New Guy Needs Advice

[Disco Duck]

Ok. I got everything on my list to add a second 4" fan as an exhaust fan and hook the chiller up to the Rainforest. The very first thing I try to do, I am stuck on.

I got 2 fittings to put into the Rainforst to run the two 1/2" tubes into and out of the chiller. They are 1/2" fittings to match the 1/2" tubes. The guy at the store told me to drill 5/8" holes to put the rubber washers in, then slide the fitting through the installed rubber washer.

The problem is that the 5/8th hole isn't anywhere close to being big enough to fit the rubber washer into. I've tried for over an hour, even using vaseline, and there is just now way. The hole is WAY too small.

Did the guy at the store tell me the wrong thing? Do I actually need a 3/4" hole to fit a 1/2" fitting into? I don't see how this rubber washer could ever be made to fit into a 5/8 hole.

 

[TrichromeFan]

Duck,
I don't know what kind of fitting that you have, but I would experiment on a bucket or something cheap, to get the hole size down.

 

[Disco Duck]

Ok... after 3 months of buying, building, testing, and waiting for more money to keep going, it is finally complete. Hopefully this thread will be helpful to others trying to set up a grow area in an apartment or other small area. My first advice, after having completed my setup, is to just plan on using a tent right from the beginning. I wound up wasting about $300 in all this, and almost all of that was in trying to use a closet. So my #1 advice would be to just plan on using a tent from the beginning if you are in apartment or similar siutation.

Pictures of the original setup are at the beginning of this thread. That setup was running at 90-91 degrees with the light on, which was too hot. I have now added a second can fan and a chiller. Air inside the tent is now 85-86 degress. All of this testing has been done at the hottest point of the day, during a 90-96 degree heat wave... so 85-86 is the hottest the tent will ever get. This is without any water or plants in the Rainforest and I am told that with water and plants in it I can expect temps to drop another 4-5 degrees... which will put me at 81-83 when it is nearly 100 outside. This is fine, and should drop to about a perfect temp for most of the year when it is not 90+ outside... so I won't need AC (technically I have AC, the central AC in my aparmtment is set to 78).

Here is the new setup...

 

[Disco Duck]

The fan you see in the tent is not the same one from the earlier pictures, that is the new 4" fan. Before I had one fan both filtering/exhaust and cooling the light. The problem was after an hour or two the air heated to 90-91 and that hot air was not actually cooling the light much anymore. So now you can see the independant exhaust on the roof. A Can 33 filter, a 4"-6" reducer, and the fan. I would have done it this way even if I were doing it over... the Can 33 filter weighs much less than any other I could find and that is a big issue with a tent.

On the bottom half picutre you can see the tubes coming out of the Rainforest and going out of the tent through one of the 2 intake ducts I made. The tubes go to a 1/10HP ActiveAqua chiller. There is a 160GPH pump inside a filter bag in the resiviour to circulate the water through the chiller.

 

[Disco Duck]

These pictures show the original 6" fan now mounted outside the tent on a step ladder I bought that makes a perfect fan mount. With my reinforced tent I could handly the weight of this fan inside the tent, but there was no way to make enough room for the light to raise all the way to the roof. So I bought the stool and put this fan outside the tent. There is only about 70lbs hanging from the tent roof, and it could handlt about 100with my 2x2's adding extra support.

The other picture shows my solution to an unanticipated problem that came up while installing the chiller. There was no way of running the plug from the pump out of the Rainforest. I had to drill a 1" hole to run the plug through. The thick grey tube shown coming out the back is pipe insulation that barely squeezes through that hole preventing light from getting into the res.

 

[Disco Duck]

If any experience growers see anything wrong with my setup, please let me know. I think I am ready for plants now...

If any fellow newbs have an questions just ask me. Here is what this cost me all together, and a list of all the major components I needed...

DR120 Tent & 4 6'8" 2x2 - $230

600w Hortilux Super HPS and Reflector - $220

Lumatek 600w Ballast - $225

25' 6" ducting - $20

6" Can Fan (cools light) - $120

Step ladder used as external fan mount - $20

Timer for light & 6" fan - $15

2 clip-on fans - $40



4" Can Fan (exhaust) - $105

Can 33 and 6" flange & 6' - 4' duct reducer - $125

8' 4" ducting - $8

2 4" flexible metal elbow ducts with AC filters (dual intakes, chiller tubing runs through one) - $16



Rainforest $260

ActiveAqua 1/10HP Chiller - $305

ActiveAqua 160GPH Pump - $20

20' 1/2 tube & 2 Gromet - $12




ECO396 Pump and 20 gallon resivior (for water changes) - $75

PH/PPM/Temp Meter - $160

Min/Max Thermometer - $20

2 surge protector power strips - $18

= $2016

Sales tax is a little over 8%, which is about $170

Add another $300 in little things like tools (I had very few) hangers, tape, string, clamps, and other misc items I needed to set this all up. I also wasted somewhere between $250-$300 on things I didn't need, but almost all of that was in trying to use a closet at first before just buying a tent.

So, not counting the money wasted towards the closet, it cost me about $2500 to have this all setup with acceptable temps in both the air and water with outdoor temps at 90-96 while testing (so I know it works no matter how hot it gets outside).

Whew... finally ready for plants:-)

 

[TrichromeFan]

Well, it's good to hear that you got your temps in order. Unfortunately the initial investment on this stuff is a bit pricey, but then again, good quality meds are too. :D

 

[Disco Duck]

I am hopefully going to be able to find some plants to put into it tomorrow. I discovered that the supermarkets here sell bottled RO water, so I bought 14 gallons of RO water today. Is there anything I need to put in the water other than the 3-Part GH I will be using? I thought I remembered reading that you need to add other things to RO water like calmag and hydrogen peroxide?

What, if anything, do I need to put in the water other than the basic nutrients?

 

[TrichromeFan]

Duck,
You do not need to add stuff right away to RO, in order to use it in your system. At first you just need to go easy on the strength of the nute solution. I would recommend looking into other peoples GH weekly feeding schedules, and starting out a little light from there. See how the plants respond, and then you can try a little more when you are comfortable. As far as other additives, you may want to look at the feeding schedules that you like,and see what they call for. I would expect some cal-mag, and some bloom boosters at the least. H202 is not a necessity either. I would start simple, and go from there.

 

[Disco Duck]

So should I just start with the GH schedule and learn from there? I've searched but I can't find other people's schedules. That says I should use 2.5ml per gallon of each part for seedlings. So I should maybe put a little less than that it and then see what the PPM is?

Someone already posted a general PPM at a given stage guide as a starting point earlier in the thread. So is the GH schedule and the earlier post a decent starting point?

I realize all strains are different so it's just experience and trial and error, I'm just looking for a decent starting point to not kill the first round of plants in the first week, haha.

Thanks for all the advice, Tri.

 

[TrichromeFan]

I would start with that. Just go a little light to start. Maybe around 500ppm to start.

 

[AmberMan]

Nice setup!

 

[Disco Duck]

Everything ran for about 5 hours yesterday in the first full test with water in the system. I was very suprised to find that just having water in the system lowered the temp by about 3 degrees. Temps in the tent fluctuated between 82-83 with 13 gallons of chilled water in the tent.

The other thing that suprised me was the power of the Vortex Sprayer in the Rainforest. I thought it just splashed water of the plate, but the pump is so shockingly powerful that it really does spray a fine mist of solution onto the roots. This caused a problem, the spray is so powerful water was leaking down the pipe insulation I used to close the hole for the pump plug. 2 zip ties closed the end and stopped the leak.

It ready for plants now. I would get them today, but I found a place that only sells clones. Nothing else, just clones. They guarentee all their clones are 2nd generation, direct from the mother. Since clones is all the do, I don't have a hard time beleiving that. So I want to get the clones from them, but they say they are getting some new strains on friday. So I will wait one day to see what they get on friday.

Of what they have now they were recommending Lamb's Bread as good for a first time grower. They said it is tolerant to wide ranges of temp and nutes, and highly resistant to bugs which would make it good for a first timer. I think Lamb's Bread is a sativa though, and I'd rather have plants that a naturally shorter and bushier in my small grow area. So I figured I'd wait and see what new ones they get on friday.

 

[TrichromeFan]

Sounds like you are all ready to go. Any luck on the clones? I would agree, about going with something more indica dominant.

 

[Disco Duck]

Finding the clones was harder than I thought it would be. Most dispensarys say they have clones, but then they will just have a few dying plants in a corner. Or they have a little area for them, but they only have them in soil. In a few weeks of looking I was never able to find a good place to get clones.

I wound up getting the Lamb's Breath, which is allegedly part Lamb's Bread and part Hog's Breath. I don't really believe in these names, they can call anything whatever they want, so who knows what it really is. These were the only reasonably healthy looking clones I could find anywhere.

They have been in my system for about 24 hours. When I first put them in 3 were drooped over after the ride home. They stood back up after about half a day. Some of the leaves are turning light green in patches. From looking around that seems to mean the nutes are too low. I am at 530 PPM. Should I be using the "Seedling" recipe or the "Mild Growth" recepie?

I need a light for taking pictures, I'll get some pictures up soon.

 

[Disco Duck]

Hmm... it's hard to get a good picture, I'll have to find that thread on taking pictures. But you can kind of see some of the leaves turning lighter green in patches on the leaves, and there are a few tips that are turning brown.

I've looked at the "sick plants" pictures but none of them look like this too me. My wild guess is either nutrient burn or a nitrogen deficiency... opposite things. Does anyone know what the problem is, or do I need to figure out how to get better pictures?

I am using GH nutes. PPM was 532 before the plants, up to 550 after 24 hours. PH has been at 5.9-6.0. I used the seedling forumla and am wondering if maybe I should be using the "Mild Growth" formula, but that would raise PPM.

 

[420king-MASSES]

The temps seem fine for this time of year. From everything I've read a lot of people are hotter than the 84-86 it will reach with my normal AC settings. A main goal of mine has been to not have the tent rely on the central air because it seems like that would cost a fortune. It is also freezing in here at 77 and I don't really want it that low. I have done all the testing at 79 on central AC because that's what I've always had it at. It seems like I'll have really good temps and during all but the hottest months of the year (right now) so the AC doesn't seem worth it.

I am going to need a chiller for the res though. I'm certain the water will be to warm without it. So I have to wait until next week until I have money for a chiller for the water.

A Rainforest is kind of "fake aeroponics" as I see it. It doesn't spray a fine mist, it splashes water off of a plate. Probably not as effective as true aero, but a good compromise that eliminantes all the extra maintenance of true aero. It sounded like a good way to go, especially since 6 plants is exactly what I am allowed to grow.

i have personally rocked a rainforest 318 with no issues i have harevsted four purple hash plants no taller then 18-19 inches and pulled half an elbow dry also stick your hand in one of the holes when the vortex sprayer is going there is no splashing it is a fine fine mist stick your hand in for 30 seconds and it barely feels wet pull it out and your hand is soaked in the mist also i never had to run a water chiller to keep my water temps low if your room is a closet then a raijnforesat is a pretty good unit to have i found it very low maintenance top it off once a week clean res and sprayer every 2 weeks and just keep that schedule and you should never have problems also i find that the rainforest goes beyond just an aeroponic system it really incorporates 2 growing ideas one is dwc because the roots sit in oxgenated water also aeroponics because the roots are suspended between clay pellets and water are misted with atomized water/nutrient infused also if you decide you can also create bubbleponics by adding a few water rocks with air tubes and air-pump it really is a solid unit

 

[Disco Duck]

I've realized the same thing. The Rainforest really is awesome. It is actually a comination of DWC and Aeroponics. Like you said, the basic setup is a DWC system with the roots hanging into the solution. Then it adds the Vortex Sprayer to provide aeroponics to the roots above the solution. It seems like a truly supercharged means of delivering the nutrient solution.

I am really happy with the Rainforest. I had initially liked it because it held 6 plants (exactly what I can grow between me and my wife) and I had developed an interest in DWC. The Rainforest seemed like a better version of DWC, also splashing water off a plate above the waterline in a kind of "fake aeroponics". It wasn't until I actually turned the Vortex Sprayer on for the first time that I realized that it is like 10x more powerful than I had imagined and really does provide a true aeroponic mist above the waterline. It just seems totally awesome too me, even though I don't really know what I am doing:-)

One of the guys at the store I got it at said he likes them so much that when he went to build a larger system he decided to just chain 6 Rainforests together instead of using a more "normal" system.

 

[420king-MASSES]

ya i wish i could do that but i got the 06 model its a circle if i had the hexagon style i would be rockin those instead of 3 gallon buckets but on the same token i prefer the taste of hydroganics

 

[TrichromeFan]

They have been in my system for about 24 hours. When I first put them in 3 were drooped over after the ride home. They stood back up after about half a day. Some of the leaves are turning light green in patches. From looking around that seems to mean the nutes are too low. I am at 530 PPM. Should I be using the "Seedling" recipe or the "Mild Growth" recepie?

Duck,
Are you on the seedling recipe? I would leave the PPM's right there for a little while if you are. You certainly don't need more at this point. 530 is more than many people run at the clone transplant stage. You should also make up a light foliar feed that has a little N (typically 1/2 strength of your feed). That will help them along and get acclimated. They are fresh transplants, they will take some time to get oriented and grow well.