Attic grow set-up

[Calypsos 17]

Hi All.

 

Been floating around the forum for a while. Cracking forum aswell, loads of info etc on here.

 

Looking to start my first grow. I just wanted a few pointers if possible. Im a chippy by trade so have no issues with building and materials.

 

Ive seen a fair few people put a room inside their attic, insulating between rafters etc to maximize the area they have to grow. I like this idea but is there any reason i shouldnt/cant build a tent sized room in mine? I am limited on space but can get atleast 2.2L x 1.6w x 1.5h. It would be the shape of a loft tent (following roofline). 

Built with 47x72mm timbers, 75mm ridged insulation between the timbers then another layer of 25mm insulation board over the face of that all taped and sealed correctly. Using the insulation at my reflective surface. Probably lino on the base incase of any leaks. 

 

Inlet/outlet through roof vent tiles. 

Looking to use auto pot along with LED.

 

I have power but no water plumbed in, i have no worries with running a hose from the bathroom to fill/flush a reservoir if needs be.

 

I haven't figured out how to upload photos yet either.

 

Help and pointers/constructive criticism greatly appreciated!! 

 

Happy days.

[Green_bhoy 860]

I'm ready to get cracking on with an attic grow. I'm using a DR60. Just fits in no more. My roof is corrugated metal. Kingspan sheets in the inside. Its bloody like a sauna up there. I'm north of the border and had a wee bit of sun today and it was 30c in my attic.

 

Trying coco first time with easy2grow autopot system. 8.5l pots. I dont know how I will keep the reservoir temperatures down if its hitting 30c in my attic.

 

I have a 250w light. 5" Ruck for outake. 4" black orchid fan for intake. Got str fan controller.

 

I had a little play with the setup. Drawing intake air from my bedroom. Cut hole in ceiling in my wardrobe. Managed to get temps of 27c in the tent. That's the 5" Ruck and 4" fan on full pelt. If It gets hotter a maybe try intake from the eves. That may cause swings in temperatures.

 

 

Think this grow is going to be hard going. A bit of tweeking here and there.

[KC 11,767]

21 hours ago, Calypsos said:

Inlet/outlet through roof vent tiles. 

 

Hello

 

Just a thought, but having a inlet from outside is going to cause all sorts of shit. In summer the air is too hot and in winter it's too cold. Most of us lofties pull air from a room below. That's assuming you're ok to put a hole through the ceiling.

Edited July 8, 2020 by KC
I wrote whole instead of hole lol

[Calypsos 17]

2 hours ago, KC said:

Hello

 

Just a thought, but having a inlet from outside is going to cause all sorts of shit. In summer the air is too hot and in winter it's too cold. Most of us lofties pull air from a room below. That's assuming you're ok to put a hole through the ceiling.

 

Thankyou for the input KC. Much appreciated. That could be sorted fair easily. Do you know if there is a limit or max to how long ducting can be for inlet & outlet?

 

22 hours ago, Green_bhoy said:

I'm ready to get cracking on with an attic grow. I'm using a DR60. Just fits in no more. My roof is corrugated metal. Kingspan sheets in the inside. Its bloody like a sauna up there. I'm north of the border and had a wee bit of sun today and it was 30c in my attic.

 

Trying coco first time with easy2grow autopot system. 8.5l pots. I dont know how I will keep the reservoir temperatures down if its hitting 30c in my attic.

 

I have a 250w light. 5" Ruck for outake. 4" black orchid fan for intake. Got str fan controller.

 

I had a little play with the setup. Drawing intake air from my bedroom. Cut hole in ceiling in my wardrobe. Managed to get temps of 27c in the tent. That's the 5" Ruck and 4" fan on full pelt. If It gets hotter a maybe try intake from the eves. That may cause swings in temperatures.

 

 

Think this grow is going to be hard going. A bit of tweeking here and there.

 

Interesting fella. Be good to see how you get on! 

As for the temp from drawing in from below thats ideal. Alot of trial and error i feel it will be. 

 

Your water from res , whats the the ideal temp for feeding?

 

Thanks for the reply. 

[KC 11,767]

I wouldn't want my outlet ducting too long mate, the carbon filter will already be restricting the air flow. I suppose max lengths would depend on the fans rating and size.

[Ranec 1,829]

 

Your build plans sound spot on Calypsos  

 

If your gonna run hydro the best bit of advice I can give you is run a sterile res - this will help to avoid root rot and biofilm buildup. Hydrogen peroxide is easy (I use Silver Bullet Roots with every res change) and as long as you use inorganic nutes you should be good to grow even when res temps hit 30c or more..

 

[Calypsos 17]

43 minutes ago, KC said:

I wouldn't want my outlet ducting too long mate, the carbon filter will already be restricting the air flow. I suppose max lengths would depend on the fans rating and size.

 

I can have my outlet anywhere using a roof tile which is a bonus. Noise depending that is! I was more thinking of the inlet duct length really. Im limited on my position of room so dont fancy having a vent in the hallway upstairs hahah?!

 

27 minutes ago, Ranec said:

 

Your build plans sound spot on Calypsos  

 

If your gonna run hydro the best bit of advice I can give you is run a sterile res - this will help to avoid root rot and biofilm buildup. Hydrogen peroxide is easy (I use Silver Bullet Roots with every res change) and as long as you use inorganic nutes you should be good to grow even when res temps hit 30c or more..

 

 

Legend Ranec. 

I'm going to get the area built then go from there i think. Then check in for help moving forward.  

In regards to RES temps is there ways people keep it cooler or is it better fed few degrees warmer than cold?

[Ranec 1,829]

 

I use an aquarium heater to keep my res at 24c which keeps the roots at 22c - some folk say that's too hot but it seems to work for me.

 

A chiller/cooler is the best way to reduce res temps but they aren't cheep - personally I'll just be dropping a couple of frozen bottles of water into my res on the really hot days.

 

[Calypsos 17]

38 minutes ago, Ranec said:

 

I use an aquarium heater to keep my res at 24c which keeps the roots at 22c - some folk say that's too hot but it seems to work for me.

 

A chiller/cooler is the best way to reduce res temps but they aren't cheep - personally I'll just be dropping a couple of frozen bottles of water into my res on the really hot days.

 

Not a bad idea at all. Learning by the day on here.

Thank you!

[KC 11,767]

You could just use a watering can, I suppose it depends on how much you're growing up there. I used to run a hose from the bathroom but it's not necessary really if you've just got 5 or 6 plants in pots.

[Calypsos 17]

11 hours ago, KC said:

You could just use a watering can, I suppose it depends on how much you're growing up there. I used to run a hose from the bathroom but it's not necessary really if you've just got 5 or 6 plants in pots.

 

You mean use this to fill a res up? If go ahead using auto. 

Ill probably only start with 4 plants. This i depending on the area i have once its built, it will be wider and longer than it is taller i think so will have to think carefully.

[KC 11,767]

No res for me mate, I just handwater. I can't imagine why a loft grower would want to use a res. Lofts have enough problems without that to worry about.

[kronic420 1,095]

@KCi have a res in the loft no problems at all , coco run to waste plumbed straight into the bathroom waste water pipe this system works so well, dragging water up a loft ladder every day is to much hassle for me.

I fill the tank once a week and check the plants once or twice a week a proper lazy mans system and it suits me fine  

[Calypsos 17]

On 7/8/2020 at 7:50 PM, Ranec said:

 

Your build plans sound spot on Calypsos  

 

If your gonna run hydro the best bit of advice I can give you is run a sterile res - this will help to avoid root rot and biofilm buildup. Hydrogen peroxide is easy (I use Silver Bullet Roots with every res change) and as long as you use inorganic nutes you should be good to grow even when res temps hit 30c or more..

 

 

Once a week res change? Having a good look at options, nutes atm. 

[kronic420 1,095]

@Calypsos I was using growers ark but was having issues with it blocking up my pipes plants where perfect healthy and got my best yields with them but couldn’t be doing with sorting the blocked pipes/filters up all the time so changed to Dutch pro and it seems spot on so far no more blocked pipe work.
 

If your going to run auto pots or full hydro with a res in the loft then I’d say you definitely need a chiller and they ain’t cheap to buy or run. I think I only get away with high temps in my res because I’m using a drain to waste system so haven’t got the root/media sitting in hot water 24/7.
 

I started off with 50mm kingspan and it wasn’t enough insulation so added another 25mm and it’s still not enough really so the more the better, I bring air in from the bedroom below and vent through the chimney, when I first set up I tried extracting straight into the loft but it caused a lot of condensation to form up there so had to stop that.