My plans for first indoor hydro grow - Any tips/criticism?

[newgrowguy14]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, let me know if it isn't!

I'm planning on doing a RDWC grow and want to make sure my plans are solid before I get too far into setting things up. I have a pretty large area to work with (8 x 10 x 8, likely won't use all of it) and I just want to make sure I'm setting myself up for success. I also plan on doing an autoflower grow (most likely DP's Think Different seeds) in order to get used to the system and growing inside before I move to photo plants. Plus, from everything I've read, I should end up with a decent yield of some good smoke regardless.

From what I've seen, lots of lights + hydroponics + good autoflower strains = pretty good results, even for beginners. I know I should start with soil but I kind of want to jump in to the deep end, I guess.

Grow room:
5' x 5' x 8'
Walls painted flat white, will cover in Mylar or something similar.
I'll probably just put cheap vinyl tile on the floors.
1000w MH lights during veg, 1000w HPS lights during flower. I'll set up an exhaust system to cool the lights (fan -> duct -> lights -> duct -> outside is the best way, correct?)
Since I'm still building the area, I plan on putting two small drains on the floor just in case. Won't take long and I figure it'd be helpful if I ever have a big mess.
I'll put a passive air intake in the bottom corner of the room, and then a fan + carbon filter exhaust in the top corner that blows outside. I'm not sure if that'll be overkill or not.

Setup:

I want to do a 5 plant RDWC with a control bucket and res, with a float valve in the control bucket that would draw from the res when the water level drops too much. The current plan is to have the buckets connected with 3" or larger PVC, inline water pump on the return, and then do 1 airstone in each plant bucket. I plan on making a chiller out of a dehumidifier (I've seen tons of guides and people seem to consistently have good results doing it) and figuring out a way to run the water through that on the pipe that returns to the control bucket.

That's pretty much the gist of it, I think I've covered everything enough to be able to give an idea of what I want to do. Any feedback is appreciated!

Also, if there's a much more ideal way to use the space or a better hydro method of growing autos, feel free to let me know! I'm not absolutely set in stone on the RDWC bucket system, I've just looked at alot of the setups and feel confident I could get it going and do okay for a first grow. Definitely open to suggestions!

 

[Henry998]

Welcome growguy! i know next to nothing about hydro so can't help you with that.
A couple of things though; if you live in a country where cultivation is illegal, you might not want to vent straight outside. This is because the heat leaving will be highly visible to thermal imaging. The way i think its generally done (and how i do it) is to vent into the room/ rest of the building and when it leaves it will be at a lower/ambient temp.
The other thing, if your gonna grow autos theres an awesome thread called something like "auto flower myth busting" which will pretty much give you all the info you need from growers that are probably experts in that type of cannabis.

Happy growing

 

[Papageno]

Hey bud good to see you ask first because too many just build a mess and then come here crying for answers.

Sounds to me like you are building an under current system not an RDWC. Most people don't understand what RDWC is and label all kinds of things RDWC that are not "Re-circulating" the water back to the top of the basket / res. A 3" line would only be needed for an Undercurrent system which is way beyond overkill for a beginner. I mean go for it bro. I like the idea of jumping in to the deep end but it wont get you better results or better yield to just "do it like a pro" without any experience. I hate to say it but you can't buy your way to awesome yields. And all the true pros growing large scale ops are using soil because the benefits of hydro are lost if you are going big scale.

But any case, so we can be certain and provide the best of help, I posted some stuff in this other thread about different DWC styles with links to youtube vids. Give it a read if you plan to go this route. I think page 2 has a link to a vid on a true modern multi site RDWC that is commonly confused with Undercurrent because to the untrained observer undercurrent looks very similar.

Rdwc nutes questions

I can't answer too much about Auto-flowering strains. I am growing my first ones now. I have been growing more than 20 years and I am growing my first ones now. I am finding them a bit frustrating because they are blooming too fast. At 10 day and 7 inches I had bud sites. I can't imagine they will get very big. Feels like a waste of time to me. I have a 5x5 and they wont come close to filling it.

Also for autos I think hydro is a waste. They go so fast the advantage of hydro is lost. I have done various hydros. My last one was top drip RDWC. I have the complete RDWC setup and still went with soil for autos. I have a buddy in Cali that only does autos in hydro but it is because he has a such a small cabinet in which he cant grow them big. You have a big enough space you can grow real plants that get real yields. In a 5x5, if you do it right, you can get a few pounds per run. If you are doing this for personal then 2 runs a year is more than enough in a 5x5 no matter what you do.

Sorry, not trying to convince you to change, I know you are set. But after a few runs you need to try soil because anyone who wants to be good at this must understand how to do both...unless you are staying in soil. But soil is not using off the shelf bags of soil...that is about as dumb as it gets.


As far as ventilation goes. I have a 5x5 Gorilla tent with extension. I have a 6x16 400 CFM Phresh filter and 400CFM fan on a speed controller and there is no smell. I run it on a speed controller so it is not pulling full force for multiple reasons. It is very important to run an over sized fan and filter at between 50-80% instead of running it full tilt. The fan and filter last much longer and can be run much quieter and you can control the temps in the room. If the filter and fan are maxed out for the space you have to run them full tilt wearing them both out fast and the temps are what they are. With a slightly over sized fan you can adjust the speed and control the room temps. You will need an intake fan and I recommend a basic filter but nothing expensive. Go to home depot and in the HVAC filter section you can buy a roll of reusable washable filter that you can cut to shape and place in the inlet hole. You will be venting at such a high rate that the inlet hole will be much larger than you think unless you add a second fan. It is vitally important that the exhaust fan running through the filter is both sealed to the filter and also running slightly faster than the intake. You want slight negative pressure so that all the exhaust is going through the filter otherwise it will smell and all that money was wasted.


Not all lights want to be cooled. Double Ended HID lights are meant to run warm so ducting depends on the lights. I have both an old school single ended 1000W Air cooled hood and a modern 1000W DE setup. The DE setup runs way hotter and needs more venting. The air cooled hood with a second fan runs obviously much cooler. If you go with a top of the line DE light then you will need bigger fans and ventilation...unless you are running an oversized one like I explained where all you do is up the speed. An air cooled single ended one will require a second fan to operate it properly. Many people use a single fan to run both the ventilation and cooling an air cooled hood but then you don't have the best control. It works fine but you don't have the "best" control. You run the fan full tilt to cool the light and sacrifice the filter performance. It comes down to what type of light you want to run. Double ended are the best ones out there and anything else HID will give you less product for the same cost. But if you go that route be prepared to pump out the air.

Best of luck my friend. I strongly recommend that before you get too many grows under your belt that you try a soil run with a good supper soil mix starting with the base of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 steer manure and 1/3 good potting soil (not miracle grow). You will be amazed at how little the hydro matters in a 5x5 if you make a properly aerated soil.

 

[Firebrown14]

Anyone knows how much it cost to use a 6" fan & filter?

 

[Papageno]

Amazon: Active Air 400 CFM Inline Fan, 6-Inch

Amazon: Phresh 701005 Carbon Air Filter, 6 by 16-Inch, 400 CFM