Best Design for Perpetual Grow?

nomofatum said:

Look at different buckets. I'm building a room out now as well. I'm using 24 square buckets in 32 sqft (4x8.) I could fit more if I wanted. I'm keeping a couple of dirt or individual DWC buckets so I can move plants out of the way just inside the door for working space.

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Alright I'm thinking I'll set up an experiment (once I'm ready of course) and I'll try a flood table with a bunch of net pots (basically an ebb and flow sog), and then a few buckets in a RDWC. Then I can see what each setup yields and how long it takes, and I'll be able to tell what will yield best for me. No way to know unless you try, right!

But you definitely think 1800w in a 4x10 space is best? What reflectors should I use?

SmerkedOut said:

Alright I'm thinking I'll set up an experiment (once I'm ready of course) and I'll try a flood table with a bunch of net pots (basically an ebb and flow sog), and then a few buckets in a RDWC. Then I can see what each setup yields and how long it takes, and I'll be able to tell what will yield best for me. No way to know unless you try, right!

But you definitely think 1800w in a 4x10 space is best? What reflectors should I use?

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Lol, come on why not try 2 kiddie pools and make it two huge DWC SOGs.

4x10 is 40 sqft. I target 7500lm/sqft for optimal lighting.
600w HPS = 90,000
600w MH = 70,000

3x HPS would be 270,000 lumens or 6750lm/sqft. You are actually still a bit low from optimal, and I would mix a MH in, so you may actually want to add more lights or bump one to 1000w.

I think I would go 3x 600w MH/HPS + 3x $30 shop lights/T8 florescent. 1 UVB bulb and 1 6500k/3000k per shop light. That way you have everything covered and can switch bulbs easily to get whatever you want in that space.

nomofatum said:

Lol, come on why not try 2 kiddie pools and make it two huge DWC SOGs.

4x10 is 40 sqft. I target 7500lm/sqft for optimal lighting.
600w HPS = 90,000
600w MH = 70,000

3x HPS would be 270,000 lumens or 6750lm/sqft. You are actually still a bit low from optimal, and I would mix a MH in, so you may actually want to add more lights or bump one to 1000w.

I think I would go 3x 600w MH/HPS + 3x $30 shop lights/T8 florescent. 1 UVB bulb and 1 6500k/3000k per shop light. That way you have everything covered and can switch bulbs easily to get whatever you want in that space.

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Yeah I don't wanna go much beyond 1800w, just because of how much electricity that is and it might start to look odd. So I'll probably go 3 600w HPS and some flourescents. What kind of hoods would you recommend? Yield Masers?

if u have not gotten the lighting yet

go LED ....u will have a lower power use and thermal footprint
http://www.ledzeal.com/p44.html

they are makers not retail suppliers .........the price they are asking for this light is much less then what they are asking from amazon or something like that ....the down side is the shipping takes awhile customs

justugh said:

if u have not gotten the lighting yet

go LED ....u will have a lower power use and thermal footprint
http://www.ledzeal.com/p44.html

they are makers not retail suppliers .........the price they are asking for this light is much less then what they are asking from amazon or something like that ....the down side is the shipping takes awhile customs

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maybe I'm stupid but I can't find any prices or ordering info on that site.

SmerkedOut said:

maybe I'm stupid but I can't find any prices or ordering info on that site.

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yah u need to contact them

allow all scripts ....this little contact thing comes down and fallows u as u look on the page talk to kevin ........your grow 2 900w would do u

the only drawl back is u need 2 controllers if u want to use one for veggie and one for flower .........otherwise u can dasiy chain it and will run off one controller

they asked me not to post what i got it for i yelled wahooo..........the lights work great for veggie i will confirm that i am flowering autos now with it and doing nicely ..........i love the UVmode and they have 12000k lights those are known to make great finishers

tell him what u want to do and ask for what they think (rem they work on Metric system so before u contact work out u figures in that) .....shockingly u will love the par rating 2 meters is 6 feet

900 is 500/550 really so 2 u would be a 1000/1100w that is under what u wanted

if u get we experiment with some lightwaves i done some work these lights allow u to get into the fine tuning of that

but this will remove the need of the cooltubes and hood system lowering power too still have to have a extraction system for it but now instead of dumping 110 degree hot air u might dump 80s upper 90s at the most this lowers the cost of your cooling in summer and makes hydro much more stable (ir heat is more controlled so less transfer to the water/roots)...........winter time this might remove the need for the water chiller but summer time u really should think about adding it in ........i had a great2nd dwc run going but the roots got cooked by the time i could recover it the buds were so fluffy and well it all went into bho and butter could not do anything else with it (horrible bho return 1 oz 2.7 grams)

justugh said:

900 is 500/550 really so 2 u would be a 1000/1100w that is under what u wanted

if u get we experiment with some lightwaves i done some work these lights allow u to get into the fine tuning of that

but this will remove the need of the cooltubes and hood system lowering power too still have to have a extraction system for it but now instead of dumping 110 degree hot air u might dump 80s upper 90s at the most this lowers the cost of your cooling in summer and makes hydro much more stable (ir heat is more controlled so less transfer to the water/roots)...........winter time this might remove the need for the water chiller but summer time u really should think about adding it in ........i had a great2nd dwc run going but the roots got cooked by the time i could recover it the buds were so fluffy and well it all went into bho and butter could not do anything else with it (horrible bho return 1 oz 2.7 grams)

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The only thing is I can get the whole HPS setup for like $700 (3 reflectors, 3 ballasts, 3 bulbs). If the LEDs are over $1000, I don't know if I can do it.

the bulbs are only good for 20000 hours most growers will toss them about 2/3 way tho as they get older the lumen lvls lower and the light alters

led is a investment ..........5.6 years running the way it is ....the energy cost is lower due to the drawl of power and the heat it makes less cooling needed....the control it offers me allows experiments to increase my skills and the fact it is all things grow/flower/uv/finisher it replaces all those bulb types...and the IR the lower that is the more stable the buckets/tubs with out need of a water chiller

justugh said:

the bulbs are only good for 20000 hours most growers will toss them about 2/3 way tho as they get older the lumen lvls lower and the light alters

led is a investment ..........5.6 years running the way it is ....the energy cost is lower due to the drawl of power and the heat it makes less cooling needed....the control it offers me allows experiments to increase my skills and the fact it is all things grow/flower/uv/finisher it replaces all those bulb types...and the IR the lower that is the more stable the buckets/tubs with out need of a water chiller

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Looking at the retail price on that light I don't think I could afford it. I'm seeing $1500 per light. Unless it's less than half that from the manufacturer, it's just too much money.

SmerkedOut said:

Looking at the retail price on that light I don't think I could afford it. I'm seeing $1500 per light. Unless it's less than half that from the manufacturer, it's just too much money.

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like i said those guys are the makers not retailers

it is why they asked me not to say what i got it for .........they will sell u one 2 lights i got 2 600w

talk to kevin
ask for a quote on 2 900w 2 wired controllers shipping to your zip code ....customs and all that will be listed out

really trust me i am not wasting your time .......kevin might sell u 2 600w instead talk with the guy he is cool he knows what we are doing he might as u for pics so they can use in reviews by owners quotes ....dude is cool he held my order for 30 days contacted me right on the mark to confirm it and send the request for payment ......and u can do it all tho paypal (with a 8% percent tax on it) or western union the money at a lower cost

i have back traced the ip and the info it all checked out they are hong kong based mainland as u see the lights are killer .....i own 2 600w 1 wired one wireless controller .....shipping time was horrible for me with the umbrella riots going on

LED is a horrible ripoff unless you do a DIY build. I would not consider them unless you want to DIY. Also they are getting more efficient too fast, they have matched the other options now, but with a much bigger price tag, give it 2-3 years and they will be more efficient then the other options and the price will drop. In 2 years you won't want to be running your 130lm/w leds when the new cheap ones are over 200lm/w.

Stick with the HPS/MH for the next few years. You will most likely be replacing it with LED then. Now LED are expensive and matching the best efficiency. Then I expect they will be beating everything easily and won't be nearly as over priced as now.

nomofatum said:

LED is a horrible ripoff unless you do a DIY build. I would not consider them unless you want to DIY. Also they are getting more efficient too fast, they have matched the other options now, but with a much bigger price tag, give it 2-3 years and they will be more efficient then the other options and the price will drop. In 2 years you won't want to be running your 130lm/w leds when the new cheap ones are over 200lm/w.

Stick with the HPS/MH for the next few years. You will most likely be replacing it with LED then. Now LED are expensive and matching the best efficiency. Then I expect they will be beating everything easily and won't be nearly as over priced as now.

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Okay so I'm gonna run 1800w (3x600w) in a 4x10 sealed "room" with CO2 added. What do you think are the best hoods to use in that space?