My Grow Space (LED)

While I consider myself a novice to indoor growing, I do have a very good concept of the basics. This will not be my first grow and marijuana is deeply embedded in my background. However, it is now my intent to become an expert in indoor growing. I have been and will continue to spend hours researching all aspects of indoor growing in hopes of turning my vision of this grow space into a reality. I understand that knowledge, patience, and experience, will lead me to success. I also understand that due to my lack of experience and the fact that I will be experimenting with relativity new technology (LED lighting), it is not unthinkable that I may have an epic failure of two. To reduce the odds of this from happening I am seeking as much knowledge as possible from a variety of sources...like this forum. As you read this post remember that opinions, constructive criticism, and suggestions are appreciated and taken into consideration.

In this post I will give a detailed breakdown of what my goal for this space is, and where I am now. I will do my best to stay on topic, focusing primary on the design and layout of the grow space.

My goal is to use this space to set up a perpetual harvest of high quality cannabis every 30-45 days using LED's as my primary light source for all stages of growth. The space is 85"X25" wide and about 9'(ft) tall. I am breaking it up into 2 sections. The first section is for clones/starters & vegg and the second for flowering. Both top and bottom will be lined with white plastic that was recommended at my local grow shop.

The top will be my clone/starter & vegg area and it is exactly 1/3 the height of the bottom. It will be completely cut off from the bottom except for some air vents that will be strategically placed to create as much circulation as possible. These vents will have a light dam on both sides so that no light can escape from one section to the other.

For the clones/starters I am using a clone trey with a Growpannle45 for lighting. It will sit next to the vegg area and at this point I m not planning on separating the two with a wall though they will have their own area. This area will be fairly small, but there is room should I need to put them in vegg early for any reason.

For the vegg area I will be using 1-2 Growpannel45's above the plants and 2-4 of the less-intense/cheaper 14W Growpannel on the sides. I have not used a lighting set up like this for an entire vegging process, but I did use a scaled down version (1 GP45 & 1 GP14W) to vegg my other plants and I was more then pleased with the results.

The bottom is the flowering area. At this point I have 2 plants flowering under 2-GP45's with 3-GP(14W) for side lighting.The plants are appear healthy and are just now showing signs of flowering. After researching LED's, I have decided to go ahead and continue to use the GP's throughout the flowering process for these plants. So far, so good!

Due to the affordability and current success I have had with the GP45, I am planning on using 4 of them on top (1 per plant). The side lighting is where I am indecisive though. I can use 6 or more of the GP(14W) (which is just a lager scale of what I am currently using and having satisfactory results with) or I can use 2 GP45's on tracks (1 on each side). I might put 3-4 GP(14W) on one side and a track with a GP45 on the other just to see which one works best.
(note: I will have 1 UFO with 2 GP45's for side lighting over one of the plants in flowering. The reason for this is to see the difference, if any, between the production of the two setups. IF(!) this setup outperforms the other enough to make it worth my while, I will go to 4 UFO's on top and GP45's for the sides.)


Air in will be filtered and circulated from the top down. On one end, mounted on the top of the door, there will be an in in-line fan pulling air in threw a tube that will have an air filter (probably a cone filter of some sort) on the end. on the opposite side of the grow space will be vents that allow air to circulate between the vegg and flowering area. As mentioned before, these vents will not allow light to pass between the two...only air! Mounted below the air-in line at the bottom of the door will be a line pulling air out. Remember, since the top and bottom are separated, the air being pulled in will have to travel all the way across the top grow-space, threw the vents on the opposite side, and then back across the bottom grow space to the line pulling the air out.

The air out will then be pushed through ONA bucket, which should take care of the the scent...for the most part. If the ONA bucket combined with a few other methods is unsuccessful, a carbon filter will be installed.

I am planning on trying a couple different watering methods, starting with a reservoir system. However, if you have any suggestions...

I will have a humidifier, dehumidifier, and a Co2 tank as well. While my current humidity is exceptable, I have read that dehumidifying the flowering area before harvest will bring the reasons to the surface of the plant as a self-defense against hot/dry weather.

Outside of all this, the rest is pretty basic. Temp and humidity is closely monitored, the lights are all on timers, and thats just about it.

Owe...I almost forgot...my grow space has a small sound system that plays music 24hrs a day for them. There has been many studdies that showed plants with music grow better. Even if it is a bunch of crystal hugging hippie BS...I think they like it.

Anyways, like I said, any suggestions appreciated and thanks for reading!

Below are some pics of what I have grown to date with the GP45's. These plants have had a rough life. They were crowded in a small box with 1 light, started in Miracle Grow, never had sufficient air flow, etc, etc...Truth be told, I did not think the LED light would work as well as it did. I basically threw some seeds in soil and walked. Only over the last month have I shown these girls the love they deserve and they have responded fairly well...IMO. The next generation and the generation after that should look much better!

 

Small update...









More detailed update to come...

 

They most certainly work!!

Here is a look inside the top of the closet (veg area):


It is light-tight from the bottom and is on a 24hr light cycle. Air is circulated through a light-dam that I made myself:






And the bottom:




Pics of the girls:

 

555 cord and duct tape...it holds my grow-area together.

 

Will be experimenting with the UFO suplemented by GP45's next flowering cycle.

 

I have 3GP45's & 3 of the 14 watt GP's...6 lights total. All together I have spent around $550 in lights.

 

Actually the GP45 is only 28 watts. They are on sale now on their website...3 for $300