Idea for future medical garden

As medical marijuana has become increasingly popular i began brainstorming what i'd like for a garden. Whether i move to a medical state or wait for it to become legal here i figured i'd throw out what i was thinking and get some feedback from all of you.

My budget would cap off at about 4,000 dollars.
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Light System
Ballast: 2-1kw digital ballast (probably would spring the extra cash for a dimmable one)
Reflector: Magnum XXL 6" duct

I really like ebb n flow and recently saw the new cap ebb n grow monster. Seems like a nice upgrade from the 2 gallon pots to the 5 gallon pots. Anyone ever use the 5 gal system?

To control the smell i was thinking of a carbon can + filter connected to the reflectors then exhausted from a 250+cfm vortex.

Inside the 4x8 room would be 1 16" oscillating fan and 2 6" clip fans.

I wasn't thinking intake would need any power behind it so i'd just throw a hepa filter over a 6inch ducting allowing fresh air to be taken in.


Now thats what i was thinking for equipment.
If within the next year or two mmj does pass in my state i wouldn't mind doing a little construction on my house. In my basement i have a 6x8 room that is connected to a 2x3 room. I figure i could make the 6x8 room the main room and have my 55gal res in the 2x3 room and potentially have a few mother plants in there as well. The problem with my house is that there is no central air/heat so i would have to cut into my walls (really isn't a problem) but that does pose some interesting venting issues to be resolved (if anyone has worked in basements before let me know, i really don't mind renovating my basement as the garden would be a permanent part of my house.

Thats all for now. Probably post more if i come up with anything else. After all i've got plenty of time to plan as it'd be at least a year before i would be able to do anything.

You've got a year to work with - that's more valuable than all the equipment you can list, essentially. No rush no worries because there's plenty of time to work it out.

I think 250cfm being sucked through a filter and past your lights isn't really a good plan. Filter is chopping 25% of your cfms, hood another 15%ish, plus it's sucking hot air which isn't really cooling your light all that much, and then you're sucking a vacuum from an undersized passive inlet. Tough to make that work unless the intake air is very, very cold air direct from the outside. I've got no figures to offer you but my intuition is telling me that would only work in Arctic conditions... but then again, I don't know where you are.

Ideally you'd have a six inch (450cfm) cooling your hoods and another one exhausting hot air through your filter.

Perhaps you could reconsider the digital ballasts to save on costs. What's the idea behind dimmable lights, anyways?

I had not considered the loss of force when calculating the right fan so i'll definitely change to a 450 then. The problem with setting my garden to take advantage of outside air is that while a good 6 months outa the year it'll be below 30f and even more of it 10f to bellow zero there would be at least a 10 degree (if not 30+) change on a day by day basis which might make controlling the intake a bit to unstable (however ive never actually tried this to see if there are problems). Also to look at the other 6 months of the year during the summer it can get up to 90 and frequently does for at least a month. It sounds though like upgrading to a 450cfm fan would allow me to skip the intake part there. My major obstacle to overcome with this garden will be ventilation assuming i don't give up waiting and move to a medical state and get a new house.

My basement is nearly always 50 degree or cooler during the winter and at most 60 during the summer time. The entire square footage of the basement is 1380. As i'll have no exhaust directly outside (during winter time) I planned on cutting vents into every door in the basement to help lev el the heat and then hopefully (as heat does) it'll rise. Are there any concerns with running 2kw lights while exhausting onto the same level?

The reason i'd go for the dimmable ballasts is because this garden would just be for me and any immediate family who decide to get medical cards so the total yield doesn't need to be maximized but hopefully the quality would. With that being said if i don't have the space for a proper veg room and am making do with the smaller 2x3space then it'd be nice to start the plants up under 600w using the same ballast and bulb.

ptk said:

My basement is nearly always 50 degree or cooler during the winter and at most 60 during the summer time. The entire square footage of the basement is 1380. As i'll have no exhaust directly outside (during winter time) I planned on cutting vents into every door in the basement to help lev el the heat and then hopefully (as heat does) it'll rise. Are there any concerns with running 2kw lights while exhausting onto the same level?

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Yes, you should be very concerned with humidity if you're recycling the same air all the time especially in the spring and summer. A kick-ass dehumidifier is absolutely necessary. You definitely don't want your basement to be at like 90% humidity all year round, that's just asking for trouble, both in your room and structurally. I'd also say that it'd be a wise plan at least one total air change in your basement's airmass every day to keep things fresh and (if your basement's pretty tightly sealed) to keep the co2 levels up. Then there's the other question of if it'd actually work or not - difficult to answer. Depends on the air-tightness of the basement, insulation, total volume, all kinds of crap.

The reason i'd go for the dimmable ballasts is because this garden would just be for me and any immediate family who decide to get medical cards so the total yield doesn't need to be maximized but hopefully the quality would. With that being said if i don't have the space for a proper veg room and am making do with the smaller 2x3space then it'd be nice to start the plants up under 600w usinga the same ballast and bulb.

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Makes sense to me.

i wouldnt use the magnums i like radiant 6'' perfect for a 4x4 area and more efficent on air cooling. i would run a pair of raidents conected to a 8'' fan and carbon filter to a thermostat. HAve a passive intake. Intske from out side and vent outside. Run at night cooler air temps and some electric companys give discounts for not running at peak hours.

I think you should try soil. Alot of my friends are runing it and haveing great results. Fox farm ocean forest with fox farm nutes. Soil is a lot more forgiving and less mantnice than hydro and is easyer to do a perputial harvest.

lowerarchy-

i'll add a dehumidifier onto that list for sure.
How would you go about regulating how much fresh air is brought into the basement?

AdamBlack760 said:

i wouldnt use the magnums i like radiant 6'' perfect for a 4x4 area and more efficent on air cooling. i would run a pair of raidents conected to a 8'' fan and carbon filter to a thermostat. HAve a passive intake. Intske from out side and vent outside. Run at night cooler air temps and some electric companys give discounts for not running at peak hours.

I think you should try soil. Alot of my friends are runing it and haveing great results. Fox farm ocean forest with fox farm nutes. Soil is a lot more forgiving and less mantnice than hydro and is easyer to do a perputial harvest.

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Thanks for the input on the reflector. They seemed like pretty good reflectors as far as having a good footprint but i will have to check into those radiants because having two 4x4s making a 4x8 would be perfect. I can certainly do a 8" intake system as well. I was considering running from 10pm to 10 am leaving me plenty of time to work when the lights are on.

As for soil i've also seem some monster plants. I really liked the movability of 2gal containers and having a resivoir but in the next year i could easily swing that way.

all those over sized reflectors are for 5x5 area and 1k hps is suited for a 4x4 so you would just be decreseing the intency of the light. I like runing 8 inch fans sence its a huge incress in cfm to the 6in. I dont like the 8in hoods beacuse thay accualy loose more light out the air ports then the 6 in. I would only bump up to 8 in hoods if your running three or more in a series.

sorry about the spelling just got back from lunch

I prefer Cooltubes as they allow for easy adjust-ability and have a better more streamline air path for air cooling multiple lights with one fan. Cooltube is essentially a clear piece of 6 inch ducting with a reflector the only thing to restrict air flow is the light it self. All other air cooled hoods are box type design with two wholes which causes the air to swirl inside the light before exiting. Air cooled hoods also consequently abstruct airflow and reduce CFM more. I love my cooltubes and would not trade them for anything. Removable reflectors and adjustable wings allow for any setup even vertical grows etc.

Best of Luck
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/384835-swiftgrow-journal.html

ptk said:

lowerarchy-

i'll add a dehumidifier onto that list for sure.
How would you go about regulating how much fresh air is brought into the basement?

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Ideal situation: punch a hole for ductwork. 6" can fan on the intake. Punch another hole for your outlet, hopefully located some distance away from the inlet. Filter and 6" fan hooked up to that. Fan motor speed controller on the inlet fan, turned down about 30%, and your room runs at negative pressure meaning basement air leaks in and not smelly grow-room air leaks out, which is probably pretty important even if you're legal.

The other option is to use the same air but you need to have an outlet, if not to the outside then maybe into your living area and let the negative pressure suck cooler air in from cracks and crevices in the basement. Honestly, it's a crapshoot if this would work, but if you absolutely can't put holes anywhere (consider everything for outlets - unused furnace stack, dryer vent, window shrouded in bushes, etc..) it's your only choice. It'd just suck to get it all set up and find that it won't work, so if you do go this route, build that before you get anything else and test it for a few weeks.

youll find out there will be a lot of adjustments ,me id start small at first and change as plants need it ,just my 2cents

I still have the very first closet equipment somewhere around here.

I own the house so if i felt like punching 6 inch holes for intake and exhaust (which i probably will) i can. Right now i am thinking of doing a 2x2 room with a 400w mh light for 2 mothers then put them above some fluros for the clones. Then in the 4x8 room ill have the two 1kw lights in their own respective 4x4 plots with 6 plants in each plot giving them good space.

As i've done with tomatos i'd like to use cages to trim and tie my plants accordingly.

Both of these rooms would be constructed within a 6x8 room and then use the 2x3 room nearby for storage plus the resivoir. The 2x3 room ceeling is on a slant (as stair cases are built above it form outside the room) so it really won't do as a mother + clone room.

I can then vent the 400w mh to the 2 1kw hps lights. (ill consider cooltubes) with a 450cfm fan. Maybe throw a 200+ cfm fan on the intake eventually with a hepa filter on there for mold concerns.

The room with the 2kw will be strictly a flowering room. All vegging will be done under fluros and i can always run the 1kws at 600 for the first week if the plants can't handle the intensity right away.