Hey! I'm in the middle of my first 1 plant soil grow, but I'm planning my next grow already. Heres the details: I have a closet (3'4"x2'x8'). I have a 30 gallon tub I plan to put four clones in, using the DWC method. I have two dual-outlet air pumps for the bubbles. The closet already has an exhaust vent to the attic. Is venting to the attic ok? Or should I vent outside somehow? I'm also debating where I want to put the fresh air intake. Should I cut the door and get air from the hall? Should I cut the wall and get air from the closet next to it? Or should I cut the floor/duct thru the wall to the crawlspace beneath the house? I want something easily restored... no permanent damage. The duct from the basement thru the wall seems viable. Second: Lighting. I am debating the wattage HPS I should use. I dont want to cook the closet, but I want a lot of light. (I also have 6 CFLS and a 12w LED light.) Should I get a 400w or a 250w HPS? Any other thoughts? How much ventilation will I need?
how much ventilation? L O T S squeeze 4 5 gal buckets in there, grow 4 plants, it will be tight, but you should be good to go, get cool tubes or a vented hood,, HUGE duct fan (vortex 300CFM at least), and pull air in from the crawlspace, wall vent int he closet will look natural, you'll want to do some serious lightproofing on that door, ( I ended up going with a zippered inner door to block light). Your going to want to vent strait to out side (hopefuly your roof is really high and away from other houses, as it might smell a bit, but it will disperse and the higher up the better) you dont want to fill your attic with late flowering smell .. go with a 400/600 watt'er and a cooltube/vented hood-reflector . anyway, have fun, its gonna be a tight fit, but should work out for you.
Gathering materials: 2 Sterlite 30-gal tubs 33 cutting plugs 4 airstones 2 dual-output airpumps 5 5" netpots H202 3% Air tubing 1 can each black and white paint for tub lightproofing 6 CFLS, 3 23w daylight and 3 42w soft white, 1 168-LED Blue 13w bulb To get: -150w HPS light (?) Maybe bigger? im only going to have around 180cfm each for intake and exhaust, plus circulation fans. -Nutrients (Which brand? Im going for as close to organic as possible, what should I use?) -Ventilation (Two 170 CFM induct fans, 25ft 6 " flexduct, one 4" dryer wall duct) -Clones - TDS meter - Medium (rocks) - Power cables Thoughts? Im concerned about how Im going to change the water... is it hard to lift the lid with 5 plants and their roots and switch the tubs? Is this even feasible without damaging the plants?
Using one large tub can be a problem because roots can fight each other, and plants can starve other plants for nutrients. For a beginner DWC separate buckets are always recommended. Check out rumpleforeskins bubble bucket DIY thread.
Each plant should have more than 5-gal, and its too late to go back now. =) Im having a minor problem with my res atm tho. No plants in it yet but the Ph creeped up a bit overnight with just the bubblers running, any ideas?
Hey, one last update before the grow begins tomorrow. I have everything set. I'm going to make a reflector for the CFL arrays, but I think it looks pretty good.
Hi... Looks like you are nearly ready to go! In regards the PH increasing, i usually throw my rockwool into PH \'d water for about 24 hours before putting anything into it. that usually fixes it. When i used a tub, i had a pump in there so when i need a nute change i just turned it on. I use single buckets now, i just find them easier when the plants get larger .... Good Luck with your grow!
http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/172857-networkguys-dwc-closet-grow.html Hers the link to the grow thread! Thanks!