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New growroom plans

Lathund

Member
Another thread with more questions, thank you all for helping out noobs like me! :)

So I went to the intended space today to take some measurements, and a few questions popped up.

If you look at the mockup picture it's not huge but a decent size. I plan to seal it off with black and white plastic while saving up to do a complete rebuild of the room, wich will add a lot more room.

The side with the hole up top is the outer wall so to speak, opposite side is the side that will be sealed with plastic. Now I wonder... Would it be possible to seal of a portion at the back (the mini wall in the pic) for veg and still be able to use the vent for fresh air both in the veg area and the flower area?

Or would it be better with one exhaust fan and scrubber that blows from veg chamber in to flower, and another exhaust fan and scrubber that pulls air out from flower and out? (will be running air cooled hoods)

Or maybe use a Y-splitter mounted on the hole with one small fan on each side, one to blow air in to veg and one in to bloom?

The beam that runs across the entire room is where the current lights are mounted on (not growlights). I plan to grow in SOG with flood and drain system. Is it possible to keep the beam and mount growlights to it? Or would I want to remove the beam and get the extra space upwards?

Any advice are most welcome!
 

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Growing_Garbage

New member
Space doesn't seem too low if the meters measurements are correct. If the beam is really at 3.28ft that would be pretty challenging...

But I'm not quite sure if you are talking about having separate intake and exhaust fan setups, or if your asking about pushing air thru vs pulling air out...I do think it would be pretty easy to vent both separately though. You even have that "attic space" above the bar you could seal the ducting into, keeping the hot ducts out of the rooms.

For exhaust I was still thinking about a Y with separate fans but instead of intake it would be exhaust. Pulling air thru each rooms air cooled hoods/scrubbers then out the whole.
For intake I would probably build some kind of light blocking box with a filter(think furnace filter type box) that goes in thru the wall down low somewhere. Or a forced fan from outside into each room could would work too, just make sure its filtered really good.

I have not had good luck sharing air thru rooms, especially veg into flower. pests and spores always make it thru. The other way might be ok.

If you don't want to get like 4 fans, that space isn't that big. You could probably get away with 1 big one split for exhaust(or maybe 2 on the Y) and one for intake split into each room.

Or exhaust and an appropriate sized passive intake could work too. I seem to always need a passive intake even with intake fans. It can be pretty hard to balance the suction otherwise.
 

Lathund

Member
Space doesn't seem too low if the meters measurements are correct. If the beam is really at 3.28ft that would be pretty challenging...

But I'm not quite sure if you are talking about having separate intake and exhaust fan setups, or if your asking about pushing air thru vs pulling air out...I do think it would be pretty easy to vent both separately though. You even have that "attic space" above the bar you could seal the ducting into, keeping the hot ducts out of the rooms.

For exhaust I was still thinking about a Y with separate fans but instead of intake it would be exhaust. Pulling air thru each rooms air cooled hoods/scrubbers then out the whole.
For intake I would probably build some kind of light blocking box with a filter(think furnace filter type box) that goes in thru the wall down low somewhere. Or a forced fan from outside into each room could would work too, just make sure its filtered really good.

I have not had good luck sharing air thru rooms, especially veg into flower. pests and spores always make it thru. The other way might be ok.

If you don't want to get like 4 fans, that space isn't that big. You could probably get away with 1 big one split for exhaust(or maybe 2 on the Y) and one for intake split into each room.

Or exhaust and an appropriate sized passive intake could work too. I seem to always need a passive intake even with intake fans. It can be pretty hard to balance the suction otherwise.

Haha wow, the imperial conversion tool I was using must have had a fit. All of the metric measurements are correct though!

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough. I'll try and rephrase and add some other questions instead.

1. Would one adequatley sized exhaust fan be enough with the help of a Y-splitter and two scrubbers? I was under the impression that air always takes the easiest route, wich in turn led me to believe that the exhaust from veg (wich would be furthest away from the fan) wouldn't work as good as the one in flower (wich would be closest to the fan).

2. Would passive intake be enough from the hole in the wall? If so I could build a lightblocking box to cover the hole and then mount a Y-splitter there as well. From the Y-splitter I could lead intake air through ducting to both chambers. If an active intake isn't necessary?

The room isn't insulated or well sealed as it sits right now, so air will get in through other parts than the intake hole I have in the drawing. The important part for me is to keep a negative pressure to keep smell down.
 

Lathund

Member
Hmm as I thought about it once more. Isn't it more efficient to have the bloom room at the back close to the outside wall?

My thinking is that this will have "first dibs" on cool air coming in from the vent. And that the veg will have lights on for far longer wich makes me able to work in the veg room while bloom is in dark.

This however makes it even more crucial to have a working fan from bloom, will a Y-splitter work?
 

Iamnumber

Active member
Things depend on your height and mobility etc..

I am assuming quite a number of things, like access to up stairs is from the side with wall and one has enough room to move back and forth on the other side of wall.



If hereo in my book were to build such ...
he would place two flower areas and one veg area.
veg to low space under roof (far end of pic)
late flower area in center
early flower area in low space (close to viewer in pic)


two corridors in between. access to corridors from 'Wall' so 2 x zipper door at minimum.


Simplest would be to have intake in veg room with light protect conduct to flower. and exhaust (inline fan + scrubber) from there.


Depending on location of the story hero would have to pay special attention to heat escaping through the roof which can bi dead give away when snowing. On summer excess heat might become serious issue as sun heats up the roof (and atic)



Extra care should be paid to make certain that air between sheets (temt) and structure of the house is constantly moving to prevent mold etc.
 

Lathund

Member
Things depend on your height and mobility etc..

I am assuming quite a number of things, like access to up stairs is from the side with wall and one has enough room to move back and forth on the other side of wall.



If hereo in my book were to build such ...
he would place two flower areas and one veg area.
veg to low space under roof (far end of pic)
late flower area in center
early flower area in low space (close to viewer in pic)


two corridors in between. access to corridors from 'Wall' so 2 x zipper door at minimum.


Simplest would be to have intake in veg room with light protect conduct to flower. and exhaust (inline fan + scrubber) from there.


Depending on location of the story hero would have to pay special attention to heat escaping through the roof which can bi dead give away when snowing. On summer excess heat might become serious issue as sun heats up the roof (and atic)



Extra care should be paid to make certain that air between sheets (temt) and structure of the house is constantly moving to prevent mold etc.

Thank you for your feedback! The area that is on the picture is what I have to play with. There is no additional room I'm afraid.

I'll do an additional post in a bit wich hopefully will make it a bit more obvious for what I am trying to do.
 

Lathund

Member
So I've been thinking about how to best go about this and I think I'll switch veg room and flower rooms places. If bloom room is closer to the wall it will have better access to cool air, since bloom will produce much more heat it feels like the best solution.

I will try to rely on passive intakes only, since I already have the vent hole in the wall and to use active intake from any other part would be a lot more work and a lot more expensive. When I revamp the grow area at a later time I will look in to having active intakes as well. The area is above a storage facility so there is no added heat from below, might be an option to do air intakes from below at a later point. Since the area isn't insulated or sealed I think air will come in from other parts as well, but still maintain a negative pressure.

This is my checklist, could you guys please see if I've missed something?

1x Spudnik aircooled reflector
1x Lumatek digital ballast
1x Sylvania HPS 600W bulb
Easy rolls to hang the lights from
Black and white plastic for the walls
1x Exhaust fan two speed 220/420 m3/h (for veg room)
1x Exhaust fan with automatic speed controller (for bloom room)
2x scrubbers
A bunch of ducting, both 127mm and 160mm (127mm for reflectors and 160mm for passive intake)
1x Y-connector for intake ducting
1x Filterbox for intake air
1x 4x4 tray for bloom
1x 4x2 tray for mothers
1x tray for clones (size undecided)
1x Waterpump 750L/h for bloom
2x Waterpump 350L/h for veg
A bunch of ebb and flow connectors
2x Oxygen pumps with circular stones

Am I missing something?
 

Iamnumber

Active member
Thank you for your feedback! The area that is on the picture is what I have to play with. There is no additional room I'm afraid.

I'll do an additional post in a bit wich hopefully will make it a bit more obvious for what I am trying to do.


.. hard to write down what I mean when there is no easy way to sketch ..


I understood that 'the wall' in your pic is the limit of area for grow room (and not an actual wall). Could you walk beside this wall on the outside of grow room?
idea would be to put two doors to access grow area .



==--===--== where = is wall (plastic)and -- is door
|ff...FFF|..vv| f = early flower, .. corridor
|ff...FFF|..vv| FF late flower and v veg area. | is wall (plastic)
|ff...FFF|..vv|
|ff...FFF|..vv|
|ff...FFF|..vv|
===========
 
Last edited:

Iamnumber

Active member
much more detailed info is required on what is desired setup and how it is intended to operate before I would be comfortable on commenting item list.


For example .. you have listed only 1 hps.. do you have other lights you intend to use on flowering/ veg?


It is your decision what technique you use.. You stated ebb&flow .. with my limited understanding this usually means tables which means once you select certain size it is not easy to change .. and this limits the options in room design later on.


What is the key reason why you chose to start with ebb&flow? There are lots of soil/ soil heavy mix medium options that are low on inital investment and would give you option to try different layouts as you build up capital to investment in equipment. ( large grow room & only one light >> I assume your plan is to add more lights later on)
 

Lathund

Member
.. hard to write down what I mean when there is no easy way to sketch ..


I understood that 'the wall' in your pic is the limit of area for grow room (and not an actual wall). Could you walk beside this wall on the outside of grow room?
idea would be to put two doors to access grow area .



==--===--== where = is wall (plastic)and -- is door
|ff...FFF|..vv| f = early flower, .. corridor
|ff...FFF|..vv| FF late flower and v veg area. | is wall (plastic)
|ff...FFF|..vv|
|ff...FFF|..vv|
|ff...FFF|..vv|
===========

much more detailed info is required on what is desired setup and how it is intended to operate before I would be comfortable on commenting item list.


For example .. you have listed only 1 hps.. do you have other lights you intend to use on flowering/ veg?


It is your decision what technique you use.. You stated ebb&flow .. with my limited understanding this usually means tables which means once you select certain size it is not easy to change .. and this limits the options in room design later on.


What is the key reason why you chose to start with ebb&flow? There are lots of soil/ soil heavy mix medium options that are low on inital investment and would give you option to try different layouts as you build up capital to investment in equipment. ( large grow room & only one light >> I assume your plan is to add more lights later on)

Sorry for the late reply!

I agree, it's really hard. I have a very clear picture in my head how it will look but to relay it to someone else and for that someone to be able to "see it" is a whole other story haha.

I can't walk beside the grow rooms, I have to go through one to get to the other. It will be a bit cramped but I'll have to make due.

The HPS is for flower, for veg I already have T5's 6500K lights. Will need to add either more T5's or a CFL when I get things rolling. Veg area is a bit harder for me to visualise as I havn't really decided on tray size for mothers and clones yet.

I was thinking about going with top feed drippers first, but due to laws I am better off growing in SOG. It would be a total pain running drippers to that many small plants, and if one clogs... Yeah you get the idea. E&F seems to be easier to maintan and seems very viable for SOG.

But yeah you're right, the plan is to add one more light down the line. From there build capital to revamp the entire grow space and possibly have 3 lights in bloom if possible. Will give me time to see what I need to change or add on for the final layout.

Thanks for taking the time!
 
That looks like a nightmare to try to grow in. Can be done but phewww.. I think I’d look around for a different spot if you can. Preferably a room with level ceilings.. I can see that creating all kinds of fun once you start getting plants in there. In theory, yes, it will work, but if you have access to another area whatsoever you might save time and headaches by rethinking this all together. Even if you could just use this as a veg area and have another spot to bloom, or vice versa, you will be much happier down the road. This room looks pretty cramped as is, but to start separating it off for separate veg/bloom areas is just gonna be madness lol. Light leaks from veg will be your worst enemy.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
Personally, I would veg in as small of a tent as I could find for as long as humanly possible. Something tiny I can keep nearby in a climate controlled room, ideally up on a table for easier access. Easier to control the climate of a smaller area.

I can't afford to lose my genetics to neglect er equipment failure or whatever, so hiding them away in an attic behind a flower room sounds pretty counterintuitive.

That's just me though.

Also, if you are only running one light, you could do so in a pretty clandestine fashion in a wardrobe or a fridge. Building out a permanent space definitely adds to the risk/paranoia factor. I like to be able to tear down my grows, quickly and quietly.
 

Lathund

Member
That looks like a nightmare to try to grow in. Can be done but phewww.. I think I’d look around for a different spot if you can. Preferably a room with level ceilings.. I can see that creating all kinds of fun once you start getting plants in there. In theory, yes, it will work, but if you have access to another area whatsoever you might save time and headaches by rethinking this all together. Even if you could just use this as a veg area and have another spot to bloom, or vice versa, you will be much happier down the road. This room looks pretty cramped as is, but to start separating it off for separate veg/bloom areas is just gonna be madness lol. Light leaks from veg will be your worst enemy.

I agree, it's not optimal by any stretch of imagination. Unfortunatley it's the only one I have access to at this time. I think it looks smaller than it is though, hard to do a sketch that does it justice. Since space is limited that was also a factor when deciding on SOG type of growing.

Personally, I would veg in as small of a tent as I could find for as long as humanly possible. Something tiny I can keep nearby in a climate controlled room, ideally up on a table for easier access. Easier to control the climate of a smaller area.

I can't afford to lose my genetics to neglect er equipment failure or whatever, so hiding them away in an attic behind a flower room sounds pretty counterintuitive.

That's just me though.

Also, if you are only running one light, you could do so in a pretty clandestine fashion in a wardrobe or a fridge. Building out a permanent space definitely adds to the risk/paranoia factor. I like to be able to tear down my grows, quickly and quietly.

I was going to go with tents at first, but due to the angled roof none fit. I found the loft tents but they were too big as well. I'll have to make due and build my grow around the room and not the other way around, I would prefer to build the room around the grow though haha!

Thanks to both of you for the advice, I really appreciate it.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
I wasn't suggesting that you put a tent in your attic, although you could by cutting down the vertical supports.

I was telling you to do your seeds and clones in a small enough tent to keep in your bedroom or up on a coffee table somewhere in a climate controlled area of your house. They have a better chance of survival not being buried away somewhere that you don't have easy access to and isn't climate controlled.

My clones spend 4-6 weeks in this little tent. I keep it nearby in case of any equipment failure. They only spend 3-5 weeks being blasted with bigger veg lights in a bigger space, once they are well developed.

 
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