Good stuff! Thanks!1. I have grown in 20gal brutes in a 8' ceiling, but totes are a lower profile and probably better.
2. When my trees are bit they are 5' from the top of the net pot, if you have taller ceiling you may get them bigger.
3. Strain specific, however Co2 will not hurt your plants so dial it in as you go.
4. Lights off you should get your babies to 68* if possible. The love cool temps and the O2 level in the water is best at 68*. I notice most of my growth / strech occurs overnight, so cool temps are important (or rather I get my best trees when I have cool nights).
5. Horz works great, I've run both types of gardens.
6. The goal of vert tree growing is to have 2 - 4 lights hitting each plant. A corner light only benefits the one plant in the corner. Some use a 600w or smaller for corner lights, others skip them all together.
7. 120sq' should be enough for 8 plants, that is 15sq' per. As for the res it should not take up much room because it will probably be just an empty brute or tote. Set it inline with the other 8 zones and party on. Since you will have 8 huge containers and a res, the PH should be stable and you should be able to skip a day between refills.
8. He had nice huge 3" pipes if I am not mistaken. He gave a link to the bulk heads he uses and I advised a google search on Uniseals. That is what the UC systems use. As for pumps and calculations someone else will have to chime in.
9. I would think air lines inside drain pipes would be a big pain in the ass.
10. Opinions vary, however you need to make sure that you don't drown your plant. The stem and top part of the roots need at least 12hrs a day dry IMO.
11. I swear by 10" and hate on all others for growing trees. Trees need huge stalks and huge root masses, I find that the 10" allows the tree to make a really strong stalk and huge root ball in the hydroton, this really adds stability to the plant.
12. I personally like to stay around 800, but PPM is always strain and grower specific.
13. I've never considered the amount of liquid down the drain "a lot". I am on a sewer system and just pump it into the toilet and it goes away. People drain bath tubs all the time. I personally only change the nutes once during flower (at around day 21 after I have PK boostered them appx day 16). Then I use those same nutes for the next 3 -4 weeks. I top off with my nute mix (appx 800PPM) and PH the system daily if needed.
Hopefully the OP will have some time to look this over and give suggestions. His grow is one of the best around for trees. Long live the forest!
