First time building grow room

[Mtez44]

Hi everyone

This is my first post here and I just wanted to say thanks for all the info from contributing members.

I will describe my setup and add pictures at the end. I cannot figure out how to post pics so I will include them as attachments for now. Sorry about that.

I have a room in my basement that is approx 18'l x 9'w. I will be framing it down to 11' x 9' for a grow room. Height is 7' walls will be lined with panda film

Inside i will have 2-8pc root spa 5 gal buckets for a total of 16 buckets. For lighting I have 2(for now) 2000w KingPlus LEDS from amazon. They come with great reviews and I have read they are a very underrated light and they compete with some of the middle range LED's(Vipar). We will find out I guess.

Because of the height restrictions being that its only 7' high and the LED's are recommended to be at 3' away from plants I will be performing some type of supper cropping, FIM, topping, LST, scrog, etc. once I figure out what they all mean Basically I want bushes.

I had a few questions and would love some feedback:

1. Is there a good, current write up on how to train plants and which techniques are best?

2. The room in the basement will get some water in it when we have heavy rains. not often but it happens. it has a sump pump. there are not current signs of mold as it is all concrete and block. will short periods of time with some standing water, maybe 1" max affect anything?

3. Has anyone had any experience with the KingPlus LED's and if so how did you like them?

4. Co2 enrichment. Is it worth it in a sealed room?


Thanks everyone for you contributions and time!

 

[Speed of green]

First of all, everything looks nice and clean, props on that.

Also you ended up on the right site for good information.


Ill try to answer your questions in order.

1 Plant training
- Because there are so many different strains and growing methods i think you will develop your plant training skills to suit your strain and environment.

Basics for a SCROG - TOP/FIM/LST early like third or fourth node, and keep topping every few weeks until you get the rough shape you want.

if you are growing into a screen you can simply keep pulling the tops under the screen and it will keep growing lateral branches, very easy way to scrog.

Id recommend finding a good scrog thread and taking notes/ask questions.

2 Standing water
-Standing water is never good, especially around organic material (wood) I see your framing touches the ground.

Its not ideal, but there really isnt a way around it, Make sure you have a plan for dehumidifying your grow space.

The key to success will be removing the water ASAP and cranking the dehumidifier.

You are going to need to brush up on IPM integrated pest management, learn how to combat molds and pests.

3 LED's
- i dont know jack about LED's There is an led section at the top of the growroom design and equipment section.

There are many experts in the LED section that can give you the rundown im sure.

4 CO2

Yes its definitely worth it, id recommend dialing everything else in first and then adding it once you have a handle on everything else. For your size room i would get a bottle or bottles not a burner.


Good luck hope this helps.

 

[fatherearth2011]

I see you had leds and then you said king, so then I'm going to ask if you have ever checked out growmau5 on YouTube...
https://youtu.be/sGVSs657ziI

Just a thought since you building right now.

 

[jocat]

I would recommend you tube for some of your answers but most of all very good on you to be growing & taking care of yourself, I know I will smoke mine or nothing 99% of the time. having complete control & knowing what is in your plants is very healthy & satisfying. I have some LED's that work like a mule, but they cost like a corvette. spyders, I tried some of the advanced platinum but they didn't have the punch I need. Ventilation...very important..c02 also very good once your dialed, poke around here for awhile & you will flatten your learning curve.

 

[Mtez44]

The framing is anchored to flat cinder blocks actually that should above any water level. i put those blocks down to purposely keep the lumber out of the water. also i am switching to pressure treated lumber for the rest of the room. i will absolutely be watching that room like a hawk during any period of heavy rains.

I will work on Scrog/Topping as I go like you suggested. We keep browsing the web for info in the meantime.

Same for Co2. I will cross that bridge when ready. I just was wondering one way or the other because on another forum i was hearing conflicting advice. that forum doesnt seem to be very active though and actually thats why i came here.

I will probably post an update on my room once i get further along.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Floridian]

The folks that put a negative light on co2 enrichment have just plain done something wrong,or didn't do something they should have.Didn't you say your grow was in a sealed room?If that's the case you must have co2 enrichment if you want any kind of decent results at all,Its especially important in the flowering phase.A co2 controller is a must for good results,don't buy into the myriad low tech ways of producing the gas,If it's not sufficient and controlled,it's not of any use.Your controller has to read the actual level of co2 and be able to adjust accordingly,they have timers that just take the room size into consideration,neglecting the number and size of plants in the room.These are no good.I can't remember what these type controllers are called right now,but stay away from them.

 

[Mtez44]

Does anyone have any recommendations for Co2 injectors? Room is about 100 sq/ft.

Not looking to break the bank right now so keep that in mind

 

[Speed of green]

You can harvest high quality flowers without the use of Co2, if used properly you will see an overall increase in plant production. Yield,potency,smell.

Im not sure what your budget is so i will outline a few options.

For the source you have two options, A generator or a Bottle.

You can DIY a generator if you are handy, its a few grill parts and an ignitor. Or you could buy one for $200-400ish

20 lb Bottles are $10 to refill at my local welding shop.

As for dispersing the co2 you have a couple options as well.

If you go with a bottle you will need a regulator ~$80 (or build it yourself) And to go with the regulator you will need either a timer ~$15 or a Co2 controller ~$150-300

For the generator route you will also need either a timer or Co2 controller Plus a propane tank.

Some say it works better with a controller, but you can do the math (room cubic footage) and figure out how long it needs to run for and put it on a timer, Ive seen comparable results with timers and controllers.




If you look on this page there is a good drawing of the two systems.
https://hydrobuilder.com/atlas-2-preset-co2-monitor-controller.html?dzid=strands_702618

 

[Floridian]

Speed of green I have to disagree with you bro based on my experience with using co2 generators.The device I couldn't think of the other day is called a cyclestat.Like you mentioned it is based solely on the cubic footage of the room.It doesn't take into account the number of plants in the room or the plant size,another words it's not giving the correct amount of co2 on a consistent basis which is most important if you want to take advantage of co2 enrichment.A higher level of co2 which isn't controlled or consistent will give you about the same results as if you were using fresh air exchange.There's nothing wrong with that obviously but you might as well not have a sealed room at all,you're not reaping the possible benefits.I grew with a cyclestat for a few years actually,wayy too long until I was convinced controlled co2 was the way to go.Using a math formula based on room size is not controlled co2 enrichment,It's just keeping co2 levels adequate for growth.It's a waste of time when an actual controller isn't all that expensive.When I started flowering at 1200PPM with a swing of only around 100PPM up or down,my yield skyrocketed compared to using the cyclestat.If you're going to use the expensive gas you might as well control it for maximum benefit

 

[Speed of green]

Yeah makes sense, if you're going to do it might as well do it right.


Do you know and quality options for the controllers?

 

[Floridian]

The only controller I've used is probably the most inexpensive one out there,the CAP PPM-3.I used it with a green air CD-6 propane burner in an 8 by 8 room.I went through two burners and two caps in a little over 12 years.They worked perfectly but don't last forever.Your co2 PPM level has to be elevated and constant to reap any real benefits