New Grow Setup...Recommendations?

[Dravis85]

Hello, been reading on here for a bit trying to sort out everything before I leap in blindly. I think I have the plan down, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am planning to go seed to harvest until i get enough experience to start a mother/cloning process. I have a wardrobe that measures 33"Lx 20"Dx 68"T. I plan on setting up a 400w HPS cool tube & wing for the whole run. I will have an intake fan at the bottom and an exhaust at the top ducted to the cool tube to keep temps down. I'm still working on the carbon filter for the exhaust fan. I have decided on a hydro-airation system using 5-gal buckets with air rocks bubbling up, (water level within 1" of root structure or basket). No soil, rockwool or lava rock only, so probly going with CANNA nutes.

I worry about needing a main resevoir between the growing buckets to equalize water levels. I had originally thought of a combo drip/airation using a fountain pump in the (now removed) resevoir to drip over the baskets, but from what I have read it would make the roots too wet and promote rot. I'm not sure if I would need a speperate exhaust fan for the cab, or if the draw through the light tube would be sufficient.

More info as I figure it out, but thanks in advance!!

 

[Dravis85]

Just thought I'd share what I have built, now that it's complete.

I have the same wardrobe with two 5 gallon buckets in the bottom. I will be using 6 inch basket lids with expanded clay as the medium. I am aerating the water with 5" airstones and a 66 gph air pump. I am problably going to go with either the CANNA or GH full set of nutes. I decided to set the light ballast on the bottom of the wardrobe to help keep temps stable. I have a 400 watt MH/HPS with a 6 inch cool tube ducted to an exhaust fan at the top. Since the cooltube is open on one end it exhausts for the whole enclosure. I have another fan mounted for intake at about half way up the side of the wardrobe. Both fans are 200mm and 166 cfm. Considering the space is roughly 20 cf, it renew the entire enclosure fairly often. I plan to use a simple CO2 generator (yeast based), and will use airline tubing to direct the CO2 directly onto the plants. Hopefully this approach will mitigate the need for switching my fans off for CO2. I picked up a small aquarium thermometer to monitor my water temps and a desktop weather station that monitors ambient temp and humidity. Hopefully I can get some pics soon.

After researching a bit more I think I answered all my other questions, but one. I still am not sure if it is safe to sprout seeds with the HID light source. I have more than enough vertical space to work with so that I don't burn them, but everything I have read says to sprout under floros, CFLs or LEDs.

Now all I have to do is germinate, following the fool proof methods on these forums, plant, and let it grow