At it again... My third large sealed room, 9600watts with co2 as always

I am at it again, not that anyone cares, probably because I am terrible at updating on these forums, and tend to be too paranoid to post pics. Sorry blades, I love this site and talking here, but I have issues at times... who doesn't right?

That being said, here is what I have going on, I would love input, advice, or opinions. This is far from my first build, and I am quite excited to be picking up all new gear and getting a fresh start.


I have two rather large spaces to choose from, money for the gear, and the time to build. First, I need to decide on the gear to order, and finish planning out some small stuff. Here is what I know/ think so far:

•9600 watts
•light movers for half of the room (I have always wanted to experiment with these, so it will be cool to do a side by side test)
•3 ton ac unit
•sealed air tight with one 16 inch can filter in flower room
•16x600 switchable digital ballasts
I am stoked

Here are my changes from what I have done in the past:

•Switching from 1000w lights to 600w, to help keep my power bill low. or maybe my efficiency up;)
•Horizontal, non air cooled reflectors, I like to scrog, so vertical lighting has not suited me well, and I refuse to cut holes in my place to run ducting ever again.
•I am getting a large 1000 RO filter, My 200 keeps me waiting around all day to fill my rez, which has caused more than a couple spills:mad:
•I would like to use a chiller this time around for my rez, to minimize problems. (root rot is a SOB!)
•Water cooled c02 burner, because the more efficient it is, the less power I will consume.
•I am going to use large, commercial dehumidifiers rather than shitty 50 pint units from the hardware store. This should allow me to run higher temps, which will maximize co2 uptake and therefore photosynthesis in my garden.
•I am going to use a 3 ton ac unit, my 5 ton was overkill last time, and a priority of mine here is to have the power bill be less brutal.
•I want to run high temps and high co2, my goal is to stay 85-88 and 1400-1600 ppm
Currently I am running 78-82 1500ppm

Everything is medical and legal, but that is not what I am here to talk about.

Edited by fukinricheous, 14 May 2012 - 12:13 AM.

What would be helpful, first off, is opinions about the following gear, I need to decide which lighting to go with, which ac unit, and which controllers to use. I will put my experience and which ones I am thinking of going with, and would love to hear from anyone who has used any of these products.

AC unit: I have owned a 5 ton from excel air in the past, and was happy with its performance, setup, and the customer service I received. The have a 3 ton "stealth" unit, which is extra quiet and has special fittings so no hvac instillation is required.

At the same time, Ideal Air makes one which is literally half the price, has the same special fittings, and weighs far less. The only drawback is it will be louder, and I was unimpressed with the customer service I have received from Ideal air.

Lighting:
Switchable Ballasts: I have never used digital ballasts, and have not used any of the brands I am thinking of using. Quantum offers ballasts that are 150 each and sound like they may be one of the best available.
Lumatek also makes a dual 600w ballast which I have heard good things about, and it sounds nice only dealing with 8 boxes instead of 16.

I am considering ordering complete kits, such as Gavita lights, but have heard nothing about them. I like how it is a whole kit but am more curious than interested at this point. These would be expensive all in all: eHydroponics
This is the other kit I like eHydroponics

I have used eye hortilux bulbs and liked them, but solarmax switchables are on my mind, I hate swapping bulbs and almost think the loss in lumens is worth using switchables. Saves a bit on startup costs too.

hoods: the idea is no glass and max reflection. I have it narrowed down to these two unless I am otherwise convinced:
eHydroponics
eHydroponics
(sunsystem or hydrofarm)

Co2 burner: I have used the sentinel 6 light burner in the past, am thinking of switching to the hydroGEN pro model with watercooling.

Lightboard: I have used the titan 8 light boards as well as a homemade lightboard I have, but I really like the sound of the C.A.P. 24 light controller.

I have never used light movers and would also love to hear from anyone who has. I may make my own, this part is not currently my biggest priority.

Some things I have either planned or have already. Bluelab guardian for ph/ppm, sentinel controller for environment and co2, T5 lights for the veg room, eco-plus 18 inch fans, ideal air 100 pint dehumidifier, hydrologic 1000 RO, panda film (always),

Edited by fukinricheous, 14 May 2012 - 12:19 AM.

....sounds like you have things figured out....
...I would go with the lumatek ballast, I use lumatek bulbs and ballast myself...I'm pretty happy with'em

If you have the cash go with gavita 600W 400V EL on lights movers that would be so pimp. I have the complete package your looking at with the 600w quantum ballasts with a luminare 6" hoods. Its a great package but I feel like alot of heat gets trapped inside those hoods if you dont air cool, which I dont. I want to get some new hoods thinking about going with Adjust A Wing hoods.

looks like your dialed in for a great set up, I'm subbed to watch them grow!
Quantum digital ballasts seem to be really good work horses, my buddy has a couple of rooms and that's all she uses, very dependable.

I'm about ready to pick up 4 light movers for those 2 light rooms, they need more light coverage

9600 watts, Nice.

Thanks for the input. Sorry I had to troll your guys' threads, but I have been watching the things you do and have lots of respect for what you guys have going on.

Sticky, which brand and length movers are you thinking about using?

I have been crunching some numbers and am leaning heavily towards using the quantum ballasts with hydrofarm reflectors and the solarmax bulbs. The Gavita, after more research, seems exotic and very tempting, but it would cost nearly $1500 more, and this kid ain't made of cash.

One other thing I found that is interesting is 'reflectorized' bulbs, check out the lumen output they claim: eHydroponics

Sante Fe dehumidifiers my man! You'll never go back. Gavita's are not worth it. Check out Indagrow Induction lights. I'm using them in my V room as a sealed veg. A step up from the CFL but not as hot as HPS/MH.

lightrail 3.5, it looks like it's pretty expandable if needed

Next gen ballast's are some good ballasts im just about to purchase the 600/4000 watt .I thought they where ment to be the top of the range . as well as the ep cool ray reflector is some top shelf hoods as well.L,C

Do your research with IdealAir. There are a lot of complaints on the web.

have you gotten this grow going yet?

It looks like I was a bit overexcited when I posted here. I learn something new every grow I do, especially when it ends, and I can look back on it.

I have accepted a 'legit' summer job, and will not immediately jump into this grow like I usually do when given the chance. I am going to try and be patient, take my time, research deeper, and make damn sure I don't leave any loose ends to bite me this time.

This thread is going into a holding pattern, but I will be updating with pics and my decisions when I actually order the gear in a few months.

Thanks for the input everyone!

"The Gavita, after more research, seems exotic and very tempting, but it would cost nearly $1500 more, and this kid ain't made of cash."

I too have had the inspiration to switch from 1000w to 600w for the increased efficiency relating to 120v systems. This switch that I had made included a switch to the internally reflected Gavita bulbs. I would not recommend them. Not certain if it was the digital Lumatek ballasts that caused me problems with these bulbs, (they say to only use USA made lights with these ballasts) but I found that their lifespan is far less than a conventional Phillips HPS.
3 main problems with Gavita and Gavita copycats:
*Expensive cost - you could buy a nice quality 1000w bulb for the price.
*Difficult to line up correctly - feels like you are going to break the bulb to direct the light in a proper 'up to down' direction.
*Freaky pulsating light - at end of bulbs life, the light becomes irritating and pulsates in a way that I swear, turns your lady babies to hermies!

So there are some extra reasons not to spend that extra cash. To moderate your temps, you are going to want to employ cooling hoods on your lights anyways. Spend that money on the external reflectors and forget these gimmicks.
Also, I had given up on the extra efficiency associated with the 600w @ 120v. The 1000w just give the extra uumph that I feel is necessary. Anyways, Good luck!

I would buy 1000w ballasts and buy the adapter to split them into two 500 or 600 watt
depending on the brand you buy. just my 2cent

I use ACE ballasts but the guy that sold them to me now swears by this manufacturer
BC Ballast - The first truly intelligent electronic ballast on the market!

dude wit that much fucking kilowatts you'd save thousands of dollars on power by switching to LED.. 1/4 power usage on lights and like 90% less use of air conditioning. man people need to look into the future. check out this website.. these lights did the world record Think Different Auto grow by Seymour Buds. Check the different wattages and models.

LED Grow Lights - Penetrator X2 126X-PRO

What are the room dimensions you are going to setup in?