Grow-Lab Construction - DESIGN

[RxFunkenstein]

Hello everyone! I'm about to set up my Prop 215 Grow-Lab/cab within a closet and I'm looking for as much feedback as possible on my new closet Grow-Lab design. For starters, I'm going to post a few images of the blueprints I have put together to see what kind of response I get. As I get more feedback, I will add more details from my agenda to the post.

ROOM SPLIT ISSUE#1:
Well the totall length of the grow space is 4'/2.5", but I'm not quite sure how I want to divide the space exactly. I know the Flowering Room needs more space to grow and branch out, so that must be bigger than the Vegging Room as depicted. Just unsure of the exact measurements I should go with, that would best fit the number of plants I want to harvest per month. (1/2-Lb. per month, ideally.)

Exaust/Ventilation:
Now I realize the temps must remain fairly similar in both the flowering and vegging rooms, so the current exaust system doesn't appear to be a problem, but considering the humidity levels differ in both grow chambers, I'm wondering if I should either move 'InLine Fan#1' above the grow chamber(or lower 'InLine Fan#3') to exaust the vegging room seperately, to enable more control over humidity levels?

Also, the 'sky-blue' color at the bottom of the grow environment represents the cool air coming thru the intake. The 'red' color represents the flexible ducting that will exaust the hot air. I am debating on whether or not I plan to use a passive intake or non-passive. I am still confused between the differences of the two. My intake will be drawing air from another room on the other side of the closet and I will also be exausting into this room.

Lighting/Electricity:
In the Vegging Room you will see I have my light of choice listed as either a CFL or MH light. Any advice on that would be tremendously helpful. As for the Flowering Room, I am positive I want to use an HPS light, yet still unsure of what size or the number of lights I want to use. I aim to run the most energy efficient system, while producing the most quality medicine I can (without burning the house down)

ROOM SPLIT ISSUE# 2:
Now here is another 'Room Split' issue. The room that my Grow-Lab closet is in has carpeting. Even though I plan on removing the carpet from the closet itself, there will still be carpet right outside the closet space. I have pets, and I am concerned about pests invading my Grow-Lab. So my question is, should the depth of my grow chambers be only 2 ft deep, to allow for a 1ft margin of uncarpeted, sanitized work-space/walking-space before the start of the carpeted room, the closet is in? As shown in the image above? Or should I utilize that extra space, and use it for plant growth?

Sure, most would say to sacrifice the sanitary issues, for more plant space, but I also have minor security issues I have to deal with. I'm assuming by leaving 1ft of walk space, I would also have the option of adding more insulation, thus containing any undesirable odors within the grow environment. Or do you think with such a small space, and the level of odor control I have instore, that this will not be a problem?
Also, I must remember that I need room outside of the grown environment to mount my controls and possible breaker box( which I need more help on, obviously) There may be times when I want to monitor things while my babies are sleeping. So I am slightly stumped here.

Thanks for your help. Any help, advice, or suggestions on how I can improve my current designs to be top notch would be extremely appreciated. Help me, and lets watch this project grow. I've been researching things for about 4 months now, read a couple books, spent many nights trolling forums, websites and a grip of videos/tutorials, and hopefully will be ready to launch soon. It's so close I can smell it!




RxFunkenstein

 

[L8tNightSkunk]

cant wait to see it come to life

 

[RxFunkenstein]

Hey. I started typing up a WHOLE bunch of ish and suggestion for you but then changed my mind. I have some questions and statements first.

1. Soil, hydro, soiless, etc ? What are you using?
2. Growing from seeds or clones? Strains? (flowering times?)
3. Going to cut your own clones?
4. Want to keep mothers?
5. Is this a growlab you bought or building?

Also, Based off of this much space I am not to sure yet how you will be able to get 8 oz EVERY month. The best I would say is maybe 8oz every 1.5-2 months. Now that I can offer suggestions for.

Depending on strains...when the plants grow to around 4.5-5ft tall maybe 3 will offer you your 8 oz. If so, Then you can grow 6 plants total. 3 to be harvested every end of flowering which hppefully = 8 oz.

Thanks DankMe! Sorry you wasted part of your time writing all that up and then scratching it. Here is the information you requested:

1. Hydro: Possibly Ebb&Flow design in the Flowering Room. Maybe DWC/Aeroponics in the Vegging Room.

2. Still unsure of the strains I'm going with. Considering Sativas are a bit more difficult to produce and take a while longer, I'm thinking a heavy Indica for my insomnia and a well ballanced Hybrid for anxiety/depression. I would like to start working with clones, initially. But I am also open to experimenting with seeds. I hope to be a well rounded gardener.

3. Yes, eventually I plan on cutting my own clones.


4. Yes, I want to keep mothers. I've been thinking about possibly making a seperate cab for mothers and clones, but at this point it's unlikely. Space issues, etc.


5. I will be building this to basically fit within the demensions of the closet. So anything you feel that should be altered for the greater good of the garden, please do not hesitate to point it out.



Thanks for your feedback! It is sincerely appreciated.

RxFunkenstein

 

[RxFunkenstein]

WOW! great design. I may be wrong but it looks like roughly 13 sq/ft? If so I would use CFL for veg and mebe a 400 HPS?

Thanks pitviper! It is a work in progress, hopefully I will make you all proud one day. As for the sq/ft'ge, I'm not quite sure. I'm doing the calculations now, but my math is terrible.

CFL sounds like a good idea, considering the shortage of space and potential heat issues that could possibly accompany it with a MH. I want to make sure I can maintain my schedule tho, and I heard CFL doesn't produce as rapid of growth rate as an MH.

As for the Flowering room, 400 HPS is something I was already thinking about, or maybe 2 -250w HPS for more coverage?





RxFunkenstein

 

[RxFunkenstein]

No problem RxF. Here to help.

Im currently medicated right now so the following might or might not make sense. lol

For flowering I would suggest just sticking with the 400 HPS. The 250w are a good idea but they wont penetrate light to the lower levels of the plant adequately.

Yes MH will increase growth speed in Veg. But is not a MUST have. Unless speed is what you want. I myself just use a 4 ft 4 lamp T5 for my veg. It increases the length with minimal width. Like a shelf. Thus, I can make a box not so thick...but thinner and longer. Safes me space.

Clones are a good way to keep a plants genetics. With seeds you can get certain strains no offered as clones. But, with seeds you can get males...which you dont want unless your trying to breed your own new strains. So people discard the plant as soon as they find out its male.

If you have no other room for veg and clones then make both of them in this cab. All you have right now is the Veg and Flower room.

Ill say more when im not medicated lol....

Haha, I hear ya, man! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, indeed.

Well here is some updates I have so far:

Considering the spacing issues, I'm thinking about investing in a similar sized portable wardrobe from one of them handy Home Builder places to use as my Vegging Room for my mothers,cuttings and clones. I think this will solve a lot of my problems. I will build a shelf within the 'store-bought wardrobe' for my cuttings, leaving the floor space available for the mothers and clones. How does that sound? I figure if I'm going to be using all CFLs for the Veg chamber, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to relocate shop elsewhere, and still keep it underwraps. Now I will be able to utilize the full 8ft in height of the original closet grow space for strictly flowering, while making it that much easier to maintain that chambers temps and humidity levels, without putting the vegging chamber in harms way.

The Flowering Room is now 3Wx4Lx8H, and the Vegging Room will be around 2Wx4Lx6H. How many plants can I comfortably fit now, would you say?

So I was advised to look into 'High Output Fluorescents'.. this brand 'Tech Lights'. I found them earlier, but I am unable to find them now for some reason. Medicine is kickin in. lol I'll keep looking. But ya, that seems the best route to go. And as far as I understand, I may be able to get away with something as small as a couple of computer fans to vent and exaust the new vegging chamber? I'm not sure, something says to stick with a similar ventilation rig for the Vegging Room.


Now I just need to figure out which lights I should use for the Flowering Room. I've received a lot of feedback. Someone said two 250wHPS for the Flowering Room. Another person said 600wHPS would be just perfect, not too warm. You said 400wHPS. Now this was all for the original measurments, mind you. Not for the NEW " 3Wx4Lx8H" measurements. Once I make my lighting decisions and figure out which make/models I'm going with, I will need to decide on controlers to control the system. I almost forgot, I also want to set up a c02 rig for the Flowering Room. I figure I will have the freedom and the space to do so now.

They all seem fairly simply to understand, but the only issues I have when window-shopping online is, there arent too many 'all-in-one' devices. I don't even know which brands are reliable and worth their price in advertising and there are not many that are reasonably priced. I don't think I'd spend as much as I'd spend on the entire operation on one controler alone. What if it were to get damaged or break?


This is intense!


RxFunkenstein

 

[TorturedSoul]

From your first diagram it looks like IL Fan #1 is blowing heated air into your HPS. I'm thinking it will produce all the heat it needs on its own. Then you have IL Fan #2 taking the heated air from THAT and blowing it into HPS #2.

Is that wise?

 

[RxFunkenstein]

From your first diagram it looks like IL Fan #1 is blowing heated air into your HPS. I'm thinking it will produce all the heat it needs on its own. Then you have IL Fan #2 taking the heated air from THAT and blowing it into HPS #2.

Is that wise?

Hey TorturedSoul, thanks for taking the time to look over my thread. IL Fan#1 is blowing air, which is coming from the Vegging Room/Fluros to 'cool' the two HPS lights. Kind of like a 2-in-1 exaust system. IL Fan#2 is extracting hot air from both chambers into IL Fan#3, to be pulled out thru the carbon scrubber.

The theory is, the 'hot' air rushing thru the HPS lights, is better than no air rushing thru them at all. If I was standing out in the desert, hot as hell, I'd probably go for a hot wind than no wind at all. So the Flowering/Vegging Rooms would have to be vented anyways, so I figured I might aswell look into 'air-cooled' hoods for my lights, because it couldnt hurt.


But after a few days of mulling things over with this design, and the ballance of feedback I've received, I've decided to scrap it. Considering the spacing issues, I'm thinking about investing in a similar sized(2Wx4Lx6H) portable wardrobe from one of them handy Home Builder places to use as my Vegging Room for my mothers,cuttings and clones. I think this will solve a lot of my problems. I will build a shelf within the 'store-bought wardrobe' for my cuttings, leaving the floor space available for the mothers and clones. How does that sound? I figure if I'm going to be using all CFLs for the Veg chamber, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to relocate shop elsewhere, and still keep it underwraps. Now I will be able to utilize the full 8ft in height of the original closet grow space for strictly flowering, while making it that much easier to maintain that chambers temps and humidity levels, without putting the vegging chamber in harms way.


Some friends have suggested a 1000wHPS, or two 600wHPS lights for the Flowering Room now. What are the Pros&Cons of the two? 1000wHPS -VS- 600wHPS? I just know I'm going to need a killer extraction fan, that's for sure.


Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks guys for all your input!

RxFunkenstein



.

 

[RxFunkenstein]

Ok. In a 12 sqft area (3' x 4') use the 600w HPS. I just built a new box thats the same size but only 5 feet tall. I am going to be ordering a Sun System 2 air cooled. I made my own carbon filter for under $15. I am using a fan that has two speeds 312/239 CFMs. I took two computer fans and wired them to 2 old phone chargers so I could plug them into the power strip with everything else.

I just went to a free grow class in oakland yesterday to get some more info and they told me...as long as you have good circulation in the cab then there is no need for any Co2 boosting. Plus, too much Co2 is not good for plants or YOU.

Free grow-class huh? How did that go? A couple dispenseries host them, but have never looked into them, personally. I've been thinking about one of them Oaksterdam courses. Yes, youre right about the co2 supplementation. Someone else said with the amount of ventilation I'd need for the closet, it would be pointless. So scrap that.

But they also suggested I go with a 1000wHPS for the Flowering Room now, saying it'll produce the kind of density/quality I'm looking for in a finished product. So I could go with two 600w or one 1000w. What are some of the Pros&Cons of the two? Energywise, Lumenwise, Harvestwise,Securitywise, SAFETYWISE. Everyone swears by 1000w, but if you had 2-600ws, wouldnt that be an extra 200w? Is this simply wasted energy?


Hmm

RxFunkenstein

 

[TorturedSoul]

as long as you have good circulation in the cab then there is no need for any Co2 boosting. Plus, too much Co2 is not good for plants or YOU.

CO2 is is only harmful to humans when it is present at levels that are high enough to displace the O2 in your lungs. As for your plants, they don't need it - or rather more than is present outdoors. But cannabis is a "primordial plant," so to speak. It can be very helpful to supplement the CO2 levels in a growroom (I can't remember the exact numbers, 1500ppm is in my head but so is a lot of sawdust and cobwebs). Just ask anyone who runs over 102 watts per square foot or is faced with very high temps. Extra CO2 helps the plants continue growing when temperatures are such that growth would ordinarily slow to a crawl and it also helps them utilize the extra light (sometimes the light and heat go hand in hand, as it did a long time ago - in geological terms - when the average CO2 levels on this planet were MUCH higher).

about the co2 supplementation. Someone else said with the amount of ventilation I'd need for the closet, it would be pointless.

Keep in mind that sealed(sic) lights are vented separately from your growroom-at-large. You can then remove the bulk of the heat (it helps to have the ballasts located outside of the GR) and you will not only need far less ventilation for the GR itself, but you can probably operate those fans on a timer which would allow you to utilize CO2 injection (if your growing conditions warrant using it) without venting it out before any of it can be used.

Another benefit of venting the lights separately is that the bulk of the air that you are moving - that which is coming from your lights - would be "stink-free" and would not require treatment. In the winter months often one can skip venting their GR altogether although in the summer this is not generally the case because even though you could hold your hand on the light fixture, it would still be "warm" and when it's 80F outside, something in a sealed room that is warm is going to raise the temperature at least a little bit. But still, you would have far less "stinky air" to move/treat.

The setup is a tiny bit more involved however as you would need an intake and exhaust that is not mixed with your GR but it's NBD, just a couple extra openings and another set of ducting.

 

[RxFunkenstein]

Grow-Lab DESIGNS ***UPDATE***

Hello everyone. Sorry, I have not been around. Totally busy. So I took some time and drew up the new plans for the Flowering Room, if theres anything I should fix, let me know. I also decided to put together the plans for my Vegging Room, which will be built from a store-it-all cabinet. So for starters, here is the Flowering Room:

This is what I have in mind. I have the ballast mounted to a board, which will be suspended from the ceiling. Notice the clip on fan, and the positioning near the exaust duct. I'm looking for suggestions, any flaws in my design. If anyone has no objections, this is what I will most likely be going for.

Here is the outside view, looking at a 2x6 plywood plank I will be mounting on a portion of the doorway to mount the necessary equip. This way I figured, I could utilize the cool air that will be comming in from the closet doors, in the space between the doors and the panda plastic/rl lining. (tent-like doorway) to keep the equipment out of the heat. Plus I'm assuming this will also allow me to monitor everything while the girls are sleeping, since the controls will be outside of the grow, but still within the closet..

This is what I envision the inside looking like, the back of the plywood panel. I'm planning on checking out this 30 amp timer/breaker box a friend has shown me, and I'm assuming I can plug everything into this, and actually only need to plug the 30 amp timer/breaker box into the house outlets, themselves. I'm very ignorant when it comes to the electrical side of things. Any help would be appreciated, as always. But to compliment the previous design, I've included the inside looking out. So you can picture it yourself before it comes to life.

Now here is my new project. The Vegging Room, Mothers/Babies/Cuttings. Fairly simple. It will be a Store-it-All storage cabinet, using T5s. The demensions are 4wX20"dX6h. The cab is originally partitioned down the middle, but I was thinking of sawing part of it out, to make room for a light.

I'm still unsure of what lights I could use for the cuttings, or the cloning chamber (CFL?or T5s?) It's going to be a cramped space. Here are the blueprints:

I was thinking of using a couple of aeroponic systems, one for the mothers on the right, one for the clones on the left. As for the cuttings, I was going to keep them in rw, and rooting gel, and water them manually. If the mothers are fully grown, and the light is no longer reaching the babies on the left, I will make a shelf in levels, to bring them closer.

Well here are my plans, let me know what you think. Hopefully this is it. Then its time to shop. Thanks guys!

RxFunkenstein

Also, how much is it going to cost me to run a single 1000wHPS as opposed to 2 - 600wHPS? People say 2-600w are much more efficient. Your thoughts?

 

[TorturedSoul]

Putting your ballast outside of your flowering room is like removing a heater from it.

 

[RxFunkenstein]

Putting your ballast outside of your flowering room is like removing a heater from it.

Yes, that's a good point. But I have no idea where I could put it. Everything must remain concealed within the closet. I am no longer going with a built in cabinet design. I am now using the entire demensions of the closet space. So if you were a ballast in my grow room, there would now be no where to run, no where to hide. Haha.

Looking at my designs, do you have any suggestions?




RxFunkenstein

 

[RxFunkenstein]

Agreed. Move your ballast outside the box. Thats what i did.

Yes, you're right DankMe. But where? Check out my designs for my Flowering Room, and let me know where you would put it, and keep everything concealed within the closet? Keep in mind that I am now no longer using a built in cabinet design. I am now using the full demensions of the closet space. So there is no where for the ballast to go? Which is why I tried to improvise, by hanging it mid level, keeping it out of the cooler section below, and its near the exaustvent ducting intake. So it may create a ton of heat, but the theory is it will be cooled by a clip on fan, which will also help in channeling the hot air up, and out the exaustvent ducting intake.


When looking at my designs, if you can come up with any ideas that will work, please let me know. Because this is the best I can do so far.

Thanks for your help.


RxFunkenstein

 

[RxFunkenstein]

Electrician help?

Any of you 420MAGers know anything about hiring qualified electricians? I'm looking for a pre-estimate, before I get estimates from electricians themselves. There's bound to be an electrician or electricity aficionado on 420mag.com someone can direct me to maybe?

I'm asking this because I may have to alter the plan, as my original ideas may be too far out of my ballpark, financially. As I am a renter. And I don't want to fumble around when discussing things with the electricians, if they happen to hit me with the double whammy.

Anyone know? Thanks Peeps!


RxFunkenstein