Kieron90
Member
It's story time, is everyone ready, great, I'll begin.
Initially bought a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent. I wanted to limit light leaks, contain smell and overall, control the environment. I also needed to run a clone unit in the same room, and running that constantly whilst the plants had their lights out cycle wouldn't work for obvious reasons. It also turns out that getting all my equipment inside said tent wasn't practical, and whilst it would fit, getting around the growing area to tend to the plants would have been a pain in the arse (ass, for our friends across the pond).
I decided to expand the growing area to the entire room which measures approx 7ft a 7ft (50sq/ft). I started hacking at my grow tent with a stanley knife (it was very dramatic). I wanted to use the front door panel from it in order to create another door inside the room, this would prevent light from coming underneath the main door, and allow a compartment for the wiring), saving it from high humidity etc...
Door
Open Second Door
You can see there are no light leaks at all, it also helped to reduce the sound of the equipment in the room, points for stealth. You can probably see the ventilation through the open tent, there's a close up in the next picture.
Ventilation 1
That's an 8" Rhino Pro Carbon filter attached to the Rhino 800M3/H fan, it's oversized so it can be ran at lower speeds using the variac it's connected to to help reduce noise, it's all connected with 6" combination ducting that has a layer of PVC on the exterior, metal duct tape has been use where possible. I have also used solid 90 degree duct bends as they reduce turbulence of the air, again, dropping decibels.
Ventilation 2
Temperature levels are ideal at the moment running two 400w lamps, I however, intend to run two 600w lamps during flower, even running this cycle at night I will still likely run into problems during the summer, the air conditioning unit is therefore there as required. It runs with a warm exhaust and so I had to connect that with the exhaust from the filter and two lamps. I thought I could use a T piece (cheaper) but didn't want to risk the air back washing down to the lamps, or prevent the smooth flow of air from the lamps so decided to get this (more expensive) part.
Wiring 1
The duct work is held up using 2" x 1" wood that was bought from a local hardware store. It's this same wood that was used to make this frame that the tent attaches to to make the internal door, you can just about make out the wiring outside.
Wiring 2
I had to extend a few of the cables that I had sized exactly (diagnosed OCD, so I love lists, measurements and spreadsheets) for the previous tent set up, hence there are a couple of junction boxes, they're both weatherproof on account of one of them being inside the grow room. These wires, I assure you, are now neatly tacked down (in true OCD fashion). The two variac controllers are for the intake and exhaust, they helped massively with the noise. The timers are for the lights, though not being used at the minute. I have checked maximum capacities for all extension leads btw
Intake
You can see (sort of) the intake here, it's a boxed off 5" at 400m3/h with MDF and stuffed with bubble wrap to reduce noise, the intake ducting is also 6" acoustic (full of that fibre crap stuff that itches like a bitch). I have put feet on the actual box to keep it off the floor. The acoustic ducting made the world of difference here, cheap aluminium ducting rattles, even if stretched out to reduce the internal crevices that can exacerbate turbulence. I intended to put on a couple of 90 degree solid pieces of duct work here so that the there could be a straight run between the external inlet and the fan, but a) I forgot and b) the noise is so quiet that I am not going to bother.
System
These are the systems that are installed in the room. I've tried to match the equipment, the fan / carbon filter, the lights / ballasts etc.. The systems are similar, each 30L Wilma has an Eheim 400L/PH air pump connected to two curtain air rails at either side of the tanks. I was using solid air stones originally but no matter where I put them they vibrated right through the floor
, the curtain rails are held off the bottom of the tank on three separate pegs which help to reduce the vibrations. The Hidon HD 500 air pumps that WIlma systems are supplied with have a max output of about 2 L/PM. In terms of aeration, about 1 L/PM is recommended per 4L of nutrient solution. The Eheim pumps I have bought run at 6.6 L/PM which means that I am good up to 26.4 litres of solution; perfect for 30L tanks.
I have also replaced the NeWa 490 L/PH water pumps that came the system, with Eheim 1000 L/PH, each dripper runs a decent amount of pressure and prevents a trickle down the side, if I have been moving them about and the pressure has dropped.
Clone Unit
I mentioned that I needed to keep everything in one room, including the mother plant and cloning area, the way I got around this was to use a cupboard that's in the same room. I made a lightweight panel covered in mylar reflective sheeting to fit into the recess of the cupboard of which I removed the door.
Clone Unit 2
Here is the space that will have the 12 site x stream clone machine, and along the side with be the mother plant when I selected her from the plants that I have put down. I even have space just underneath here for all of the nutrients, chemicals, truncheons, gadgets etc...
I take temperatures throughout the room (also use an infrared gun thermometer), they are also hygrometers so I keep an eye on humidity, currently using a small humidifier as the cold air intake isn't very humid, though I expect levels to increase as the plants grow and transpire more water. I have a couple of pieces of high density foam due to be delivered, as even though I have lessened the noise from the air and water pumps, it's not enough for my liking, so going to sit each system on the 3" padding and hopefully that'll reduce the noise.
I am using secret jardin fans either side of the systems, and one oscillating version just in front, they're all attached to the tent poles from the aforementioned grow tent (as a Yorkshire man, I don't like waste).
That's about it, think it's time for a cup of tea.
Cheers
K
Initially bought a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent. I wanted to limit light leaks, contain smell and overall, control the environment. I also needed to run a clone unit in the same room, and running that constantly whilst the plants had their lights out cycle wouldn't work for obvious reasons. It also turns out that getting all my equipment inside said tent wasn't practical, and whilst it would fit, getting around the growing area to tend to the plants would have been a pain in the arse (ass, for our friends across the pond).
I decided to expand the growing area to the entire room which measures approx 7ft a 7ft (50sq/ft). I started hacking at my grow tent with a stanley knife (it was very dramatic). I wanted to use the front door panel from it in order to create another door inside the room, this would prevent light from coming underneath the main door, and allow a compartment for the wiring), saving it from high humidity etc...
Door
Open Second Door
You can see there are no light leaks at all, it also helped to reduce the sound of the equipment in the room, points for stealth. You can probably see the ventilation through the open tent, there's a close up in the next picture.
Ventilation 1
That's an 8" Rhino Pro Carbon filter attached to the Rhino 800M3/H fan, it's oversized so it can be ran at lower speeds using the variac it's connected to to help reduce noise, it's all connected with 6" combination ducting that has a layer of PVC on the exterior, metal duct tape has been use where possible. I have also used solid 90 degree duct bends as they reduce turbulence of the air, again, dropping decibels.
Ventilation 2
Temperature levels are ideal at the moment running two 400w lamps, I however, intend to run two 600w lamps during flower, even running this cycle at night I will still likely run into problems during the summer, the air conditioning unit is therefore there as required. It runs with a warm exhaust and so I had to connect that with the exhaust from the filter and two lamps. I thought I could use a T piece (cheaper) but didn't want to risk the air back washing down to the lamps, or prevent the smooth flow of air from the lamps so decided to get this (more expensive) part.
Wiring 1
The duct work is held up using 2" x 1" wood that was bought from a local hardware store. It's this same wood that was used to make this frame that the tent attaches to to make the internal door, you can just about make out the wiring outside.
Wiring 2
I had to extend a few of the cables that I had sized exactly (diagnosed OCD, so I love lists, measurements and spreadsheets) for the previous tent set up, hence there are a couple of junction boxes, they're both weatherproof on account of one of them being inside the grow room. These wires, I assure you, are now neatly tacked down (in true OCD fashion). The two variac controllers are for the intake and exhaust, they helped massively with the noise. The timers are for the lights, though not being used at the minute. I have checked maximum capacities for all extension leads btw
Intake
You can see (sort of) the intake here, it's a boxed off 5" at 400m3/h with MDF and stuffed with bubble wrap to reduce noise, the intake ducting is also 6" acoustic (full of that fibre crap stuff that itches like a bitch). I have put feet on the actual box to keep it off the floor. The acoustic ducting made the world of difference here, cheap aluminium ducting rattles, even if stretched out to reduce the internal crevices that can exacerbate turbulence. I intended to put on a couple of 90 degree solid pieces of duct work here so that the there could be a straight run between the external inlet and the fan, but a) I forgot and b) the noise is so quiet that I am not going to bother.
System
These are the systems that are installed in the room. I've tried to match the equipment, the fan / carbon filter, the lights / ballasts etc.. The systems are similar, each 30L Wilma has an Eheim 400L/PH air pump connected to two curtain air rails at either side of the tanks. I was using solid air stones originally but no matter where I put them they vibrated right through the floor
, the curtain rails are held off the bottom of the tank on three separate pegs which help to reduce the vibrations. The Hidon HD 500 air pumps that WIlma systems are supplied with have a max output of about 2 L/PM. In terms of aeration, about 1 L/PM is recommended per 4L of nutrient solution. The Eheim pumps I have bought run at 6.6 L/PM which means that I am good up to 26.4 litres of solution; perfect for 30L tanks.I have also replaced the NeWa 490 L/PH water pumps that came the system, with Eheim 1000 L/PH, each dripper runs a decent amount of pressure and prevents a trickle down the side, if I have been moving them about and the pressure has dropped.
Clone Unit
I mentioned that I needed to keep everything in one room, including the mother plant and cloning area, the way I got around this was to use a cupboard that's in the same room. I made a lightweight panel covered in mylar reflective sheeting to fit into the recess of the cupboard of which I removed the door.
Clone Unit 2
Here is the space that will have the 12 site x stream clone machine, and along the side with be the mother plant when I selected her from the plants that I have put down. I even have space just underneath here for all of the nutrients, chemicals, truncheons, gadgets etc...
I take temperatures throughout the room (also use an infrared gun thermometer), they are also hygrometers so I keep an eye on humidity, currently using a small humidifier as the cold air intake isn't very humid, though I expect levels to increase as the plants grow and transpire more water. I have a couple of pieces of high density foam due to be delivered, as even though I have lessened the noise from the air and water pumps, it's not enough for my liking, so going to sit each system on the 3" padding and hopefully that'll reduce the noise.
I am using secret jardin fans either side of the systems, and one oscillating version just in front, they're all attached to the tent poles from the aforementioned grow tent (as a Yorkshire man, I don't like waste).
That's about it, think it's time for a cup of tea.
Cheers
K
