$7000 Budget - 3000 Watt Basement CGE Setup

[MedicalJay]

So I ran into some difficulties with my plants. They were showing signs of nutrient deficiency and after doing some research I found out that since I'm using reverse osmosis, I need to use calmag to replenish the Calcium and Magnesium removed by my filter. Everytime I feed my plants, I try to keep the pH of my solution in the range of 6.5-6.8.

I also ordered an additional 1000 watt setup, so now my flowering room truly will be a 3k room. I'll be posting more pics up as soon as I have that all done.

Gonna be spending this weekend light-proofing my room. I need to run by the hardware store and pick up some green bulbs so I'll be able to have light to work on my babies without disturbing their sleep.

 

[rosecitypapa]

Okay I decided that they were gonna stretch way too much, so I went ahead and put them into a 4x4(2) scrog lol. I transplanted them into 10 Gal Smart wool pots. These pots are great! Highly recommended!

Gonna be replacing the ducting with insulated ducting. Waiting for my Can Max 8" Fan to come in the mail. I Will be using that to cool my lights, so I can have a separate fan for my lights and a separate fan for my exhaust. I just want to be sure I'll be able to keep up with temps this summer.

At canopy level now I'm getting about 70 degrees at night and 80 during the day. Everyday I'm fine-tuning my whole ventilation system so that I hopefully won't even require an AC unit. I love basements!

I also ordered an oasis auto-water system which I got online for less than $100 since I will be gone for a weekend to attend a family reunion. Don't wanna risk any chance of having my babies go thirsty.

It looks like the plant adjusted very smoothly from its transplant and scrog because within 24 hours I'm noticing all this new growth! The screen is about 20" from the base of the plant. I'm using 2" plastic fencing that I picked up from Lowes along with the PVC and zip ties to build my screen and stand.

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Good job on getting your grow on MedicalJay!

When you vented into the chimmey did you reduce your ducting from 8" to 4"?

Also if you have some panda flaps on your vscrog, you could reclaim some wasted light. Get a light meter, they are inexpensive on ebay ($30) and will give you lots of good info in regards to your light distance.

As for your nutrient deficiency, did you check the pH of your run off water? If you are using a known soil recipe like subcool's, there is no need for adding cal/mag. In general for deficiencies look first to pH, then to overfert, then lastly to increasing fert as solutions.

 

[MedicalJay]

Good job on getting your grow on MedicalJay!

When you vented into the chimmey did you reduce your ducting from 8" to 4"?

Also if you have some panda flaps on your vscrog, you could reclaim some wasted light. Get a light meter, they are inexpensive on ebay ($30) and will give you lots of good info in regards to your light distance.

As for your nutrient deficiency, did you check the pH of your run off water? If you are using a known soil recipe like subcool's, there is no need for adding cal/mag. In general for deficiencies look first to pH, then to overfert, then lastly to increasing fert as solutions.

I actually am not venting through the chimney, I am venting out my window.

Unfortunately I don't have the space or the time yet to mix my own soil. I plan to for future grows when I have more of a workspace.

 

[MedicalJay]

I flip the switch tomorrow! I am so excited!

It's gonna be interesting to see the difference in yield in the scrogged plants vs the one supercropped. The supercropped plant is in a 7 gal plastic container and the scrogged plants are in 10 gal smart wool pots.

 

[peaceloveandpaws]

Nice!!! That is going to get rediculous!

 

[MedicalJay]

Nice!!! That is going to get rediculous!

It's gonna get even more ridiculous. I plan on adding another 2000 watts within the net 4 weeks.

Just picked up a 70 pint dehumidifier from Lowes today. My RH was around 46% lights on and 52% lights off even with all my fans going.. Temperatures are at 75 with 3000 watts now, so I'm wondering if adding another 2000 watts will mean that I will need to use an Air Conditioner. My hope is that I might be able to keep the temps cool enough to do without a portable.

Also picked up the whole Canna line-up based on the nutrient feeding schedule I downloaded. Damn that shit is expensive, but hopefully well-worth-it.

Installed a damper to fix a light leak I had through my air-cooled hoods.

Gonna be transplanting some clones into 7 gallon smart-wool containers. Gonna have a total of 6 more plants under the additional 2000 watts coming soon.

 

[MedicalJay]

Finally a pic with the light off. Plants need to be watered. Lookin droopy. Day 3 of flower.

Temps are climbing up to 81 at some points during lights on. Looking into getting a bigger extractor fan. Possibly a 12" Vortex instead of my 8" HO Can.

I'm gonna have my dehumidifier setup on a timer so that it only runs during the lights off cycle. When the lights are on, humidity is in the low 40% without the dehumidifier. This should help with temps.

After doing the math, I decided to wait up on the 2000 extra watts. I will add more wattage when I someday get a bigger house so I can splap in a monster cooler to keep my babies comfortable. Might even consider going ice-box and doing a completely sealed room complete with CO2 enrichment etc etc.. This is why I'm using air-cooled reflectors in my setup now, so it'll be easy to make the upgrade.

 

[MedicalJay]

11 Days into flower! I supercropped them a couple days ago, and these ladies recovered almost instantly! I pretty much doubled the number of colas within 2 weeks after the beginning of flower. I've done a lot of reading of other peoples grows that have supercropped during flower with great results. I do not plan to touch my plants at all after week 2. I needed to supercrop to control the height of my plant that wasn't in a scrog. Can't wait to see the yield results of supercropping vs scrogging in this grow.

It hasn't risen above a high of 82 so far even with the dehumidifier, but just in-case I ordered a 12" 1140 CFM Vortex Fan to replace my 8" exhaust fan that's exhausting air pulled through my Can 150 filter.

I just ordered an 8" HEPA filter to go over my intake. I've read that this is effective in keeping out spider mites and mold spores, although it does reduce airflow significantly. Because of the resulting lack of intake air-flow, I went ahead and ordered that 12" fan because I'm sure my room will be needing air to be moved faster to keep temps low!

I know I could've gotten away with spending less money on the grow overall, but there's nothing like satisfaction of doing something exactly the way you want.

 

[peaceloveandpaws]

Ha! This grow is going to be epic! And man, I feel you on your temp/humidity problems. I have been going through the exact same issue with my garden. Just recently got a dehumidifier. Obviously raises my temps. Wishing I had a bigger extraction fan lol. Sigh. Perks of the job. Can't wait to see yours fill out!

 

[MedicalJay]

Installed the HEPA filter and it ended up raising temps, so I installed my recently purchased 12" 1100 CFM fan. Temps are staying stable in the High 70's Low 80's. Humidity is in the 35-45% range.

They're almost into their 4th week of flower and the leaf around the buds are looking nice and frosty! Got a chance to take some pics this morning right when the lights came off. I'm gonna have to get some sort of support for my Super-cropped plant. It's developing bud sites all over and they're making the branches all lean to one side. If I can get a lb per light I am gonna be a happy camper.. This is turning out better than I had imagined especially since this is my first time growing anything.

I'm so excited! I just got a 30x jewelers loupe and some fiskar trimming scissors I can hardly wait!

 

[Wolverine97]

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Installed the HEPA filter and it ended up raising temps, so I installed my recently purchased 12" 1100 CFM fan. Temps are staying stable in the High 70's Low 80's. Humidity is in the 35-45% range.

They're almost into their 4th week of flower and the leaf around the buds are looking nice and frosty! Got a chance to take some pics this morning right when the lights came off. I'm gonna have to get some sort of support for my Super-cropped plant. It's developing bud sites all over and they're making the branches all lean to one side. If I can get a lb per light I am gonna be a happy camper.. This is turning out better than I had imagined especially since this is my first time growing anything.

I'm so excited! I just got a 30x jewelers loupe and some fiskar trimming scissors I can hardly wait!

What kind of lights? If you're running 1kw lights, you should be able to double that yield target eventually. Looks good though.

 

[college+MMJ=winning]

@MedicalJay - Your a PRO already!

 

[MedicalJay]

This is the beginning of week 5. I just starting using molasses during the last feeding (1 tbs per gallon) and I was impressed by how well the plant seemed to respond.

So far I can say I like growing with a screen vs. just a supercropped plant. I'm very impressed with the bud size, even canopy, and the fact I don't have to support any weighed over branches because of the support from the screen.

I made the mistake of not using support sticks to hold my supercropped plant up, and ended up tying my branches to a couple nails. lol Won't be making that mistake on my next grow.

 

[ChronicClouds]

My first thought is you'll never be able to exhaust a room that size through a dryer vent. And it will be pretty hard to get good light coverage of an 8x11 room with 3x1kw lights.

Agreed. You will want some of these for your lights http://www.aquacave.com/eco-plus-8-axial-braquarium-fan-647-cfm-2876.html
I have 3 raptors in a room about the same size. I have light from corner to corner no problem. the hoods are to0 big to put in a straight line to get them in my room so I had to s curve the ducting for my lights and I have 1 fan per light pulling air from each light. Each fan was under $100 and does around 700 cfm. You will want at least a 10" exhaust I would go for the 12-16" exhaust.
If your lights are the 6" they make 6" fans too and in that case I would get 12-14" exhaust.
Now I had to get a square fan for a round hole
I used L brackets from home depot. I think I use the 1" kind with the holes already in the L bracket. I drilled each bracket into the light where ever the L needed to sit. Then I picked up some toggle bolts. I put the screw through the L bracket and then the fan and torqued the wings on. 4 holes per fan so 4 L brackets and 4 toggle bolts per fan. Then duct tape or seal the cracks around the fan and they work perfectly. The L brackets are found in hardware I believe. Like screws and bolts and hooks. and the fans are so cheap and VERY EFFECTIVE. They say 600cfm or whatever and they mean 600cfm or whatever. These fans are meant for your lights though not your filter.

 

[MedicalJay]

Is the yellowing I'm experiencing for the fan leaves at 5 weeks normal? Pics posted above.

 

[Keefers26]

Is the yellowing I'm experiencing for the fan leaves at 5 weeks normal? Pics posted above.

Yes, perfectly normal. They look great, keep doing what you are doing.

BS theres nothing like building EXACTLY what u want! and being absolutely blown away everytime u walk in ur "dream room." i live in a place w/ TONS of rain but its always 3400w sunny downstairs. lol i spent about 10k on build then another bout grand on small start up stuff. i cant go into my grow shop w/out spending atleast $200 but i guess u could say its not only a labor of love but an investment. go for it man build ur "dream room" i may not know tons about growing but i can help u build the shit out of ur room!

I like you.

 

[MedicalJay]

So I'm on day 54 of flower. I have been flushing for the last 3 days with clearex.

I recently installed a 25,000 btu AC window unit that I converted into a portable. It works amazing! One thing though, I highly recommend insulated ducting! That stuff is the shit! I was able to find 25' rolls at Home depot for under $30! My local hydro shop was charing over $90! What a rip off!

I'm experiencing the hottest 2 days of summer and my grow room climbed to a high of 82! I love AC!

Pics coming up tonight! Hoping for a good looking harvest!

 

[MedicalJay]

 

[Mrfootball420]

beautiful scrog, nice job bro.

 

[stondded]

props on an awesome start to a first grow man, research is the key to success nxt to experience haha
happy growin MJ