New setup advice needed

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Decided just to go with a 4 x 8 tent and run 6 bucks and keep my res and controller in the extra space. I'll run a 600w on a rail. Hood will be separately vented from the tent (run 2x6" can fans) because I like the control and I may use co2 at some point. I think I'm going to use a 1/10hp chiller placed outside the tent since the res and controller will be inside and may get warmer.

I'm having a hard time finding an 8ft tall 4x8 tent though (except the Gorilla tents with the extension). I want the extra headroom and I have 9ft ceilings. Plus, I'd like to raise my buckets 4" to 6" so I can have more juice in the controller
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
The lec runs cool, it's only 315 watt. the lamp operates at 350 F
The DE runs at 700 F.
So the DE runs cooler than standard HPS/MH lamps, or am I incorrect? I thought the conventional ones ran much hotter than that.
 

hellmutt bones

Well-Known Member
Dude ur wasting all this money and cutting up ur tent for such a small grow? Ur main concern is heat but i would do 2 400 w or 2 600w and do buckets dwc and ur gonna get about a pound. No pun intended.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
This dudes 4x8 setup looks really good and is close to what I was thinking

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/abandoned-journals/188649-danner-s-dwc-uc-white-widow-journal-2013-a.html

with the following differences...

I was thinking of running a single 600w on a rail. With the high CFL fan used exclusively for the hoods, would I be able to keep the temps under control and yield a significant amount more than the single?

I wanted to get a taller tent but it looks like he wasn't having issues with the tops being so close to the lights. Is this something I'd fight? If so, that'd be the reason I'd want a taller tent. I don't want to have the extra work.

He isn't running a chiller. I would imagine with the controller being inside the tent the juice would get warm. Am I correct in assuming this?

I live in the North West and I keep my house around 64 in the Winter. I imagine that's going to help with the temps. Just wondering how hard I'd have to push my central AC in the summer if I decide to grow during the warm season.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Dude ur wasting all this money and cutting up ur tent for such a small grow? Ur main concern is heat but i would do 2 400 w or 2 600w and do buckets dwc and ur gonna get about a pound. No pun intended.
You're probably right. I've done 6 or 7 grows in different homemade setups before and all did really good. But I remember all the work I did keeping up with the maintenance and I'm just looking to get everything as close to perfect before I go shopping. I don't mind the regular work of hydroponics, topping, pruning, etc...but what I am trying to plan for is having enough to make it through the summer if it becomes too challenging.

Plus, I like picking the minds of different growers and their own experiences :-)
 

dbkick

Well-Known Member
I'm telling you. Go with the sun systems lec. 315. You will not regret it. Get two and fuck the lightrail since you won't really need it. It's your choice. Good luck.
 

hellmutt bones

Well-Known Member
This dudes 4x8 setup looks really good and is close to what I was thinking

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/abandoned-journals/188649-danner-s-dwc-uc-white-widow-journal-2013-a.html

with the following differences...

I was thinking of running a single 600w on a rail. With the high CFL fan used exclusively for the hoods, would I be able to keep the temps under control and yield a significant amount more than the single?

I wanted to get a taller tent but it looks like he wasn't having issues with the tops being so close to the lights. Is this something I'd fight? If so, that'd be the reason I'd want a taller tent. I don't want to have the extra work.

He isn't running a chiller. I would imagine with the controller being inside the tent the juice would get warm. Am I correct in assuming this?

I live in the North West and I keep my house around 64 in the Winter. I imagine that's going to help with the temps. Just wondering how hard I'd have to push my central AC in the summer if I decide to grow during the warm season.
Use cool tubes and run ur scrubber through
 

dbkick

Well-Known Member
Decided just to go with a 4 x 8 tent and run 6 bucks and keep my res and controller in the extra space. I'll run a 600w on a rail. Hood will be separately vented from the tent (run 2x6" can fans) because I like the control and I may use co2 at some point. I think I'm going to use a 1/10hp chiller placed outside the tent since the res and controller will be inside and may get warmer.

I'm having a hard time finding an 8ft tall 4x8 tent though (except the Gorilla tents with the extension). I want the extra headroom and I have 9ft ceilings. Plus, I'd like to raise my buckets 4" to 6" so I can have more juice in the controller
8 foot? fuck get a sun systems luxor ( I have one for sale because I don't have 8 feet headroom) .
Some tents have 2 foot extensions that I suppose zip to the top. Hellraizer had a couple I think. wtf happened to him I dunno. haven't heard from him in ages.
 
Yeah db you're right, there's no way the CMH bulb was only outputting 1.9 umol/s total, it's apparently based in watts according to this discussion which is quite impressive indeed.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=6722685

That means the DE is only marginally more efficient per watt wise, ~5.56% according to their calculation.

The only extra costs incurred through using the CMH is increased bulb changes due to faster burnout time, a little more than twice as fast given 90% output at 8000 hrs run time for the CMH compared to 10,000 hrs run time to 95% output for the DE.

However, they would be quite nice if you're looking to keep the heat down due to lower wattage.

Also keep in mind though the operational temperature for the bulbs cited is the core temperature - i.e. at the center of the arc and surrounding gasses within the glass/quartz of the bulb. If the surrounding air was 700'F it would spontaneously combust. :shock: Ultimately the heat these things put out is pretty close to linear in terms of wattage output.

With the 600/750W DE bulbs, they put out ~2 umol/W so really it's down to how much you really want to grow. In 4x8 the heat for 2x600 should be manageable and definitely for the CMH but keep in mind doing one means you can't go back without buying another set of ballasts/reflectors/bulbs. Also by using air cooled hoods like the Thunder SunDyn (cheap ver. of AC/DE) you can mitigate a lot of the heat compared to non A/C hoods.

By the way, you might want to consider keeping your water chiller outside the tent so it doesn't heat up the insides of the tent unless you have really good airflow. Also consider getting a dehumidifier unless you live in a really dry place, again with good airflow. These plants put out a ton of humidity when they get big during flowering. Lost a harvest to mold once when it was raining for a few days straight.

Apparently if you source through Welthink (Chinese manuf. with a base in Virginia?) you can get a basic setup for ~215$ and more if you get a better reflector i.e. "Cycloptics". I went through a few pages over in ICMag and they have some interesting info. Not sure myself, just found it browsing that thread and thought you might find it useful. I'm still holding out for information and going to pull the trigger on a couple 600-1kW DE's myself.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=72215&page=458

By the way, if you want to build a flush to your roof tent, why not just screw some 2x2's together and wrap it in reflective material (plenty of different brand rolls out there, not sure which is best myself).
 
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Also, I found a list of compatible ballasts here - http://growershouse.com/blog/best-indoor-grow-light-test/ over in the comments section.

Based on the fact that the sealed Lumatek is just another high freq generic import I'm guessing most e-ballasts will run DE's, not 100% sure though.

So the DE runs cooler than standard HPS/MH lamps, or am I incorrect? I thought the conventional ones ran much hotter than that.
I believe the DE's actually need to run hotter internally in order to keep their light spectrum right - that's why the better DE reflectors either don't air cool or have a top chamber draw heat away but keep the bulb out of the airflow's way in order to keep it at the optimal temperature.
 

Beezcheeze

Well-Known Member
I'm starting a new setup soon after a few years of being out of it. I've built too many cabinets so I've decided to go with a Gorilla 4'x4' tent with the height extension. I'm planning on setting up a 4 bucket UC RDWC with the reservoir, controller, and cooler outside the tent (meaning there will only be 4 buckets in the tent). I'll have to make a couple holes on the side of the tent for the pipes but I'll stitch black socks to the holes in the tent or something and that should work to seal the pipes running through the side. I plan on using 2" pipe for the buckets and probably a Rio 3000 pump feeding the raised chiller then draining into the controller. I'll also have my reservoir raised and gravity-feed the controller with a float valve. I also plan on tapping into my plumbing and feeding my reservoir with a float valve as well. Everything that contains water will have an overflow pipe and drain since this will be inside my spare bedroom.

So, some of the questions I have are:

would it be better to run a single 1000w in a blockbuster hood, two 600's in two smaller hoods, or a 1000w in a smaller hood on a light mover? all hoods will be sealed.

would tower fans in the corners of the tent work better than oscillating fans mounted to the frame?

would these suffice as bulkhead fittings http://www.truetex.com/bulkhead.htm or should I use a different method?

I can't seem to find black square buckets anywhere and I'd like to use them for better surface area on the bulkheads. Should I be concerned about this and if so, can anyone tell me where to get square buckets and lids?

The Gorilla tents have mesh pre-filters. I don't understand these. Wouldn't light leak from them when open?

what's better, large air stones or perforated tubing

Thanks to anyone wanting to give me advice
I didn't have time to read anything but your first post. But I have 2 gorilla 4x4 tents I did the same thing with both. One 6" vortex inline fan and keep both flaps on the sides of tent open. Yes light leaks no matter what and a lot more when flaps are open. I made a plastic wall outside the rooms with zipper doors keeps all light from getting in. Sure you could do that.
I used 4 8 gallon squarish buckets with fold top lids similar to cat litter buckets. One 950 gph danar water pump pulling te water from the 2" connecting pipes through a 3/4" tube to the pump. Dumps into 13 gallon res. water level stays the same throughout buckets. The pic of the pvc piece connects to the pump next to the res. if all these 30 comments didn't help you or if you have any questions let me know. I spent a lot of time researching and experimenting untill I got it right. The height of these buckets is shorter than 5 gallon buckets. Have no height issues of you scrog 4 plants and don't need to make them monsters. Just get a perpetual thing going on.
 

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Beezcheeze

Well-Known Member
Oh and Walmart has black patch material that's sticky I just cut my hole. Covered with patch and cut slices around the hole through the patch and fold and stick the tabs to itself. Works great and looks good too
 

Beezcheeze

Well-Known Member
And I got 4 Area 51 rw150s for each my 4x4 tents. This grow is upstairs on 2nd story house and temps stay at 72. Water stays below 70. I'm happy with it all. Good luck on your setup. I read through and saw your going with bigger tent. I will say keeping that res seperate from the tent will help keep roots happier and cooler. And I am going to wrap all buckets and pipes in te tent with the silver thin insulation from lowes. Comes in a large roll. This stuff is very thin almost like bubble wrap and is very reflective.
 

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dbkick

Well-Known Member
Yeah db you're right, there's no way the CMH bulb was only outputting 1.9 umol/s total, it's apparently based in watts according to this discussion which is quite impressive indeed.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=6722685

That means the DE is only marginally more efficient per watt wise, ~5.56% according to their calculation.

The only extra costs incurred through using the CMH is increased bulb changes due to faster burnout time, a little more than twice as fast given 90% output at 8000 hrs run time for the CMH compared to 10,000 hrs run time to 95% output for the DE.

However, they would be quite nice if you're looking to keep the heat down due to lower wattage.

Also keep in mind though the operational temperature for the bulbs cited is the core temperature - i.e. at the center of the arc and surrounding gasses within the glass/quartz of the bulb. If the surrounding air was 700'F it would spontaneously combust. :shock: Ultimately the heat these things put out is pretty close to linear in terms of wattage output.

With the 600/750W DE bulbs, they put out ~2 umol/W so really it's down to how much you really want to grow. In 4x8 the heat for 2x600 should be manageable and definitely for the CMH but keep in mind doing one means you can't go back without buying another set of ballasts/reflectors/bulbs. Also by using air cooled hoods like the Thunder SunDyn (cheap ver. of AC/DE) you can mitigate a lot of the heat compared to non A/C hoods.

By the way, you might want to consider keeping your water chiller outside the tent so it doesn't heat up the insides of the tent unless you have really good airflow. Also consider getting a dehumidifier unless you live in a really dry place, again with good airflow. These plants put out a ton of humidity when they get big during flowering. Lost a harvest to mold once when it was raining for a few days straight.

Apparently if you source through Welthink (Chinese manuf. with a base in Virginia?) you can get a basic setup for ~215$ and more if you get a better reflector i.e. "Cycloptics". I went through a few pages over in ICMag and they have some interesting info. Not sure myself, just found it browsing that thread and thought you might find it useful. I'm still holding out for information and going to pull the trigger on a couple 600-1kW DE's myself.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=72215&page=458

By the way, if you want to build a flush to your roof tent, why not just screw some 2x2's together and wrap it in reflective material (plenty of different brand rolls out there, not sure which is best myself).
Welthink is def chinese but they do make some solid shit. I just emailed sonny at welthink a few days ago about purchasing a couple 315 ballasts, I think they're $240 a pop, he wouldn't budge on the price so no sale.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
I didn't have time to read anything but your first post. But I have 2 gorilla 4x4 tents I did the same thing with both. One 6" vortex inline fan and keep both flaps on the sides of tent open. Yes light leaks no matter what and a lot more when flaps are open. I made a plastic wall outside the rooms with zipper doors keeps all light from getting in. Sure you could do that.
I used 4 8 gallon squarish buckets with fold top lids similar to cat litter buckets. One 950 gph danar water pump pulling te water from the 2" connecting pipes through a 3/4" tube to the pump. Dumps into 13 gallon res. water level stays the same throughout buckets. The pic of the pvc piece connects to the pump next to the res. if all these 30 comments didn't help you or if you have any questions let me know. I spent a lot of time researching and experimenting untill I got it right. The height of these buckets is shorter than 5 gallon buckets. Have no height issues of you scrog 4 plants and don't need to make them monsters. Just get a perpetual thing going on.
Very cool!
 
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