Ranec Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) With my 2nd grow now well underway I thought it was about time I sorted out my grow space. First up was extraction - the 5" Black Orchid with speed and temp adjust did well but even dialed right down pulled crazy negative pressure in my little tent, so I decided to upgrade. New unit is a 4" Systemair K EC and GAS EC-1 fan controller. Seriously impressed how quiet this fan is, at low speeds it's almost totally silent and even when it spools up its significantly quieter than the old Black Orchid. Lower through flow means intake noise is now none existent too so I'm doubly happy In the tent the NFT tray had been disassembled, cleaned then reassembled and is currently undergoing a 24hr rinse out with 20ml of Silver Bullet Roots in 10l of water. Also fitted a small aquarium heater to help keep res temps up over winter, this is currently set at 24°c but I've moved the res temp probe up onto the tray to give me a better idea of root temps - a new res thermometer with min/max display seems like it might be a good investment... As ever I've plenty of ideas for the future but I'm putting them all on the back burner until this current grow is over, which, luckily enough, gives me time to sort out my spare room - I've bought the plyboard and timber to make my desk, I just need to clear enough space to do it now.!.. Edited October 12, 2019 by Ranec Spellingz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 (edited) One little mod to my nft set-up which should hopefully make life a bit easier.... I replaced the original right angle up pipe with a length of 4mm i.d. flexi pipe and topped it off with a tee piece to stop it slipping back into the tank - now when I want to empty the res I pull the tee off and the pipe will stretch out of the tent and into a bucket with less faffing around Edited October 18, 2019 by Ranec Spellingz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain sensible Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 28/04/2019 at 8:41 PM, Ranec said: having finally booted up my rather antiquated laptop i thought I'd make a rolling diary for my grow space prior to starting my first grow. somewhere underneath two layers of foil lined bubble wrap is a Gorilla Grow Tents Shorty (0.8m wide x 0.6m deep x 1.4m high). Tent was chosen as its one of the very few that will fit the space i have. making the tent coat was a labour of love, all seams are sealed on both sides with silver insulation tape and the inner skin has foil flaps around the intake, outtake and electrical ports. Outer skin would have had them too but i had a rather weighty bifta and the thing was built and in the loft before i realised id forgotten them Outer layer rolls up around an old broom handle and is then held up by the bungee cables around the cross beams, inner layer opens out double door style.. inside is a Medusa Hydroponics Lotus P1 NFT system. this seems to be a pretty new piece of kit but i chose it over the GT205 as it gives me a little extra space within the tent. Lighting is a Scope 220 from our very own @diyleduk Intake is via a 4" semi-passive set up (boosted by an extractor fan built into the room below) and extraction is handled by a 5" Black Orchid Centri-Flo fan with built in speed and temperature control. Squeezed into that 25l brewing bucket is a 5" CarboAir 50 filter to remove any funky odours before the old air is pushed out of the eaves. At the minute I'm just running it empty and keeping an eye on internal and external temps and humidity prior to embarking on my first grow, readings are within reasonable limits and seem pretty stable for now but time will tell.. I've got a few ideas for future grows, first of which will probably be a small water heater to keep res temps up (depending on how they do in the future). I'd love to hear any ideas or recommendations - thanks for reading Hi @Ranec, Really nice design. I am trying to find some insulation for my tent. I found similar for Green Cube tents which are purpose built for Green Cube but I have a Black Orchid and they are different sizes. Could you possibly point in the right direction for where you obtained your insulating material. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Badgeley Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 @captain sensible. Have you got an Aldi near you? They have some in there. As usual cheap as their Chips. Whilst you're in you can bag an excellent Portuguese red for under a fiver (if you want) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trichomehi Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 28/04/2019 at 8:41 PM, Ranec said: having finally booted up my rather antiquated laptop i thought I'd make a rolling diary for my grow space prior to starting my first grow. somewhere underneath two layers of foil lined bubble wrap is a Gorilla Grow Tents Shorty (0.8m wide x 0.6m deep x 1.4m high). Tent was chosen as its one of the very few that will fit the space i have. making the tent coat was a labour of love, all seams are sealed on both sides with silver insulation tape and the inner skin has foil flaps around the intake, outtake and electrical ports. Outer skin would have had them too but i had a rather weighty bifta and the thing was built and in the loft before i realised id forgotten them Outer layer rolls up around an old broom handle and is then held up by the bungee cables around the cross beams, inner layer opens out double door style.. inside is a Medusa Hydroponics Lotus P1 NFT system. this seems to be a pretty new piece of kit but i chose it over the GT205 as it gives me a little extra space within the tent. Lighting is a Scope 220 from our very own @diyleduk Intake is via a 4" semi-passive set up (boosted by an extractor fan built into the room below) and extraction is handled by a 5" Black Orchid Centri-Flo fan with built in speed and temperature control. Squeezed into that 25l brewing bucket is a 5" CarboAir 50 filter to remove any funky odours before the old air is pushed out of the eaves. At the minute I'm just running it empty and keeping an eye on internal and external temps and humidity prior to embarking on my first grow, readings are within reasonable limits and seem pretty stable for now but time will tell.. I've got a few ideas for future grows, first of which will probably be a small water heater to keep res temps up (depending on how they do in the future). I'd love to hear any ideas or recommendations - thanks for reading Haha, i've got a couple of those brew buckets in my loft from my home brewing days, good luck with the diary bud I'll tag along see how it goes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trichomehi Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 18/10/2019 at 10:38 PM, Ranec said: One little mod to my nft set-up which should hopefully make life a bit easier.... I replaced the original right angle up pipe with a length of 4mm i.d. flexi pipe and topped it off with a tee piece to stop it slipping back into the tank - now when I want to empty the res I pull the tee off and the pipe will stretch out of the tent and into a bucket with less faffing around R u going to put a float in there and hook up an external res, working really well in my system cf and ph rarely going out of range when i want to empty tank i just shut off res tank and let the plants drink the tank dry then refill fresh.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted November 5, 2019 Author Share Posted November 5, 2019 @captain sensible I got my insulation and tape from Screwfix but as Larry said it's probably available cheeper elsewhere @trichomehi I initially planned to add a remote res but I may well build my own recirculating flood dripper system after the next crop as I wanna try a sog run and maybe run a few mixed strain grows in the future - the Lotus P1 kit I'm currently using is fine but a bit small I reckon so when I do go back to nft I'll probably build my own - I'll bear your recommendation in mind when I do tho 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 New veg tent Had been toying with the idea of getting a proper space to keep some mums and finally decided on this. Secret Jardin DP60 R4 - 60x40x60cms - seems solid enough and I really like that you can choose where to put your intake/out take/cable ducts. Have built her a new single skin coat already Final fit out will happen later this week hopefully - lighting will be handled by the 65w HLG veg board I have whilst tootsie's will be kept warm by a new 30w rootit heat mat and thermostatic controller. Vent wise this will be ducted in in-line before my flower tent so should help to raise / stabilise temps in the flower tent. Also need to tidy up and sort out some decent storage for all the nutes and associated grow gubbins up there too but all in good time 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted November 20, 2020 Author Share Posted November 20, 2020 Dripper system build Built a frame to fit the tent and house the res Added cross braces to hold a cut- down funnel Pop in a pump and topspin dripper manifold And finish off with trays and airpots The stakes will probably be replaced with diy dripper rings and I'm going to use nft roll between the tray and funnel to hopefully reduce recirc noise. Before that I want to wet test the system and maybe get an idea of flow rates etc first tho - plan is to get some freebie beans wet early next year so between fine tuning this and building a new filter box I've got plenty to keep me busy Might even get around to relocating that veg tent and getting it up and running one day 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 Here's the bare bones of the new filter box - an 80L plastic crate, the 4" K EC fan and 5" carboair filter. So far I've drilled one end of the box to take a mounting spigot for the fan, re-enforced the sides where I've run eye bolts through the chassis and drilled the roof ready to fit a 5" flange for intake. Next up I'll suspended the fan and filter and join them together, then seal the gap where the lid meets the frame and that (hopefully) will be job done With only 29 days before I plan to start my next grow I should probably get a move on but a recurrent back injury has me on light duty for a while so we'll see 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 New filter box is done I added the cross brace to increase rigidity and keep a better seal, I'll probably run some aly tape around the edge anyway. Now this is complete I'm gonna reverse the intake and exhaust locations in an effort to conserve temps (cheers tokenroll ), then I'll be ready to wet test the system in preparation for season 4 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 (edited) Finally fitted out the res - left to right is an mj1000 pump to inline filter to topspin manifold, above that an aquarium heater set to 24°c, and below the pump intake is the probe for an inkbird bluetooth thermometer then filled her up with 20l of plain water an 40ml of silver bullets for a rinse through... Where the water flows through the tray into the funnel is almost silent but the pump itself hums something chronic, especially when heard from underneath, so I'm get some sponges to stand it on in the hope that quiets it down enough to live with Next on the list is setting up the intake and exhaust system.... Edited January 10, 2021 by Ranec gramma.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QQ710 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Nice work @Ranec I like what you did to your carbon filter to save space It's all coming together - looking forward to seeing fat sticky flowers growing in your loft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranec Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Thanks @QQ710, with my tent being so small having the fan and filter outside has freed up some much needed room at the top. Extraction is all set up now, air comes in from within the house and enters the top of the tent via the duct running middle-left to top-right, hopefully drawing heat down on its way out of the tent via the duct bottom-right. This goes into the fan/filter box via a 90° bend then exits out the back of the box and out to the eves via more ducting. Meanwhile inside the tent the noisy pump has been silenced with some sponges and cable ties, so the whole system (irrigation and extraction) is now almost totally silent I've washed and buffered the Hydroton and set up the res with a half dose of calmag/grow/silver bullets and left it running to see where it settles - with any luck I'll be able to transplant my babies in a day or so 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now