2 Grow Rooms or 1 Veg and 1 Flower?

[Anthem]

Luckily I live in Arizona where Humidity is not an issue. Ill likely have to run 1-2 humidifiers during Veg but then by the time they Flower they should be good.

Really? You couldnt put together a Grow Room for 4,000$?

I will be doing a complete breakdown for the cost of my operation before I start getting stuff so I will know my costs before I go into it

Luckily I have a 400$ Toshiba Portable AC unit for Temp Control. So that is one expense already handled.

I do not want to go over 2500$ for Lights. My "Plan" is 2-3 LED lights appropriate for covering the space I get.

See I am renting an apartment based on what I need to Grow... i am figuring all this out FIRST.. THEN i will apartment shop. That way my next place is ideal for Growing.

So like your AC is going to become a problem, if I am not mistaken you are the guy with the AC with a vent tube taped to the vent and going into the tent. Well that works for the tent but once you go to a 10' x 10' room those portables pose some problems like the air they discharge is going to attract some unwanted attention if you vent it outside. Secondly, enriching the grow room with CO2 would get expensive when a portion of the CO2 is going outside.
A 10' x 10' with 4 lights is going to need about 150000 BTU's of cooling. You might be away with say 12,000 but that is about the lowest I would go. So what size is the AC?

 

[FourPlants]

Is a Controller even necessary if you have Light Timers?

I dont really want to mess with Dimmable lights... I heard it was always best to run lights at 100% anyways.

Nothing is necessary outside of the basics... does it make your life easier? Perhaps...


Take it slow and enjoy the journey.

 

[XxHammer]

Ive done the math... The space I will need for 12 plants comes to roughly a 10x8 space.... 80sq ft.

Does this seem like sufficient space?

And Growing is legal in my state.. I am not worried about the exhaust from the AC unit...Yes you do remember correctly... I would get rid of that cover and just exhaust the bad air outside

CO2 is a topic I have not even touched yet... Can you explain this in a nutshell... I need something that will take away the CO2 produced by the plants?

The Toshiba Portable AC is ATLEAST 15k BTU, maybe closer to 20k.. Id have to check again. But it is a fucking beast. 400$ unit. It better be good lol. It even has some pretty good settings including built-in on/off timer

 

[XxHammer]

My very first step is just establishing the space needed for 12 plants, comfortably.

Then I will start looking at Lights and Light Configuration.

I have 2-3 months to plan this Grow Setup correctly.

 

[XxHammer]

Sorry for the triple post. I did check and the Toshiba is 12k BTU... I think it will work. I will have my regular home AC as well....

 

[Anthem]

Is a Controller even necessary if you have Light Timers?

I dont really want to mess with Dimmable lights... I heard it was always best to run lights at 100% anyways.

If you want to run just the basics and deal with the headaches and problems I totally understand. I am in no way shape or form trying to tell you what to do. Once you start running more than a few plants you might find that having one place to go to view all of your grow needs is helpful.
Take for example timers, well they are usually only rated for 15 amps. 4 650 watt LED Fixtures are going to put you at 21 amps so now you have 2 timers, but those timers are a POS and they do not keep accurate time, so a few weeks into the grow one set of lights goes on and 5 minutes later the other set goes on. It is just about making the grow room as simple as possible but that also costs money.
If you want to run a sealed room the humidity in AZ has little to do with the grow room humidity. The plants create a lot of humidity once they are mature but they makes nothing when they are small so you also need a humidifier. The little 1 or 2 litre once will last about about 40 minutes in a 4 light room with 650 watts of LED. The list just grows, while you will hear people just make it basic that is true. But there comes a point when you will need more that what works for a 4' x 4' grow or a few plants.
Here is what I would recommend for equipment and I will leave the controller out
110 quart Dehumid miminum
300 dollar humidifier
Stand for the dehumidifier so you can have it drain to a larger tank because they only hold a small amount.
3 20 pound co2 tanks (one hooked up) one full ready and 1 for when you forget to get CO2
4 650 watt LED's
Grow Media and growing type. Hydro is going to be the easiest to run. Look at a green tree system, they are simple and easy to run
RO system (300 bucks)
Resiviors and pumps.
CO2 is used by the plant during photothenisis, with higher PPMs of CO2 available the leaves can produce more photothenisis and the plnats grow faster and larger.
If you are really planning on sticking with just 12 plants I doubt you will need all of this.

 

[FourPlants]

So like your AC is going to become a problem, if I am not mistaken you are the guy with the AC with a vent tube taped to the vent and going into the tent. Well that works for the tent but once you go to a 10' x 10' room those portables pose some problems like the air they discharge is going to attract some unwanted attention if you vent it outside. Secondly, enriching the grow room with CO2 would get expensive when a portion of the CO2 is going outside.
A 10' x 10' with 4 lights is going to need about 150000 BTU's of cooling. You might be away with say 12,000 but that is about the lowest I would go. So what size is the AC?

I hate to hijack, I really do. You seem well versed in a few aspects of design and I would love to ask you some questions regarding cooling in my space before I made a mistake. I think I have figured out but would love someone else's opinion with more experience then me. Can I message you or ask you some questions in my intro thread?

 

[Anthem]

Sorry for the triple post. I did check and the Toshiba is 12k BTU... I think it will work. I will have my regular home AC as well....

Make sure it is cooling BTU's. The portables have a nasty habit of double report, one for heat and another for cooling. I has that happen

 

[Anthem]

I hate to hijack, I really do. You seem well versed in a few aspects of design and I would love to ask you some questions regarding cooling in my space before I made a mistake. I think I have figured out but would love someone else's opinion with more experience then me. Can I message you or ask you some questions in my intro thread?

Ask away

 

[FourPlants]

Ask away

So I will be in a 5x5x8 tent inside of my 19x19x10 attached garage in VA. I have the single 680 LED. I have my HVAC and hot water heater in my garage but it is not climate controlled. My plan is to put a 15k BTU window unit as I would like to stay 115V. Oil heater in the winter. Do you see this being an issue?

 

[Anthem]

So I will be in a 5x5x8 tent inside of my 19x19x10 attached garage in VA. I have the single 680 LED. I have my HVAC and hot water heater in my garage but it is not climate controlled. My plan is to put a 15k BTU window unit as I would like to stay 115V. Oil heater in the winter. Do you see this being an issue?

I would probably not do that because of a few things. First being garages are not typically insulated, Secondly, the heater and water heater are going to throw the whole equation all over the place based on when and how often they are used. What I would do is this, I would get like a 6" or ideally an 8" fan and charcoal filter set up to exhaust out the garage. Next I would buy a POS tent, say a vizosun and I would get a 5000 btu window unit and cut a whole into the POS tent for the window AC unit. You will have to fashion some sort of a mount for the unit and just duct tape around the unit to seal it up. you want the unit up off the ground so that when it drains the water from cooling the air you have a way of holding it and it is not running all over your garage. Run a couple of vent tubes between the grow tent and the POS tent down low ( you will be using static movement for these ducts so the total area needs to be about 2 1/2 times the forces exhaust size) Next run like a 4" fan with a charcoal filter from the grow tent into the POS tent. Make sure an get fans that have speed controllers onboard, this will be how you fine tune your setup.

 

[FourPlants]

I would probably not do that because of a few things. First being garages are not typically insulated, Secondly, the heater and water heater are going to throw the whole equation all over the place based on when and how often they are used. What I would do is this, I would get like a 6" or ideally an 8" fan and charcoal filter set up to exhaust out the garage. Next I would buy a POS tent, say a vizosun and I would get a 5000 btu window unit and cut a whole into the POS tent for the window AC unit. You will have to fashion some sort of a mount for the unit and just duct tape around the unit to seal it up. you want the unit up off the ground so that when it drains the water from cooling the air you have a way of holding it and it is not running all over your garage. Run a couple of vent tubes between the grow tent and the POS tent down low ( you will be using static movement for these ducts so the total area needs to be about 2 1/2 times the forces exhaust size) Next run like a 4" fan with a charcoal filter from the grow tent into the POS tent. Make sure an get fans that have speed controllers onboard, this will be how you fine tune your setup.

That was my other thought was a lung tent but then I was worried I would go down the CO2 route... ugh

My walls and attic are insulated but I'm still worried about concrete slab and garage door sucking it out.

 

[Anthem]

That was my other thought was a lung tent but then I was worried I would go down the CO2 route... ugh

What do you mean by CO2 route? If you do this you will not loose CO2 like a portable AC unit. the portables have 2 ducts. one for cool air and a second for hot air, they kind of suck because on top of that they also have a device onboard to vaporize the water that the condensate collects. CO2 does not leak out like some people think, it is actually heavier than air so it will sink to the floor. If you want to run CO2 there is tubing what you can attach to the frame of your tent with zip ties that has laser cut holes like every 6" to create a shower affect. In all honest, if you seal up the set up I outlined with a 5' x 5' x 8' tent and say a 3' x 3' x 80" tent I think you will get at least 1 month out of a 20 pound bottle and I would not be surprised if you got 2 months out of one.

 

[XxHammer]

So back to one of my original questions..

8x10 room... Does this seem good size for 12 plants? (Well 12max) ... 80 sqft

Ill need to look into this CO2 stuff... I am running a 3x3 tent right now and have not even heard or discussed CO2... Does it not really come into play with Tents as much?

Do the plants Produce CO2 or consume?

 

[FourPlants]

What do you mean by CO2 route? If you do this you will not loose CO2 like a portable AC unit. the portables have 2 ducts. one for cool air and a second for hot air, they kind of suck because on top of that they also have a device onboard to vaporize the water that the condensate collects. CO2 does not leak out like some people think, it is actually heavier than air so it will sink to the floor. If you want to run CO2 there is tubing what you can attach to the frame of your tent with zip ties that has laser cut holes like every 6" to create a shower affect. In all honest, if you seal up the set up I outlined with a 5' x 5' x 8' tent and say a 3' x 3' x 80" tent I think you will get at least 1 month out of a 20 pound bottle and I would not be surprised if you got 2 months out of one.

That route... the I want to play god and fine tune everything route because that is what the nerd in me always wants to do. Next thing you know I'm a gear slut lol

My wife already had this look on her face when I had showed her 2x4 tents online and she comes home to this 8ft wall of 5x5 tent when she walks into the garage lol

I may have not told her I had bought it before I actually set it up hahahaha

I got to play it cool for awhile.

I can only grow four plants at a time here anyways.

 

[Anthem]

So back to one of my original questions..

8x10 room... Does this seem good size for 12 plants? (Well 12max) ... 80 sqft

Ill need to look into this CO2 stuff... I am running a 3x3 tent right now and have not even heard or discussed CO2... Does it not really come into play with Tents as much?

Do the plants Produce CO2 or consume?

12 plants can be fit into a 4' x 8' x 8' tent or a 5' x 9' tent. so you would only need 2 lights for that set up. If you want to have mothers and plants in veg 2 4' x 4' or 2 5' x 5' tents would work. I would recommend the gorilla grow tents because of the overall quality and they are a true 7' 11" tall so height would not become an issue.

 

[XxHammer]

12 plants can be fit into a 4' x 8' x 8' tent or a 5' x 9' tent. so you would only need 2 lights for that set up. If you want to have mothers and plants in veg 2 4' x 4' or 2 5' x 5' tents would work. I would recommend the gorilla grow tents because of the overall quality and they are a true 7' 11" tall so height would not become an issue.

I am going to keep my 3x3 Tent for Seedlings and Clones and maybe a Mother plant or whatever... I still have the 315W CMH.. Its been a solid light so far.

5x9 tent just doesnt seem big enough for 12 plants comfortably... And why spend the money on a tent when I can dedicate an entire room?

Im not trying to be a dick. Im trying to understand why I would spend another 400-500$ on a nice tent when I dont SEEM like I need a tent. I have the entire room at my disposal and if I cant find a room that works, I could modify the room by dropping tarps or something, no?

 

[XxHammer]

I know that 4 plants in a 3x3x8 is too much. For me. Leaves me no room to work and I do not want that issue again.

I can always use plastic sheeting or something to partition or section off part of the bedroom if you think using an 8x10 space would be silly.

 

[Anthem]

I am going to keep my 3x3 Tent for Seedlings and Clones and maybe a Mother plant or whatever... I still have the 315W CMH.. Its been a solid light so far.

5x9 tent just doesnt seem big enough for 12 plants comfortably... And why spend the money on a tent when I can dedicate an entire room?

Im not trying to be a dick. Im trying to understand why I would spend another 400-500$ on a nice tent when I dont SEEM like I need a tent. I have the entire room at my disposal and if I cant find a room that works, I could modify the room by dropping tarps or something, no?

You can fit 18 plants in a 5' x 9' all day long and get really good results. The tent has some trade offs, #1. You do not have to worry about light leaks. #2. you can use the room itself as a lung room. #3. if you want to run CO2 you can just close the windows and doors and you have a sealed room with a tent inside. #4. the tent will cut down on smell. Just because it is legal in your state does not mean the owner or developer of the apartment complex wants his apartment complex smelling like weed.

 

[FourPlants]

You can fit 18 plants in a 5' x 9' all day long and get really good results. The tent has some trade offs, #1. You do not have to worry about light leaks. #2. you can use the room itself as a lung room. #3. if you want to run CO2 you can just close the windows and doors and you have a sealed room with a tent inside. #4. the tent will cut down on smell. Just because it is legal in your state does not mean the owner or developer of the apartment complex wants his apartment complex smelling like weed.

Outside of the property owners, you don't want someone smelling your harvest and breaking in and taking it and your equipment. Carbon filters are cheap security in the long run.