New Vert Tree Grow Setup Questions

[Scalpel3]

What's up THCFarmers? I've been lurking around for a while but this is my first post.

I will be starting a new med grow sometime next month and I am looking for advice on my set-up. I've spent a decent amount of time planning this out but I obviously have questions and I always except constructive criticism.

I have experience growing in coco so the short-term plan is to start out there, however, I plan to switch to some sort of DIY UC in the near future. In coco, I've done hand-water, ebb and flow, top-drip dtw, and most recently, I've been playing with Blumats. My last grow was with blumats and 3 gal. air pots with decent success.

The plan:

• Two - 10' x 14' x ? flip flower rooms
• 8kw vert bulbs in each room (2 - 1kw and 10 - 600w)
  
• AC - 5ton with dampers and supplemental mini split or just mini-splits
• CO2 - burner or injection
• 2 x 4 studded walls with mold resistant drywall and R-13 fiberglass insulation
• Orca film on walls and ceiling
• White epoxy on the floors
• Evolution RO1000 RO Filter
• Can150 Filters
• Plenty of oscillating fans
• yadda yadda

One to the questions:

1. Room height: I have a 40' x 40' space to play with that has 25'+ ceilings. What ceiling height does everyone recommend? Is there a point at which you will find diminishing returns?
   
2. AC: I've been debating AC setup for some time now. At first I planned to run one 36k btu mini-split per room; however, I have upped my wattage and now need to up my cooling. I am now thinking of copying gettogro with his cooling setup. I thing a 5-ton central split unit with motorized dampers and supplemental 36k btu multi-zone mini-split with 18k btu in each room to control lights off temps The other option is to use just mini-splits for the rooms. I could run two - 2ton mini-splits per room, but then I have to deal with 4 compressors vs. 2.
3. Due to my plant count, I plan to run 6 plants per room. I have attached a photo of one proposed plant arrangement. I saved a few different versions but I saved them as incompatible file type so I'll have to upload those later. In this version here, I would use 1kw lights for the center two, and then I would use 600w lights everywhere else. Not seen in this photo, I plan to run 600w lights in the corners as well. I am thinking 50" centers but I am open to suggestions. I have read stuff from Cap and JK about wasting lights running them on the outside, however, in this arrangement, each plant gets light from all 4 sides.
   
4. Preventative pest management: In the past, I handled any pest problems using the reaction method; see a problem and fix it. Now that I am dealing with low plant counts and longer veg times, I would like to do some regular preventative maintenance. I am looking for all suggestions. I plan to run SM-90 in the res to keep keep this clean in the roots but I am looking for other suggestions of preventative pest management.
5. Foliar Sprays: With larger plants, are foliar sprays recommended? If so, what do you recommend and at what frequency?
6. Blutmats and pot size: I used 3 gal air pots for my past few grows with one regular blutmat per pot. What do you recommend for pot size when growing trees/bushes? After rooting, I plan to veg for about 8 wks. I was thinking 8 gal air pots but should I go one size larger? If anyone has experience with blumats, how many blumats do you recommend for 8gal pots? 15 gal pots?
   
7. CO2: burner or bottle injection? Propane burner is cheaper to set up and propane is cheaper for me to obtain, however, it is an added risk and adds heat to the room.
   
8. Digital or magnetic with Growtronix (possibly): I know that digital vs. magnetic is an age old debate but I am considering the use of Growtronix for room control. I currently have a mixture of digital and magnetic ballasts but wondering what is recommended for the application.

That's all that I can think of right now. I'm sure I will be back with other questions. Thanks for the help.

 

[Capulator]

If you are running vert you don't really need more than 12' ceilings. That's a great layout you can hit 2# per plant average. Bottle injection for CO2 for less worry than you will already have doing this shit. For a tree it depends on your substrate but I can do a 6 footer in a 12 gallon tote easy. No root issues whatsoever.

Stop thinking and start building. If you think too much you won't get shit done.

 

[Drdre]

My suggestion is to do 60 inch centers I find that extra space helps managing thing a little easier. If your flip flopping your rooms run magnetic less problems with burning up ballast, if not flip flopping digital because draws less amps.
Big tubs=big root mASS. Just my thoughts.
Drdre

 

[Scalpel3]

Thanks for the quick responses.

Cap: I was leaning towards 12-14' ceilings so I'll keep the height right at 12'. As far as CO2, my mind says run bottles and my wallet says run burners. I'll stick with bottle injection for piece of mind. When I make the switch to DIY UC I'll run somewhere in the 20gal tote size with short height, large surface area, and large volume. As of now, I have to start with coco so I guess ill start in 15gal air pots and adjust accordingly. The build will start in a few weeks and I'll make a thread when I get started.

Dre: I originally planned for 60 centers but with the same wattage, that puts me right around 40w/sq. ft. With 50 centers, I'm above 50w/sq. ft. At this time, I really don't want to increase the wattage but eventually I plan to run some supplemental horizontal lighting. I'll have to think about the 60" centers as it does sound like a good idea.


Anyone else care to chime in on any of the other questions??