20,000 Watt Medical Grow Op Construction

N

norcal1970

Member
Hi CG and All,

I am new to this forum and I see you get your room humidity down below 40%.

How do you keep your humidity so low. I have a 12 in canfan for exhaust running 24/7 and a 10 in canfan for intake running during the day and I can't get my humidity below 75 during light and 60 during night.

I have a fantech 100 pint dehumidifier which has done nothing to change the humidity and I am doing drain to waste with coco with 10k watts. What am I missing here? I live in Norcal. My room temps range from 65-80.

How can I get my humidity below 50%. Your feedback and anyone else's is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Norcal1970
 
Wolverine97

Wolverine97

Well-Known Member
norcal1970 said:
Hi CG and All,

I am new to this forum and I see you get your room humidity down below 40%.

How do you keep your humidity so low. I have a 12 in canfan for exhaust running 24/7 and a 10 in canfan for intake running during the day and I can't get my humidity below 75 during light and 60 during night.

I have a fantech 100 pint dehumidifier which has done nothing to change the humidity and I am doing drain to waste with coco with 10k watts. What am I missing here? I live in Norcal. My room temps range from 65-80.

How can I get my humidity below 50%. Your feedback and anyone else's is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Norcal1970
Click to expand...
If you're venting that much outside air through your space, you won't be able to control humidity beyond the outside RH. The dehumidifier can do nothing because there's a constant supply of fresh humid air coming in, it can't keep up. Seal your space, air condition, and then you can control RH. I still think 40 is too low for ideal growth, I keep mine 50-60.
 
N

norcal1970

Member
Thanks Wolverine97-

I will try that but, but how do I bring in fresh air so that the air and CO2 is being replaced in the room. I don't want to run a CO2 system. Should I run the fans in intervals in order to bring fresh air into the room and run AC as much as needed to keep temps and RH in check? With the fans off the room is essentially sealed, at least to the point where an AC unit will control things.
 
Wolverine97

Wolverine97

Well-Known Member
norcal1970 said:
Thanks Wolverine97-

I will try that but, but how do I bring in fresh air so that the air and CO2 is being replaced in the room. I don't want to run a CO2 system. Should I run the fans in intervals in order to bring fresh air into the room and run AC as much as needed to keep temps and RH in check? With the fans off the room is essentially sealed, at least to the point where an AC unit will control things.
Click to expand...
That's the best way to handle your setup, yes.
 
collective gardener

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
OK. I just read a bunch of posts and will try to address most of em:

On thrips and brown pistils: DO NOT USE SAFER or AZOMAX on plants with pistils showing!!! It will cook the pistils. There are very few sprays that will not do this. Ironically, the 2 most effective mite sprays will not cook pistils...Avid and Floromite. I would not make it a habit of spraying budding plants, but one spray to arrest an infestation may be needed.

On Bulbs: This is one area I have tested EXTENSIVELY over the years. I have a Hortilux Eye Daylight Blue in veg. It works great for early veg when tight node spacing is important. It is not very bright. The light is only 80,000 when brand new...opposed to 110,000ish for most MH. For small, but fast growing plants, Daylight Blue rocks. If you're veging plants over 12" I would go with a brighter light.

In Bloom 2 HPS for every 1 MH on a over is the best way to go hands down. BUT, it's a pain in the ass and really linits your lighting settup. So, I prefer using blue enhanced HPS bulbs. The old Horti Eye HPS are great. The new CAP Digilux HPS are better. My 6 month old CAPs are brighter than a brand new Horti. The important thing is to match light distance to the strain. I recently discovered that my Bubba's prefer a little less light. 32" is the magic number for them. But, the OG's like 24". Play with the distance for best results.

As for moving air and humidity, sounds like a few speed controlers will enable you to dial in your room. Harbor frieght sells router speed controllers for $13. By slowing the airflow you'll allow the AC and/or dehumidifiers to work.
 
C.Indica

C.Indica

Well-Known Member
collective gardener said:
OK. I just read a bunch of posts and will try to address most of em:

On thrips and brown pistils: DO NOT USE SAFER or AZOMAX on plants with pistils showing!!! It will cook the pistils. There are very few sprays that will not do this. Ironically, the 2 most effective mite sprays will not cook pistils...Avid and Floromite. I would not make it a habit of spraying budding plants, but one spray to arrest an infestation may be needed.

On Bulbs: This is one area I have tested EXTENSIVELY over the years. I have a Hortilux Eye Daylight Blue in veg. It works great for early veg when tight node spacing is important. It is not very bright. The light is only 80,000 when brand new...opposed to 110,000ish for most MH. For small, but fast growing plants, Daylight Blue rocks. If you're veging plants over 12" I would go with a brighter light.

In Bloom 2 HPS for every 1 MH on a over is the best way to go hands down. BUT, it's a pain in the ass and really linits your lighting settup. So, I prefer using blue enhanced HPS bulbs. The old Horti Eye HPS are great. The new CAP Digilux HPS are better. My 6 month old CAPs are brighter than a brand new Horti. The important thing is to match light distance to the strain. I recently discovered that my Bubba's prefer a little less light. 32" is the magic number for them. But, the OG's like 24". Play with the distance for best results.

As for moving air and humidity, sounds like a few speed controlers will enable you to dial in your room. Harbor frieght sells router speed controllers for $13. By slowing the airflow you'll allow the AC and/or dehumidifiers to work.
Click to expand...
Thanks a ton for taking this time to help,
but I'm afraid I need to clarify..

I'm building a 250w setup, for personal supply.
One bulb, one reflector, one ballast.

I was thinking of blooming under the EYE Hortilux Blue, but if you can suggest a better STANDALONE bulb for 250w bloom,
then I'm all ears. I knew you of all people have likely the most HID experience around.

So for a single bulb flower cab, would you suggest an HPS with blue, or a straight up EYE MH?

& also,
can I use a 400w ballast, dimmed down to 250w, and plug in a 250w bulb? Or will that cook it?
If not I'll just get a 250w ballast.

Thanks a ton, I've never played with HID yet.
:leaf:
 
P

patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
Got some floramite at a local shop. Cg it may not be too far from you..I'm day 33, I sprayed azatrol and mighty wash. Still have a few mites and eggs, should I spray floramite? The guy at the store told me he would mess with it past week 2 cause the taste will stay in your plants no matter if you spray off after. I was thinking maybe if I ph my water a little off and spray the floramite that it may not allow the plants to fully soak up the shit but may still kill the bastards? Any help would be great? And was wondering anyone that does use it mid flower how many drops or mls per liter you are using?
 
Jozikins

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone, long time no talk. Right now I'm immersed in my epic battle against Root Aphids. But I think things just turned in my favor. I've been using mainly good old fashioned neem as my root drench, haven't been brave enough to use a extra strong h2o2 bath yet, but it was working a little bit, but not much to be honest. This last time, about 3 days ago, I combined Soy Lecithin with the mix in an attempt to better emulsify my neem into the water. I've been using biodegradable dish soap and it works decent, but the lecithin seems to work a little bit better, but it was a combination, still haven't tried it standing alone yet. However, so far, I haven't seen a single god damned root aphid, not a single one, and my plants look happy. I do not recommend anybody try this until I am done experimenting with this, but so far this seems to be a huge break through for me! I'm concerned though, my plants aren't drinking as fast as they were, they've been decently wet since I gave them water and I'm afraid this may be caused by the lecithin and a possible lock out. I'll see if they drink up by tomorrow, if not, it's flush time and I'll be thinking of new ways to destroy the pests. Just to note it was powdered lecithin, I think liquid would have been a better emulsifier. I know soy lecithin is high in P/K and maybe the abundance of that is causing the lock out, I'm not sure if it can even be taken up by the plants.

If this doesn't work though, I am trying h2o2, if that doesn't work, I'm trashing everything, scrubbing all my equipment with bleach and storing it all for 1 month to make sure everything is dead. I will start over with seeds and stick to only my stock, unless a friend has properly quarantined a clone for 1 month. And even then I'm not sure how safe I feel taking something else on. I have 550 seeds off my last cross, so I'll just be using that. It makes me so sad to let go of my legends: SFV OG and Grape Krush crinkle pheno.
 
R

Refusedpanda

Active Member
I just bough some Botanigard ES, this shit is supposedly the bomb against root aphids. I don't have them yet, but got this in case those bastards decide to show up.
 
Fnominon

Fnominon

Active Member
Jozikins said:
Hello everyone, long time no talk. Right now I'm immersed in my epic battle against Root Aphids. But I think things just turned in my favor. I've been using mainly good old fashioned neem as my root drench, haven't been brave enough to use a extra strong h2o2 bath yet, but it was working a little bit, but not much to be honest. This last time, about 3 days ago, I combined Soy Lecithin with the mix in an attempt to better emulsify my neem into the water. I've been using biodegradable dish soap and it works decent, but the lecithin seems to work a little bit better, but it was a combination, still haven't tried it standing alone yet. However, so far, I haven't seen a single god damned root aphid, not a single one, and my plants look happy. I do not recommend anybody try this until I am done experimenting with this, but so far this seems to be a huge break through for me! I'm concerned though, my plants aren't drinking as fast as they were, they've been decently wet since I gave them water and I'm afraid this may be caused by the lecithin and a possible lock out. I'll see if they drink up by tomorrow, if not, it's flush time and I'll be thinking of new ways to destroy the pests. Just to note it was powdered lecithin, I think liquid would have been a better emulsifier. I know soy lecithin is high in P/K and maybe the abundance of that is causing the lock out, I'm not sure if it can even be taken up by the plants.

If this doesn't work though, I am trying h2o2, if that doesn't work, I'm trashing everything, scrubbing all my equipment with bleach and storing it all for 1 month to make sure everything is dead. I will start over with seeds and stick to only my stock, unless a friend has properly quarantined a clone for 1 month. And even then I'm not sure how safe I feel taking something else on. I have 550 seeds off my last cross, so I'll just be using that. It makes me so sad to let go of my legends: SFV OG and Grape Krush crinkle pheno.
Click to expand...
I haven't had root aphids, but I did get thryps and spider mites from a clone and I will never do that again. Perhaps try using some Yellow Bottle Final on your plants in flower to see if that will help get them drinking again. Were calling the Yellow Bottle zombie juice because it brings dead plants back to life.
 
collective gardener

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
C.Indica said:
Thanks a ton for taking this time to help,
but I'm afraid I need to clarify..

I'm building a 250w setup, for personal supply.
One bulb, one reflector, one ballast.

I was thinking of blooming under the EYE Hortilux Blue, but if you can suggest a better STANDALONE bulb for 250w bloom,
then I'm all ears. I knew you of all people have likely the most HID experience around.

So for a single bulb flower cab, would you suggest an HPS with blue, or a straight up EYE MH?

& also,
can I use a 400w ballast, dimmed down to 250w, and plug in a 250w bulb? Or will that cook it?
If not I'll just get a 250w ballast.

Thanks a ton, I've never played with HID yet.
:leaf:
Click to expand...
I would use a 400 watt system (including bulb) dimmed to 250. This gives you some expansion options. For bulbs, the Horti HPS (pink box for digital ballasts) are alot of bang for the buck, but the Digilux HPS by CAP is the best in my opinion.

patrickkawi37 said:
Got some floramite at a local shop. Cg it may not be too far from you..I'm day 33, I sprayed azatrol and mighty wash. Still have a few mites and eggs, should I spray floramite? The guy at the store told me he would mess with it past week 2 cause the taste will stay in your plants no matter if you spray off after. I was thinking maybe if I ph my water a little off and spray the floramite that it may not allow the plants to fully soak up the shit but may still kill the bastards? Any help would be great? And was wondering anyone that does use it mid flower how many drops or mls per liter you are using?
Click to expand...
I would not spray Floromite at day 33. Did the Azomax fuck up your plants at 33 days? It's pretty hard on budding plants.

Jozikins said:
Hello everyone, long time no talk. Right now I'm immersed in my epic battle against Root Aphids. But I think things just turned in my favor. I've been using mainly good old fashioned neem as my root drench, haven't been brave enough to use a extra strong h2o2 bath yet, but it was working a little bit, but not much to be honest. This last time, about 3 days ago, I combined Soy Lecithin with the mix in an attempt to better emulsify my neem into the water. I've been using biodegradable dish soap and it works decent, but the lecithin seems to work a little bit better, but it was a combination, still haven't tried it standing alone yet. However, so far, I haven't seen a single god damned root aphid, not a single one, and my plants look happy. I do not recommend anybody try this until I am done experimenting with this, but so far this seems to be a huge break through for me! I'm concerned though, my plants aren't drinking as fast as they were, they've been decently wet since I gave them water and I'm afraid this may be caused by the lecithin and a possible lock out. I'll see if they drink up by tomorrow, if not, it's flush time and I'll be thinking of new ways to destroy the pests. Just to note it was powdered lecithin, I think liquid would have been a better emulsifier. I know soy lecithin is high in P/K and maybe the abundance of that is causing the lock out, I'm not sure if it can even be taken up by the plants.

If this doesn't work though, I am trying h2o2, if that doesn't work, I'm trashing everything, scrubbing all my equipment with bleach and storing it all for 1 month to make sure everything is dead. I will start over with seeds and stick to only my stock, unless a friend has properly quarantined a clone for 1 month. And even then I'm not sure how safe I feel taking something else on. I have 550 seeds off my last cross, so I'll just be using that. It makes me so sad to let go of my legends: SFV OG and Grape Krush crinkle pheno.
Click to expand...
Before you trash everything, use some fucking Avid. First dose wiped out 99% of my root aphids. Now I'm just mopping up the stragglers. Bayer Fruit and Veg is also quite good on the Root Aphids. Bottom line is any type of oil (neem, Azo, whatever) is very hard on the roots. You're better off with water borne pesticides for root drenches. Your plants are just fucked up from the neem. Let them dry out a little extra between waterings, feed with extra mag, cut back on K, reduce ppm, and raise/dim lights. You can limp them through for a partial harvest. My last one was approx 50% what it would have been without Root Aphids.

Refusedpanda said:
I just bough some Botanigard ES, this shit is supposedly the bomb against root aphids. I don't have them yet, but got this in case those bastards decide to show up.
Click to expand...
Fnominon said:
I haven't had root aphids, but I did get thryps and spider mites from a clone and I will never do that again. Perhaps try using some Yellow Bottle Final on your plants in flower to see if that will help get them drinking again. Were calling the Yellow Bottle zombie juice because it brings dead plants back to life.
Click to expand...
 
C.Indica

C.Indica

Well-Known Member
"I would use a 400 watt system (including bulb) dimmed to 250. This gives you some expansion options. For bulbs, the Horti HPS (pink box for digital ballasts) are alot of bang for the buck, but the Digilux HPS by CAP is the best in my opinion."

I'm planning on;
Digilux 400w HPS
Phantom 400w Ballast
LumenAire 6" Reflector

But I have an old 400w Philips MH laying around,
is there a problem with using this Philips bulb with the digital ballast until I can get my hands on the Digilux?
 
P

patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
Sorry about not being able to quote I'm going to have to work on that hah. I'm on my phone so it's sketchy. CG I sprayed mighty wash when I saw the problem over ten days ago and that shit is a waste of money IMO. 40 bucks a bottle for a ready to use gallon. Then I used the azamax twice, first time I sprayed, they didn't dig it but the pistols were not completely screwed. But after the 2nd time they were lookin pretty boo boo. I waited 3 days and saw some bastard eggs. Sprayed floramite this afternoon during lights off, went in when they came on and they look like as if I didn't spray. I'm going to spray them with that power wash stuff tomorrow when lights go off, hoping that will take some of the nasty shit out of my buds. Shame on me for letting them get that bad :/. I think I'm going to credit card myself a mini split ac this week, hopefully if I can get temps down a little they bugs will leave me alone. I was wondering your opinion on my temps, if I'm at 83-87 lights on and 79-82 with them off are my nugs going to suck? I can't seem to get it cool lights off. I have a wall unit but I don't want to turn it on and mess up my co2. Other then it just not being fun at all to hangout in there, they seem to growing insane. All though I don't have much to compare to since this is my first co2 run. It's snowing now so maybe I'll get a good week and be at 80 lights on lol. 1580 for a 2 ton mini split at home depot, I need a job hah
 
Fnominon

Fnominon

Active Member
patrickkawi37 said:
Sorry about not being able to quote I'm going to have to work on that hah. I'm on my phone so it's sketchy. CG I sprayed mighty wash when I saw the problem over ten days ago and that shit is a waste of money IMO. 40 bucks a bottle for a ready to use gallon. Then I used the azamax twice, first time I sprayed, they didn't dig it but the pistols were not completely screwed. But after the 2nd time they were lookin pretty boo boo. I waited 3 days and saw some bastard eggs. Sprayed floramite this afternoon during lights off, went in when they came on and they look like as if I didn't spray. I'm going to spray them with that power wash stuff tomorrow when lights go off, hoping that will take some of the nasty shit out of my buds. Shame on me for letting them get that bad :/. I think I'm going to credit card myself a mini split ac this week, hopefully if I can get temps down a little they bugs will leave me alone. I was wondering your opinion on my temps, if I'm at 83-87 lights on and 79-82 with them off are my nugs going to suck? I can't seem to get it cool lights off. I have a wall unit but I don't want to turn it on and mess up my co2. Other then it just not being fun at all to hangout in there, they seem to growing insane. All though I don't have much to compare to since this is my first co2 run. It's snowing now so maybe I'll get a good week and be at 80 lights on lol. 1580 for a 2 ton mini split at home depot, I need a job hah
Click to expand...
I have been in your shoes before and I know how dreadful it can be to see your hard work get eatten up. In my opinion running CO2 your temperatures are good, I find low 80's to be beneficial when running 1400ppm CO2. As far as your bugs go I would be more concerned with your hummidity. Back when I had spider mites I know they loved hot temps with really low hummidity. I would recommend running as high hummidity as you can with out risking mold to slow down the spider mites and as far as all those sprays go in my experience they don't work worth a damn. I am really seriously into being organic, but if you have an infestation just kill them eggs and all with Avid. Obviously don't use it on your plants late in flower, and when I used the stuff I disclosed the fact to all my collective members. You can find better prices on mini-splits online if you don't mind having them shipped to you as well.
 
P

patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member
I appreciate the reply. That's great to know that a high humidity is going to help cause I can't get it below 50 without it really getting hot (87-90). I think that's my biggest problem with heat is my 3 dehumidifies. I have a 90 pint, a 50, and a 35. No ac and pulling the 20 degree air from outside to cool the lights it's a mess haha. And after all my mess they still look huge. People just been telling me that if I can't get the temps cooler during lights off it might effect my quality:/ can have that. Also you were saying that you disclose that you've sprayed to vendors if have, that's admirable as hell if your getting bent over like most of us in Socal are right now. This is my first run having a real bug problem and having to spray this late, I'm going to be bummed if they taste like bug spray :(
 
Jozikins

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
Quick update. Neem and Soy Lecithin is a bad idea, the lecithin just made the oil stick to my grow medium like crazy. I'll be flushing tomorrow, they haven't had a sip since the first few hours after feeding, and the pots are still real heavy, and it looks really wet, but the surface is super oily, so I think it's a neem build up. I'll be taking your advice after the flush and use some of the recommended products.
 
collective gardener

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
Your temps aren't too bad. I've ran that hot before with great results. It's really strain dependant as far as how the lights off temps will affect buds. A 10 degree differential is actually good. Sealed rooms really need effective AC. The mini split will be the best investment you can have. Everyone I know with mini splits don't even need dehumidifiers. I run my RH in bloom between 40% and 60%. Hit em with some Spectracide if you think PM will be an issue.It will not fuck up the pistils or flavor.

Avid and Floromiteare the best mite sprays out there. Try dipping the smaller plants for total coverage. I cannot believe that Floromite didn't kill the mites. It only kills adults...but it kills for a long time (3 weeks ish). When a plant is properly treated with Floromite the eggs will hatch, the mite will take its first step, and then die like the slimy bastard it is. The only time Floromite will not kill all live adults is when they've become immune to it. This happens from just spraying with Floromite, and not alternating other effective mitacides. Killing mites is a process. If you just spray once or twice, all you'll do is create super mites immune to your sprays. Then those mites will go out and eat other people's grows. I also spray all non plant surfaces with Ortho Home Defense once per month. This stops the movement of the mites. You may also want to remove the most heavily infested leaves. These are typically lower and less efficient leaves. Their loss will not be felt by the plant much. Good luck and do not let up on those fuckers. Give em hell.
 
T

Ty13

Active Member
koolshades said:
Spring and heat are coming. Anybody doing any research and have a recommendation as where to buy a 2 ton mini split AC unit?
Click to expand...
I picked up a Shinco "Staight outta Compton!" LOL That's where it came from at least. It's a 24K BTU(2-TON) Mini Split A/C w/Heater, dehuy etc. for about $1,200 total but FREE shipping!
http://www.minisplitwarehouse.com/product/shinco 24,000 btu dc inverter mini split heat pump air conditioner
 
sfttailpaul

sfttailpaul

Active Member
BiteSizeFreak said:
You have a doctors note for 99 plants?! Where the hell do you live cause I'm moving tomorrow?!

Subscribed.
Click to expand...
99 plants is the standard allowance for a cultivator in California. I have one license and my wife has one so we can grow 198 plants (mature) under those 2 licenses'. I can transport 8 lbs. and my wife a kool 20 lbs.! I also have another recommendation from my pain control specialist (M.D.) and feel that even with all the "legalities" I still say that one needs to keep it quiet. Just 'cause the Fed's aren't knockin' on my door, some hood rats could easily cause me grave harm...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top