Idiot At Large Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Ok so after my first grow room was more suited to growing Sherwood Forest I went back to the drawing board and after getting plenty of sound advice and spending my new year reading a 20 page post on bubblers I have built the following... It is a 32L Tougher Box from HomeBase with 4 golf ball air stones being fed by 2 Hailea ACO-9602 super "silent" adjustable air pumps (I believe a lot of the noise is coming from the stones plus pumps turned up full blast sat on bare wooden floor) I strapped the lid down whilst I made a cuppa and on my return 10 minutes later, found a considerable amount of mist had built up on it. Airlines are to tidy. Unfortunately neither hydro shop I visited had 4" net pots so bought 2x 5" ones... just need to decide how to best approach their layout. There is room for 2 pots comfortably, 3 maybe and 4 would be manic. Due to the size of the tub and the tent I reckon 6 tubs would fit but 4 tubs with 2 plants in each would be more than sufficient. The tent is to finish off with a 6" (150mm) Mountain Air filter with RVK fan and ducting, once thats here will get up into loft and look at practicality of venting into a very low pitched roof with no storage room Room itself is to tidy... looking at moving an old wardrobe in that would serve very well as equipment storage and seed starter space as well as the possibility of a mother box... I'll consult the community further down the line. pH'd my tap water and found it to be 8.0... was a brand new meter that had been freshly calibrated so will test again tomorrow and see what the deal is. I think that is everything pretty much covered so as always hints, tips and constructive criticism are always welcome! @stu914 what ya reckon? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 @Idiot At Large That's looking good, very similar to mine exept I've used an insulated 25lt picnic coolbox as a res, ideal for one plant, two at a push. Allowing space for the net pots and an air gap, it holds about 12lt nutes. The temps in your res will rise to room temps over a period of time so its a good idea to insulate it, bubble wrap works well, cover with something reflective, silver duct tape or black/white plastic - don't forget the lid..... If you intend to do 2 plants in 5" pots the best position might be in opposite corners diagonally which will maximise the space between them leaving you a choice of one of the other two corners to cut an inspection hatch for top-ups and res changes. Have you considered a gauge on the outside so you can see how much nutes are in there when the plants are massive and you can't take the lid off? Those air pumps are a bit noisy, I've got one sitting in the box, no good for my stealth setup I'm afraid. Standing them on a sponge helps a bit. A cunning trick to cut the noise of those four airstones is to tie them together in the middle, pull the airlines back out of the res until they have lifted the stones just off the bottom, this also concentrates the water movement and increases dissolved oxygen. Pop an aquarium heater, set to 20c, and a thermometer in there as well, 'cos if it drops below about 16c they stop growing, if it gets above 22c ish then you can use frozen water bottles to bring it down, or invest in a chiller, but all that's down the line. If you go with sensi nutes then as long as your water ph is between 4 and 9 you won't need to adjust it, I've used these for years and never checked ph. If you do a scrog grow with the right strain, that single tote alone with two plants will fill that tent, four totes would be back to Sherwood........ Rather a lot of info there bud, if any of it isn't clear just shout........ Getting there....... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idiot At Large Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 @Nitro420 cheers man, I have found as I understand one thing something else becomes much clearer like a domino effect! @stu914 Where do I start with that ... I knew to cover the lid but didn't think about the sides, will put that on the job list for tomorrow. Dont suppose you know where sells clear 15mm pipe as I have 2 tank connectors and 2 elbows so just need the middle bit and jobs a good'un! Will go to an aquatics shop and get a tank heater and with the thermometer I'm assuming they do ones with a probe that can go in the water with the reading outside. Will also look into a chiller as the room is on a corner and both outside walls get sun all day so may get a tad warm. Nutes is something I have struggled to get my head around with the E.C. rating and everything so that'll be my next big focus point. Was also gunna ask you about scrog growing and if you would recommend it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idiot At Large Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 Alright chaps been a slow few days but managed to get a few bits... Managed to cover the lids in foil tape and all holes are cut. Got some bubble wrap to surround the tank, reckon I'll stick a tonne of masking tape around beforehand to make it whiter then fit bubble wrap. Also managed to find some black 4mm pipe which might be better for preventing light ingress but also may warm the air going in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joint hogger Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 if you need to light proof the sides of the containers, use plasticote matt black spray paint, works a treat. as for using a clear pipe, I wouldn't as you dont want the light to create algea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idiot At Large Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 14 hours ago, Joint hogger said: if you need to light proof the sides of the containers, use plasticote matt black spray paint, works a treat. as for using a clear pipe, I wouldn't as you dont want the light to create algea. @Joint hogger Alright mate, no the sides are black but was thinking they'll retain the heat so wanted to lighten them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joint hogger Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 use white plasticote then 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbillybob Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 and get your air pumps off the ground. they need to be higher than the res, and preferrably outside the tent, if possible. because you don't reakly want to infuse your rootzone with co2 rich air. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcjuna Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 water level/drain pipe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 04/01/2018 at 10:14 PM, Idiot At Large said: black 4mm pipe That's not airline it's feed pipe for dripper systems, stick with what you've got Bump on the water level/drain pipe as above........it will have to be transparent and fitted before you insulate......(you can slip a larger black pipe over it to cut out light) once the plants are in you will not be able to lift the lid, so some sort of hatch in one of the empty corners of each tank is needed to do res changes and top ups 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idiot At Large Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 Good afternoon gents, Appreciate the comments and will take them on board... however @stu914 its pneumatic airline pipe comes in a blue coating. I received my mountain air filter kit today and have half fit it... Fired the fan and light up to get an indication of noise and lets just say its a good thing we don't have many guests round will look at ways of making it quiter come the next grow! Since my last post I have done a few bits and bobs, including put a small hole in lid for res drain and refill, also made up dipsticks to detect res depth and purchased a res heater and thermometer. Plan now is to... Fit the filter Situate the pumps outside Get Sensi Grow A+B nutes And then I think I am ready for the clones I'm getting this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 36 minutes ago, Idiot At Large said: its pneumatic airline pipe comes in a blue coating. Ahhh......blue is it now, not black.......I use the blue one as well, does the job...... It's all coming together very nicely bud, tidy build all round....... How are you going to drain the res when it needs changing? A small pump through the inspection hatch will work providing you can get it right down to the bottom once there are plenty of roots in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idiot At Large Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 @stu914 The small battery powered pump is exactly what I have, even have a tub sorted to drain res and mix nutes in! Think I'm gunna have a bash at doing a scrog too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugums Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Nice thread and lots of great info coming in here!! Silence... here's a link, hope it helps... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idiot At Large Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 Cheers @Slugums I might just have to do it via this method! @stu914 I ventured into the loft... well I tried and realised I wont be able to vent up there as I cant get up there, its probably just over a foot in clearance... any ideas? I do have some 5" ducting which I could use to direct the fan at the window and have it ajar 99% of the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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