moonquasar
Active Member
Hello, I am designing my first grow and could use some feedback (like critique the design to shreds if you're so inclined).
It's kind of like a rubiks cube; 3x3x3ft.
The growing media is to be perlite at a depth of about 6 inches; width and length of 3ft.
From what I've read, roots do just as well growing down as they do sideways. I figure all the plants can share one big wide bed to stretch out into.
The lighting will be: 8cfl @ 30W & 6400k plus 8cfl @ 30W & 2700k = 16cfl with a combined wattage of 480W.
I want to use CFL lighting instead of HPS because from what I understand, the initial cost will be much less for a comparable amount of PAR (photosynthetic active radiation). Not only that but they run much cooler.
A big design consideration for me is safety. The system must be able to run unattended for at least a week without becoming a fire hazard. (ideally it would be checked on every day but who knows what might happen)
Can anyone recommend a cheap way to implement a temperature switch? Something like if the temps get high enough that the weed would die anyways, the whole system shuts down, until temperatures drop. Perhaps an arduino or other PIC could work there.
Anyways, the lights will be arranged in a checkerboard pattern so that each plant will be exposed to equal amounts 2700k and 6400k light.
Should I be worried that the plant's leaves will turn towards the bluer light while ignoring the redder light?
The plants will be started from seeds with 4 seeds put between each quad of lights for a total of 36 starts. The idea being that only 18 or so seeds will both be viable and female.
I'm thinking of putting a small top layer of something in each quad for the seeds to start in. Perhaps some seed starting soil in a coffee filter. Would the filter be likely to break down in time for the roots to come through? Perhaps just placing the soil straight on top of the perlite would do.
The watering system would be a passive gravity powered drip, with a dripper going to the center of each quad. A small reservoir would be allowed to form at the bottom of the container somewhat in a Hempy style. I'm thinking 1inch out of the total 6inches could fill with water.
Mixing my own salts does sound fun but I think I'd like to start somewhere simpler. Is the GH trio like a de facto standard or are there some good alternatives?
The drip system reservoir will be sterilized with H2O2 every so often...once a week perhaps. It would be unfortunate for algae to ruin the reflective properties of the perlite.
I hope to keep the entire life cycle of the plants from seed to harvest between 80 and 100 days.
At first I considered 12/12 from seed but if the plants aren't going to show sex until 14 days at the absolute earliest, I will do 18/6 for the first two weeks and then switch to 12/12.
When the seeds are sown, the lights will be brought down low (each light being able to change it's height independent from the rest).
When the seeds germinate and the plants become larger and larger, they will be trained around the lights as much as possible, thereby utilizing as much of the PAR as possible. Hopefully the relatively cool temps of CFL bulbs will allow very close growth. As the strength of EM is inversely proportional to the distance of the source squared, minimizing proximity is paramount. This and initial cost are the major reasons I'm planning on going CFL instead of HPS/MH.
As the plants wind through the grid, they will inevitable become closer and closer to the lights. The lights will be hung from dowels and can be raised up individually as needed, thus ensuring optimal proximity across the grid -- a feature that would be compromised with long tubes or a grid of lights all fixed to the same board. Maybe not a problem for tubes if they were cool enough so that the plants could touch them no problem.
The inside of the box will be mylar coated, including the lid.
This has been many hours in the thinking and sketching.
If all you experienced growers think it sounds solid, I'll go ahead and do a miniature version, like a single quad as a test. What would be a good plant to test? Ideally something close to ganja characteristics. Perhaps tomato or hops...?
If the test succeeds, I'll go through with the construction of the whole thing.
I'm thinking a budget of about $200-300 should do.
Lights - $70
Power strips and light plugs - $30
*($100 for a 480 watt system is the best I've seen)
Fan - $20
Perlite - $20
Mylar - $30
Materials for box - $50?
Dowels - $20
Nutrients - $40
Seed Soil - $5
Coffee filters - $1
= $286 total (more or less depending on how much I can scrounge)
To all that made it so far, here's a pretty picture! =D
It's kind of like a rubiks cube; 3x3x3ft.
The growing media is to be perlite at a depth of about 6 inches; width and length of 3ft.
From what I've read, roots do just as well growing down as they do sideways. I figure all the plants can share one big wide bed to stretch out into.
The lighting will be: 8cfl @ 30W & 6400k plus 8cfl @ 30W & 2700k = 16cfl with a combined wattage of 480W.
I want to use CFL lighting instead of HPS because from what I understand, the initial cost will be much less for a comparable amount of PAR (photosynthetic active radiation). Not only that but they run much cooler.
A big design consideration for me is safety. The system must be able to run unattended for at least a week without becoming a fire hazard. (ideally it would be checked on every day but who knows what might happen)
Can anyone recommend a cheap way to implement a temperature switch? Something like if the temps get high enough that the weed would die anyways, the whole system shuts down, until temperatures drop. Perhaps an arduino or other PIC could work there.
Anyways, the lights will be arranged in a checkerboard pattern so that each plant will be exposed to equal amounts 2700k and 6400k light.
Should I be worried that the plant's leaves will turn towards the bluer light while ignoring the redder light?
The plants will be started from seeds with 4 seeds put between each quad of lights for a total of 36 starts. The idea being that only 18 or so seeds will both be viable and female.
I'm thinking of putting a small top layer of something in each quad for the seeds to start in. Perhaps some seed starting soil in a coffee filter. Would the filter be likely to break down in time for the roots to come through? Perhaps just placing the soil straight on top of the perlite would do.
The watering system would be a passive gravity powered drip, with a dripper going to the center of each quad. A small reservoir would be allowed to form at the bottom of the container somewhat in a Hempy style. I'm thinking 1inch out of the total 6inches could fill with water.
Mixing my own salts does sound fun but I think I'd like to start somewhere simpler. Is the GH trio like a de facto standard or are there some good alternatives?
The drip system reservoir will be sterilized with H2O2 every so often...once a week perhaps. It would be unfortunate for algae to ruin the reflective properties of the perlite.
I hope to keep the entire life cycle of the plants from seed to harvest between 80 and 100 days.
At first I considered 12/12 from seed but if the plants aren't going to show sex until 14 days at the absolute earliest, I will do 18/6 for the first two weeks and then switch to 12/12.
When the seeds are sown, the lights will be brought down low (each light being able to change it's height independent from the rest).
When the seeds germinate and the plants become larger and larger, they will be trained around the lights as much as possible, thereby utilizing as much of the PAR as possible. Hopefully the relatively cool temps of CFL bulbs will allow very close growth. As the strength of EM is inversely proportional to the distance of the source squared, minimizing proximity is paramount. This and initial cost are the major reasons I'm planning on going CFL instead of HPS/MH.
As the plants wind through the grid, they will inevitable become closer and closer to the lights. The lights will be hung from dowels and can be raised up individually as needed, thus ensuring optimal proximity across the grid -- a feature that would be compromised with long tubes or a grid of lights all fixed to the same board. Maybe not a problem for tubes if they were cool enough so that the plants could touch them no problem.
The inside of the box will be mylar coated, including the lid.
This has been many hours in the thinking and sketching.
If all you experienced growers think it sounds solid, I'll go ahead and do a miniature version, like a single quad as a test. What would be a good plant to test? Ideally something close to ganja characteristics. Perhaps tomato or hops...?
If the test succeeds, I'll go through with the construction of the whole thing.
I'm thinking a budget of about $200-300 should do.
Lights - $70
Power strips and light plugs - $30
*($100 for a 480 watt system is the best I've seen)
Fan - $20
Perlite - $20
Mylar - $30
Materials for box - $50?
Dowels - $20
Nutrients - $40
Seed Soil - $5
Coffee filters - $1
= $286 total (more or less depending on how much I can scrounge)
To all that made it so far, here's a pretty picture! =D
