Crop almost done, need a bigger system! Help with these?

[Merfolk]

Hey guys, Currently almsot done with first hydro grow, 4 plants feeding through half inch lines, draining into a gutter underneath back into res, problem is, not enough height!

I want to run about 12 plants, got a 1000w lamp, buyin a 600 as well


So, ive narrowed it down to 2 systems here on ICMAG

One is the Ebb and Grow system with blind date's Controller

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=2051852&postcount=103

Question is, how after i setup the controller, how do i feed all the buckets? do i just connect One main line from the controller, and T off to each bottom of the bucket?

Or a feed line for each row of plants i have?


--

second system is like what i have but my buckets sit on a table higher then my res which is killing my hieght!

I came across

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=2723035#post2723035


She feeds from the top, drains through the bottom of her buckets with a pvc fitting, she also has her buckets raise so gravity takes the water from the bucket back to the res, so i assume the lines connect at the bottom of the res?

Would back pressure climb back into the lines from the res?

If not, i could put buckets say 6 inches from the ground, and link them all together into one main line back into res?



Looking for idea's! as my current grow has about 3 weeks left, cutting clones tonight and need to get a new system rolling!


Idea's? Thoughts? Thanks guys!

 

[boroboro]

I've been thinking the same thing, how to deal with height limitations. Trying a run-to-waste coco SOG with drippers on timers. This way my reservoir can be at the same level or higher than the plants. Not sure about the best way to handle the waste runoff, though -- manually or with a sump pump up to a sewer drain.

 

[PkRipper]

they sell 40 gal tote boxes at walmart ....they are around the same higght as a milk crate making a good cheap combo.....the tables sit on milk crates with one tote per 4x4 table....


dont use drain hoses' just place the res directly under the drain spout on you table so the water that drains splashes and sprays its way back into the res, its not guided with a hose , this add o2 and also mixes the nutes lot better....

 

[Merfolk]

You must be speaking of a Ebb and flow flood tray? im trying the buckets...

You check out Teresa's thread?

 

[Merfolk]

Up ! Anyone have any insight?

 

[Lazyman]

Well, I went with trays because I wanted to do a SOG with 8KW, and no way did I want something where I had to dial-in each plant. Height wasn't an issue (14' ceilings!) so I made my tables 4.5' tall, but you could run them so they were just sitting above the height of your res (flat box res preferred over barrels here.) I did buckets before too, always had a slime/rot problem, but this was before I knew about Physan20. I guess your direction depends on how much power/light and how much cooling you can get, as well as plant counts.

 

[BurmeseDragon]

No help like suicide I don't know why we ask each other to go the wrong way.

Something about help theory!

 

[Merfolk]

Well, I went with trays because I wanted to do a SOG with 8KW, and no way did I want something where I had to dial-in each plant. Height wasn't an issue (14' ceilings!) so I made my tables 4.5' tall, but you could run them so they were just sitting above the height of your res (flat box res preferred over barrels here.) I did buckets before too, always had a slime/rot problem, but this was before I knew about Physan20. I guess your direction depends on how much power/light and how much cooling you can get, as well as plant counts.

im going to buy a 600 watt from HTG, currently using 1000w atm, so total would be 1600 to start off with, i was thinking trays to push the harvests, but i wouldnt mind growing 12 tree's and get some good numbers off that, less risky as well

How much Physan20 you use per gallon ? Read somewhere it COULD kill plants?

insight?

 

[limey]

Can you give dimensions for your grow space?

Limey

 

[Merfolk]

Buying a house with a basement, so i have a large room, will section it off=P

10x10 ?

 

[Lazyman]

im going to buy a 600 watt from HTG, currently using 1000w atm, so total would be 1600 to start off with, i was thinking trays to push the harvests, but i wouldnt mind growing 12 tree's and get some good numbers off that, less risky as well

How much Physan20 you use per gallon ? Read somewhere it COULD kill plants?

insight?

The biggest downside(s) to growing trees:

Long veg time, unless you have a dedicated veg room this can reduce the # of crops you harvest per year.
Larger pots (figure 1 gallon medium per foot of finished height)
More medium to buy/clean/treat/dispose of
Fewer plants per square foot
Less light penetration means lower buds are weak and often not worth trimming
Longer time in the room means more prone to bugs, infections, other problems


It's up to you how you want to grow of course, I am finding I prefer 18-24inch tall plants in trays, as I can usually fit 16-25 of them per tray. With 3' tall plants I can barely fit 9 per tray (5 would be better) and taller than that, just a few will fit.

Physan is potent stuff, run 1ml per gallon for 1-2 waterings, then dump and flush with plain water. For giggles I ran it at .1ml per gallon in a recirculating system for a week with no ill effects however. Not for use with any organic or living biological system, it will kill any microherd you have.

 

[Lazyman]

Oh, and for your room size question, keep in mind you'll need at least 50 watts per square foot of flowering space, so make sure you have the power, cooling, and odor control for the size op you want. Ideally I would want 100amp 240V service, with 2 10X10 flowering rooms on a flip-flop box, and one 10X10 veg room, all sealed up and air conditioned with CO2 injection or Co2 generators. This would be the best setup but if you haven't grown numerous crops before it would be too much to learn at once, so start with what you're comfortable with and can afford. But plan to get there someday, and it will save you a lot of money (like if you have to upgrade power, do it so you have all you will EVER need, same for AC, etc)

 

[Merfolk]

Oh man, i really would love to Do a Sog, infact i planned on it my first go around, got the trays, pumps, everything, then i couldnt get mothers to produce 15-20 clones ( and root w/ aero cloning, would get slimed, although im going to try again with a drop of physan20 to kill bacteria, and perhaps some molasses and EWC, )

Anyways, yes, soil mothers would not produce enough for me under a 400 watt hps


i was thinking of putting them in DWC and hopeing they would just produce too many for me, currently got a 10 dollar ebb and flow im going to take clipping from my soil, make mothers out of the rootings and place in the small Ebb and flow.


The Ebb and Grow system was just to keep plant numbers down, although i really dont care about the #'s because if im caught im caught. just rather be caught with 12 instead of 50 =P

Thoughts? Thanks for the swift replys!

 

[Merfolk]

Oh, and not to mention, this is my first grow, and when you say the lower buds on tree's aren't worth trimming, i agree, some bud sites seem undeveloped and fluffy..


I think i did ok for a first time hydro, care to see some pics? ill go grab you some fresh ones if you care to see =)

 

[Lazyman]

Hey Merfolk,

Yeah you're on a good course here, take lots of time, and learn how each component or system in a room affects the others. I spent 6 months designing my first 3KW grow, and 2 months doing my 8K grow years later.

Most guys like keeping moms in soil, but a 6-8 bulb T-5 will light up more of a canopy and with less heat/power draw than a 400, and mothers will grow you lots of clones with fluoros.

With the Physan, run it at 1ml per gallon to flush system out before you use it, and with every nutrient/res change, and between crops. No algae/slime/root rot this way, and avoid Hygrozyme! For cloners, use straight water, no additives unless it's just a drop of Superthrive or B-1 vitamins.

Yes, please post pics, always fun to see other guys' rooms...

 

[Merfolk]

Fresh pics!

8 days till there done, or so says the package, what does your expert eye say ?





Anyways, you say to keep Mothers under T5's? i think its just me and soil, i cant ever get my soil plants to look good, i like how i control what goes on in hydro, nute mix ph, etc...


How do you pump out clones?

 

[Lazyman]

Lookin good man, you already flushing em with plain water? Tough to tell age without a loupe on the trichomes, but I usually wait until most of em are amber. Some prefer to catch them all when they're milky, it's up to you and what kind of high you prefer!

Yeah, Moms and T-5's are a good mix IMHO, I used Fox Farms Ocean forest, fed with Advanced Nutrients Sensi growA+B at ~700PPM and always had good results. After 3-4 weeks all the soils built-in nutes are gone anyway, so flushing is easy after that. Just make sure you're feeding PH'd water and they will love you, but I've always had an aerated res with a constant-read meter on it so tank maintenance is easy.

I had an EZcloner30 that like most other 30's, got overheated from the pump in too little water, so I usually ended up with slime. Had better results with treated rockwool cubes, but now I buy my clones from a buddy up the street since he has room for a veg room and I don't. I just bring em home, turn my 1000's down to 50% and turn the timer to 18/6 for a week, bringing up the lumens every couple days til they show roots out the bottom of a 2 gallon Smartpot of coco then flip em to 12/12.

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Mefolk,
I decided to go with a larger plant system and decided to build a DIY Ebb&Gro style system. This is still currently going on. I was very unhappy with the way the system worked. Very slow fill and drain time.

If you do go with that system, go with 3/4" fill/drain tubing . Also it helps to have not too many plants on each "circuit".

What I finally decided on was to take my DIY system (17 pot within a pot) and I'm converting it to a top drip irrigation. The bottom floats in the controller (along with the pump they control) move the drip return flow back to the res. Better aeration, less flood risk and I can get buy with a smaller res.

If you have any personal qualms about drip systems...look at all the Waterfarms out there. I'm anticipating growing plants around 3 feet tall and using about the same wattage lighting as you. Good luck...
ET

 

[Merfolk]

Will start flushing on tomarrow =)


in the process of moving but id like to get my moms ready, atleast producing 20-30 clones a month to start... just always had a problem with having moms shoot out a bunch of clones, you do any super cropping?

 

[Lazyman]

Well, I'm in a SOG now (second run in new system) so the only pruning I've done is removing lower branches and topping, but only on the biggest plants (mostly trainwrecks, Sharon Stone and Mandala#1) but I've done it in the past with good results. With a buttload of plants you have to decide the cost to benefit ratio, like for example, I would never so a SCROG on this scale, far too much work since each trellis needs attention every 1-2 days.

Besides, I've yet to be disappointed when I strive to keep the end results simple, KISS method for sure!