The Octagon

sk3tch3

Well-Known Member
is it better to have a rotating garden like in a omega? and why. what are the advantages, if any, of the rotation or "orbitropism". if it is worth the effort, i have ideas on how to make your octagon/colesium spin!
 

fdd2blk

Well-Known Member
spin it. why not. lay it down and spin it. that's what i really what. omega, omega, omega......

you spin me right round baby right round
like a record baby.......
 

HarmoniousFlow

Active Member
yes! the rotating sideways garden is the best.
think of it this way... phototropism the plant grows towards light, there are hormones that go to the shaded side to make it grow faster, which is why it bends towards the light.
gravitropism where it grows up is the same thing, such as scrog, the plant is trying to grow up and towards the light at the same time, more hormones.
the plants moving around the light lean and move all over the place which hormones are everywhere and the plant is leaning this way getting light here then leaning the other way getting light on the other side, just like a light mover only the light is always right there.
 

sk3tch3

Well-Known Member
so the increased hormone levels resulting from the constant movement should be worth it, like for people who root then flower skipping veg all together? effecient i'd say. im glad those smart kids that i used to copy off of in science amounted to something beneficial for me, and man kind too i guess! any way i have an old fan that i will take apart and fasion a belt to. build a carasel (spl?) im assuming lower speeds, like 6 rpm's? wow this is great. looking at omega gardens and drooling on my monitor gets old. being the diy type im glad to see where there is a will there is a way along with idea sharing, this shouldnt be that hard. care to update us on the trial version you got going on?
 

HarmoniousFlow

Active Member
problems i have ran into so far:
1. mites.. off the bat the clones were very mildly infected with spider mites... usually i dip the clone when i take it in a neem/pyrethrum/soap mixture then dip again at transplanting when it has roots then spray neem every few days all in veg.. always disease/pest free.. this time i was busy and LAZY so did nothing til about second week of bloom where i trimmed some infected leaves off.. then did the dip... then week 3 set off a bomb and 4-5 days later another bomb even though not a trace, anyways this of course killed some pistils, and im sure stressed the plants. not drastic but i learned my lesson and have since returned to dips/spraying and am 100% bug free in all veg once again!
2. early starting... some of the clones had only like 1" of root. also some were yellow and stunted basically... the joes were iron deficient which also stunted a few that were crippled by it.. the next run, which clones have already been taken for, will be vegged and roots established, then they will be all topped, 5-6 nodes actually for clones for the next run, then recover for 3-4 days THEN thrown into bloom!
3. of course the OG kush stretches everywhere, strain is important vertically, and all one uniform strain is also better than mixed varieties.
4. pump failure... this one due to human failure of course, once i unplugged the pump for some reason, maybe mixing the res?, anyways forgot to plug it in, til next day most wilted a few beyond repair, also most the roots which were growing along the bottom of the channel/in the stream of course did not make it. another time the float valve fell over (built into the pump) which stopped it for hours?? no noticible results...

first pic is a joe, which i should add rooted like beasts so therefore 21 (one row) was vegged for 4 days or so before the others... definately noticed a difference in size and growth..



and the lovely OG kush... need bushmaster for this one...

mmmmm...
 

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sk3tch3

Well-Known Member
Harmoniousflow:
lookin good, advancements in growing knowledge and technology. not only are you going above and beyond, you are sharing your knowledge and experiences with us all and it is greatly appreciated. thank you sir.

p.s. does your name refer to you being an emcee? just wondering
 

HarmoniousFlow

Active Member
thanks for all the very nice things you guys had to say!!

here is a reference picture from day 1 so you can see how small the clones were...


so the plans... well
PARTS from hardware store mostly
(8) - 10' black inside/white outside 4" sewer drain
(24) - 45` degree angled 4" fittings
(1) - can polystyrene glue, not the same as PVC or ABS (the black sewer drain) make sure u get the right glue for your plastic.
(2) - caps 4"
(8) - 4" T's
1/2 inch poly black hose
1/4 inch poly black hose
(~100) - 1/4" T
(16) - 1/4" connectors
(84) - 3" netcups (hydro store)
1 - 1800+ gallon per hour submersible pump
(1) cheap 15 minute interval timer
some 1/2" T's

all in all i spent less than $1,000 counting cooltube, ballasts, light, pump, everything.. try $2,500 for the comparable retail (without lights/ballasts i should add!)

really everything is changeable to whatever suits your desires!
let i break it down for you mons
i decided on 5' for the diameter which -6" for the cooltube = 2 1/4 feet available for plants between plant site and light which i figured the plants would grow inwards up to a foot, leaving a foot of clearance and the 1000w could penetrate a foot... the went upwards so it could actually be shrunken down... maybe i'll try 4' next time.

unfortunately for the listener im pretty well medicated over here.. so dont mind my rambling.

so now circumference of this puppy C = pi x diameter.. so like 15 sq.ft. x 6' high = 90 sq.ft. (all in 25 sq.ft. of floor space!)
4' diameter octagon would be like 12 x 6 = 72 sq.ft.
lets stop here and wonder... 4' diameter octa, 1.75' (21") between bulb and plantsite = 14,551 lumens for 1000w, 600w = 9,562 x 72 sq.ft. = 1047672-1000w, 688464-600w
hmm ok 5' diameter octa, 2.25' (27") space = 8,803 lumens 1000w, 5,785 lumens 600w. x 90 sq.ft. = 792,270 for 1000w, 520650 for 600w. i think imma go 4' next time..

so moving along.. diameter x .4142 = the side so 5' x .4142 = 2.07 feet
if you are making a 5' diameter you want 2' sections all the same... break out the saw.. a finer blade will save you de-burring time! 1.67 foot sides for a 4' diameter octagon.. keep in mind this will give you 5' but on the inside diameter... if you are trying to squeeze this in a specific area subtract 8" (the diameter of two sides) then multiply times .4142
pictures would have been cool, i will take steps my next build!
so now i have 24- 2' sections of pipe... i measure the depth of the 45 degree fittings, then add 1.5" for the first mark, hard to explain but the mark is the exact center of the 3" netcup which makes it fit up against the fitting... i somehow formulated it to where there was 5" between which made the 3 different spots more towards one side so that i could alternate on each level the direction so the sites would be staggered. if you look in the picture you can notice this, well hopefully i explain it ok..
k so now 3" hole saw and saw away we go! then deburr everything... then its glue time i did this outside on the patio.. glued each level.

i should add next run im going to have them go all the way around. as well as cap the ends with bulkhead fittings for drain or ebb/flow possibilities (i want to fill/drain fast like a lung, soon as full drain soon as drained fill...)
this time however i glued the T's on the end...

picture of the T's.. this is my drain, which both of these legs are holding up the ends of the levels and both sitting directly in the rez... the caps are on the bottom and holes drilled.. oh yea there is uh 13" im guessing here of pipe that is between the T's setting the distance between levels..


so before i try to hang these... i ran 1/4" dripline around the octa and at every plant site i cut it and put in a 1/4" T for direct line to the plant!
while this is cool and i like it i still want to do the ebb/flow but im thinking of still feeding with the drips and doing it bio-bucket style! maybe fill with red lava rock.. anyways the top level i also ran 1/2" hose around which went to the pump (pump actually i split into 3 1/2" hoses)
anyways once i hooked it up to the pump, 84 1/4" openings = 21 2" openings so most of the water was flowing directly out the ones closest so i put a T in each elbow as well and ran this up to the top 1/2" feed line (had to have the 1/2" to keep good distributed pressure)
so with this 1/2HP pump it keeps streams i could spray you in the eye with on every site! i run this on a timer 15min on, 30 off, which i should probably change it back to 15 on/15 off but im a stoner!
if you are not thouroughly confused.. the pump comes on pumping into 3- 1/2" lines going to 3 spots with 1/2" T's on the 1/2" line on the top tier, every corner having 4 spots with 1/4" connector (male/male) running 1/4" lines to the appropriate level.. the end of the levels i used 1/4" 90' degree instead of T. this goes into the netcup i happen to have filled with hygromite then flows very fastly down the tube to the T's which splashes down in the res...
i should add i made 3 stands with 6' or so 2x4's and at the bottom another small 2x4 across and one so that it makes a 3 leg stand. i used plumbers pipe thing where you can drill it into the wood and wrap it around and adjust the height. this is probably confusing..
i should also add i made the sides (relative to the res/opening) 1/2" higher and the opposite side 1" higher to let the water flow well...

hope this helps so far and ill try to check back more often to answer any questions..
i am not an emcee but i thought the same thing i just am flowing through the universe trying to live in balance with life nature and our good friend cannabis.

and the plants facing in i thought about too but i wanted to have root room/water room and thought the plants would grow over towards the light, although a few of the OG's are leaning in a little from the weight!
 

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FilthyFletch

Mr I Can Do That For Half
Well since I cant get up close to an omega looks like Im going to have to just break down and buy 1 and fabricate after seeing it in motion. I just cant seem to figure the rotation setup.I had been given the suggestion of a used washing machine motor which for the drive will work but I cant seem to get a handle on how its rotationg ie by chain belt track??So I will post up later when I get the omega unit and have it on hand.Oh I will figure it out once on hand and I will boot leg it lol.Good thread here though Ill keep watching
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
I've looked at the omega garden myself and the one thing that always struck me is how much space your going to need to get two plants end to end, plus you want to have the plants to be moveable distance away from the lamp so you need a way for the outer ring to grow larger and further away from the lights
 
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