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Old 01-20-2013, 02:45 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
Posts: 1,855
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Hello LaserGunJesus,
1. How big is your basement (including ceiling height)?
2. How much room do you have to dedicate to your grow in the basement?
3. Does your basement have windows that people can see in?
4. Do you have a sink and drain located in your basement?
5. Do you have working electrical outlets in the basement, and how many 15/20amp breakers are dedicated to the basement?
6. How many plants are you wanting to harvest at a time?
7. Do you plan to grow one crop, then start another crop later? Or are you planing to grow and harvest in a continual rotation?
8. How often does your basement flood, and where do you plan to move the setup to when it does?
9. How do you plan to ventilate your grow area (bring in fresh air and exhaust old air)?
10. How big do you expect your plants to get by the time you harvest them?


The grow tents are useless if your goal is to keep people from seeing the plants. The second they see the grow tent, they will know exactly what your growing inside it. The reason pot growers like them is because you can zip them up, thus containing all the light and smell inside. Making it harder to notice from other rooms in the house. They wont see bright lights coming through door cracks in another room, and the smell can be vented out the roof through ducting.

Also the hydro system in the link showed a 24 plant site. However you will need a much larger space than a 9x9 foot space unless you only plan on growing the plants a foot or so tall. In a 9x9 space you wouldn't really get more than 4-5 good sized pot plants max without over crowding them. You can use any of the 6 types of hydroponic systems to grow large plants, but the two most common are a drip system, and a water culture system (like in your link). Personally I like using drip systems for large plants best. I built one for growing 4 large broccoli plants, and it cost less than $100 total. You can do do a water culture system fairly easily too (like in the link you posted), but it's a bit more involved, as well as a little more expensive because there are a few more parts.


Quote:
CO2 Augmentation:
Super Co2 Kit - $199
When it comes to co2 enrichment home built is not really worth it. There are two types, a co2 generator, or co2 bottle systems. The bottle system is better in most situations. Although you don't have co2 bottles to refill with the generators, you will either need to run propane lines from the house, or refill propane bottles. Also they generate heat, that could be fine during winter in real cold basements, but not most of the year. Not to mention you already will have heat buildup when using artificial lighting, and especially in closed confined spaces. Fortunately, co2 isn't necessary when you ventilate properly (circulate the area with fresh air), and will need to do anyway. Also keep in mind that if you ventilate the room, you will be blowing out all of your good co2 as well. Like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Co2 enrichment works best in larger unventilated rooms that are easier to control climate in, rather than rooms that are easily ventilated.

Quote:
Total Germination Package:
$69.99
I don't know what comes with that package, but unless it's completely self automated and climate controlled, I cant see spending that much. You can go to Wal-mart, Kmart, big lots, home depot, Loews or any nursery and get a 72 plant cell seed germinating tray for about $4. Then a good 4-6 bulb florescent light system about another $20-$25 (less if you get the fixtures used). If you cant keep it in a warm place, you may want a heating pad you can get for about $10 (or a buck or two at a thrift store). Now if you want to get a bit more fancy, you could build a cloner system for not much more.

Quote:
TechnaFlora nutrient Super Pack:
$215
I'm not familiar with those nutrients, and how many gallons of nutrient solution that much money makes for you. But dry nutrients are much cheaper, and just as good. Here are some that I use:

The Verti-Gro Hydroponic Fertilizers and Nutrients - Organic and Hydroponic Growing for Commercial and Hobby Growers
SKU#: FCombo runs $40 and that includes shipping, and makes about 500 gallons of full strength nutrient solution. If you buy both parts in the 25lb quantity's it will run about $120-$130 including shipping, and makes about 5,000 gallons of full strength nutrient solution.

QuickGrow Nutrient Fertilizer
I haven't used these personally, but have a good friend that has. I forget the mixing directions, but it makes a similar amount of gallons of full strength nutrient solution as the verigro per lb of dry mix. My friend that used them has never had bigger tomato's than with those nutrients.

Buy Hydroponics - J. R. Peters Inc. Fertilizer Products And Services
You'll need to contact JRpeters to find out the mixing directions. I'm only familiar with their herb formula. About 11 ounces of the mix makes 100 gallons of full strength nutrient solution. The 25lb bag makes about 4,000 gallons, and including shipping only cost me about $70.

Quote:
Stealth RO Water Filter:
$315
I don't know what your tap water quality is like, so it's hard to tell what you need in that regard. But you can build your own canister system like I did, and customize it for your needs. But if you still want a portable RO system you can get them for half the price or less the price of that one if you look around.

Portable Reverse Osmosis System 50 GPD ($152.00 )
Portable Reverse Osmosis System 50 GPD ($69.99)
CQE-CT-00142 Crystal Quest Countertop Reverse Osmosis Filter System ($159.99)

Quote:
24-7 Nutrient Monitor:
$219
Well, that's up to you. If you have the money burning a hole in your pocket, then go for it. As for me, I've been growing for about 4 years, and have never used an electronic EC, TDS, PPM, or pH meter at all. I know how strong my nutrients are because I can fallow the manufactures mixing directions. From there I can adjust how strong I want them by diluting it with a specific amount of water to it to make it weaker, or reducing the amount of water I mix it with to make it stronger. No mater what meter you use (EC, TDS, PPM) none of them can tell you the amount of any one specific element/nutrient in the solution. They can only give you a total of everything that is in the water. So they can't tell you what the level of Nitrogen is in the solution, or if there is too much or not enough Potassium etc.. For that reason I don't bother with them. I do regular nutrient changes to make sure the nutrient solution is balanced. I have an inexpensive temperature thermometer I got in the pool supply department at wal-mart to check the nutrient solution temperature with. And I don't use electronic pH testers, I use General Hydroponics pH Test drops. They don't need to be calibrated, cared properly for, and don't give fals readings like any electronic device is subject to. Even if you get a electronic ph meter, make sure you get the pH drops too, so you can double check the readings the meter gives you.

Bottom line depending on your space, specific design in both your grow space and hydroponic systems, as well as lighting setup and ventilation needs. You should be able to put together a better setup than what you would pay $6,700 for, for about $2,000 or less (about 75% less than a store bought setup). Especially if you take the time to shop around for the parts and materials. No mater whether you build your own systems, or buy a store bought one, you will still have a learning curve when it comes to growing anything hydroponically in the beginning. Buying the most expensive everything won't change that. So build it yourself, and hang onto the other 5 grand to build more later with. The best way to learn what it takes is to build it yourself, then you really understand how it works (and you get to keep your money too).
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 01-20-2013 at 02:57 AM.
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