Vance Barnstrongs vertical oddatorium

[headbandrocker]

Putting this up today,pics soon.
8 wire racks,4 shelves each,on wheels,with large 20 gal home depot mixing tubs with 1'' drains.
6 x 600s lights rail 4.0.
i have an 7 foot ceiling,any ideas on what the distance from shelf to shelf should be?

 

[headbandrocker]

Heres a shot of the tubs with 39 cent pvc drain,these will be fed into 1" drain tubes leading into 5 gal buckets. Straight PM for the medium,hopefully 10 bails will fill the 32 tubs.
Tomorow i will search for the extruded aluminum for the light tree and get her fired up. Plants have been veggin for a month and have been topped,I will veg a few days in the racks before flippin the lights.

 

[headbandrocker]

What kind of shop would i find extruded aluminum ?
Looking for somthing to make an adjustable light tree for the 6 bulbs,my go to idea is wood,but bubbanubs idea of extruded aluminum looks nice i just cant find it?

 

[ttystikk]

Metal distributor shop. Same place for sheet goods.

 

[headbandrocker]

Thanks king,I have searched all day around town and was refered to a metal distributer spot, im going to go to in the am. Are you familiar with the perticular shape of Extruded aluminum i will need? I have no idea and Bubba nubs pic is vauge,They had H,L and pole shape at the store i visted today but i would like to be able to raise lower the branches from the vertical trunk bar.Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Bless

 

[ttystikk]

Your best bet would be to take the little roller unit from your light rail with you to test fit.

 

[headbandrocker]

I bought some wood and shelf hanging Ls guna test it out tonight,the metal seems ideal but this wood and brackets cost me 35$
You have any advice on distance to place the 600s from one another horizontally and vertically?
I was thinkin 34" apart on each tier and 20" apart vertically? But I'm all ears if you have any tips king

 

[headbandrocker]

Everything is in place but I can't figure out where to put the ballasts to eliminate the cords from interfering with the rail movement... I need an idea to keep 15ft cords away from bulbs. I don't think it would be a good idea to mount ballasts on the 2x6 vertical light tree bar hmm any ideas tty?

 

[headbandrocker]

Light mover is ablaze and working,and cords have been run up to the top of the tree.
Time to fill her up!

 

[ttystikk]

Everything is in place but I can't figure out where to put the ballasts to eliminate the cords from interfering with the rail movement... I need an idea to keep 15ft cords away from bulbs. I don't think it would be a good idea to mount ballasts on the 2x6 vertical light tree bar hmm any ideas tty?

Sorry, I just now saw this. I had enough slack in the cord so that as the light moved around its circle, it would stretch to accommodate, then droop out if the way. Perhaps you could do something similar.

 

[headbandrocker]

No worries,I got it to work,just ran cord up top an out of the way.
TTY you think 3x 18" plants (that were topped) in each shelf would be fine or 4 per shelf?

 

[ttystikk]

No worries,I got it to work,just ran cord up top an out of the way.
TTY you think 3x 18" plants (that were topped) in each shelf would be fine or 4 per shelf?

This is the point where most others' and my grow part ways.

You see, I do NOT top my plants, specifically to get them to grow as tall as possible and cover the vertical space that way. Due to this difference in approach, I'm afraid any advice I have to offer would just be a guess.

That said, I would stick with fewer racks and fewer individual plants, for simplicity.

 

[headbandrocker]

I think i may try your approach ttystikk,I have plenty of space and i believe a higer density with single colas might yield better and fill in the space better,shit maybe i should be using the 5th shelf that came with each rack?

 

[ttystikk]

I think i may try your approach ttystikk,I have plenty of space and i believe a higer density with single colas might yield better and fill in the space better,shit maybe i should be using the 5th shelf that came with each rack?

My theory is that if there's a space to cram some plant material in where it can soak up electric sunshine, then by all means one should endeavor to do so!

I'm still working on getting my girls to grow tall and fast enough to fill in my trellis fully and consistently. It's these kinds of learning experiences that pay big dividends down the road, I'm extremely optimistic about your chances of success. If rocking those tubs has already worked for you, then the Super Silo approach will basically up the light intensity.

I'm told from another source doing much the same thing that you will want to pay extra attention to insulating your root boxes. They get hot, the roots develop problems, it's a bad scene. Solutions could also include growing the lower rack of plants high enough to shade the root pans above, which has an attractive elegance to it.