Seeking Critique on Vert Colosseum SOG concept.

[Anti]

HELL YEAH ! ... being a wanna-be is fucking cool if you wanna-be laylow!

Yes please!

I doubt my results will be anywhere near as epic as his.

One can dream though.

 

[Anti]

UPDATE WITH PICS! (You know you want 'em!)

UPDATE WITH PICS! (You know you want 'em!)

First three pics were taken before the top tier was secured so that you could get a better idea of how it all is put together.

Second three are obviously with the top tier attached and it in place in it's space.

​

There's about half a foot on either side of the table on the outside to make it easier to maneuver out of the closet. The whole idea for me is to be able to pull it out of the grow room completely so that I have 360 degree access to plants as needed. I'll just give my rez a few extra feet of tubing if I can't find one that will be able to "ride along."

I want to be able to work on the plants OUTSIDE of the room because I've been warned that CMH can actually give you a sunburn if you aren't careful and then I won't have to wear welding goggles when I want to look at my girls.

So... i'll be working on getting the door done and then:

• get fan/filter and lights hung
• get pump, tubing and fittings installed and sealed
• get my clone #s up
• flip to 12/12

 

[Anti]

One more just for fun! I see you!

You can see my original microstealth cab in the top left corner (currently caring for 6 mini-mamas and a lil 8 plant sog just to keep me smoking until the colosseum kicks in.

Once I get my lights up and running i'm gonna throw the mini mamas up on the table between the two 400s so that they can bush out quickly and provide me with 12-20 cuts a piece as quickly as possible. They've already been topped once and I'll top 'em again (and clone THAT) until I have enough foliage to take 70 clones, after which I'll cut way back on moms and keep a few to get the thing started up again. I figure 6-7 is gonna be the right number of moms. That way I can have plants that I can take 10-15 clones each once every 45 days or so.

As soon as one harvest is pulled, new clones BAM. That's the plan, anyway.

Eventually I hope to run alternating mono-cropped cycles for variety. But first I'm gonna dial these AK47s.

 

[Anti]

Don't know how interested anyone else will be in this, but I did some math....

I was looking at this:

Photosynthetic response of Cannabis sativa L. to variations in photosynthetic photon flux densities, temperature and CO2 conditions

(http://home.olemiss.edu/~suman/PhysiologyandMol.Biol.2008.pdf)



It says that the best temp for growing indoors is 77-86 degrees. It also says that "the maximum rate of photosynthesis
(PN max) was observed at 30 oC and under 1500 μmol m-2s-1 PPFD."

(30 C is 86 F for Lazy Americans.)

So I found a calculator online that converts μmol m-2s-1 to lux and lux to lumen.

Here are my findings:
Optimal lumen/sq. ft. (after converting μmol to lux to lumen) is 11,427 lumen/square foot

400w CMH is 38,400 lumen/sq. ft @ 1 ft.
400w CMH is 17,100 lumen/sq. ft @ 1.5 ft.
400w CMH is 12,500 lumen/sq. ft @ 1.75 ft. (most plants are around this distance.)
400w CMH is 11,700 lumen/sq. ft @ 1.80 ft. (Here's as close to optimal as it gets. Many plants are here.)
400w CMH is 10,400 lumen/sq. ft @ 1.92 sq. ft (distance to the back side of the corner plants.)

So the majority of the plants will be in or near the sweet spot as far as optimal photosynthesis and 90% of those that aren't in that sweet spot are actually getting more light than recommended.

I'm curious to see how this turns out.

 

[megayields]

Excellent information Anti....thank you from a lazy American you offshore wanker!.....lol j/k

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Looking good Anti.

I'll just give my rez a few extra feet of tubing if I can't find one that will be able to "ride along."

I've had trouble with long drain hoses getting bubbles trapped, and then not draining. Keep an eye on this. Straight down the fall line is best.

 

[greenmatter]

looks great in white Anti! sounds like the green is coming soon. good work

 

[Kroggi]

I think anyone having the space and opportunity to grow like laylow, would
Anti, its looking good bro, not long before its filled with plants now

 

[mygrow1900]

Anti, I love your dedication and idea evolution. The one thing I thought of is, after you have considered the number of modifications and adjustments you have had to make so far to water proof your system, in retrospect, do you think going with a long 8" or wider PVC pipe from Home Depot would have been cheaper/quicker/less hassle? You could have drilled holes on one side to allow for the tree pot inserts. Just thinking out loud - not bashing your ideas and efforts.

 

[Anti]

do you think going with a long 8" or wider PVC pipe from Home Depot would have been cheaper/quicker/less hassle? You could have drilled holes on one side to allow for the tree pot inserts.

Trust me, this is one of the things that I did consider. A 20' length of 8" pvc is ~$120. Plus the corner pieces (I'd need 8 corners).

ALL the wood to build my table was about $60. Plus $30 worth of paint and $10 worth of silicone.

If I had used the PVC, I still would've had to come up with a way to mount it, whether using chains to hang it or building something to hold it. It would've ended up costing more.

If money is no object, I think that the PVC has been proven to work for many people.

Thanks for your input.

 

[mygrow1900]

Fair enough. But what about multiple plastic planter containers connected with cheap 1" black pipe so water can flood from one planter to the next. You could place these on a shelf in any configuration and make a basic lip on the shelf so they don't tip. The point I'm getting at is they are water tight from the start, don't need to trouble shoot it as you build, and if you want to clean it, just take is out and rinse the whole thing. No, glue, screws, paint, liner or anything like that. And it's cheaper. Take a look at this link. Also, note that I found ones that did not have drain holes like the one on the link but even if the holes were there, you could use some epoxy and flat scrap plastic and make the holes water tight.


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I went to my local home depot today and saw some in black on clearance for like half the cost listed on that link.

I'm just trying to understand this whole process and think of ways to make the same thing for less cost. In your estimation, do you see any problems with the plastic planter idea?

Trust me, this is one of the things that I did consider. A 20' length of 8" pvc is ~$120. Plus the corner pieces (I'd need 8 corners).

ALL the wood to build my table was about $60. Plus $30 worth of paint and $10 worth of silicone.

If I had used the PVC, I still would've had to come up with a way to mount it, whether using chains to hang it or building something to hold it. It would've ended up costing more.

If money is no object, I think that the PVC has been proven to work for many people.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Anti]

what about multiple plastic planter containers connected with cheap 1" black pipe so water can flood from one planter to the next. You could place these on a shelf in any configuration and make a basic lip on the shelf....
....do you see any problems with the plastic planter idea?

I looked into plastic planters as well. The cheapest I could find them locally (and your link isn't working for me) was about $8 a piece for 18" long planters. I could only fit about 4 per side in the space, and only one on the short sides, which would cut down my plant #s. But even then, $8x20 = $160

If I had found them for half off when I was building, I would consider them, but also factor in the cost of building shelves to support them.

Trust me. This thread started several months back. I've spent months walking down the aisles at different hardware stores and lumber yards trying to come up with the best way to do this on a tight budget.

There are many ways that would be an improvement on this setup if money were no object, and I may experiment with some of them in the future if my finances will permit it.

If you try something with the plastic planter idea, please post up pics so we can check it out.

 

[Anti]

Well, I got the doors built and hung. I got my sockets and moguls. Everything is here and I even managed to massage my wallet and get some reflectix. Went to take some pics of the progress and the camera is dead. It's a rechargeable battery, so I'll try to get some more pics tonight/tomorrow and let you see the progress.

 

[Anti]

The table itself isn't the expense. It's finishing the basement, adding the separate circuit and outlets, building the closet and then buying things like ballasts, lights, cords, fan/filter, temp/humidity controller that really add $$$ to the equation.

If you had a closet or a space under your stairs that you could enclose with only one wall, you could do this whole thing just like I've done for ~$1000... and if you already have ballasts and fans... you could do it for ~$500 or less.


Major Componant Breakdown:


==================
Wood for Table - ~$60
Paint & Sealant - ~$40
---------------------------
TABLE ------------~$100


==================
BALLASTS (2) - ~$220
BULBS (2) - ~$100
FAN/FILTER - ~$275
FAN CONTROL - ~$120
------------------------------------
HARDWARE-------~$715

And then add another $1200 if you need to build walls, run new outlets and other odds and ends like pumps and fittings and piping and stuff.

 

[Anti]

It's kinda hard to tell from these pics (Maybe I can post a video once I get everything finished) but basically there's a layer of particle board underneath the layer of drywall on the doors. The particle board (and the drywall) overhang one of the doors by about 4". They also overhang the "ceiling" of the closet, so when it's closed, there is basically no chance for light to leak out the seams.

I haven't got the fan hung yet, but it's already pretty tight just opening and closing the door, so I imagine that once I get in there and caulk any gaps I can find that this thing will be pretty much hermetically sealed except for the intakes.

 

[StealthDragon]

disco! disco!



you have no idea how bad I wanna do this with the dual 150 cabinet I'm gonna build soon...either way it will be a very similar setup.

 

[DHF]

Pissed off I didn`t see thisun kick back off Bro...been busy doin other things.....was and am lookin fer good things from your dialed hybrid setup.....and yeah.....

Our lil hobbie`s not a cheap one cuz shit adds up quick huh A.....doin it right the first time from doin your homework upfront keeps costs down though as you`ve done.....respect....

I`ll be on my bucket over here waitin for yas ta tear it up after a few runs once your environment and strain`s dialed....

Peace....DHF........

 

[bobblehead]

Nice table. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[Anti]

Hiya DHF, Bobble. Thanks for checking in. Did a 1 hour burn on the lights last night just to make sure they were ready for prime time.

Turned 'em on and I was like "oh man, these things suck..." and then about 5 minutes later I was like, "is that the Sun coming out of my closet?"

I'm going to try to get the fan/filter and lights hung today and then throw my vegging mamas in there to grow large quickly. (They're currently under 252w of CFL bulbs. I'm thinking that 800w of CMH is going to give 'em a boost. ) I'll try to get some video of the door opening and the view inside.

As soon as I have positive cashflow again I'm gonna buy one of those security webcams with the pan and tilt and put it in there so I can take pics and videos without risking blindness.

 

[~Shhh~]

Can you rig some shades for em from the outside for when you go in?