First Grow...Lighting and Floor set up help needed.

Ok I'm setting up my first grow. I wanted to get my lights put up now that my waterfarm buckets are built. I have 15, so how far apart between them should they be spaced out on the floor. 1ft 2ft? Then I need to figure out where to hang my lights and how many i need. I'm still a little stumped on the lights.

Also for the floor, right now I have carpet, so would it be acceptable to put down the thick black plastic sheeting I have. Or should I figure out a way to put in something white?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

This is a pretty ambitious first effort and also larger than what I am used to. The tops of those buckets are close enough to a foot to call them a foot, I don't think that you will need spacing in feet but in inches, you can always move them around later. I would be looking at about 1,600W+ of light for that grow area, 3-600W or 2-1,000W. Lot's of heat, you going to cool those lamps? I would get something on that carpet and if you want something white you can get panda film. I would also be inclined to frame that up so it will contain any leaks or spills. Let's see what the others say and good luck with this!

Big effort. I don't know a thing about those buckets. I'll bet you won't grow them to big. I would think 2 600w would work well for you. Good luck.

U wanna grow short or have monsters spacing and light depend on your grow style . Black plastic on floor works great but since your buckets will b sitting on the plastic white would b a lil more reflective and in theory would help with lower buds on the plant( possibly ) I grow on trays not on the floor so cant tell u for sure but I know the reflectivity theory would urge white

Optic1 said:

Ok I'm setting up my first grow. I wanted to get my lights put up now that my waterfarm buckets are built. I have 15, so how far apart between them should they be spaced out on the floor. 1ft 2ft? Then I need to figure out where to hang my lights and how many i need. I'm still a little stumped on the lights.

Also for the floor, right now I have carpet, so would it be acceptable to put down the thick black plastic sheeting I have. Or should I figure out a way to put in something white?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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I would start out by covering the floor. I would think about putting down plywood then line it with a pond liner or pull up the carpet and put down the liner. If your buckets or res springs a leak and it dose happen (usualy at the worst time), it would not be good. Also the carpet can hold extra humidity causing mold. If you do get a leak the depretion the buckets make in the carpet pool water around them makeing clean up more difficult. Spacing the buckets is not such an issue. Getting an even canopy is what I would work on as I grow. Lighting, figure that a 1000W light will cover about a 4' x 4' area and a 600 about a 3' x 3' area with a bit less penetration (depth/height). Get cooled lights/hoods! You did not mention venting, humidity control and air movement, so make sure you cover that too.

Nice start so far. Looks like you in for a nice grow. if you have any more questions, ask away.

Thanks all, I am tempted to put down some plywood over my liner and just buy those 1x1 self stick white tile squares.Humidity cracks me up were 21% in the room so, our house doesn't get over 28%. I will prolly have to buy a humidifier. I am really tempted to test 3 or 4 CMH 400w lights from grow to bloom after I get things going. I will start them off under 8 4ft 6500K lights. The room is 180 sq. ft. with a 10ft ceiling. But alas, been almost 3 weeks and still a no show on the beans from "The Tude". Tracking don't show crap. Got some barneys lsd and vanilla kush coming with some UFO 1 thru 3 freebies coming. So this is a test session.

On a side note for spills, saw a thread "help I spilled 15 gallons on my carpet what do I do". Hell he should have been here when my 125gal salt water fish tank cracked and that went on the floor in the living room. But we got out the shop vac, got it all sucked up. They came in and pulled up the carpet and pad put those fans on them and it was dry in a day. Desert climates are great for drying keeping mold down. Carpet looked brand new afterwards lol. I swear it's so dry everything just just sucks up any available moisture.

If any one is interested in the free plans for the hydro buckets here they are.

http://hydro-plans.com/hydroponics/homemade-hydroponics/Free-Hydroponic-Plans.html

so how do you get water from the bottom up to the drip ring? or is this a bubble system?

It's the air lift type, a drip or bubbler.
I think it's what serapis and scottyballs were doin.

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Don't want to sound negative cuz it looks kinda cool. Why go to the extra effort to add the drip ring?

Dont worry about being negative, i can take criticism...we learn by screwing up or getting good info, but its better if its not costly....... well, it's super simple a air pump pushes air up the tube carrying the water and it is feed by a steady drip on the the hydroton. no water pump is needed, plus pumps add heat. it's a different method so i will give it a go. its similar to the waterfarm system. no air stones are needed, the water is oxygenated by the air pump. i bought a commercial pump that should run 16 systems so we will see. some of the info i have seen, has had some pretty big plants via scrog and sog. i got room so i might not need that and just let em grow. I've seen some pics with massive root systems in the buckets but those are pro's lol. i will be able to support them if needed no problem. Water has good circulation since its always drawn up from the bottom.

I put up my backboard today and the shelf "I hate clutter", the ceiling is 10ft so the shelf is about 7.5 feet so walking under it is great. I added my APC power strip and timer. Now im set to mount environmental controls plus i will put a UPS on the shelf to keep drip going in case of loss of power, it will easily run that air pump. I mounted the first 400w ballast. I have decided to run 2 -400w CMH and one 1000w MH/HPS. I want to see for my self if 2 CMH blow a 1000w away like stated by Phillips tests by spectrum, lower elec bill and cooler running. Next step is to cannibalize my 50 amp circut on the other side of the house and pull it back and put a breaker on the backboard so I can run 240v, it's for a hot tub that i never put in and has a GFI on the box. I'm getting their. I have learned one thing. This crap can be a lot of work.

As soon as this gets growing i will prolly ask a few more questions once this gets going so i hope you guys dont mind.

Edit ..... just pulled my fixtures out that I have for ( 6000k grow fluorescents "I might hang those to, and the damn fixtures are black...WTF.

Do you have a way to keep your rez temp down? That was my biggest problem with the bubble bucket I did. I took her back to soil when I got the roots good and healthy.

Well I guess im winging that one, I have a wine chiller I could use and put in a copper coil, but if I do that I have to add the under current method where all buckets are connected and circulated. I do have a big pump from a 125 gal fish tank that would turn those over easy. Also that room is right by the central A/C "if it helps" so your right this might screw me. The room is basically on the first duct, it's always closed or you will freeze your butt off. So I can keep the room at a good temp and even add a a/c in the window. Any thoughts. I plan on ducting the light heat out.

My other option is a outdoor grow, gettin a field ready just in case and dropping in a 3 inch irrigation line across the road. Gottta have water. My wife thinks im nuts if i plant those out there lmao. . too funny.

All you need is a trailer full of pipe and a trencher. Plus a field

weedsLV said:

U wanna grow short or have monsters spacing and light depend on your grow style . Black plastic on floor works great but since your buckets will b sitting on the plastic white would b a lil more reflective and in theory would help with lower buds on the plant( possibly ) I grow on trays not on the floor so cant tell u for sure but I know the reflectivity theory would urge white

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I agree white would help with reflection.
Id definitely put some thin on the floor for easy tidy up of leaves and spills.
you'll need to space the buckets but that will depend on the strain but hydro always grows bigger,just make sure you have 1-2ft space for just incasers.
I recom youll need 2 lights for all them and you would get more off 1 cutting in a 90 litre bucket then3of them buckets depending on the strain.
If I were you I would veg in them and then transfer to bigger buckets(thats just what id do as ive used similar sized buckets before and seen the results)again it depends on the strain.
If the straines known to be small, stay with them buckets.



Be sure to keep your electrics off the floor.
You will have to keep a eye on ph levels with them buckets..

RIXUK said:

I agree white would help with reflection.
Id definitely put some thin on the floor for easy tidy up of leaves and spills.
you'll need to space the buckets but that will depend on the strain but hydro always grows bigger,just make sure you have 1-2ft space for just incasers.
I recom youll need 2 lights for all them and you would get more off 1 cutting in a 90 litre bucket then3of them buckets depending on the strain.
If I were you I would veg in them and then transfer to bigger buckets (thats just what id do as ive used similar sized buckets before and seen the results)again it depends on the strain.
If the straines known to be small, stay with them buckets.



Be sure to keep your electrics off the floor.
You will have to keep a eye on ph levels with them buckets..

Click to expand...

Thanks lets tackle this. Let me know if im screwing up, cash is the factor here.. Floor...I want to put down my black plastic "its thick" and over it put down a silver tarp. I'm gonna put on some double sided carpet tape so it doesnt slide. Sides will be up in case of spill like a pool. Space is not a prob. I have 150 sq ft.

I build computer rooms so you will never see me light up my ass with electrics on the floor. LMAU or Lighting My Ass UP.

Lights.. veg will be 2 cmh 400 watts plus 8 flouro 6000k. 18/6
Bloom will be 2 cmh 400 watt and 1 1000 watt hps. 12/12
room temp 70 deg and 28% humidity

Mycorrhizae for roots
Flora grow and bloom

Strains:
Barneys Farm LSD Feminized
Barneys Farm Vanilla Kush Feminized
Freebies:
UFO#1 Dinafem Seeds California Hash Plant
UFO#2 Dinafem Seeds Powerkush
UFO#3 Dinafem Seeds Moby Dick

I also have 10 acres and can plant outdoors if recommended. Desert climate, sandy loam soil Yakima river borders my property, surrounded by vineyards and hops. Soil is awesome.
1st pic im to the center left "big part of river" of river the white place to the right of the trees that looks like a choo choo lol. I have irrigation now and doing hay so can plant outdoors.
So soil is good. Security is fine, my private road is 1320ft and has a hidden road sensor.

Let me know what to grow or where to grow lol
thanks
btw all the green fields at the base of the hill at the top are all grapes, you should smell this. 10 miles of them to the right.

You'll pull more off one outdoor plant than your whole indoor room using only the sun, water and ferts.
You don't need a humidifier if anything you'll need a dehumidifier. I understand that your humidity is way low but it is different once you get everything going. 15 DWC buckets with air pumping and 15 plants transpiering in a room becomes it's own micro-climet. When the lights go off and the temps start to drop humidity raises quickly. Not to bad early on but later when they are big and full of flower it make a huge differance. You'll see. If outdoor temps are good then you can controll humidity by exhusting it via fan but if it's very cold or very hot outside then it's a different story.
Also it seems to me (I have never used DWC) that one res would be the way to go. mixing nutes, ph checking/adjusting, water leveling...... the only problem I see with one res is running multi-strains with large differances in fert requierments.

Thanks cazador, you opened up a whole new can of worms. We get 300 days of sunshine here but at the end of july we can get temps for three weeks around 100 to 105 degrees. People have told me we have one of the best areas to grow in the country. But will they handle that heat?

Optic, You in the pnw? west coast? If your not you have close to the same weather we do. I think we only had a few weeks at 100+ last year but the plants did ok in it. The fall rain is what sucked. think I'm going for a greenhouse this year. lol I was just looking at your pic's I think you live. well lets say not far from me. and when I say not far I'm talking a few miles. take a look at our pics from last year. same hills in the back ground.

Yea pnw, tri-cities area heading towards hanford. now i have to learn outdoor planting lol

Those temps are fine for an outdoor grow but a nightmare for indoors.