Nag's grow room from the start.

Greets,

I would like to build a decent low cost grow room (hydro Bato-Bucket) from scratch. I am a noob to growing, so I though it would be advantageous to post about what I have to work with and get thoughts and ideas as to what directions to take. First and foremost (the room):

Ok, I will be working with an unfinished basement room with the following dimensions (5'x8'x6.5' WxLxH) with a lockable door and small (2'x3' HxW) window. I have installed multiple electrical receptacles both in walls and ceiling. Water and drain are both accessible.

My first questions involve the finishing of the room.

1. I will obviously need to vent the room both for intake and outtake. what are my options (before finishing the room)?
2. How should I finish the room (insulate, drywall) (paint, tinfoil, mylar....)
3. Anything else I should be aware of at this stage of room development?

TIA.

Nag.

NagRuTan said:

Greets,

I would like to build a decent low cost grow room (hydro Bato-Bucket) from scratch. I am a noob to growing, so I though it would be advantageous to post about what I have to work with and get thoughts and ideas as to what directions to take. First and foremost (the room):

Ok, I will be working with an unfinished basement room with the following dimensions (5'x8'x6.5' WxLxH) with a lockable door and small (2'x3' HxW) window. I have installed multiple electrical receptacles both in walls and ceiling. Water and drain are both accessible.

Click to expand...

welcome to the forum and congrats for the planning you are doing. If you are in the States then that window could be the ingress, egress window in case of a fire. Do not cover it if it is. A Major source of busts. Your 'work area' should be by the window. You can cover it with a 'mini blind' for about $4.00 and on the outside all they would see is a light on in the basement. Panda plastic between your work area and hid lights.

My first questions involve the finishing of the room.

1. I will obviously need to vent the room both for intake and outtake. what are my options (before finishing the room)?

Click to expand...

Many, two that come to mind are, your furnace exhaust, or your sewer line. FAQ upper left hand corner of this page. Mogie has posted some excellent directions, she has included pictures. Check those out.

2. How should I finish the room (insulate, drywall) (paint, tinfoil, mylar....)

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What are the outside walls made of? Doesn't matter much. If they are poured walls or blocks you would attach furring strips to the outside walls and attach Styrofaom insulation to the furring strip. Use batts or rolls of insulation for inside walls and ceiling. Pay special attention to insulating the 'band board' (where the wood meets the concrete) and caulk that joint to stop air leaks. If it were me setting that room up, I would order a roll of Panda film. Its 100' long and 10' wide, about $85.00 at my hydro shop. Attach it all the way around the inside of the room, incuding the ceiling. Its not as good as the mylar for reflection by about 5%. It is cheaper, easier to work with and will stop the moisture from the room from causing you mold problems some where else. If you have someone to help you you could probaly staple it in place in about an hour.

3. Anything else I should be aware of at this stage of room development?

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There is one thing I wish I woulda thunk of when I set up the electric for my room. I would have put switches for the individual circuits where they would be accessible. I would want to be able to turn off the hid lights without entering the room and any pumps or fans as soon as I entered the room. Not necessary, it would have been smart. I would have bought wall mounted ocsillating fans, not floor stand or table models. They are better quality and not in the f.... way all the time. An 8" duct will carry four times the air of a 4" duct. Stop me any time here. An ro system is worth the investment. I think thats enough.
TIA.

Nag.

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Got any pictures, we like pictures. VV

yes. we like pictures. and chinchillas

Greets,

Thanx for the fast replies and info, here is some more info.

Older house pre 1930's with non egress window facing an 80 year old neighbor with no windows on the facing side of mine. Will be landscaping a convenient berm / bush combo to cover outside just for shits and giggles, also was thinking about 1 way film over all basement windows for uniformity then just covering grow room window (I'm thinking with the film on, it will still look like the other basement windows even though it's blocked). Any thoughts?

Venting: New furnace and central air have been installed with uber efficient hardware, so the exhaust vent is only 1.5" id pvc. I don't think this will allow enough air volume to pass. Sewer vent pipe looks like my only option as of now. As for air intake I was thinking of venting internal house climate for now with the option of same but with co2 injection later down the road.

Walls: Exterior wall is block, I will be finishing with vapor barrier, furring strips, slat, styro, then drywall (I have already sealed external wall with basement epoxy just to be safe). three other internal walls are standard pre finished structure walls which I will finish as normal wall (rolled inso and drywall)

Ceiling: Well we all know what basement ceilings look like, this will also be finished with roled inso and then drywalled.

Panda Plastic: Now is this the best route to go with unfinished drywall? Could I skip the panda plastic and just use some sort of paint?

Electrical: When I wired the room I wired 5 separate circuits controlled externally (mounted switches behind grow room where they are not visible) and 2 circuits room internal with switches internal. Bit of an overkill but I want to do this right the first time

Fans: Ceiling mounted oscillators.... God damned brilliant idea!! I will start scoping out the hardware store for these

Question: "An ro system is worth the investment." I have no clue as to what a ro system is, sorry

Any other suggestions? Any ideas would be great as I will not be back to the house for at least another 2 weeks, this should give me some time to feel out all of my options and everyones input. I will also take pics of the room stages that I have already completed when i get back out there.

Yes, I am in the states as well.

Thank you for all of the input and suggestions that have already started, this looks like the site to listen too.


Nag.

JohnnyPotSeed1969 said:

yes. we like pictures. and chinchillas

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Pics in the next few weeks, as for my chins (the stem / seed stealing little bastards that they are ) might as well fire off a few pics of them as well.


Nag.

by RO he means Reverse Osmosis for your water. i would definitely go with the panda plastic on the unfinished drywall to prevent any moisture, i.e. mold issues getting a foothold. when in flowering especially, you will be dealing with some humidity which could cause problems for you. better to be safe than sorry

as for your window film idea, i don't see why it wouldn't work.

it sounds as though you have thought this out very well. oh yeah, if you have pictures, that would be awesome because we like those around here

JohnnyPotSeed1969 said:

by RO he means Reverse Osmosis for your water. i would definitely go with the panda plastic on the unfinished drywall to prevent any moisture, i.e. mold issues getting a foothold. when in flowering especially, you will be dealing with some humidity which could cause problems for you. better to be safe than sorry

as for your window film idea, i don't see why it wouldn't work.

it sounds as though you have thought this out very well. oh yeah, if you have pictures, that would be awesome because we like those around here

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Greets,

Ok, panda plastic and a RO system for water. As for the ro system would something like this be sufficient?

WaterGeneral Manufacturing Co. Ro-585 (A 5 stage 85/gal per day system) info breakdown as shown:

1st stage: high capacity, 5 micron sediment filter, to remove sediment, rust, sand, (replace every 12 months)

2nd stage: high capacity carbon filter, coconut shell carbon block filter removes chlorine, taste & odor (replace every 12 months)

3rd stage: high capacity carbon filter, coconut shell carbon block filter further removing chlorine to ensure 100% removal of chlorine (replace every 12 months)

4th stage: TFC-75/TFM-75 Premium membrane we use genuine GE Osmonics Desal membrane, 75-85 gal/day, it removes 97% to 98% of all chemical, dissolved solids in tap water. (replace every 2-3 years)

5th stage: high capacity final stage inline carbon filter, granular activated carbon, to improve taste of water. (replace every 12 months)






Nag.

P.S. I think I might have scored a computer controlled co2 monitor / injection system from a lab reclamation warehouse a few towns over, I will be checking that out in the next few days as well.

yep, great job on the electric. The drywall wouldn't have to be installed at all, unless you wanted to finsh the room at some later time. Until you are sure about anything you may want to bury in the walls I wouldn't install it. The panda plastic would take the place of a vapor barrier at that point. The one way glass is an idea I have had for a while for my window.
Keep you journal going. Looking forward to you first pictures. VV

put a big PRICKLY bush in front of that damn window man. even with a blind it would prevent curious eyes from peering around because of all that orange light.

that RO system should be fine. you can actually purchase a fitting for a regular garden hose which you can use to hook up directly to the system. the advantages to this are obvious as those faucets that come with the system are notorious for their low output.

The output from the ro system is 2 1/4" lines, one is waste water and one is the ro water. the input to the system is a female hose connection. Because they are 1/4" lines I got some air pump valves and 1/4" line and ran water lines to my reservoirs. Don't have to haul water. The valves are about $5.00 at Meijers in the pet department and the air line is about $2.50 for 25'. This work especially nice when you change your reservoir water. Clean it out, put it back in place, turn on the water and let it run. Check it in a few hours depending on your RO SYstems output. VV

Greets,

Bad news for me folks, the old lady liked the way I had done the room and now has suggested that it be the laundry room. Alas I have to give in to this request. There is a bit of good news, I still have several rooms in the basement that are not finished (no power etc..) and have decided to use the only room in the basement that has no windows. The room is is a bit smaller but I think it should work out just fine (3'9"x7'5"x7'6" WxLxH). I just took some pics of the room this morn before heading out. tell me what you guys think.


Nag.

Greets,

Next set.


Nag.

Greets,

Last set. Sorry about the order.


Nag.

looks good man. sorry your lady ruined your first idea but hey, when it comes to doing this shit, its a WHOLE lot of trial and error. but that room looks good. you might of said it but how many plants do you want to have in there? IMO you could probly fit 9 plants in there. i dont think i would want anymore cause they will start to crowd each other to much. Also go with the panda plastic over mylar. i have mylar in my veg room and panda plastic in my flowering. yes you give up 5% of reflectivity but, mylar is hard to handle, super hard to clean, i used the 2 mm mylar and i ahd to put 3 sheets over my window to shut out light. The panda plastic is so much easier to work with, cut, staple up, clean and i think it looks more professional. theres just something about mylar that makes it look like you have ghetto tin foil

billybob88 said:

looks good man. sorry your lady ruined your first idea but hey, when it comes to doing this shit, its a WHOLE lot of trial and error. but that room looks good. you might of said it but how many plants do you want to have in there? IMO you could probly fit 9 plants in there. i dont think i would want anymore cause they will start to crowd each other to much. Also go with the panda plastic over mylar. i have mylar in my veg room and panda plastic in my flowering. yes you give up 5% of reflectivity but, mylar is hard to handle, super hard to clean, i used the 2 mm mylar and i ahd to put 3 sheets over my window to shut out light. The panda plastic is so much easier to work with, cut, staple up, clean and i think it looks more professional. theres just something about mylar that makes it look like you have ghetto tin foil

Click to expand...

Greets,

Yea, the old lady is good enough to let me play with this so I need to give a bit myself. The good thing is that I still have a box of romex, boxes, plugs, and switches to wire everything up nice again.
As for the number of plants I was thinking about 9 myself. Also about the panda plastic. I went to our local Hydro shop and was looking around for supplies and chatting it up with the owner. He showed me a plastic that is the same cost as panda but hides thermal signatures. It's black on one side and a reflective grayish color on the other (any thoughts on this). Now I'm off to see what I need to get for lighting


Nag.

Greets,

Lighting.....My thoughts on the lighting are leaning towards one of the 600W digital ballast that are dual capable. I was looking at something like this that I found on ebay:

600 watt Digital Electronic High Output Remote Ballast
LARGE FOUR SIDED HORIZONTAL REFLECTOR
600 watt HPS GROWBRIGHT High Output Horticultural bulb
600 watt AGROMAX METAL HALIDE High Output Enhanced Spectrum Horticultural Conversion bulb
PAIR of HI-LOW Reflector Hangers

Nag.

Greets,

Side lighting might also be an option as well. I have a buddy that just called and said he has a box of aprox 30-40 misc florescent grow tubes from a greenhouse that was auctioned off a few years back, apparently they have been sitting in a box in his garage and he said I could just come and get them. I will head out there in about 30 and see what he's got or if its even worth it.


Nag.

Greets,

Just got back from my buddies and here's what was given to me (I don't know if this stuff is worth using).

florescent bulbs 3 taped packs of 12 bulbs each

400 watt bulbs and ballasts 2ea of both. The bulb on the right looks burnt to me but when I check it with a vohm it has continuity so it might still be good? The bulbs have this stamped on them.

General Electric
86 R400
Multi-Vaper
mvr400/u
universal
burning position

Stats:
Brand:GE or VentureLight
Output:36,000 lumen's
Wattage:400
Hours:20,000
Bulb Shape:ED37/BT37Base:MogulDiameter (in):4.625Length (in):11.5
Finish:ClearColor Rendering Index (CRI):65Color
Temperature:4000KANSI
Ballast Type:M59

Might wire up a ballast real quick and test em.

Edit: Wired up a ballast real quick and fired off the one that looks like it was burnt (3rd pic) and the other bulb (4th pic) the pic's REALLY doesn't do them justice, as soon as I try and take a pic and the ccd in the cam damn near goes black (crazy bright). Now I'm not to sure how old these bulbs are and I'm still going to get a digi setup, any ideas for use of these lights?

Nag.

if i were you, which im not lol. i wouldnt get my light of ebay. who knows what condition its in, if the shit wont break on shipping(pretty fragile stuff), plus who knows how powerful the ballast and the bulb is. 600 watts for 9 plants is kinda cutting it close. generally a rule of thumb is 100 watts per plant to get some good results. since you have a hydro shop near you, go see if the guy has any used lights, they usually run way cheaper and usually are in good condition. if not ask the guy there and see what he can do for you. for 9 plants i would go with a 1000 watt hps. plus you never know what kinda warranty u get with some "knockoff" ballasts, reflector ect. i bought all my stuff at a hydro shop at got a 5 year warranty on everything. it may be a little bit more expensive but it will pay off in the long run. also that plastic the guy has at ur shop sounds badass. def go with that.