Vertical first attempt

Aerohead · Dec 10, 2010

I finally have a little grow space of my own, 6' X 6' X 8' tall.
The plan is 6 ladies in 5 gal buckets dwc, I haven't decided on the strain yet, lighting will be 400w CMH for veg and 600w HPS for flower. The cement blocks are just for mock up there will be a can filter under the cool tube and a 6" centrifugal fan venting the heat. I hope this turns out like I think it's going to, should be lots of fun

250wscrogger · Dec 10, 2010

looks good, I'd suggest using the 600w all the way through....

Aerohead · Dec 12, 2010

250wscrogger said:
looks good, I'd suggest using the 600w all the way through....

Yes you are right, I was just buying myself some time because I don't have a good bulb for the 600. I was also thinking the CMH might help with stretch but that may not be as much of an issue with a vert grow. I guess the right thing to do is get a bulb for the 600 and run it all the way through.

whodair · Dec 12, 2010

Just finished a 600w vert... 7 plants in 3 gal promix yield over 21oz !! Did you consider bare bulb ??

Aerohead · Dec 12, 2010

whodair said:
Just finished a 600w vert... 7 plants in 3 gal promix yield over 21oz !! Did you consider bare bulb ??

I saw that grow, wow, awesome work!! I hope mine turns out that well. I would like to go bare bulb but I'm not sure about the cooling. I know for sure I can cool the space with a 6" centrifugal fan sucking air at the base of the socket through a cooltube with a can filter on the other end but I'm not sure what the temps will do if I mount the can filter above the bulb without the tube. I assume the 600w will still produce very well even with 10% or so light loss through the glass...

DaPurps · Dec 12, 2010

it is more like 2% if your glass is fairly clean...

Nice set-up !

!!! · Dec 12, 2010

400w CMH over 600w HPS for veg for sure. Like you said, it helps with the stretch. It has more blue light than the HPS.

Anyway, nice clean looking setup.. ready to rock.

ganja_hasi · Dec 12, 2010

as already mentioned, nice n clean set up AeroH :yes:

... go for it & keep us up to date ..

best of luck and success
gh

StealthDragon · Dec 12, 2010

nice to see you back Aerohead :wave:

looking good man, best of luck with this run.

:lurk:

Aerohead · Dec 13, 2010

StealthDragon said:
nice to see you back Aerohead

Thanks StealthDragon, good to see you still hanging out around here!!

Thanks everyone for stopping by, I will be posting this grow in real time like the others. We will see how things go....

I decided to keep the cooltube this run for the same reason I am going DWC, to keep other aspects of the grow very simple so I can concentrate on the vertical aspect.

The main things I need to figure out is when to flip and pruning to max out the yield. Maybe later I will experiment with TAG and bare bulbs after I feel I have the vert concept worked out.

StealthDragon · Dec 18, 2010

anything new? I can't wait to see how this works out for you, I've been thinking about vertical alot lately and I'm thinking of switching ever since I saw selfhemployed's thread..

Aerohead · Dec 18, 2010

Yes, there has been some progress:
I got the system to pass leak tests, soaked the grow media to bring it to proper ph levels, ordered clones, and got the ventilation installed to exhaust into the attic. I also picked up a new Lumatek 600w dimmable ballast, 600w Hortilux bulb and a big carbon filter. I will be posting pics very soon of the finished room.

Work was very busy this week but next week I will have much more time to play with the grow, likely begin veg on Monday. I am very excited to try a vert grow and can't wait to see how this unfolds.

Aerohead · Dec 19, 2010

I finally found some decent clones, It was much harder than I thought. I looked at so many crappy almost dead clones it's suprising and kushes kushes everywhere. I didnt want to grow kush this time around and I couldnt find 6 clones of the same strain.
I finally found some decent clones but again not 6 of the same so I wound up with 3 critical mass and 3 romberry clones.

I got the system running and discovered cooling is a dream, I woke up in the middle of the night freezing because the fan is exhausing so much air out of my room the heat could not keep up lol.

So, I know it's not the best idea to exhaust from the floor and the light bulb is much too high at the moment for the veg stage. Since the room is cooling so well, I think I am going to change my mind and ditch the cooltube and go naked bulb. The main challenge this presents is hanging the very heavy carbon filter from the ceiling. I will run it this way for a week or so until I have the time to hang the filter and remove the cooltube.

I have a pic of the system and I must say the dimmable feature on the ballast is pretty sweet because I can bump the bulb down to 360w while I am working in the room or taking pics, lots easier on the eyes.

kjz71521 · Dec 20, 2010

in the pics is the bucket at the bottom just to raise the light

Aerohead · Dec 20, 2010

kjz71521 said:
in the pics is the bucket at the bottom just to raise the light

Hey Kjz, thanks for stopping by, That's not a bucket under the light, it's a carbon filter.

Aerohead · Dec 21, 2010

Already have some roots shooting out of the baskets, clones are lovin the new home...

redspaghetti · Dec 21, 2010

Might help speed up the growth if you raise the plants up to the light level, ie: put another bucket on the bottom or some cinder blocks

looking good

cheers,
red.

Aerohead · Dec 22, 2010

Hey Red, I was hoping you would stop by with some input. I totally agree, that carbon filter was taller than I expected and the light is much too high right now.

I tried to raise the buckets onto cinder blocks but since they are plumbed together it's impossible to do it by myself and I don't want to ask anyone for help. I could do it if I drained the water but I have nowhere to hold 30 gal of water.

My temps are a problem anyway (too low) 70f daytime so the best solution is to remove the cooltube and go bare bulb. It's going to have to wait a few days until work slows down so I can find a way to hang a 60lb carbon filter from the ceiling. Hopefully this brings the temps up a little and it will certainly allow me to lower the bulb to a proper height.

Maj.Cottonmouth · Dec 22, 2010

To hang my carbon filter I put up a couple shelf brackets and used some nylon strapping that I tied knots in to hang it from a board, put screws in each end of the board so it can't slide off.

I had the straps from when I hung it from hooks but if I were to do it again I think I would staple the nylon strapping to the board. HTH

Aerohead · Dec 22, 2010

Thanks MC, this saves me some time, I kept looking for drywall hooks that could support the weight but the ones I found were under par. I never thought of using a board to spread the weight and give more mounting points.

Vertical first attempt

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