1st Grow Op - Looking to start fairly big. Need help

G

growtester

Active Member
Edit:

I have removed the original post as much has changed from the original plan (thanks to you guys :D )

I currently have a 25x27 space for flowering (I have an upstairs second floor that will be used for veggie + cloning)

Instead of filling the entire 25x27 (8 foot high) space with 42 1000W lamps like the original post mentioned, I have decided to go a bit smaller for my first time and go with about 15-20 600w lamps instead.

My question is, if I plan on using 15-20 lamps in the 25x27 space (about 700sqft), should I split the room into two separate rooms? or keep the one large room (again, veggie and cloning will be upstairs).

With this smaller (in relation to my original ambitious plan) what kind of ventiliation and AC system should I be looking at.

Thanks again to everyone that can help!:D
 
Pop The Trunk

Pop The Trunk

Member
I would suggest whatever room, closet, hallway, whatever you decide to grow in make sure you have no light leaks. My first grow i grew two plants in my bedroom closet and they both hermied on me because of the light shining in from my tv.
 
RIKNSTEIN

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
growtester said:
Hi,


I'm looking to start up my first grow operation and looking to start off fairly big. I've never done this before and besides the help of some of my friends, I really don't know what would be best in terms of equipment and setup.


If anyone here could help me out specifically to my setup that I'll list below, it would be greatly appreciated:)


Info:


Shop with 301" x 325" and 8 foot ceiling or about 679sqft for the main growing room. I have calculated out that I will be able to fit 42 lights in the growing area. (i have one small hall and and upper subfloor being built for veggie room).


I am looking to go for 1000w lights and ballasts and will be going with natural soil.


Any recommendations or suggestions on the info I provided?? If you need more, just post and I will get back to you.


Thanks,

Growtester
Click to expand...
Well there's 2 mistakes already...First; You NEVER tell anyone you are growing not even friends :wall: Second; If you have never grown before and don't have a clue of what to expect...just grow 2 or 3 for your first time...less to keep up with so you don't loose a whole crop...

Just My Opinion....I made some noob mistakes on my first grow with just 9 plants...only 4 made it :dunce: and only 1 was anything to talk about...Just some sound advice to start you off...READ ALL YOU CAN...
 
savageherring

savageherring

Member
As a first timer I would say go small to learn what you need before filling a barn.
I would also youtube videos on "never get raided" for tips to hide such a large operation, some good tips.
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
Due to my new found headache, I suggest against using digital ballasts, especially if your getting 42. The RF from 42 poorly shielded ballasts will have the FCC on your ass in no time flat.
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
now that i think about it, if that was in a residential area, it would basically be like a shitty EMP going off for a block or two lmfao.
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
You do know that simply buying 42 lights, is only the start... The heat from all that, is going to make your face melt if its not properly cooled, I sure as fuck would not want that electric bill. Also, say you do cool things off, and have 8 plants under each light... that is 336 plants to tend to, every single day... That will translate into a lot of man power, just to water everything. not to mention training, topping, cloning, moving, etc. I'm sure legally speaking your fucked as well, so to make everything stealth is quite a problem in its self, considering, unless this will be your only job, you will need an employee or two helping you that you can trust. Best situation is you find one or two "GOOD" partners that can help, as well as split costs.

What is your budget?
 
Pop The Trunk

Pop The Trunk

Member
TheSnake said:
You do know that simply buying 42 lights, is only the start... The heat from all that, is going to make your face melt if its not properly cooled, I sure as fuck would not want that electric bill. Also, say you do cool things off, and have 8 plants under each light... that is 336 plants to tend to, every single day... That will translate into a lot of man power, just to water everything. not to mention training, topping, cloning, moving, etc. I'm sure legally speaking your fucked as well, so to make everything stealth is quite a problem in its self, considering, unless this will be your only job, you will need an employee or two helping you that you can trust. Best situation is you find one or two "GOOD" partners that can help, as well as split costs.

What is your budget?
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Thats very true man, ive heard of people getting busted were i live because when it snows there will be a section of house roof that has no snow on it due to the warmth of the lights melting it. not only is it a sign for LEO but a sign for random people willing to break into a house and jack you.
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
Pop The Trunk said:
Thats very true man, ive heard of people getting busted were i live because when it snows there will be a section of house roof that has no snow on it due to the warmth of the lights melting it. not only is it a sign for LEO but a sign for random people willing to break into a house and jack you.
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They will need to install massive amounts of power to the building im sure, get the right combination of heat and cold which is $$$$$$$$$$$. A grow that large, I know money wise is better in one large building, but you would be better off making 4 different locations with 10,000 watt grows. Basically one veg, 3 flower and transitional. Would make light sealing not an issue, which will save loads of money. But then you have additional costs and risks while transporting the girls to other locations. Plus you'll need a large, VERY large area for trimming, drying, and curing that is temperature controlled.

If this is serious, It's going to take a lot of thinking, collaborating with very experienced commercial growers, a lot of balls and work, and most of all, knowledge and money.
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
Not to mention this could never be thought of as personal, So if its about moving weight... You'll need to get connected with a sizable trafficking source with an army of dealers. If harvested at once, you could be looking at over 22 kilo's or more, if you know your shit... That is not even remotely easy to move, no dealer i have ever met would even touch that in one go, it would be hard enough to shell them a few pounds. So you need someone who has got an already well off network going, and finding that guy cold turkey is going to be a feat in itself.

We will say your bud is solid, everyone likes it, and wants to move it... they need to make money too... So let's say whole sale for weight like that you can get $1500.00 a pound just for the sake of putting this into numbers. Just at one pound per light which is possible with TLC, maybe more. Your looking at 63 grand 3-4 times a year is like 200,000 dollars, in common denominations that's 10,000 $20 dollar bills, Each of those stacks you see on TV and the bank is 10,000 in 20's its 500 bills... That's 20 of those stacks, you just going to start storing all that in duffle bags?! lmfao...
Just hiding income like that is difficult. It requires steps.
 
G

growtester

Active Member
TheSnake said:
Not to mention this could never be thought of as personal, So if its about moving weight... You'll need to get connected with a sizable trafficking source with an army of dealers. If harvested at once, you could be looking at over 22 kilo's or more, if you know your shit... That is not even remotely easy to move, no dealer i have ever met would even touch that in one go, it would be hard enough to shell them a few pounds. So you need someone who has got an already well off network going, and finding that guy cold turkey is going to be a feat in itself.

We will say your bud is solid, everyone likes it, and wants to move it... they need to make money too... So let's say whole sale for weight like that you can get $1500.00 a pound just for the sake of putting this into numbers. Just at one pound per light which is possible with TLC, maybe more. Your looking at 63 grand 3-4 times a year is like 200,000 dollars, in common denominations that's 10,000 $20 dollar bills, Each of those stacks you see on TV and the bank is 10,000 in 20's its 500 bills... That's 20 of those stacks, you just going to start storing all that in duffle bags?! lmfao...
Just hiding income like that is difficult. It requires steps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies, I was away all day but ill provide more info on my situation.

Firstly, I am doing this LEGALLY... I have a license to produce 200+ plants, so I am not in fear of getting "caught" or anything like that.

Secondly, I decided that for my space and amount of plants (25x27 with 8 foot ceiling) I decided that I will go with 42 600W HPS lights instead of the 1000 and put 5 plants under each lamp (does this seem reasonable?)

I understand that this will produce a lot of heat, that's where my first important question comes in... what kind of cooling method/system would you recommend I get? (i think i would need something like 2 4 ton Air conditioners...pricey indeed) is there anything else I could do to start without having to invest that much money into air conditioning?

Without going into too much discussion about why such a large amount and where its going etc, everything is being done on the legal side so that isn't a concern for me.

Setting it up properly, however, is the biggest concern.


Any suggestions on what I should look for in terms of cooling such a large space? Should I split the 25x27 space in half and have two rooms?
 
B

Bluegrassgrower

Well-Known Member
I would do two rooms. One for veg and one for flower, it will lower your harvest some but you can run perpetually that way. As far as heat its gonna be hot as balls, so air cooled hoods will be a must. I would run them inline with SEVERAL high cfm inline fans and also some boosters in between to start. I would be sure to vent those outside away from your rooms. Then adding ac either a full unit or some portables and I would also look into some co2 generators with a ppm controller. Its possible with all those lights even with ac and aircooled hoods your temps could still run you up into the 90°+ range so co2 will help the plants alot in dealing with the heat stress and help them thrive. After purchasing your lights but before running your crop I would do a couple day test run, checking your lows and highs on temps and humidity. Since this is your first grow you need to be extra careful with one of this size, just because its gonna suck when you fuck up that many plants and the first few grows you will fuck up in some way or another. Time will tell but be patient and don't rush it. GL
 
G

growtester

Active Member
Bluegrassgrower said:
I would do two rooms. One for veg and one for flower, it will lower your harvest some but you can run perpetually that way. As far as heat its gonna be hot as balls, so air cooled hoods will be a must. I would run them inline with SEVERAL high cfm inline fans and also some boosters in between to start. I would be sure to vent those outside away from your rooms. Then adding ac either a full unit or some portables and I would also look into some co2 generators with a ppm controller. Its possible with all those lights even with ac and aircooled hoods your temps could still run you up into the 90°+ range so co2 will help the plants alot in dealing with the heat stress and help them thrive. After purchasing your lights but before running your crop I would do a couple day test run, checking your lows and highs on temps and humidity. Since this is your first grow you need to be extra careful with one of this size, just because its gonna suck when you fuck up that many plants and the first few grows you will fuck up in some way or another. Time will tell but be patient and don't rush it. GL
Click to expand...
After some deliberation, I have taken some of the advice from people here and decided to cut my first plan in half essentially.

Instead of putting in all 42 lamps and over 200 plants to start (too much risk considering it will be my first time). I have decided to go with about 15-20 lamps to start.

That being said, should I put up a wall and divide the 25x27 space into two smaller rooms? or should I have the 15 or 20 lamps running in the full 25x27 space. Please note that I will have a cloning and veggie room upstairs on the second floor that I have built. The 25x27 space is whats left over for the flowering room.


I edited my original post to better reflect the current situation:)
 
RIKNSTEIN

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
I'll tell ya what...since it's legal and all...set me and 2 others up with tickets, a place to live, and $500 a week a piece...and me and my ppl get 25% of your first take...and we'll build and set up a grow nursery for you in about 2 months...with all the heat and air and exhuast and humidifiers and pot drains and sprinkler systems and lights and light barriers...and you're gona need about 4 good size rooms to do all this...that's what I use is 4 rooms all seperated from each other...ONE for bringing new clones/seedlings in the new soil for quarintine (to look for bugs or disease)...TWO for the veg phase....THREE and FOUR for flowering (so I have a crop once a month)...The more flower rooms you have the more times you can harvest...as long as the veg room can put them out in those numbers...Oh ya I use a walk-in closet for my cure so you'll need a cure room too..good luck and let me know...lol...

There's probably alot I didn't mention...and alot you didn't think of I'm betting...but still good luck, I wish you all the best in your indevore..
 
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