TuCannaSam
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Lights:Ambitious setup!
The one thing that really jumps out at me is the size of your RO system. 75 gallons a day. That means 3.125 gallons per hour, but only if you have ideal water pressure. Otherwise, it's even slower than that. How much water do you anticipate using per day? I have a 150 gpd RO system and it takes me 70 minutes @50psi water pressure to fill a 5 gallon bucket which I carry by hand to my 30 gallon reservoir. For every 5 gallons of RO, I send 10 gallons of water down the drain. If your water is metered, that's literally money down the drain. It's a time-intensive inefficient process. Instead of RO, I would consider a 2 or 3 stage filter system that is designed to remove chlorine/chlor-amine and reduce your PPM. At least this way, your filtration process is much faster and you're not sending half to 2/3 of the water down the drain.
Photontek Zeus 1000 Watt light is probably one of the better lights out there. However, I don't believe it's near enough light to adequately light 400 sq ft. Most growers in a non-CO2 environment are looking at providing a minimum of 30 watts per sq ft. Using 30 watts per sq ft, you would need 12 of those Zeus 1000 watts to fully light the space (400 sq ft x 30w per sq ft = 12000 watts). Remember, unlike HID lighting that casts it's light in 3d sphere, LED lights focus all their light straight down and will not adequately extend out the full 10 ft of each of your grow areas.
Your space will easily support your desire to produce 16-20 lbs every 3 - 4 months but I don't believe you have enough lighting planned in to accomplish it.
I had to clarify that the entire room is 20x20 with (4) 5x10’ stalls.Welcome to the farm - im in agreement with Gramps- not enuff light , is this a room in your house ? Where are you exhausting ? I don’t have a large room but I gotta believe humidity will be an issue?
Thanks very much @MIGrampaUSA for the input and your tips on RO, I haven’t gotten anything set up yet, and the RO system is still in the box, so HomeDepot can have it backI would definitely re-think the RO. Carbon filtered water with chlorine/chlor-amine removed is sufficient. Depending on your water quality starting out, under 100ppm is very attainable. A carbon filter system is cheaper to buy, doesn't waste water down the drain, and comes out filtered at essentially the same speed it goes in at. IMO opinion, RO is over-kill when all you need is a filtered water source. Especially considering their's a significant price difference between the 2.
With 1/2 the sq ft coverage puts you at 6000 watts minimum. The lights you left out + the Photontek exceeds that threshold ... your lighting should be good. As for greater production under the 1000 watt? Not necessarily. Your plants can only use so much light. You go over that and you are opening yourself up to light stress/light intensity burn. It's good to have more light than you need because it gives you options ... as long as you watch out for damage that too much light can produce.
Edit: How much time are you going to be able to invest in being hands on with your grow? The size of yours alone will make it pretty much a full time job all in it's own. If you have that kind of time, then go for it.
I think it would be a good idea to go back to what @Moshmen was saying about humidity. When you have 72 plants all transpiring and filling the room with humidity, your vivosun minis might not be up to the task. I use a large household dehumidifier in a 8 x 23 ft (184 sq ft) area. Of that, my flower areas are 75 sq ft combined between the 2. A typical run never exceeds 18 plants ... and I need every bit of my 1200 sq ft capacity dehumidifier during certain times of the year. One or two large dehumidifiers to keep the whole 400 sq ft area conditioned might be more cost efficient than those minis. It's harder to condition the air inside your grow space. It's much easier to control the whole space. You might also consider using a lung room to pre-treat your intake air before it's drawn into the grow areas.Thanks very much @MIGrampaUSA for the input and your tips on RO, I haven’t gotten anything set up yet, and the RO system is still in the box, so HomeDepot can have it back.
Yes I’ll be privy to not exceeding more wattage than I need - and I’ll save myself a few bucks on the electricity as well.
I work from a home office as it is, so I’ll have adequate time to crop tend. I’m excited
I use a lung room myself and pull over 3 gallons a day - more in full bloom and I’ve only got about 32 square feetI think it would be a good idea to go back to what @Moshmen was saying about humidity. When you have 72 plants all transpiring and filling the room with humidity, your vivosun minis might not be up to the task. I use a large household dehumidifier in a 8 x 23 ft (184 sq ft) area. Of that, my flower areas are 75 sq ft combined between the 2. A typical run never exceeds 18 plants ... and I need every bit of my 1200 sq ft capacity dehumidifier during certain times of the year. One or two large dehumidifiers to keep the whole 400 sq ft area conditioned might be more cost efficient than those minis. It's harder to condition the air inside your grow space. It's much easier to control the whole space. You might also consider using a lung room to pre-treat your intake air before it's drawn into the grow areas.
Thanks for the input, Our climate does seem to be shifting, last year we saw a heat wave of 40c+ that lasted nearly 3weeks - so I will pick up a bigger dehumidifier or two right away!I think it would be a good idea to go back to what @Moshmen was saying about humidity. When you have 72 plants all transpiring and filling the room with humidity, your vivosun minis might not be up to the task. I use a large household dehumidifier in a 8 x 23 ft (184 sq ft) area. Of that, my flower areas are 75 sq ft combined between the 2. A typical run never exceeds 18 plants ... and I need every bit of my 1200 sq ft capacity dehumidifier during certain times of the year. One or two large dehumidifiers to keep the whole 400 sq ft area conditioned might be more cost efficient than those minis. It's harder to condition the air inside your grow space. It's much easier to control the whole space. You might also consider using a lung room to pre-treat your intake air before it's drawn into the grow areas.
It wouldn't hurt to verify that you have enough electrical circuits to spread out the load. Now is the time to have any electrical upgrades done before you have to reach for the fire extinguishers ...Fire extinguishers. And spare tape and zap straps. Bungee cords.
Red Seal Electrician friend coming in to do the wiring for me in the next couple weeks. Once I’ve got everything roughed together I’ll take pics and get some further critique before I load the room. Thanks a bunch Gramps!It wouldn't hurt to verify that you have enough electrical circuits to spread out the load. Now is the time to have any electrical upgrades done before you have to reach for the fire extinguishers ...
Drain away trays - ad right here on the farm@visajoe1
•I’ll be running Advanced nutes - switched from Remo.
•I do a promix HPCC in my pots
• I’ve been adding a tsp of blackstrap per litre of water in flower for added sugars since getting the tip a couple years ago, haven’t noticed an issue so far.
•Runoff is still finicky in my planning, I had been just sucking it up with wet vac after letting it sit for a few minutes to ensure the root ball got a full saturation. Ideas?
Thanks for the tip! I’ll have a look for them!Drain away trays - ad right here on the farm
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