MaxNel – Page 3 – Hydroponic Economics

How to Create a Grow Room: Indoor Grow Closet

The first step to creating a grow room is a plan. Growing plants indoors can be tricky and you want to plan what you are going to use to achieve your goal. Without a plan you will build a random grow room built for just growing plants indoors. Depending on the plant you are growing, you may want different things in your grow room. You will want to plan the type of hydroponics or drip system you are going to use. Draw out every component of your planned Grow Tent.

Start with the frame. How do you plan on creating a frame for your environment. You will want an enclosed chamber. Air tight and light tight are the goal. Water proofing is MANDATORY. Water proofing your grow room set up will protect your house from taking heavy water damage and allow you to see any spills or leaks in your hydroponic system. Your frame will also need to support the weight of your grow light and the heavy hood that comes with it. You will also want to hang fans and filters from the frame so make sure you use a sturdy material.

Grow Closet Frame — The arrows point to the PVC pipes that connect to make the frame of the grow box.

Different materials will suit the needs of different growers. The grow closet in the pictures uses 1 inch or thicker PVC pipes for the frame. Wood and braces can construct a very sturdy grow box. If you are going to have a lot of weight hanging from the walls and ceiling, wood will be a good material choice for the frame. For PVC frames you will just use PVC joint connections to bring the pipes together. You can use PVC glue, epoxy, or industrial strength tape to secure the connections.

The walls are made of black and white poly. Black and white poly is similar to mylar on a roll but is usually cheaper. The black and white poly is overlapped at the connection points. Sewing the pieces of black and white poly and sealing

them with duct tape seems to produce a decent seal at a very low cost. Cheap hydroponic grow boxes are hard to find, but making your own can save you quite a bit of money for a sacrifice of time. You could also use a giant tarp to create the walls of the box, but black and white poly already reflects light.

Doors are a tricky part to building a grow room. This is where a good plan will come in handy. Building a wooden door is simple with the right tools. You can cut a square hole in a wooden board to create a door frame. Add hinges and a board that will cover the hole and you have a simple door. To make a simple door in mylar or black and white poly you can get a tarp zipper. The tarp zipper is meant to be sewn to the right and left sides of where the door is supposed to be. To open the door you simply unzip the zipper. Refer to the picture.

Grow Tent Door — The blue part is sewn to the walls and the white is the zipper door.

Once you have an enclosed grow room, you will need to ventilate it and create air circulation. Powerful inline fans can push air through ventilated grow light hoods and air filters. If your grow room is air tight, an exhaust fan should create negative pressure, drawing air from any cracks or holes in the walls. Its important to draw the air out of the room by pulling air through filters before it enters or exits the grow space. Carbon filters will remove any odors before they leave your grow room. HEPA filters will filter out dust, pests, and mold through your intake fan. Small grow tents will not require an intake fan if

the temperature is low enough. A good rule of thumb is a 4:1 exhaust/intake ratio. That means 400 CFM(cubic feet per minute) exhaust for every 100 CFM intake.

Next hang your grow lights and the necessary accessories. Hang your thermometers and preventative pest control gear. You should be nearing the completion of your grow closet. You will have to make a few minor tweaks to get exactly what you want.

Grow Room Electrical Set Up — The arrows point to the hole in the grow tent where cords enter/exit and the outer surge protector the cords plug into.

TIP: Run all of your electrical components to the outside of your grow tent. Make a small hole for plugs to get to the outer environment. If your cords do not reach from the inside of your grow room to the outside, you can run them to the top of the frame. Secure a surge protector up on the wall so that it cannot be possibly touched by water. Run the plug of the surge protector to the outside of the grow box so you have no electrical components exposed to any potential water damage. Protect yourself and your investment!

I’ll be posting more tips and guides on grow room/grow box building in the near future. Sign up for the RSS feed on the side bar or subscribe via email below because you won’t want to miss them! If you have questions about building indoor grow rooms, please spark up the conversation below!

Hydroponic Growth Medium: Rockwool or Starter Plugs

Rockwool and Starter Plug — Both mediums have small precut holes perfect for plant stems. You can also start your own small hole somewhere on the cube for stems.

Hydroponic growth medium is an important choice depending on your grow style. Different growth medias have different strengths and weaknesses. Many growers turn to hydroponic growing methods for their propagation systems. By doing so, growers are given a wide array of options to optimize their growing efficiency. Economical growers do not want to see a decrease in yield or harvest quality due to a growing media issue.

Cloning medium — Try different cloning mediums to find what works for YOU.

Below are the pros and cons for both mediums. You should experiment with both to see what you find. You never know what you may find out from trying different soil less mediums. Search for what works best in the system you use.

Starter Plug Pros:

-Simple, Plugs usually come in a float n grow type system with instructions.

-Only need to be dipped in water to be ready to go.

Starter Plug Cons:

–The float n grow system is not really re-usable, rendering the starter plug replacement packs nearly useless.

-Aside from the float n grow – the starter plugs seem to be susceptible to powdery mildew but careful planning can defend against it.

Rockwool Pros:

-The design is made to give the roots the best air to moisture ratio, if used properly.

–Rockwool is not messy whatsoever.

-Holds moisture well – Important for cloning.

-Comes in various sizes.

Rockwool Cons:

–May not be a good choice for plants that require a dry start for success.

-Rough handling, and lack of attention could lead to an incorrect air to moisture ratio.

-Should be sitting flat.

I cannot say which will prove to be more successful to you, but I had better luck with the rockwool cubes. The Starter Plugs stayed in water for too long. I also tried re-using a float n grow through multiple sets of cloning cycles. The float n grow needs to be cleaned and sterilized to go through a refill. The rockwool cubes did not do well sitting in a flood tray of water, but they did hold up well in a bubble cloner. Go for 100% and try out all the different cloning mediums! Share your experience below!

Time to Change Your Hydroponic Reservoir: Avoid Salt Lockup

Hydroponic Nutrient Reservoir — The water in this reservoir is not fit for a hydroponic system.

Reservoir changes are an essential part to all hydroponic systems. The reservoir is where your oxygenated water and nutrient solution rests in between feedings. You can read up on res changes if you are unfamiliar with them. Depending on the size of your reservoir, hydroponic growing system, and nutrient solution your reservoir should be changed every 7-14 days. Recirculating hydroponic systems need to be monitored closely for signs indicating its time for a res change. If you procrastinate too long, your plants may become victim to the dreaded salt lock up. Look for these 5 signs to ensure you don’t wait too long!

1. Discolored Reservoir Water – Hydroponic systems usually have nutrients and potentially an insecticide like Azamax mixed into the reservoir. After recirculation the solution picks up extra things you do not want to continually recirculate through your system. If your nutrient solution is not the color it was after you mixed it, it may be time for a res change.

2.Dead bugs – Dead bugs can have germs and carry diseases you do not want transfered to your plants. If you see floating dead bugs in your reservoir water, change it!

3. Wrong PH/High PPM – If the PH of your water is too high, you could damage your plant’s root system. You can get products that will adjust your PH, but use them in moderation. There could be a greater problem you are missing out on if you continually lower your PH with solutions. A high PPM can lead to nutrient burns and salt lockouts. You can add plain water to offset a high PPM, but a reservoir change is in place if you made your nutrient solution too strong.

4. Plants are deficient in one nutrient, but over fertilized by another – Using multi part nutrient solutions can give a grower a lot of precision. If you notice your plants are showing signs of deficiency for potassium, but look over fertilized, they could just need a different ratio of nutrients. A reservoir change will allow you to start your nutrient mix from a fresh pallet.

5. Two Week Rule – If you have been using the same res water for more than two weeks, its probably time for a change. Letting your res water evaporate and get low can also spike your PPM. Don’t let a huge reservoir fool you! You still need to monitor your PH and PPM because the nutrients do not evaporate out of the water.

Net Pots/Net Cups: Indoor Plant Container Review

Full Net Pot — Mesh pot full of rockwool and hydroton expanded clay.

Net Pots, also known as net cups,, are a traditional hydroponic medium container. The purpose of a net pot is to allow maximum oxygen uptake by the roots. Net cups also allow roots to grow out of the sides and bottom of the container. In order for the roots to grow out of the container they need to be in a dark enclosed growing environment. Examples of enclosed growing environments are Deep Water Culture(DWC), Nutrient Film Technique(NFT), and Aeroponics.

Mesh pots come in various sizes and are perfect for DIY hydroponic systems. They usually come with a small lip that will catch the sides of the container with the hole where the net pot goes. The homemade hydroponic system will hold the net cups in place to prevent them from falling in the reservoir. If you plan to use your net pots as plant containers for consumables, make sure to get food grade plastic.

There are also net pot bucket lids you can get. The lids fit on standard 5 gallon buckets. The bucket lid net pot allows you to turn a bucket into a homemade DWC or ebb and flow system. The mesh pots can be filled with different kinds of medium to fit your needs as a grower. In the picture I have a net cup filled with rockwool and hydroton clay pebbles. Try experimenting with different mediums and mixes to find out what works for you.

Green Light Means Go

Plant Green Light — Use a green light bulb to work in your grow room during night cycles. Plants do not photosynthesize green light, therefore their photo period is not disturbed.

Indoor gardens have a day period just like outdoor plants. The length of day is controlled by timers. Indoor gardens are meant to be convenient to the grower, but we can’t always work on our garden when it needs us. If you care about your plants, you don’t want them to suffer due to your neglect. On the other hand you can not neglect your life to tend for your plants. There is a solution for this dilemma!

Install green light bulbs next to your grow lights. If you know some basic wiring, you can wire a switch to the outside of the environment. Turning the green light on from outside of the environment will allow you to enter the environment with light. You don’t want to knock over what you are trying to protect!

Good Hydroponic Growing Medium: Hydroton Clay Pebbles

The growth medium you choose for your plants is important. The hydroponic growing medium can determine the time settings you need to run for your drip emitters or ebb and flow system. Today I’ve written a little post about my experience with expanded clay pellets.

The expanded clay I used was Easy Green Hydroton. It comes in two sizes: 4/8 and 8/16. I used a mix of both and had great results. Expanded clay pellets mix well with other mediums for hybrid mixes as well. Make soil less mixes from grow mediums that are clean. New packaged growth mediums should be labeled sterile and most are PH balanced. In the picture you can see I have a rockwool cube attached to a thick hydroton root ball.

The hydroton drained well and could be watered many times a day. Expanded clay wicks moisture from rockwool so be sure to place a drip emitter on your rockwool cube. My rockwool cube had the main part of root system in it. If that part of the root system dries and dies the rest of the root system is useless.

You will have to play with the watering intervals for your plants in this growth medium. Hydroclay dries out fast so water often. To avoid over fertilization fill your reservoir with a weak soluble fertilizer. A weak nutrient solution can be fed to your plant many times a day without causing nutrient burn or salt lock up.

Read customer reviews of the popular Hydroton brand Clay Pebbles here.

Homemade Humidity Dome

Humidity is an important factor in many plant propagation systems. Some cloning systems come with humidity domes. A humidity dome is a small imitation of a green house. The humidity dome keeps the humidity high in the area it covers. To keep your humidity dome working properly, spray fine mists on the walls of the dome. You can also use digital timers and water pumps to automate sprinklers to spray the mists for you.

You can create single plant or large humidity domes at home. I used a Chinese food carryout container to make an extra humidity dome.

Food Grade Plastic — A food grade plastic container recycled into a useful humidity dome.

Half inch drill bit — Use a small drill bit to drill an air hole in your humidity dome.

Use a drill to put a small hole in the container. The hole will let the container get a little air flow while keeping the humidity up. The small hole will also help to prevent the temperature from rising in your humidity dome. Mist the sides of the container with small water drops. Put the container over your plant or clone to put it in a high humidity environment. Fresh cuttings like to be in an environment with 90-100% humidity. Some thermometers have humidity measurements on them. A humidity thermometer is called a humidity hygrometer. Technically humidity meter is incorrect for the situation you will be using the tool. Use home made humidity domes from house hold items to stay economical and green!

Finished Homemade Humidity Dome — This is the final product. Mist the walls of the humidity dome to create a wet environment with a high humidity.

GUIDE: How to Mix Fertilizer; Mixing Nutrients in a Hydroponic Reservoir

Mixing nutrients is an essential part to all hydroponic growing systems. Plants require nutrients to grow. Hydroponic systems are designed to ensure maximum nutrient uptake. Use this guide to mix your nutrients correctly every time! Mixing nutrients in your reservoir is easy – follow the pictures if you are confused.

Water for Hydroponic Reservoir — Start with plain water to mix with your hydroponics nutrient.

Start with reverse osmosis water if you can. I use one gallon jugs to fill water and mix nutrients. Growers with bigger reservoirs will want to use a 5 gallon bucket to mix nutrients. Make sure the container you use is food grade.

Get a clean measurement tool like a cylinder. Read the label of your nutrients to determine the measurement of nutrients you need per gallon. If you are using a five gallon bucket make sure to multiply by 5. I like to start with half of what the bottle recommends to ensure I don’t burn my plants. Pour your high grade organic nutrients into the measurement tool to make sure you have the correct amount.

Pour Nutrients Into Measurement Tool — Pour your hydroponic plant nutrients into your measurement tool.

Hydroponic Nutrients — Measure and double check your plant nutrient measurement before adding to your water.

Make sure you double check your nutrient measure. It is good to know the amount of nutrients used and at what time in the plant’s life cycle. Jotting down quick notes of these metrics and their results can leave you with valuable information for your next crop. Grow logs are an essential tool in building a better growing environment.

Mix Hydroponic Nutrients with Water — Once you have the correct amount of nutrients, pour them into you water that is to be mixed in the reservoir.

Line up your measurement device with the lip of your container and pour your nutrients in slowly. If you tilt the cylinder too much you may overshoot your container. If you spill some the measurement you took is now wrong. The loss will not affect your grow in a severe manner, but it is nice to have close to accurate measurements. Even if you are trying to achieve 100% efficiency you are unlikely to do so.

Cap the container and shake the nutrients until they are well mixed.

Cheap Grow Lights You Can Get Anywhere

If you live somewhere that does not allow you to grow outside all year round, you may want to start an indoor garden. You could also be looking to start a small plant propagation area in your house. A small indoor garden can do many things, including a head start when spring comes.

Before CFL Light Socket — This grow box uses hand wired Compact fluorescent grow lights. CFLs go in any normal lamp socket.

Making a small grow box is easy and cost effective. Small grow setups use compact fluorescent grow lights. Basically you just want daylight color spectrum bulbs. Compact fluorescents are a great way to set up a cheap indoor garden. I use the equivalent to 100 watt incandescent bulbs. In CFLs that is roughly 23watts.

To get the most out of your cheap grow lights, position them so the bulb is either horizontal with the floor of the grow box or hanging at a 45 degree angle. The bars of the compact fluorescent grow lights are what gives off the “sun” effect.

plant grow light bulb — The fluorescent grow light bulb is attached to a socket coming from the wall of the grow box.

Fluorescent grow light bulbs stay relatively cool. You may need some air circulation and an exhaust fan to keep the grow box at a cool temperature.

To avoid wiring sockets for your cheap indoor grow lights, you can buy some conversion pieces that will save you loads of time. Start with an extension cord or surge protector. You can plug sockets into the plug spaces that convert the plug space to a lamp socket. You can turn your lamp sockets into two lamp sockets with a Y adapter. The Y adapter is also the perfect tool for getting 45 degree angle lights from the ceiling or walls. Refer to the pictures for clarification.

High Powered Grow Lights Need High Efficiency Hoods

Hydrofarm Grow Lights — Vented hoods reduce the temperature of your high pressure sodium, but plants still need to be pretty far away to stay cool.

Grow Lights come in various sizes. The bigger the bulb the hotter it will be. Most plants thrive at temperatures under 82 F. Some high pressure sodium grow light kits come with a reflector, but no hood. An enclosed hood is one of the most important pieces of a grow light setup. On the left there is a picture of an enclosed vented hood. The hood is not technically air cooled. Air cooled hoods are much more efficient for cooling hot grow lights. High pressure sodium and metal halide bulbs both require air cooled or water cooled hoods to run at cool temperatures.

High Pressure Sodium Grow Light Kit — Air Cooled Hood with intake and exhaust ducting.

Air Cooled Hood attached to a carbon filter

Use powerful inline fans to push air through your hood. The air needs to be ducted outside the grow environment to keep the grow box cool. If you are looking for high performance air cooled hoods, go for the ones with bigger ducting holes. The hydroponics shop and local hardware stores will carry duct converters for increasing or decreasing duct size. Ultimately a bigger fan will be needed to drastically reduce HID light temperatures.

TIP: Get Vinyl Ducting to reduce the annoying sound of intense air flow.