Bad Habit's 10x13 CGE Room Build

[Bad Habits]

there's been discussions forever about how much Co2 is enough, too much, ideal.
recently Ive read there's quite a few that say 900ppm is all you need and anymore is a waste.
its kinda like the defoliation debate..... some say yes and some say no.
if you have the time there's probabley 3-4 Co2 reads in the 1st 5 pages in the forum on it

No time to read about it now unfortunately, gotta put in work!

In the future I guess I'll just have to experiment myself and find out which works best

Couple more questions for ya:

1) in your room it looks like you hung panda film over the prodex? Is the prodex not really optimal for light reflection?

2) Where did you get those swivel pulleys for your lights? Those are badass, I definitely want some. I was looking at these: https://sunlightsupply.com/shop/byc...hangers/sungrip-light-hangers-18-the-original but it doesn't mention how long the cords are... wonder if I could rig the same setup with those?

 

[the gnome]

I started running Co2 @900ppm and it blew me away the growth I was getting compared to previous grows


no panda film in there BH,
or exposed prodex.
2 walls are 3-1/2" thick hi density structural foam laminated w 1/2" OSB panels
they're painted w/oil based kilz,

the wall with the mag ballasts is a dri loc sealed concrete block with two 2" thick isocyanate foam panels with a layer of prodex in it capped off with painted w/1/2" plywood.
prodex is pretty reflective by its self,
not sure how much so tho but I think it could be used.

a good coat of flat white is the cheapest option and has hi reflective value
lots of people use and swear by reflectix,
its like prodex but not near the R valuse

panda is a really poor choice for reflecting lite from what Ive read

i got the pulleys and the quick snap connectors and cleats from
lowes and ace hardware,
they're about $3-$4 apiece and worth every penny
most any well stocked hardware store should carry them.

 

[Motörhead420]

Put up the prodex with Spray90. It's a spray adhesive made by 3m. Just spay both surfaces let it get tacky then push them together. Noholes and u don't need very much to get the job done. Pre drill your holes for the 2xs and put silicone or caulking in the holes then put ur screws in. Then cover the top of the screw with left over caulk or silicone. I also always caulk around edges of anything that get screwed in. It might be excessive but a couple tubes of caulk is worth no smell coming out.

 

[Bad Habits]

I started running Co2 @900ppm and it blew me away the growth I was getting compared to previous grows


no panda film in there BH,
or exposed prodex.
2 walls are 3-1/2" thick hi density structural foam laminated w 1/2" OSB panels
they're painted w/oil based kilz,

the wall with the mag ballasts is a dri loc sealed concrete block with two 2" thick isocyanate foam panels with a layer of prodex in it capped off with painted w/1/2" plywood.
prodex is pretty reflective by its self,
not sure how much so tho but I think it could be used.

a good coat of flat white is the cheapest option and has hi reflective value
lots of people use and swear by reflectix,
its like prodex but not near the R valuse

panda is a really poor choice for reflecting lite from what Ive read

i got the pulleys and the quick snap connectors and cleats from
lowes and ace hardware,
they're about $3-$4 apiece and worth every penny
most any well stocked hardware store should carry them.

Hmmm wonder if I should start at 900ppm of Co2 as a baseline, then slowly work my way up to 1300ppm in the future and note any differences in growth? Something to contemplate moving ahead for sure.

Sorry I misrecollected your room's insulation specs: you got so many damn kinds of insulation it's hard to keep it all straight! I was trying to remember what you did and just flipped through your thread again and saw white stuff, so just assumed it was probably panda film lol...

So I been thinking about moisture issues in the room and was hoping to get your input...

My buddies completely ruined another house with black mold before, and I'm vegging 5 of my bigger plants in 5 gals in a bathroom right now, and today I noticed there was sweat all over the walls from being around 70% rh (only been recirculating the air and opening the door a few times a day for air exchange...), which got me to thinking... Do you think insulating with the prodex will be enough on it's own to combat moisture issues? Granted I'll be running a 60pint/day deheuy and the mini split will dehumidify as well, but I just wanna take as many precautions as possible to prevent any kind of structural/permanent damage to the house as a result of humidity... Any thoughts on that?

Put up the prodex with Spray90. It's a spray adhesive made by 3m. Just spay both surfaces let it get tacky then push them together. Noholes and u don't need very much to get the job done. Pre drill your holes for the 2xs and put silicone or caulking in the holes then put ur screws in. Then cover the top of the screw with left over caulk or silicone. I also always caulk around edges of anything that get screwed in. It might be excessive but a couple tubes of caulk is worth no smell coming out.

I like that idea about the spray90 - it doesn't have any offgassing though?? Read a lot on ic about having to be careful using any products which offgas for awhile...

And I like the idea of being super diligent with the sealing of every hole. Definitely gonna be doing that! Thanks for dropping in Motorhead!

 

[Motörhead420]

If it does off gas I haven't seen it. It's basically quick drying contact cement in a spray can. U don't need a lot of the stuff it's pretty strong. If ur worried about it just use double sided tape. I just like it cause stuff comes out looking tits if u do it right. And it works on everything from paper to metal.

 

[the gnome]

Hmmm wonder if I should start at 900ppm of Co2 as a baseline, then slowly work my way up to 1300ppm in the future and note any differences in growth? Something to contemplate moving ahead for sure.

Sorry I misrecollected your room's insulation specs: you got so many damn kinds of insulation it's hard to keep it all straight! I was trying to remember what you did and just flipped through your thread again and saw white stuff, so just assumed it was probably panda film lol...

So I been thinking about moisture issues in the room and was hoping to get your input...

My buddies completely ruined another house with black mold before, and I'm vegging 5 of my bigger plants in 5 gals in a bathroom right now, and today I noticed there was sweat all over the walls from being around 70% rh (only been recirculating the air and opening the door a few times a day for air exchange...), which got me to thinking... Do you think insulating with the prodex will be enough on it's own to combat moisture issues? Granted I'll be running a 60pint/day deheuy and the mini split will dehumidify as well, but I just wanna take as many precautions as possible to prevent any kind of structural/permanent damage to the house as a result of humidity... Any thoughts on that?

prodex is a vapor/radiant barrier,
BUT
enough insulation is key
because if you have a vapor barrier and there is big enough difference in RH/temps on each side it will sweat.
this is another reason why the air space and why I used use of multiple layers of insulation to get it thick enough to not have that prob
and to get me to around my goal of R40,
everyones climate is different..... I'm in the deep south and deal with extreme Rh. and temp swings... wed-thurs last week i had sleet and ice for two days
now im mid 60s with fog
I'm getting sweating within 6" of the walls on the concrete floor in certain parts of the room regardless of radiant/vapor barrier and insulation.

 

[the gnome]

contact cement is great stuff,
i used some of it on my prodex in places and to stick the 4x12 foam panels against the block walls to hold in place till i buttoned it all up w/plywood.
just remember when you use contact cement, when you lay the prodex down maken sure its exactly where you want it to be
you won't get it off with out shredding the prodex.
once its down its meant to stay there.

I used it installing laminate back splashes for kitchen jobs.
if it was not where you wanted it and tried to pull it loose you would peel off the paper lining and some sheetrock

forgot to add, prodex pretty much self seals around nails/screws if you not real sloppy installing them,

 

[DHF]

well Bro , just finished the thread and Gnomester`s gotchas took care of from what I see , but I can tell yas why folks in the know run 900 ppm`s of CO2 compared to the bullshit heresay bout 12-1500 ppm`s.....

C4 plants that pot falls under the category of only require 900 ppm`s for optimal growth in a sealed environment , and anything over that`s just a waste and getting shit out EVERY lights off sequence along with excess humidity from a dialed setup.....IOW....

What the plants don`t use during lights on , gets expelled through excess transpiration with the water vapor residual in said plants...now....

Your pm about ventilation in the small veg area will in fact be sucking conditioned air as well as CO2 the bloom room plants will need , so I suggest pullin fresh air in from another source if possible , and exhausting out @ 2 times per minute to keep the room cooled ......anyways.....

Thought I`d stop by and show respect for getting shit done , and if yas haven`t bought the Mitsubishi minisplit , go look at Mr D`s thread on his DIY install with I think is he "Excell Air" unit that`s supposed ta be very reliable and easy ta get replacement parts if something takes a shit....

I`ve heard several nightmare stories bout the mitsu`s takin a shit and parts havin to be ordered/back ordered/RE-ordered and WAITING for em to come all the way from Japan....I`m just sayin.....

Thoughts to ponder......Good luck and get back ta work Bro.......

Peace....DHF...........

Edit: Forgot to acknowledge all the other growers who contributed solid input like ICOVO and Third Coast as well as Budley Doright and all the others that make IC a wealth of knowledge and experience.....

 

[Bad Habits]

If it does off gas I haven't seen it. It's basically quick drying contact cement in a spray can. U don't need a lot of the stuff it's pretty strong. If ur worried about it just use double sided tape. I just like it cause stuff comes out looking tits if u do it right. And it works on everything from paper to metal.

contact cement is great stuff,
i used some of it on my prodex in places and to stick the 4x12 foam panels against the block walls to hold in place till i buttoned it all up w/plywood.
just remember when you use contact cement, when you lay the prodex down maken sure its exactly where you want it to be
you won't get it off with out shredding the prodex.
once its down its meant to stay there.

I used it installing laminate back splashes for kitchen jobs.
if it was not where you wanted it and tried to pull it loose you would peel off the paper lining and some sheetrock

forgot to add, prodex pretty much self seals around nails/screws if you not real sloppy installing them,

Ya my only concern with the spray adhesive stuff is that I'm gonna be hanging all the insulation by myself (FTL...), so I feel like there'd be a good chance I'd fuck up on the placement and be stuck with a mispositioned piece or trying to rip it off lol.... Was thinkin double sided-tape on the back, staple gun a little around the perimeters, then seal at the seams with normal foil tape. Hopefully that should do it...

prodex is a vapor/radiant barrier,
BUT
enough insulation is key
because if you have a vapor barrier and there is big enough difference in RH/temps on each side it will sweat.
this is another reason why the air space and why I used use of multiple layers of insulation to get it thick enough to not have that prob
and to get me to around my goal of R40,
everyones climate is different..... I'm in the deep south and deal with extreme Rh. and temp swings... wed-thurs last week i had sleet and ice for two days
now im mid 60s with fog
I'm getting sweating within 6" of the walls on the concrete floor in certain parts of the room regardless of radiant/vapor barrier and insulation.

Ya RH isn't really an issue where I live, doesn't really ever get humid at all in the summers... Still worried about sweating on both sides of the prodex and having mold creep into the walls/ceiling and not being able to see it.... Makes me wonder if I should put a layer of pond liner or panda film or something behind the prodex as well ?

well Bro , just finished the thread and Gnomester`s gotchas took care of from what I see , but I can tell yas why folks in the know run 900 ppm`s of CO2 compared to the bullshit heresay bout 12-1500 ppm`s.....

C4 plants that pot falls under the category of only require 900 ppm`s for optimal growth in a sealed environment , and anything over that`s just a waste and getting shit out EVERY lights off sequence along with excess humidity from a dialed setup.....IOW....

What the plants don`t use during lights on , gets expelled through excess transpiration with the water vapor residual in said plants...now....

Your pm about ventilation in the small veg area will in fact be sucking conditioned air as well as CO2 the bloom room plants will need , so I suggest pullin fresh air in from another source if possible , and exhausting out @ 2 times per minute to keep the room cooled ......anyways.....

Thought I`d stop by and show respect for getting shit done , and if yas haven`t bought the Mitsubishi minisplit , go look at Mr D`s thread on his DIY install with I think is he "Excell Air" unit that`s supposed ta be very reliable and easy ta get replacement parts if something takes a shit....

I`ve heard several nightmare stories bout the mitsu`s takin a shit and parts havin to be ordered/back ordered/RE-ordered and WAITING for em to come all the way from Japan....I`m just sayin.....

Thoughts to ponder......Good luck and get back ta work Bro.......

Peace....DHF...........

Edit: Forgot to acknowledge all the other growers who contributed solid input like ICOVO and Third Coast as well as Budley Doright and all the others that make IC a wealth of knowledge and experience.....

Thanks for dropping in DHF! Can't express how much I appreciate the input from all you guys, seriously.

As for the veg area... that's something I was actually wondering about and hadn't gotten a response back on from anyone. Would the elevated Co2 levels from the flower room (900-1300ppm) being sucked into the veg area negatively harm the vegging plants? Or is more of an issue of "stealing" the Co2 from the flowering plants that need it more or something?

Unfortunately I really don't wanna have to cut a hole anywhere to get another air intake and/or exhaust into the veg area, plus I want the room to be COMPLETELY sealed, so unless I'm gonna kill the veg plants with that high level of Co2 I think I wanna try the all-in-one deal I was planning on...

So a 2x/min air exchange should be good to cool that veg area then? Do you think I need both an intake and exhaust fan, or could I get away with just say a 200cfm exhaust inline fan with passive intakes at the bottom?

RE the Mitsu - I haven't officially ordered it yet, but I'm working with an HVAC guy who grows himself. He thinks the Mitsus are pretty legit, and he basically said if I went with a brand other than a mitsu or daiken he wouldn't service them if something went wrong, because he's had to deal with too much shit from lower quality brands and the hassle they entail. I don't think he's trying to push it to make more money either - he said I could get a cheaper unit and he'd install it for me - he just said it's not worth the hassle for him to service anything else because so many other brands crap out and just aren't built for the needs of growing. I've heard the excel airs are pretty good, but I think for $3500 installed a 3 ton mitsu is a good deal considering the excels are the same or more not including the install.

Again, thanks for dropping by DHF! Hope to learn more from you in the future man.

 

[Bad Habits]

Did a bunch of other work around the house today besides room stuff... Caulked some stuff around the house, sanded down a door that didn't close properly, installed strike plates on the doors, weather stripped my crawl space. Where does the time go?!?

went blind shopping, what a damn PITA! My house has really weird window dimensions and took hours and hours of shopping to find anything that fit (well they don't exactly fit, I still am gonna have to shorten the length). Took me damn near 2 hours just to install one set of blinds in the window in my grow room.. LMAO!!! Talk about not mechanically inclined... felt like a damn retard doin it... doesn't help that the directions don't help for shit though... 1 down, 5 more sets to go, so that should take a lot of time tomorrow lol.

So I started using a stud finder on my walls... another major pain in the ass... thing is never consistent it seems like, and there doesn't seem to be a standard 16" or 24" spacing between the studs...

Watched something on youtube about using little tiny magnets to find the center of the studs because they latch onto the nails in the studs. Seemed like that be a better method than tapping in the trim nails as it wouldn't cause any damage, so went out and bought some little magnets. After running it across the wall for about 10 minutes it only connected on 1 spot lmao... looks like that ideas gettin scraped... either the magnet isn't powerful enough or the paint layers are too thick or some shit... prolly gonna give it another shot tomorrow I suppose...

Got a security company comin out on Friday to install my security system. Gettin 3 HD IP security cameras mounted around the house that'll all record to my computer and dropbox, which I'll be able to view on my iphone, so thats always reassuring...Also gettin the standard door/window sensors and basic alarm setup. There goes another 2 grand lol...

 

[Bad Habits]

OH ya and another question about the fan for ducting the veg space....

I'm guessing I'm gonna need a standard inline fan? Would an inline booster fan cut it?

Recommendations on brands that are fairly quiet/reputable?

 

[DHF]

OH ya and another question about the fan for ducting the veg space....

I'm guessing I'm gonna need a standard inline fan? Would an inline booster fan cut it?

Recommendations on brands that are fairly quiet/reputable?

I always depended on Vortex inline 6" fans on speed controllers for intakes and on exhaust scrubber combo`s as well Bro , and there may be quieter units on the market nowadays , but in 20 yrs of indoor HARD croppin I never had 1 take a shit.....and...

Mine were life time warrantied , although I think they`ve backed off to a 5 yr warranty these days.....regardless.....

Good units....

Peace...DHF.........

 

[the gnome]

Where does the time go?!?
i said that for 2+ months
went blind shopping, what a damn PITA! My house has really weird window dimensions and took hours and hours of shopping to find anything that fit (well they don't exactly fit, I still am gonna have to shorten the length). Took me damn near 2 hours just to install one set of blinds in the window in my grow room.. LMAO!!! Talk about not mechanically inclined... felt like a damn retard doin it... doesn't help that the directions don't help for shit though... 1 down, 5 more sets to go, so that should take a lot of time tomorrow lol.

So I started using a stud finder on my walls... another major pain in the ass... thing is never consistent it seems like, and there doesn't seem to be a standard 16" or 24" spacing between the studs...
studfinders just get you close ime.... tap tap tap
Watched something on youtube about using little tiny magnets to find the center of the studs because they latch onto the nails in the studs. Seemed like that be a better method than tapping in the trim nails as it wouldn't cause any damage, so went out and bought some little magnets. After running it across the wall for about 10 minutes it only connected on 1 spot lmao... looks like that ideas gettin scraped... either the magnet isn't powerful enough or the paint layers are too thick or some shit... prolly gonna give it another shot tomorrow I suppose...
in a 4ft run of sheetrock there's 3 nails/screws w/1/4" heads in the field and 1 on each edge for each stud, and usually no where near the center of the stud, but magnets are great when ever you find that 1/4" nail.....taptaptaptap
Got a security company comin out on Friday to install my security system. Gettin 3 HD IP security cameras mounted around the house that'll all record to my computer and dropbox, which I'll be able to view on my iphone, so thats always reassuring...Also gettin the standard door/window sensors and basic alarm setup. There goes another 2 grand lol...

as far as the panda film, yeah, use it as a vapor barrier against the walls, it can only help.
its no good for reflectivity... i bought a roll 4yrs ago before i knew what was what.
the only inline fan Ive ever used in the last 4yrs i can vouch for has been my trusty 6" elicent 150B.
it was recommended to me because it was relatively quiet, as inline goes.
its been running near 24/7 since 2010 and not an issue with it.
took it apart last month for the 1st time to clean the dust out of it

check out post #21--> https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=6162140#post6162140
he works with fans all day, he has some perspective

 

[Bad Habits]

Spent the day framing the room with nails as per Gnome's method and suggestion. Thanks dude! Did 3 nails on the ceiling (both ends and 1 in the middle), and 2 on each wall (ends only).

Doing the whole room took me 7 hours... LOL! Not sure if I'm just retarded or slow

I did go potentially overboard by doing the entire room, as I'm not entirely sure as to where I'll place every piece of equipment so I wanted to make sure I know where all the studs were as to allow for flexible design going forward after installing the insulation.

Some Pics:

Circled one's are the edges of the joist, ones right outside of those is where the drill bit went straight through. Then just chose a space in the middle of the 2 edge holes to put the middle trim nail.

Speaking of holes - any suggestions as to what I should use to patch up these pin-sized holes? Kwik-seal caulk? something else? There's quite a few around the room now hahaha.

And yeah Gnome just as you predicted, the joists definitely DID NOT line up perfectly from end to end. Glad I took your advice and didn't just assume so, otherwise I would probably be hanging the boards on the edges of the joists in potentially unsecured places.

And yeah, the joists also weren't spaced evenly apart in all places most of em were 16" from center to center, but not all of em... There were 7 total on the ceiling.

Joist Spacing and Reflectors - Not Sure What To Do!

So the reflectors I was looking at were the Argotech Magnums, which are 34.3"L x 29.1W x 8.33"T. Based on how my ceiling joists are spaced, there is no way to evenly space these out assuming I run the support boards "vertically" (top to bottom in the diagram below).

Based on how big the reflectors are and the spacing of the joists, there would have to be a bit of a gap between the 2nd and 3rd row of lights, which obviously isn't ideal. I was planning on using 3 2x8 trays with 4 plants on each of them, and was hoping to have the right side of the room free to have some reservoirs.

I could in theory cram 4 of the trays, but I was thinking of doing 3 with caster wheels on the bottoms so I could move them apart a foot or so each in order to do maintenance on the plants as necessary. If I went with 4 it would basically be wall to wall and there wouldn't be any way to service the girls...

But back to the reflector spacing, this throws off the optimal way the trays should be aligned in order to have maximum lumen distribution. Hope the diagram doesn't make this too confusing - there are the 9 reflectors outlined in black, then the 3 trays in red. Any ideas on how to best hang the reflectors? I was thinking of maybe looking at a smaller reflector, which would allow me to probably hang them on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th joist (alternating unused joist, light joist, unused joist, etc).

Also one more question - how i have it in the drawing the Argotechs on the left side are right up against the left wall because of how big they are. Is there any problem with this in terms of heat or hazards or anything?

Definitely feel free to tell me my design is crap and offer better alternatives! Shit is like a damn jig saw puzzle lol...

I always depended on Vortex inline 6" fans on speed controllers for intakes and on exhaust scrubber combo`s as well Bro , and there may be quieter units on the market nowadays , but in 20 yrs of indoor HARD croppin I never had 1 take a shit.....and...

Mine were life time warrantied , although I think they`ve backed off to a 5 yr warranty these days.....regardless.....

Good units....

Peace...DHF.........

as far as the panda film, yeah, use it as a vapor barrier against the walls, it can only help.
its no good for reflectivity... i bought a roll 4yrs ago before i knew what was what.
the only inline fan Ive ever used in the last 4yrs i can vouch for has been my trusty 6" elicent 150B.
it was recommended to me because it was relatively quiet, as inline goes.
its been running near 24/7 since 2010 and not an issue with it.
took it apart last month for the 1st time to clean the dust out of it

check out post #21--> https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=6162140#post6162140
he works with fans all day, he has some perspective

Thanks for the recommendations guys! Looks like I got some more research to do... basically looking for the quietest 180-200cfm inline possible... While I am legal, with the amount of other noise goin on in the room I'd like to keep everything as quiet as possible in order to not be able to hear it outside the house.

 

[the gnome]

on the inline if you want quiet,
oversize the the fan
then use a speed controller to lower the speed
it'll do wonders on the noise.

if you need 200cfm and get a fan rated @200cfm it will have to run at its full speed to pull that amount of air.
and also make as much noise as a fan running full speed.

with say a 300cfm you can lower the speed+noise DOWN to 200cfm and the fan will run quieter than the 200cfm inline at top speed.
just don't go overboard with a bigger fan, if you lower the speed too much like 50% or less the fan will over heat.


on hanging your lamps,
when you say this:
Based on how my ceiling joists are spaced, there is no way to evenly space these out assuming I run the support boards "vertically" (top to bottom in the diagram below).

i think you mean your putting the support board along the length of the joist, yes
if so you don't want to do that.
when you attach the support board to the joists you span across the joists at a 90dgree right angle to the joist.
then you can hang anywhere along it to get your spacing.
this also distributes the weight of the load over several ceiling joists which is especially good if your hanging heavy things like mag ballasts,

wish i lived closer to ya BH's
we could wrap the supports up in an afternoon

btw,
you can fill the nail holes with just about anything, caulk is ok
or there's a light weight hole/crack filler that doesn't shrink you can get at any hardware store...
hopefully you can fill em in faster than you made em....

 

[Bad Habits]

Thanks for dropping in gnome!

Sure would be easy if you lived around here! The friends who I do have who are into growing all have some form of pest problem, so I've decided I want to avoid having them come help as a precaution. Also started all my plants from seed for this reason - I wouldn't trust any clones from dispensaries because of wide-spread pest problems as well. Tryin to have it all zipped up clean and proper like from the getgo, which means I'm gonna have to attack the project pretty much solo which is a bummer in some respects.

Great info on the inline fans! Gonna look into some tonight most likely. I'm guessing almost all of the fans you have to buy the speed controller separately yeah? One more expense I wasn't counting on....

Alright so positioning the ceiling supports and lamps:

Let's say in the diagram I posted in my last post that the length of the room is the 157" side of the room (top to bottom in the drawing), and width of the room is the the 119" side of the room (side to side in the drawing).

So the ceiling joists run the length of the room. I was initially planning on running the support beams the length of the room as well, but it sounds like you're saying that's potentially hazardous given the weight distribution - and that it is more structurally sound to run the beams the width of the room in order for the weight to be distributed across multiple ceiling joists?

That definitely makes sense to me. Only problem with that is that is that I want to run the reflectors so that the length-side of the reflector runs the length-side of the room, if that makes sense (how it's illustrated in the drawing). If I had the support beams running the width of the room, there wouldn't be a way to hang the reflectors in that orientation, because of the fact these reflectors have to be hung from 2 places (unlike the vertical ones you have which only are connected to one hanging line).

I see in your room you basically have supports running one direction and then more criss-crossed under them to hang your lights. Would this be the only way for me to really hang the reflectors length-wise in the room? My only concern with doing that is I would lose a little bit more vertical space, but it might be necessary?

 

[kovert]

Great plan nice setup

 

[the gnome]

Thanks for dropping in gnome!

Alright so positioning the ceiling supports and lamps:

Let's say in the diagram I posted in my last post that the length of the room is the 157" side of the room (top to bottom in the drawing), and width of the room is the the 119" side of the room (side to side in the drawing).

So the ceiling joists run the length of the room. I was initially planning on running the support beams the length of the room as well, but it sounds like you're saying that's potentially hazardous given the weight distribution - and that it is more structurally sound to run the beams the width of the room in order for the weight to be distributed across multiple ceiling joists?

you can run the length of the joist if you want, but if your hanging heavy things you don't want to over load it,
if all your hanging if a hood and lamp that's pretty light weight stuff and i don't see a prob,
*just make sure it will take the load*, 157" is 13ft or so is a good run, after you put a hook in it pull on it and see ahw sturdy it is.

another thing if you decide to run the length of the joist you don't need a support board, screw right into the joist.
so if that's better for your set up then go that route.

That definitely makes sense to me. Only problem with that is that is that I want to run the reflectors so that the length-side of the reflector runs the length-side of the room, if that makes sense (how it's illustrated in the drawing). If I had the support beams running the width of the room, there wouldn't be a way to hang the reflectors in that orientation, because of the fact these reflectors have to be hung from 2 places (unlike the vertical ones you have which only are connected to one hanging line).

I see in your room you basically have supports running one direction and then more criss-crossed under them to hang your lights. Would this be the only way for me to really hang the reflectors length-wise in the room? My only concern with doing that is I would lose a little bit more vertical space, but it might be necessary?

edited :
its hard to over load a ceiling joist with a hood, if your doing mag ballasts that's another story but I like to make sure.
Ive seen some ceiling joists that are nothing more than a 2x4 spanning 12ft which is fine if the 2x4 is part of a prefab'd truss system. on the other hand Ive seen stick built trusses on old structures

and the ceiling joists were 2x4s 24"O/C spanning 10-12ft that were toe nailed into the top of a wall plate!!



wouldn't hurt to look in the attic to see what you have to work with.
this is over doing it but if your ceiling came down because of crap framing workmanship and i didn't tell ya to make sure....

 

[Bad Habits]

Update

Update

So I went and picked up the bulk of all my equipment




Can't see clearly what everything is in the pics, but it's basically the list I posted on the first page plus and minus a few things. Also got a couple more T5 rigs, the 60pint idealair dehuey and all my nutes.

Decided to upsize the can filter to a can100 instead of the 75 because I'm using the 12" max fan, so it will make the filter last awhile longer. Holy crap that sonobitch is heavy! I was originally planning on hanging it from the ceiling, but TBH it's so damn heavy I dunno if I honestly feel comfortable doing that... Just gonna have to see where I can stick it in the room I guess.

Also went with the argotech medium reflectors instead of the magnums because they're a bit smaller and work better overall for my room specs I think.

Went with some lumatek 600w 240v ballasts instead of the Galaxy turbos because the shop couldn't get them for some reason.

Also ordered the 48 x 24 x 72 wire shelving unit for my closet where I'll be vegging, and a rolling mechanic's stool for working in the room.

Feelin like a little kid on Christmas

 

[Bad Habits]

Next up will be getting all my construction materials and what not from lowes.

Here's my shopping list for there:

water pumps
hose to hook up to water source
trashcans or totes for rezs
2x4s for mounting lights
2x4s or 2x8s for mounting ballasts
additional plywood for mounting the various controllers
plywood for framing the closet door at the top and the bottom for intake/outtake
ducting for my inline fan that's gonna go in the closet
PVC pipe for making scrog nets
smoke detector
carbon monoxide detector to put right outside the room
fire extinguisher
pond liner
HVAC tape for my insulation
caster wheels for my tray tables so I can move them as needed to preform maintenance on the plants
tarp zippers for separating the closet area for vegging (not sure if I should just get regular tarp zippers from lowes or the one's they sell at the grow shop - is there really any difference?)
velcro for making sealable flaps that go over the tarp zippers to prevent light leaks

Still trying to figure out how exactly I'm gonna rig a dripper system. It's especially confusing considering I'm trying to run a perpetual harvest with 12 flowering plants, where ideally I would harvest 1 plant per week. I'm gonna have 3 2x8 trays in the room, so it seems like ideally I would have 1 rez per tray with each tray on the same nute regimen. I guess I'm gonna have to figure out EXACTLY what the plants will be getting in flowering so I can break it down week by week, but something tells me doing 1 plant/week might not be possible with only 3 rezs given the nute requirement variation from week to week. Definitely interested in some input here!!!