Pushing Limits #2- The Hydropoinc Medical Room

pushlimits · Nov 20, 2010

Hello ladies and gentlemen of IC mag. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Pushlimits. I'm a medical marijuana patient and caregiver, with and obsessive horticulture hobby. (just like most of you!).

I pride myself with the fact that I provide high quality medicine for my ill patients, and I will settle for nothing but the best. I'm not necessarily a good grower, but you can be damn sure I try my hardest. I take this very seriously. People trust me with their well being and I'm honored to assist them in anyway possible. It's a therapeutic and fun hobby, it helps people, and it pays for itself, Can't think of anything I would rather do in my spare time!

I like to have my garden live by these rules: Clean, Efficient, and Effective. Their is always a better way and new technology coming out, so I never get board.

I would love to hear some input from you guys about your bucket system or any hydroponic reservoir/recirculating experiences. I've done flood tables, and DTW drips in the past, but I'm humbled by the fact that I don't know very much about hydroponic systems, and their general maintenance. I like to think I'm a OK grower, but damn, some of you guys are frigging biochemist! Feel free to give advice!

I try to keep to a simple structure for the ease of reading.

Introduction/ overview
environment
Installation
substrate/ nutrition
Progress
Harvest

Be sure to look out for Pushing Limits # journals, Welcome to #2. I love horticulture and won't be happy until I try every method: This means their is never a shortage of new things to see.

Enough blabbering: here's a few things I have- (More details later)

3- 600 watt Air cooled lights
Green-trees Multiflow system
27 containers filled with hydroton
Bottled Co2 connected to fuzzy logic
Sentinel CHHC-4 total environmental controller
Dehumidifier, and 8" exhaust fan for temperature

The strain I'm running is Lemon Skunk, patients love it, taste awesome but yields poorly. I was going to run something else this time, but Then I wouldn't know how much more efficient this system is. Normally I get 1 pound per 600 with this strain.

Last time I ran; 2 600's, 24- 3 gallon containers with Promix, no co2. From this, I got 33.5 ounces total- Just a hair over 2 pounds. I'm Looking to see if I can beat the one pound per light mark this time,so, I went balls out. Trying to Push the limits with this lemon skunk

Here we Go.

Aqua.smoke · Nov 20, 2010

Wow, great great setup! I am in love with the simplicity, yet am taken back by how thought out this room is. I will be following this! lets up your rep

aqua

timmypark · Nov 20, 2010

very neat setup 5 stars all the way. how long did you veg with the 2x 600w ?

ghostly · Nov 20, 2010

clean and mean brah!

fred b · Nov 21, 2010

and here we go again

awesome pushlimits! so I'm subscribed again as well

one tiny question: what exhaust fan and filter have you got there ? and do you control/dim its power ?

all the best mate! :good:

greets
fred b

tequila_sunrise · Nov 21, 2010

what a great example of a laboratory-like clean grow room. I can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Like how you got linoleum tiles, makes cleanup a breeze I bet.

K+ fo sho!

pushlimits · Nov 21, 2010

Thanks everyone!

Well timmy, I don't remember exactly how long I vegged with my last grow, but, this strain likes to stretch. So, I flower when they are about 6-10 inches tall, especially considering I'm only using 600's. Check out my last diary, it should answer your question better. Thanks!

Yeah, what the hell is going on? No stars yet? I'm disappointed...... Just Kidding,

Hey Fred, how's it going buddy? well the brand is HTG'. I don't think it has a specific name, but High tech grow supply is on the web, it's quality, inexpensive stuff. $300 out the door for 8" fan and filter combo. Bought a 1000W HPS light back in '03, still runs like the day I got it.

I run the fan full blast because it's connected to a environmental controller. It only goes on when the temperature hits my set point, and it runs until it drops 2 degrees. When the room hits 82 degrees, it will turn on until it hits 80 degrees. This only takes about a minuet, but, the room rarely needs it. The room floats around 79-81 F in the day.

Yeah tequila, clean up is nice with linoleum and it's the Anti-microbial type, same with the wall paint. Thank You!

Glad you all are here. Stick around for the next update!

pushlimits · Nov 22, 2010

Environment:

Sentinel CHHC-4 Total environmental controller
Dehumidifier
Air cooled hoods
outgoing Exhaust fan controlled by controller, 8" Fan/Filter
Intake is a 6" damper, that only opens when the fan is on.
Bottled 20# Co2 tank, regulator is set at 2 CFH
Fuzzy logic is built right into controller (very Nice feature!)
Room is sealed- if the damper is closed and the fan is on, the suction in the room feels like it will pull out your eye balls.
79-82 F during the day
72-76 F at night
Humidity varies, but the controller keeps it at about 40-55% RH
PPM of Co2- It's set at 900 PPM right now, but it'll get higher.
Co2 is dispersed via 1/4 inch tubing connected to 18" circulation fan that flows just above the canopy.

Installation:

40 amp 2 pole dedicated circuit runs to my control panel just outside the room.
Industrial style power distribution, and hopefully more automation will be involved in the future
Right now only automation is a timer connected to a relay that is hard-wired to my ballasts.
equipment inside the room is held up by uni-strut
walls are insulated, every nook and cranny I could see is sealed with caulk or duct tape.
floor has anti-microbial sealer, and walls are painted with anti-fungicidal paint.
Water is feed directly into room and ran through R/O. The waste water drains down a tube into a sump well next door.
Electrical consumption is strictly managed in order to increase efficiency and know what I'm paying out. I include every last watt; fan, air pump, doesn't matter, I count it all.

Water/ nutrition:

I'm running CNS-17 Grow, bloom, and Ripe. Great stuff, Cheap and comprehensive. Has everything in a one part formula. I chose this with the help of ICMag members, Thanks for the help... it works!
Even though I don't need to, I use additives: very little though. I use Cal mag+, Liquid Karma and potassium silicate. These make up less then 10% of my total nutrient solution.
PH floats at 5.6-6.4, but I try to keep it close to 5.9 at all times.
I found that plants like it better when you allow PH to naturally drift a little, opposed to adding tons of PH down all the time. Which, keep in mind, is slightly toxic.
solution strength: I keep it between- 700 PPM (1-E.C. with .7 conversion) and 1400 PPM (E.C. of 2). I raise it gradually, depending on plant size.
R/O system fills garbage can connected to float valve.
I have a box with 2 switches- one fills rez from garbage can, the other drains rez or circulates when needed.
Rez temps in this multiflow system get pretty high. The highest I saw it reach was 78F during veg. but now 12/12 started, it stays at 74-76 all day.
The fear of root disease from high temps and low Dissolved oxygen prompted me to buy a huge air pump with a giant diffuser ring. Maybe a waste of money, but the alternative would be far worse!
Two things I try to avoid buying at all cost: An Air conditioner, and a Water chiller. both of these have compressors and are giant watt suckers.
Either of these would make the garden much less effective due to higher electrical consumption- higher operating cost= lower effectiveness.

BroughtSuperior · Nov 22, 2010

stunning!!

mdk ktm · Nov 22, 2010

you sure do have a nice grow room. I would love to see you run a 10k or something. * I have grown lemon skunk and it was some pretty damn good herb, nice smell and taste, and pretty good plant structure. But the yield wasn't great. Right now I have some Greenhouse lemon skunk and I am not too impressed. Good luck man I hope you get the yield you are going for.

pushlimits · Nov 22, 2010

Week #1 Flowering starts- transitional phase

Week #1 Flowering starts- transitional phase

Second day, in the first week of flowering-

When I transplanted these girls, some of them received severe root damage! I had them in a crude little ebb and flow tray with 4" containers. These containers were made for soil and they had tiny little cracks that roots grew out of. I was unable to pull them back out because the root grew much wider then the hole itself. So I had to sacrifice nice roots with some of them.

Even though they suffered this trauma, they are growing like crazy! one plant grew 1 1/2" in one day and I'm not talking about "stretchy" growth, I mean really vigorous growth. I've been growing this strain for a while now, and I've never seen them grow this fast before.

P.H- 5.8-6.0
PPM- 1000-1100. or an E.C. of about 1.5-1.6, (with a .7 TDS conversion)
Water temp- 74-76
Air temp- 80-82 day, 74-76 night
Humidity- 40-55%
Co2- 900 PPM

LIFEISGOOD · Nov 22, 2010

Looking good man. Tight, clean, organized. Well Done

Are you going to do any training/topping?

pushlimits · Nov 23, 2010

**
LIFEISGOOD, I don't think I'll train/ or top this batch. I usually do mild training when I grow in soil. You can check out my last journal listed in my Signature. I put a pretty complete tutorial start to finish. The thing that worries me about training this hydro system is the roots wouldn't be able to support upper growth as well as in soil (or peat mixture, I should say)

I'm a bucket system virgin, if anyone has any tips or advice: I'm all ears. I know a lot of bucket system veterans out their like DHF, who I'd love to hear some pointers.

Off topic- I love drain tables, and moderate size containers with Pro-mix, so I figured- combine my two favorite methods! But, I'm not sold on this system yet. I can see a lot of flaws with it. We'll see, right? Again, anyone with bucket knowledge, please share, I'm still learning.

Natagonnaworrie · Nov 23, 2010

You have stars now bro!

I love an organized grow room. I'm in!

labtec · Nov 23, 2010

Wow, super clean. Everything is setup so efficient.

Gooey · Nov 23, 2010

nice set up...i really like the sharksbreath that they offer maybe check it out...happy grow.

teemu shalanie · Nov 23, 2010

looking very clean especially like your electrical /timer panel very pro,
props , good luck on your grow,
peace TS

Natagonnaworrie · Nov 23, 2010

Yo brother. Awesome set up. And damn fine work on the thread.. shit, this is organized like a Harvard presentation. Dope.

So a few quick Q's.. Is the CHHC-4 a newer version of the CHHC-1?

How often are you refilling that 20# tank?

It seems like a big room for tankin it. Did you look into a double burner propane generator? If its not a lot of refills no big deal but those get pricey and are sort of a PITA. Especially with only one tank. ..got to have 2.

Keep up the good work bro. I love the buckets, the R/O set up, the linoleum even!

fred b · Nov 23, 2010

it's looking really awesome mate!

I just love your grow room, equipment, effectiveness and thanks for all the details!

it really sounds and looks elaborate *EDIT* just fits the environment hehe

I just got one or two more tiny question if you don't mind before I sit back and enjoy the show

so you got a 8" fan but do you maybe know what kind of cfm it does at max ? and do you somehow control its power with the environmental control unit or just turn it on and off?

that also leads me to my second question, doesn't the room start to smell alot when the fan is off ?
I guess it wouldn't matter so much since you insulated the room so well, but I am still wondering

greets
fred b

mdk ktm · Nov 24, 2010

*EDIT* I have sharks breath vegging right now, and it sounds like it will be pretty good. I am looking forward to watch you run the ebb and gro, I want one pretty bad, but growing on the 2nd story makes me extremely nervous. After this run I might run pond liner on the floor, and get an ebb and grow. How do you like it so far?

Pushing Limits #2- The Hydropoinc Medical Room

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