15GAL,big piping with service spots for clogs and wat not.
Did not think of a seperate pump for flushing.
Only concerns is the asbestos,I don't have the money to have someone remove this, I'm thinking of just making sealed rooms in the room I have to work with.
Been searching,watching all the UWC vids from UG,
You should check with the crowd that uses multiple lights, there are quite a few people out there who use combinations of different types of bulbs.. HPS + MH, HPS + T5 etc.
One of the reasons I brought it up was in regards to diminishing returns. I hope someone else hops in here to bring more to the table but it seems that people do not exceed 90 watts per foot due to lack of viable output (read - not worth it).
A 1KW light set up to cover 4' x 4' for a total of 16sqft will have about 62 watts per sqft. Hypothetically if you were able to cover that same area with two 1kw lights, you would be around 125watts per sqft. If you space it all out differently.. lets say 5' x 5', you would use your lights more efficiently but the plant spacing would be wide and wasteful.
I hope someone else runs with it from this point, if it were me I would use combinations; the lights all have their strong suit and weak points. Combinations of different types have mutual synergy and can offset each other's weaknesses.
Having a pump with a good pickup nozzle is very effective at transferring water/fluids, if you build in shutoff valves etc into your system you have the capability to evac the water (effective for fixing localized issues or making additions/subtractions to the system without draining the entire thing)
Best thing you can do is never disturb it, as soon as it becomes airborne and mobile its danger to your health is detrimental and cannot be ignored. If you wish to defer this issue until later, do not touch it, lock it away and stay away. One step you can take is have some air quality testing performed once in awhile, you will know quickly if you need to move to address the issue. You best do this before you set up shop...
Knowledge is power bro. Good to hear.
CasioCalculator
Member
Yeah, Harabec is right about the diminishing returns of light. ~50 watts/square foot is generally considered the sweet spot. Also, what hydroman said about environment is spot on. It is especially important when you grow fast hydro (ie. dwc). Keepin the root zone happy is imperative especially when all plant sites will be mixing their juices so any problem that one plant has, many others are likely to get as well.
Have you browsed the vert forum? I heard you say that ucdwc is the highest yielding setup. I am not willing to debate that it may be the best yielding for horizontal hydro but the dudes in the vert forum who have their shit dialed hands down have consistently the highest yields across the board. If you want to grow trees, maybe you could do ucdwc with vertically hung lights. Seriously you should check out that place and this is coming from a guy who grows horizontal dwc.
Alright its just past 4:20am where I am at and my stoned ass needs to get off the damn computer
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Have you browsed the vert forum? I heard you say that ucdwc is the highest yielding setup. I am not willing to debate that it may be the best yielding for horizontal hydro but the dudes in the vert forum who have their shit dialed hands down have consistently the highest yields across the board. If you want to grow trees, maybe you could do ucdwc with vertically hung lights. Seriously you should check out that place and this is coming from a guy who grows horizontal dwc.
Alright its just past 4:20am where I am at and my stoned ass needs to get off the damn computer
.local hydro shop they are regular 5 gal. Black bucket
trixP
Active member
Casio,I was talking with one of my boys about vert,I've seen and agree with you,it seems the guys who yield mass are the vert guys.
Only reason I'm lurking from a vert set-up,is the ceiling is very low ( dunno if that affects anything actually,and don't you need more lights for a vert ??? )
Gona do more research about the watt/square footage,thanks for the heads up harabec,gona read more into different lights at once too.
I like the look of LED's just so expensive....
thanks for all the replies homies.
going to puff one live.
Only reason I'm lurking from a vert set-up,is the ceiling is very low ( dunno if that affects anything actually,and don't you need more lights for a vert ??? )
Gona do more research about the watt/square footage,thanks for the heads up harabec,gona read more into different lights at once too.
I like the look of LED's just so expensive....
thanks for all the replies homies.
going to puff one live.
CasioCalculator
Member
Low ceiling height would be more of an issue in a horizontal garden as your lamp/reflector will be taking up valuable head room. Also, verts do not need more light per se. Lets see, if you have a 5x5 room with 5 foot ceilings if you were horizontal, you would have a maximum grow area of 25 sqft where as if you were to grow vertically in a colleseum type setup you would have a theoretical maximum of 100 sqft of growing area. So while it may seem vert uses more light it is because more grow space is being illuminated. Also most vert grows are bare bulb so without the glass the plants get maximum lumens.
