ttystikk
Well-Known Member
The modern era starts on page 129.
JB's New Growroom with Graphics
- Thread starter JSB99
- Start date
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Cool, thx
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Thanks, brother. That cola is ISS Bubblegum (afaik, anyway) and the tree is blue cheese, in this case Blueberry x Cheese. For scale, those are 4" squares on the trellis panel. She got tall, over 6' above the bucket;
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Do you mix that with anything, or do you use it right out of the bag? I've seen lots people making their own soil mixes and wasn't sure if it was the same for soilless, like peat, vermiculite, etc...
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I run it straight from the bag, but I'm also running pure hydroponics. Of course you can mix all sorts of goodies in there if you like, from microbial inoculants to earthworm castings and such. It doesn't have much nutrition in it, it's ready for whatever the grower wants. The same company also sells a soil mix with lots of goodies, ready for use.
One reason I switched was to play with some goodies and see how that affects my results. It's something that just can't be done with RDWC.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
LOL, Holy shit, dude! I think she needs a haircut...just a little off the top.
Those are damn impressive!
I'm starting to get torn between what you're doing, which is growing them just like a plant in soil, or having some sort of active system like a top feed or flood n drain. I like the thought of things being automatic, but I'm going to be in there everyday as it is. I really like the idea of having a buffer. I remember having to always stay on top of it with my RDWC.
Hmmmmm...starting to like the minimalist approach.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'd do what you do and use hydro nutes with feeding. I like Fox Farms, myself. I wouldn't bother adding anything to the mix, unless the results were significant.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I'm a long time advocate of using dry hydroponic nutrient salts. I found an agricultural supplier here in Colorado that mixes them for tomato, cucumber and flower greenhouses in the region and I get their Jacks equivalent mix, which already has all the micros and base nutes. I add a few more double salts like epsom salt, MKP and calcium nitrate- and that's it. It's SHOCKINGLY CHEAP compared to anything at the hydro store, exposing them for the racket they are. How cheap? 50 gallons of plant ready nutrient solution costs me less than a dollar.
That said, there are surely many plant active compounds that aren't nutrients. An example would be the slime of earth worm castings. This substance increases soil wettability and helps promote beneficial microbes. That's distinct from the work poop itself, who knew?
That's why I want to play with some soil additives; I think there are synergies to be gained. I can't do this in a bare root hydro approach.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I didn't know that about the salts. I actually used salts for quite a while with my old DWC. Yeah, I'll definitely go that route then.
Thanks!
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
You rock, dude
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Well, after some thought I've decided to stick with RDWC UnderCurrent.
I was first looking at gravity ebb & flow (reservoir underneath), but I wanted a much larger reservoir and I didn't want to lose at least a foot of grow space, 'cause I like growing full-sized plants. So I was looking at active ebb & flow with a multiflow controller and a 55 gallon drum. I was looking at all the components, and the room layout. But I started thinking that this was, once again, turning into a complex hydroponic system. I don't mind complex things so this didn't deter me. But I realized that I'd be setting something up nearly as complex as the DWC. I love DWC and have always had great results, so that's what I'm going with.
I'm not going to have three reservoirs though. The thought behind having 2 extra was to have one filled with tap water and the other filled with purified water. The first (tap) would be used to flush the system and the second (pure) to refill it. But I was overthinking it. The water here is around 180ppm, so I should have no problem just using tap water. That's all I used before and I never had problems.
I'll put some pics up a little later.
I was first looking at gravity ebb & flow (reservoir underneath), but I wanted a much larger reservoir and I didn't want to lose at least a foot of grow space, 'cause I like growing full-sized plants. So I was looking at active ebb & flow with a multiflow controller and a 55 gallon drum. I was looking at all the components, and the room layout. But I started thinking that this was, once again, turning into a complex hydroponic system. I don't mind complex things so this didn't deter me. But I realized that I'd be setting something up nearly as complex as the DWC. I love DWC and have always had great results, so that's what I'm going with.
I'm not going to have three reservoirs though. The thought behind having 2 extra was to have one filled with tap water and the other filled with purified water. The first (tap) would be used to flush the system and the second (pure) to refill it. But I was overthinking it. The water here is around 180ppm, so I should have no problem just using tap water. That's all I used before and I never had problems.
I'll put some pics up a little later.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
I've been working on my layout quite a bit. I'm sticking with RDWC and decided to make 2 x 8 COB arrays, which will be powered externally by 2 x MW HLG-320H-C1050's
Next I'll be adding the pond liner frame, as well as the air pump & lines, and the active intake and exhaust fans. I also plan on posting my parts list and links soon. I've had everything planned out with costs and links for a while.
The tent will be a Gorilla Lite 4x4. I know they are a little more expensive, but they've got a great reputation, and I like the extended height option.
https://gorillagrowtent.com/product/lite-line-44-grow-tent-kit/
Here are a few. You can take a look at all the renderings I've got for this set at http://imgur.com/a/XTx3j
PS: The little canister looking things to the left and right of the tent in these first couple pics are recessed lights I'll be putting in the ceiling.
Eye Candy
Next I'll be adding the pond liner frame, as well as the air pump & lines, and the active intake and exhaust fans. I also plan on posting my parts list and links soon. I've had everything planned out with costs and links for a while.
The tent will be a Gorilla Lite 4x4. I know they are a little more expensive, but they've got a great reputation, and I like the extended height option.
https://gorillagrowtent.com/product/lite-line-44-grow-tent-kit/
Here are a few. You can take a look at all the renderings I've got for this set at http://imgur.com/a/XTx3j
PS: The little canister looking things to the left and right of the tent in these first couple pics are recessed lights I'll be putting in the ceiling.
Eye Candy
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JSB99
Well-Known Member
Can everyone follow the flow of the re-circulation?
The external inline pump, to the left of the chiller, draws the water starting from the reservoir. Water goes from the reservoir, though the top green 2" pipes along the wall, through the tent, and between the buckets. Then it drops down and tee's the water to the buckets for the return. The water flows through the buckets on the way back through the bottom 2" green return pipe, which is below the feed pipe. Then it follows the wall back until it arrives at the water pump which pumps it into the chiller, and the out of the chiller back into the reservoir.
Couple notes:
Green pipe is 2" PVC
Red pipes are drain
Blue pipes are water feeds from the house
I plan on cutting the tent and running the pipes through. I'll modify anything to make it work just the way I want, so this doesn't bother me. Haven't decided for sure, but I'll probably use a bulkhead fitting with the tent holes clamped in between and a pipe passing through it.
The chiller I'm getting allows for nutrients to be run through it. I wasn't sure about going with a sealed system with a dedicated pump and coil, allowing for a less expensive chiller, or just using a single pump and a more expensive chiller. The later is what I chose.
The chiller will be a Hamilton 1/4 hp chiller
https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Technology-Aqua-Aquarium-Chiller/dp/B004LPMOTU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
Note to the noobs: If you're going to get a chiller, there are two different kinds. One's that allow for nutrients to be run through it, and one's where you can't. The one's that you can't you have to use a dedicated pump and run hoses from the chiller to a copper coil that sits in the reservoir, and then back to the pump which pumps it through the chiller. This is a "sealed" system. The more expensive chillers are aquarium chillers that have titanium heat exchangers.
The water pump I'll be using is a Danner Supreme Mag-Drive 18 (1800 gph) run inline (outside of the reservoir). The reservoir is 55 gallons and the buckets are 13 gallons. I'll say 50 actual gallons in the res and 40 gallons combined in the buckets. The lines carry a few gallons, but its not a big enough system where the pipes are going to be negligible. I'll be running a 90 gallon RDWC.
I may go down to the Danner 1200 gph pump. I don't know if the 18 is overkill. I calculated it out once and came up with the 1800.
Feedback is always welcome. I know everyone's going to have their favorite brands, but I'm pretty happy with my choices. I probably won't change anything unless I get a consensus about how flawed one of the components is. But adjusting sizes of components to fine tune this grow room and not go overboard on anything is totally up for debate.
And thanks again for any feedback. I hope the visuals help some folks who are new to this.
The external inline pump, to the left of the chiller, draws the water starting from the reservoir. Water goes from the reservoir, though the top green 2" pipes along the wall, through the tent, and between the buckets. Then it drops down and tee's the water to the buckets for the return. The water flows through the buckets on the way back through the bottom 2" green return pipe, which is below the feed pipe. Then it follows the wall back until it arrives at the water pump which pumps it into the chiller, and the out of the chiller back into the reservoir.
Couple notes:
Green pipe is 2" PVC
Red pipes are drain
Blue pipes are water feeds from the house
I plan on cutting the tent and running the pipes through. I'll modify anything to make it work just the way I want, so this doesn't bother me. Haven't decided for sure, but I'll probably use a bulkhead fitting with the tent holes clamped in between and a pipe passing through it.
The chiller I'm getting allows for nutrients to be run through it. I wasn't sure about going with a sealed system with a dedicated pump and coil, allowing for a less expensive chiller, or just using a single pump and a more expensive chiller. The later is what I chose.
The chiller will be a Hamilton 1/4 hp chiller
https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Technology-Aqua-Aquarium-Chiller/dp/B004LPMOTU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
Note to the noobs: If you're going to get a chiller, there are two different kinds. One's that allow for nutrients to be run through it, and one's where you can't. The one's that you can't you have to use a dedicated pump and run hoses from the chiller to a copper coil that sits in the reservoir, and then back to the pump which pumps it through the chiller. This is a "sealed" system. The more expensive chillers are aquarium chillers that have titanium heat exchangers.
The water pump I'll be using is a Danner Supreme Mag-Drive 18 (1800 gph) run inline (outside of the reservoir). The reservoir is 55 gallons and the buckets are 13 gallons. I'll say 50 actual gallons in the res and 40 gallons combined in the buckets. The lines carry a few gallons, but its not a big enough system where the pipes are going to be negligible. I'll be running a 90 gallon RDWC.
I may go down to the Danner 1200 gph pump. I don't know if the 18 is overkill. I calculated it out once and came up with the 1800.
Feedback is always welcome. I know everyone's going to have their favorite brands, but I'm pretty happy with my choices. I probably won't change anything unless I get a consensus about how flawed one of the components is. But adjusting sizes of components to fine tune this grow room and not go overboard on anything is totally up for debate.
And thanks again for any feedback. I hope the visuals help some folks who are new to this.
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JSB99
Well-Known Member
Here are some pics of how it'll look with my pond liner. Around the walls, the pond liner will go over the baseboard and anchored to the walls with strips of building lumber. The outer board is anchored with hurricane straps. I won't really have laminate flooring in there. The carpet will be rolled up, exposing the plywood flooring underneath.
One thing that I wanted to mention - This room will be totally reversible. All the modifications I make, and all the holes I cut, will be able to be easily fixed if/when the room is no longer used as a grow room.
Collection:
http://imgur.com/a/4FTmV
One thing that I wanted to mention - This room will be totally reversible. All the modifications I make, and all the holes I cut, will be able to be easily fixed if/when the room is no longer used as a grow room.
Collection:
http://imgur.com/a/4FTmV
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Standard L brackets would likely work better for your application than the hurricane straps and cost less, but it's a minor quibble. I'm enjoying watching your design process unfold.Here are some pics of how it'll look with my pond liner. Around the walls, the pond liner will go over the baseboard and anchored to the walls with strips of building lumber. The outer board is anchored with hurricane straps. I won't really have laminate flooring in there. The carpet will be rolled up, exposing the plywood flooring underneath.
One thing that I wanted to mention - This room will be totally reversible. All the modifications I make, and all the holes I cut, will be able to be easily fixed if/when the room is no longer used as a grow room.
Collection:
http://imgur.com/a/4FTmV
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Thanks! I wasn't really sure what would work best here. So I'll use larger L brackets instead. Probably 4" since that's a 2x6.
potpimp
Sector 5 Moderator
LOL, "Colas". Super nice!!
JSB99
Well-Known Member
Pun intended