Setting up a new room 7`x14`

Hey everyone. Its finally time to get to work and get this new room setup and running.

Room is 7x14 , I will be building a 3`x 12` ebb and flow table to run 40+ clones, using a 80g reservoir.

I will be using 1440 watts of Cutter Jseries LED strips 30 x 3000k 90cri and 24 x 3000k 80 cri mix. ( 3 fixtures , 3x4 each, each being pushed by HLG-480w drivers)
I will be growing in net pots and clay pebbles on the table eventually. First run will be a mother search tho, so those plants will all be grown in coco.They are currently in solo cups under CFLs and will veg under 600w MH eventually. Only 1 week old right now.

I currently have at my disposal

6" 440 cfm fan and carbon filter.
1 dehumidifier
2 small humidifiers
3 x 16" oscillating fans
2 x 6" hurricane fans

Will be covering walls with Panda film. Summer months i plan to exhaust out through the exterior wall, winter i may release heat back into the room if needed.
Am considering sealing the room and running CO2( good idea?) ( much trouble to getting it setup properly?)
Do i need a second exhaust fan? or maybe just a bigger cfm version would be better?

I would like some help with buying/setting up controllers, getting CO2 setup , basically anything you guys with experience can offer to make life easier for my space.

If theres anything ive missed, or something that you feel is a must in everyones garden, by all means, im open to any and all suggestions.

If your exhaust fan is the primary means of cooling you may want it larger. You can calculate the room volume LxWxH and you wanna be able to exchange that volume 2 - 3x a minute. A passive intake area should be 2.5 - 3x the area of the exhaust. Of course total wattage of lighting, type of lighting, ambient temperatures all play a big role. But bigger is better when it comes to exhaust fans unless you have a tent with walls to suck inward. You could put all your heat loads including dehumidifier in there, set it all on max and see if the blower keeps up with the current ambient temps.

If you are gonna run CO2 though you want to cool with an AC unit, like a minisplit, exhausting will just blow out your CO2. I like my autopilot controller, I think they make a new model now but same features. You gonna go with a bottle or generator?

I gotta go water, I will get back to this later.

Ya i def plan to run some form of AC, whether its a mini split , im not sure yet. I want complete climate/environmental control, so ill do whatever is necessary.

I keep reading the LED section, many growers saying temps should be much higher in an LED room? compared to optimal temps in a hps room for example. Need to do more reading in this area.

Pros and cons to bottle or generator? I am not very familar with CO2 in general, so bare with me lol
Autopilot? So one controller that senses and sends off signals to ac/humidifier/dehuey/exhaust? or how does that work?
I was looking at your journal, those 10" fans you have seem legit. May look into grabbing one of those.

is there controllers for the reservoir, that can read water temp and ph/ppm?

diggs99 said:

I keep reading the LED section, many growers saying temps should be much higher in an LED room? compared to optimal temps in a hps room for example. Need to do more reading in this area.

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Yeah you can measure leaf surface temperatures under a HID and LED, the LED will be cooler. Has a lot to do with infrared. So to get optimal growth you do need it a little warmer, same for using the CO2, you want it warmer to speed up the metabolic rate.

Cons to a bottle is you have to haul the bottle to get it refilled. A generator, if it runs off natural gas or propane may eliminate that need.

The autopilot can run humidification OR dehumidification depending on what you plug into it and how it's configured. It could run cooling but I just let my ac run at a set temp and I have the autopilot set with my intake blower as a backup cooling if the ac were to let temps rise. The autopilot can run your co2, it has a different setting for a tank so you don't overrun the set point. It learns how long to let the tank regulator stay open.

They do make ph/ppm/temp monitors that have remote probes so you can just look at a glance and see what the parameters are. Some have high/low alarms even. Bluelab makes a nice one. I used to have nutradip trimeters but I dunno about their new version probably good.

Also, a main downside to the co2 generator is that it makes heat. With the controller it won't be running all the time but it will add some heat to the equation.

A minisplit is the way to go but you can use a dual hose portable if the capacity is large enough. It's ok to oversize a minisplit because it can run just as hard as it needs to unlike a conventional unit that is either on or off. Oversizing is good in the event you underestimate heat load or end up wanting to add more lighting say on the sides.

Also the autopilot controller will allow for different day and night settings for the temperature and humidity. Handy feature. Just know that the temp output can be either heating or cooling, not both at once and same with dehumidification it's either add or remove.

They even make controllers that monitor the pH and can run a dosing pump to add a ph buffer. With flood and drain your pH should be pretty stable though. Just rinse the rocks well and the pH should stop rising after the first few days.

Renfro said:

Yeah you can measure leaf surface temperatures under a HID and LED, the LED will be cooler. Has a lot to do with infrared. So to get optimal growth you do need it a little warmer, same for using the CO2, you want it warmer to speed up the metabolic rate.

Cons to a bottle is you have to haul the bottle to get it refilled. A generator, if it runs off natural gas or propane may eliminate that need.

The autopilot can run humidification OR dehumidification depending on what you plug into it and how it's configured. It could run cooling but I just let my ac run at a set temp and I have the autopilot set with my intake blower as a backup cooling if the ac were to let temps rise. The autopilot can run your co2, it has a different setting for a tank so you don't overrun the set point. It learns how long to let the tank regulator stay open.

They do make ph/ppm/temp monitors that have remote probes so you can just look at a glance and see what the parameters are. Some have high/low alarms even. Bluelab makes a nice one. I used to have nutradip trimeters but I dunno about their new version probably good.

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What temps are you normally running in your rooms with co2?

I we don't have natural gas and propane would also be via tank and refilling , so it seems the bottle would be the best option for me. How long does a bottle last? Or is that a question that has too many variables to answer?

I like how your setup, ac at set temp, autopilot running the exhaust, humidifier or debuey and the co2.

I'll look into the blue lab meter, would love to have one as you described, be easier to keep an eye on the reservoir and ph drift and ppm etc.

Also the 80g reservoir may be small for that table size. A 3x6 table flooding 6 inches deep needs 70 gallons to just barely get the job done but 90 is better unless you wanna be topping it off once a day. You need to make sure there is enough water that the pump stays submerged when the table is flooding.

You may wanna make a setup like I used to run, build a fran out of 2x12's and lag bolts. Line it with pond liner. Put a few cross braces across it and set your tray on that. This will give you a lot of capacity and keep the profile low so you nave more space for plants and lights.

Renfro said:

A minisplit is the way to go but you can use a dual hose portable if the capacity is large enough. It's ok to oversize a minisplit because it can run just as hard as it needs to unlike a conventional unit that is either on or off. Oversizing is good in the event you underestimate heat load or end up wanting to add more lighting say on the sides.

Also the autopilot controller will allow for different day and night settings for the temperature and humidity. Handy feature. Just know that the temp output can be either heating or cooling, not both at once and same with dehumidification it's either add or remove.

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Do you have a link to the controller your referring to? Sounds like what I'm looking for

Renfro said:

Also the 80g reservoir may be small for that table size. A 3x6 table flooding 6 inches deep needs 70 gallons to just barely get the job done but 90 is better unless you wanna be topping it off once a day. You need to make sure there is enough water that the pump stays submerged when the table is flooding.

You may wanna make a setup like I used to run, build a fran out of 2x12's and lag bolts. Line it with pond liner. Put a few cross braces across it and set your tray on that. This will give you a lot of capacity and keep the profile low so you nave more space for plants and lights.

Click to expand...

Well here's the thing about that, the 80g res was bought to use with a 4x8 table. The table was too cramped width wise in the space so I decided against using it and decided to go the 3x12 route.

May have to look into the 100g , as you say, gotta have enough water lol

Renfro said:

Also the 80g reservoir may be small for that table size. A 3x6 table flooding 6 inches deep needs 70 gallons to just barely get the job done but 90 is better unless you wanna be topping it off once a day. You need to make sure there is enough water that the pump stays submerged when the table is flooding.

You may wanna make a setup like I used to run, build a fran out of 2x12's and lag bolts. Line it with pond liner. Put a few cross braces across it and set your tray on that. This will give you a lot of capacity and keep the profile low so you nave more space for plants and lights.

Click to expand...

FYI it was this idea that got me to scrap the 4x8 table and decide to make the 3x12

I remember us talking about this before and you telling me about how you made yours. I plan to do something very similar

How long a bottle will last is a complicated question. I have a buddy that goes through a tank ever 1.5 weeks in a 4x8 tent if that helps any. Have two tanks so you can switch out an empty and run on the other tank while you get it refilled.

I run my rooms as hot as 89 - 90 at the canopy under the light with CO2 between 1200 and 1500 PPM. I think that with a tank I would probably run my PPM at 1000 and temps at say 88. I do back off the CO2 as they ripen, also lowering temps and dimming lights.

A 3 x 12 table may need more like 180 gallons... 90 being ideal for a 3x6. Key is that the reservoir must be below table height and keep the pump submersed so it has to be wide not tall. Each inch adds a lot of water. This is good though because large reservoirs are more stable.

https://hydrofarm.com/p/APCECOTH

Thats the controller I have.

https://www.horticulturesource.com/titan-controls-titan-controls-spartan-series-complete-digital-environmental-controller-temperature-co2-and-humidity--p26247?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIspzgp7Oc4gIVAv5kCh3zAQZ8EAYYAyABEgIQRfD_BwE

Thats another good controller

Renfro said:

How long a bottle will last is a complicated question. I have a buddy that goes through a tank ever 1.5 weeks in a 4x8 tent if that helps any. Have two tanks so you can switch out an empty and run on the other tank while you get it refilled.

I run my rooms as hot as 89 - 90 at the canopy under the light with CO2 between 1200 and 1500 PPM. I think that with a tank I would probably run my PPM at 1000 and temps at say 88. I do back off the CO2 as they ripen, also lowering temps and dimming lights.

A 3 x 12 table may need more like 180 gallons... 90 being ideal for a 3x6. Key is that the reservoir must be below table height and keep the pump submersed so it has to be wide not tall. Each inch adds a lot of water. This is good though because large reservoirs are more stable.

https://hydrofarm.com/p/APCECOTH

Thats the controller I have.

Click to expand...

Idealling id like to keep the reservoir directly under the table, so I got 3x12 space , was planning to build the table approx 24" tall. So res can be up 16-18" ?

180g seems like a lot, I wonder can I fit that under my table lol

You can calculate a reservoir or table volume like this:

Using inches Length x width x water depth = cubic inches

divide the cubic inches by 231 to get gallons.

First controller says discontinued, not available

The titan looks nice tho. Will look at it a little closer. Seems like what I'm looking for tho

144"x36"x 8" depth gets me 180 gallons


I can make that work I think

A table volume estimate for the 3x12 would be 33.5 gallons at 6 inch flood depth? My brain isn't working so good lol. If you made a 2x12 reservoir with an outside dimension of 3x12 feet and ran it 10 inches deep you would have 205 gallons.

They make a new version of the autopilot I think, sorry. https://www.amazon.com/Autopilot-ECLIPSE-Master-Environmental-Controller/dp/B07B3GJ5SP

Renfro said:

A table volume estimate for the 3x12 would be 33.5 gallons at 6 inch flood depth? My brain isn't working so good lol. If you made a 2x12 reservoir with an outside dimension of 3x12 feet and ran it 10 inches deep you would have 205 gallons.

They make a new version of the autopilot I think, sorry. https://www.amazon.com/Autopilot-ECLIPSE-Master-Environmental-Controller/dp/B07B3GJ5SP

Click to expand...

Ok , shouldnt be any issues making a res to work

That controller is the newer version of what you have?

Id probably choose to go with one similar to what you have, so you can help me when im all confused trying to set it up lol

Who do i see about CO2? what kinds of shops would sell co2 tanks? and what else would i need to go with it?