Concrete walls non concrete plans

[Jackopotomus]

I am just planning a grow for my basement. I was hoping to make a cabinet out an old shelving unit I dont use. Removed the shelves and took some pics, will try to post. Dimensions are 34" from the back wall to the front of the 2×6 frame. 8 ft from side to side measuring wall to wall. And 6ft from the concrete floor to the bottom of the top shelf which I thought I would use for the roof. Hoping to be able to use this space for a veg and flower room if possible. I am wondering about just painting the concrete flat white and leaving it. Would that work? Is concrete going to start to get condensation? Or crack?will it reak havoc on my humidity or is this ideal?

I would like to harvest around 1/2 lbs every two months to start and get closer to 1lbs once I get it dialed in. I have thought about looking into getting clones pretty sure I could get em but I have heard a lot of people say bringing in outside clones into a garden is an invitation for spider mites, so Im thinking of a perpetual grow buying seeds and starting 1or 2 moms.

Also any ideas on how to set this up would be much appreciated. I am thinking of doing a 5ft × 34" flowering lit with either a 600w or a 1000w dimmed to 600w output. Which would leave me a 3ft x 34" veg just lit with a couple 2ft shoplights. Do you think if I did this I could get away with 1 exhaust fan pulling out the flower chamber running bare bulb, or would I need to go with an air cooled hood. Could I get by with a cheap bathroom vent fan for the veg chamber, or will it need an inline fan as well? Id like to keep my budget below $1000 can. Ideally less than $1500 for seeds nutes equipment everything. Any of this sound possible

 

[Jackopotomus]

Concrete walls - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

Concrete walls - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

 

[Dwight Monk]

The Fan you thinking about should have a cfm rating, figure out the cubic feet of your area. At a minimum I have read you want it to replace all of the air at least 3x a minute (as filters and inlet can lower amount it actually moving). Example of my boxes (smaller space but all relevant): My biggest box is 24 cubic feet, the small computer fans I bought move 74 cfm so I have two as inlet and two as exhaust as one fan would be less than 3x the amount of air that space holds (after restrictions of my carbon filter material). Depends where you live but concrete can get quite cold some times of the year, so it can mess with your roots unless you have them up off the concrete some other way.

 

[Cannabomb62]

Oh yeah man that should work. Like urban monk says lift the plants off the ground cuz concrete does get pretty cold. Put a couple pallets down. But that should work really well man. Make sure to get that area light tight. And let your plants get to about 12" tall be for flower so they don't out grow that space. I will be following the grow and will be happy to help you along the way.✌✌

CannaBomb62000000

 

[Jackopotomus]

Thanks everybody! I was thinking of putting a raised floor in there figured I could put passive intakes in the floor and get the pots off the ground but also trying to make the most of my 6ft height.
How far off the concrete would the pots need to be?

What about painting concrete white? Was worried about using black and white poly and getting moisture trapped between the concrete and the plastic. The shelves were all made of random width 8ft strips of 3/4" OSB or chip board so I could use that to make walls if I had to.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Like Cannabomb said you could just put some pallets down (always free ones outside of places around here, as they don't reuse the slightly damaged ones and some places don't reuse them at all), or if you want to spend some money make a floor (piece of plywood on your pallets or use insulated foam board etc...), anything that keeps them from sucking the cold right off the concrete (even pallets will absorb a lot of the temp and give you an inch or two airflow under them so those would work as economical route) depending on your temp ranges that might influence using more than cheapest option for a floor.

 

[Jackopotomus]

Thanks urban monk. Those 2×6s on the wall have to come down any way so I could reuse them as well as the old plywood to make a floor for nothing but that would take 6 3/4" out of my height would that be making the box to short at less than 5.5ft?

 

[Dwight Monk]

I bought a pre-made grow box that was 3' high, once I saw it in person I knew it wouldn't grow anything full cycle that was very big (good box for seedlings/clones though), so I decided to make one, which turned into two...You can read all the specifics in my Anti Journal Journal link....but anyway I now have one 3' one 4' and one 6' box and I wish I had more height so 5.5 will work but you will want more at some point is my guess (also depends on what kind of lights you using which determines how close to plant it can be, and space needed above lamp loses some more height......it all adds up quick ).

 

[Jackopotomus]

I have attempted 4 grows over the past 13 years or so first one was a small cabinet cfl grow that yielded about a 1/2 oz of really nice flowers. The second was a mess didnt have my ventilation set up very well got a clone before I was ready it died before it ever really started. A few years later I tried to start a cab with a 430w Son Agro was venting with a 4" inline fan rated at 140cfm I believe got way too hot so I sold the light. A few years after that I started a Northern lights plant from seed in a Rev style TLO style soil under 4 2ft flourescent strips. Plant was coming along nicely till I needed to move suddenly and had to toss the plant. Ended up helping a friend with a grow a few years back and learned a lot from him. Have haunted various forums through out the years but this hobby has taught me one thing. You only get out what you put into it. This time Im a little older my space is a lot bigger and Im not in a rush to get started till I know I can finish. Perhaps I am over thinking but I would really hate to start this cab realize I needed the extra 7inch and need to go back and start over.

Anyone runnin a similar size tent or cab with a 600?

 

[luckiestman13]

Like Cannabomb said you could just put some pallets down (always free ones outside of places around here, as they don't reuse the slightly damaged ones and some places don't reuse them at all), or if you want to spend some money make a floor (piece of plywood on your pallets or use insulated foam board etc...), anything that keeps them from sucking the cold right off the concrete (even pallets will absorb a lot of the temp and give you an inch or two airflow under them so those would work as economical route) depending on your temp ranges that might influence using more than cheapest option for a floor.

Personally I would spend the money on plastic pallets. That way you can keep them clean. Or build a raised floor


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Concrete is pretty cold & i see ya gonna add a raised floor but you may wish to insulate the walls as well.

Basements are pretty cold as well the concrete won't help much as i'm thinking when your lights go off you are going to get a big temp drop this may stunt growth if below 16 c, this may not be a problem depending on where you are in world ?


Might be an idea to run a temperature test to ambient conditions between day & night to see if they is any flux in temp, RH could be worth while as well

Environmental conditions are quite important !

 

[Jackopotomus]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Luckiestman13 I agree bringing in old dirty palets carying god knows what isnt worth it for especially as I can make a floor with re used material.

Fuzzyduck damn after having always fought with the heat in the past I just assumed heat was the enemy and the cold was my friend. I am in south western ontario so we get pretty cold here. Also skulked around the area today and realized I have a pretty major draft from my gararge into the basement along the back wall of the cab, but I also found the perfect place to vent into the garage. Guess I'll either have to find my old digital high/low recording thermometer or buy a new one.