LARGE SCALE SOG

[doneit]

I hear ya bro on the viability, I used to run 20k like this, it was surely a job and a half, however the extra work was worth it to stay on top of the game.

Im a pretty handy guy so building these systems is rather easy and straight forward, especially now that all the bugs have been worked out.

We used to run 6" cubes or flock in 1 gals up till 6yrs ago or so, i became friends with the manufacturer of the perlite and can get the 4cf bags for 6 bucks, couldn't beat that, now after running just perlite i have found that it is the best medium i have ever used, little tough to get rid of but well worth it. no preparation, just use it, lol

I personally would run this system all day everyday in a commercial set up. once set up its stupid easy, the potential quality and weight production is the key, in my 18 plus years i am yet to see better output... sure i may be a bit biased lol.. but this system is proven reliable and performs.

The only thing i may change is the perlite for longevity, i would do hydroton for the simple fact it lasts forever. im not a big fan of coco, tried it, imo the quality was way lacking compared to rockwool or perlite.

you can build this 5x10' table complete with rez and pumps for under 300, the table in that pic a page back has been running strong for 2yrs with no down time, takes about 2hrs to reset the whole table once harvest is down, pretty hard to beat that.

anyways, i have tons of experience with just about any type grow, weather it be soil to F&D, or trees to SOG.. im sure i may have some input on anything you decide you want to do.

Cheers

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Hey Doneit im trying to IM you or whatever and cant for the life of me figure out how to do it, do you know?

 

[doneit]

haha... you have to have 50 posts

 

[nogutsnoglory]

lol go figure no wonder. Anyway, this is for WA I-502, 150ish light setup, to put it into scale. Im designing it for a friend. Im not lazy by any means but now you can see why running simplicity, cost effectiveness, and frankly ease of operation by as few employees as possible are paramount.

 

[doneit]

Well bro... 150k set up is not for the faint of heart lol

NO MATTER what you decide to go with that will be a BUTT load of work everyday.

First thing i would do is break it down to a Perpetual grow, this will easily cut down on the moms and cuts required, not to mention space.

Second thing i would do is make a proposed schedule of each day, for example...

My work day started on friday morning. keep in mind this was a weekly perpetual.
I would start at 6am and take cuts, then i would transplant the cuts from the week before into solo cups in preparation for 1 week veg.
I would then harvest the table that was coming down that week, prep that table and then reload it with the cuts that have been vegging for a week, clean and reset the rez and go to lunch.
after lunch i would prep the harvest from the week before that have been hanging.. ( i am a firm believer in trimming after its dry ) this would leave my week wide open with minimal time everyday topping off rez's and such, maybe an hour a day for that... i would then spend a couple hours each day till thursday trimming that weeks harvest.

This is what i evolved to over the yrs.. trust me when i tell you its MUCH better to do perpetual, especially if your planning a 150k opp... I pitty the guy that has to try and trim 300lbs at ounce! lol
Think about what im telling you... breaking your system down to a weekly perpetual will spread the work out at a very reasonable pace. you will only need to take an eighth of the cuts once a week instead of all at once, etc,etc,etc...

Is your goal to produce maximum weight? because thats a serious work load for SOG, i would most likely break that down to 5 plant bushes per 1k, not as much final weight but would most likely keep you SANE! lol

 

[icdog]

Noguts get to 50 posts so we can pm

 

[doneit]

There is a chat here to fellas

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Well bro... 150k set up is not for the faint of heart lol

NO MATTER what you decide to go with that will be a BUTT load of work everyday.

First thing i would do is break it down to a Perpetual grow, this will easily cut down on the moms and cuts required, not to mention space.

Second thing i would do is make a proposed schedule of each day, for example...

My work day started on friday morning. keep in mind this was a weekly perpetual.
I would start at 6am and take cuts, then i would transplant the cuts from the week before into solo cups in preparation for 1 week veg.
I would then harvest the table that was coming down that week, prep that table and then reload it with the cuts that have been vegging for a week, clean and reset the rez and go to lunch.
after lunch i would prep the harvest from the week before that have been hanging.. ( i am a firm believer in trimming after its dry ) this would leave my week wide open with minimal time everyday topping off rez's and such, maybe an hour a day for that... i would then spend a couple hours each day till thursday trimming that weeks harvest.

This is what i evolved to over the yrs.. trust me when i tell you its MUCH better to do perpetual, especially if your planning a 150k opp... I pitty the guy that has to try and trim 300lbs at ounce! lol
Think about what im telling you... breaking your system down to a weekly perpetual will spread the work out at a very reasonable pace. you will only need to take an eighth of the cuts once a week instead of all at once, etc,etc,etc...

Is your goal to produce maximum weight? because thats a serious work load for SOG, i would most likely break that down to 5 plant bushes per 1k, not as much final weight but would most likely keep you SANE! lol

Im tracking on the perpetual, indeed as it stands now there are eight separate rooms that will be a week apart from each other all running 84 day cycles or less. Either way, work...work...work lots of it, no getting around that. But hey if its coco and wand watering, that's what itll be lol. Id still like to find a triple win solution. Ive been looking at how they do hydroponic pepper farming in greenhouses.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Noguts get to 50 posts so we can pm

Im working on it...

 

[doneit]

Start complimenting some people threadfs bro... lol

Good luck on your venture, whats funny is, last year a good friend of mine in your state offered me a great deal of money to come run his opp for a couple yrs... i told him he didnt have enough money! lol

Even if i was in my twenties i dont think i would want to be in your shoes for the near future!

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I know I know. Way I look at it is its better than a 12 hour swing shift lol hell man 18 hours a day in the garden is close to paradise far as im concerned, for me any way.

 

[Marshall]

I ran a 30 kw sog and it was a lot of work. Two flower rooms, so one harvest per month. All month was easy just me and one guy doing simple stuff. Then harvest came and there was a whole crew. Harvest clean replant clone.

Perpetual is a must

I did like using flood tables. Only issue I had was keeping the rezes outside the room and having a complicated system of pumping back.

Good luck that's a large grow

 

[toastfighter2]

Use large corrigated plastic sheets, like the panels for greenhouse roofs, on a slant, instead of trays, and drip feed to waste into grow bags with hydrotron. Have the water coming into the system straight from the water line and adjusted with an nutrient doser, and collect the waste with gutters leading to a drain. Check timers daily and tend the plants. Otherwise, just checking the res in each room will eat up a good chunk of the day for one guy.

 

[Sqydro]

very nice doneit thanks for the link mate

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Use large corrigated plastic sheets, like the panels for greenhouse roofs, on a slant, instead of trays, and drip feed to waste into grow bags with hydrotron. Have the water coming into the system straight from the water line and adjusted with an nutrient doser, and collect the waste with gutters leading to a drain. Check timers daily and tend the plants. Otherwise, just checking the res in each room will eat up a good chunk of the day for one guy.

Yeah this system has potential, Doneit's system is similar and has great results from the looks of it. I like the idea of using hydroton because it can be sterilized and reused.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

What do u guys think of using a commercial NFT system like they use for lettuce? 8" to 12" spacing.

 

[I'm Flounder]

Frankly, good job guys.SOG systems are just too scary. 8 to 12 a light is standard..... Anymore than that combined with moms, veg, and babies adds up to too many on anything over 15 lights. Though if it's just for your own medical consumption SOG done right is six cuts a year, and by far can be one of the most efficient set ups. I always did prefer 25 a light in 4inch rockwool

 

[flyer81]

Im almost 2 years in and I am about to reap my first harvest that I think is worthy of the craft. I started out with a basic kit and am up to about $12 grand in equipment but have a system that is setup for perpetual and meets all of my needs. Although... this is the first time I have seen a system posted like doneits.

My system uses 5 gallon buckets with netpots and hydro halos. Feeding 12 on 12 off, with 2x 30 minute cycles in the night just to keep the water moving. Looking at this system and the way it is built it definitely offers a higher density than 5 gallon buckets.

I know with my system though I am vegging for a longer time and judging by the latest reaping it has paid off. I did an experiment between a 32", a 24" and 18" tall plant. All flowered at the same time the 32" plans made a massive difference along with some LSTing and FIMing. Either way ended up relatively comparitively.

That being said I spend a lot of time trimming and taking care of my plants to make sure buds are not shaded big fan leaves are kept under control and checking on everything.

doeits system looks way more dense than mine. That being said... with my system with reservoirs, I have it setup so I can go 5-7 days without looking at my system. The only thing I worry about is a pump dying. Otherwise everything wors wel and relatively automated. I only maintain PH and nutrient level.

 

[Buero]

Some great info in this thread. Thank you everyone.