how to build a grow room hydroponic supplies equipment

Handy few things how to start build your own indoor garden and where to start. It is our deepest hope that this will help our new and incoming members.

(As I go along I would be pointing what I feel is best practical practice, though I will try to sketch out both and best possible ideas. I do expect that lot of folks would disagree about best practical approach and anyone is free to comment. But do me a favor, specify which part do you disagree to avoid scrolling up and down)

You should have enough space in mind if you are thinking about setting up. Picking a space is very important decision-I would like to plan it out through harvest and drying before I would be as cracked as a seed.

It is known that the ideal space for a personal grow is 4x4 to 6x8 basement closet with a solid, lockable door and a window, with as exterior wall that is far away from any trafficked areas. Unfortunately life is rarely ideal. There are quite few factors that makes a good growing space, so as you think about a spot, I would be asking you to answer few questions, we will assign scores to different answers and try to come up with a formula for choosing a “room” to grow in.

To do this, the best way I can think of is a 1 to 5 scale, 1 being the low or minimal end, and 5 being the best you can think of. We’ll end up by assigning a multiplier value for each question so that we can rate the relative importance of each factor. Example, the convenience of carrying water too far is important, but NOWHERE NEAR is as important as discretion or security. In this case I’d rather carry water than having handcuffs. I will also define some of the questions as we go along.

The Basics Keeping it simple

In spite of the fact that some people considerindoor gardening a very difficult thing to do, where it is extremely hard to achieve success, this activity may, in fact, be turned into quite an easy, pleasant, and joyful thing. The golden rule here is to follow the instructions and certain recommendations and to employ simple and efficient methods and practices, no matter what method of growing is chosen: either it is Soil, Coco, or Hydroponics. First of all, a gardener should correctly arrange a convenient grow room with proper horticultural artificial lighting and good ventilation to improve air circulation. It is also very important to get healthy stock and take constant control of the conditions the plants are grown in. This will help make the whole process easier for a gardener and create a perfect place for the plants. So, what should you start with?

Choosing a suitable space

- Any place in your apartment can become a good grow room for the plants, whether it is a whole room or a small cupboard, a tent or a chamber arranged to make an enclosed grow space.

- It is also necessary to have a source of electrical supply; let’s say, a couple of double wall sockets will be enough.

- Water supply is of not lesser importance. Rain water is not recommended for plants watering as it can contain fungi or be contaminated with any diseases; thus, tap water is the better choice.

- Keep in mind that close placement of the grow room to your bedrooms or other rooms where you spend much time may be troublesome, since electric equipment for the indoor garden (lights, pumps, ventilation fans) will create some noise. Place the room so that it would not bother your neighbors either.

- Be sure to remove all the carpets from the grow room floor. Instead, line it with a reflective black and white sheeting or pond liner to avoid the problems, which can be caused by water leaking.

- It is usually recommended to eliminate all the natural sunlight from the grow area not to confuse the plants. Windows should be blocked, or the grow area can be light trapped with reflective sheeting not to lose the light of the horticultural lamps and prevent the natural sunlight from entering the grow area and affecting the plants. Some gardeners prefer to make light hours for the plants at night to cut the expenses on the electricity.

- No matter what place is chosen as a grow area, it should be properly ventilated either with small extractor fans, which are relatively quiet, or larger fans, which can produce some noise. It is required to increase ventilation and air circulation if a grow room contains many lights.

- Extractor fans with carbon filters should run for 24 hours. However, you can place them outside the grow room provided that they are in line with ducting of the whole system.

- It is preferably to make a grow room at least 6 feet (180cm) tall to avoid rising of the temperature in the area. If it is not possible, try to use smaller lights. A light rail can also be of help in this situation.

-In order to keep the lighting in your grow area at the proper level and at high efficiency, you can use our reflective sheeting of various types, including Mylar and Total Blackout sheeting. This will help make the grow area lightproof and increase the reflectivity of the walls. In addition, our grow lights create high levels of bright, efficient lighting.

A good option to achieve a success in indoor gardening is to correctly choose the lighting according to the size of the grow area. To trap the light of the smaller lamps you can build a tent for the plants to grow in and thus improve growth rates and fruiting.

If you plan to create a grow space in a small room, it is recommended to utilize one 600 watt lamp every 5-6 feet. If there are more lights in the room, it may be necessary to have a bigger extractor fan to eliminate heat produced by the lamps. Moreover, there should always be a supply of some fresh, new air of room temperature. An input fan may be used for this purpose. Similarly, stale old air should be able to easily leave the room.

Converting small areas like walk in wardrobes, closets and cupboards

Creating a garden in a small space (for example, in a cupboard or closet), a grower should still remember that it must be at least 5 feet tall. In such cases, not bigger than 250 Watt lights should be used. Nevertheless, taller spaces would be better for the plants, as they help avoid problems with heat. Otherwise, it is recommended to utilize still smaller lamps (e.g. T-5 fluorescent units).

An extractor fan is of vital importance for the gardens in small spaces with 250, 400 or 600 Watt lights. It will remove the old foul air and improve the input of the fresh air to the grow room. To improve air circulation, a grower may also use an air input fan along with an extractor fan. The latter, however, should be bigger than the input fan. Such system will ensure good ventilation without the necessity to reduce lighting.

The majority of gardeners prefer to obtain fresh air from the indoor sources at a friendly temperature. Foul air should be eliminated outside the grow area from the plants tops via ducts. If it is a larger room where the air is extracted into, it should also be well ventilated. The main thing to remember is to prevent the stale air from the re-circulating inside the grow area.

Grow room within a room

Grow-Tents are in favor among the gardeners, since they are easy and quick to arrange, and they make a perfect place for the plants to grow in, offering almost ideal conditions concerning lighting, humidity, ventilation, and other environmental factors. Besides, they are quite compact and do not interfere with the rest of the room. Grow tents are made of 35 mm square plastic framework and similar connectors, and they feature Total Blackout Sheeting, which perfectly reflects the light and makes the grow area lightproof. This system presupposes the extraction of the stale air into the rest of the room. The important benefit of the tents is that they protect the larger room from humidity and heat. Moreover, it is possible to set the tents up and dismantle many times, which makes them more convenient than the wooden ones.

To sum it up, a beginner in indoor gardening should have several things, which are of crucial importance and which, actually, embody the whole concept of the indoor garden. The following equipment is necessary irrespective of how a gardener plans to arrange a grow area: either to build a chamber himself, to buy a grow-tent, or to separate a part of the room for the plants:

Now that you know the basics of the grow room arranging, you can choose the system, which seems to be the most convenient for you. You can also get a special hydro system to make plants watering easier and faster, as well as aids in the creating of the required conditions for the plants.

A.) Is the space the right size?( 1-5)
The minimum size for a 250 is 2x2; for a 400 is 3x4; for a 600 is 4x4; and for K is 5x5

Furthermore, the minimums are 3x3, 4x5, 6x6, and 8x8 respectively. Nice configuration is 4-6x8 for two 600’s. (I am sure though that we’ll get a bunch of opinions about this). If it’s too big, will you able to cut it up?

B.) Will you be able to provide enough fresh air? (1-5)
How accessible is ventilation? Is there a window? Attic hatch? If you're thinking small box, will one side be against a wall, allowing you to cut ventilation holes?

C.) Is the space private? (1-5)
Is there any reason or a need for anybody else to access the space with no or little notification? Do you rent? Do you have tenants? Are there circuit breakers or plumbing shutoffs in the space? Water heaters? Does the space have a “wet wall”?

D.) Is the space discreet? (1-5)
Is it close to your front door? It has windows facing the street? Would the mailman/ oil delivery guy/ pizza guy ever notice anything?

E.) Is there adequate power? (1-5)
Will you be able to run your choice of lamp, plus another 50% to cover fans, pumps and others?
You can't run more than a K safely on a 15 amp circuit, yes, it could by two 600's, but you won't have room for as much as a clock-radio by the time you're done.

F.)How far do you have to carry water?
( in-room water would be a 5, up two flights of stairs a 1)

G.) Is the space stable in terms of temperature? (1-5)
Are you going to bake in the summer, or freeze in the winter? Attic temperature bounces a lot, from way-to-hot to freakin’ freezing, depending on insulation. Basements tend to run nice aand cool year-round. Living spaces are usually in the 65 to 75 range and it’s good but since I don’t run central air, my second floor bedrooms would be too hot during summer time. You might be experiencing it too or not.

H.) Is the space available? (1-5)
Are you thinking about taking over the space where your wife keeps her knitting? Her ski’s, or her chainsaw? Is this where your roommate keeps his comic book collection or his action figures? (Growing in a group house is an exercise in politics that would make Kissinger sweat)

Now let's talk multipliers...

I am assigning some “importance” multipliers, and I will try to explain why is it so. Feel free to give your opinions and/or solutions but please note what topic you are questioning or criticizing so as my scrolling fingers doesn’t cramp.

A) appropriate size- On a 1-10 scale of importance, I'd say this is a 7 and not critical instead it’s important. It is also important that you can make it size well- a 4x4 area of an 8x10 bedroom will work great for a 400, but you have to make partition to avoid wasting of light.

So a perfect size (5) would get you 35 points (5x7)

B.) Ventilation- I'm going to say another 7. You can get around vent issues by upsizing fans, building lung rooms, etc- but thinking thru your ventilation is key! Great access would give you a 5, so you'd get 35 points ( 5x7).

C.) Privacy- big ol' 10. (Do I have to explain why?)

D.) Discretion- not as important as privacy- you can hide things in plain sight.

Also, if I have a vent sticking thru the wall, I don't want it to be right by the front door. Let's call it an 8.

E.) Adequate power- HID lights suck a good bit of juice, and overloaded wiring can cause fires which will get you clipped at or worst you could even kill somebody. Try not to extension cords, but if you can’t avoid using it always buy a brand new one and it is correct length for your application. Take note that extensions are expensive but much less than a lawyers fee. There should be no cord in the floor. As this is fairly manageable, I am going to give it a 5.

F.) Distance to water- is really a convenient thing. Lugging H20's a drag, but not a deal- breaker. Call it a 3.

G.) Temperature Stability- can make or break a grow. Again, it can be managed, but can be a real PITA- and even worse to try to retrofit a running room. Let's call it a 6.

H.) Availability- the grow will eventually cause friction with anybody else who lives in the space though you really don’t want to step on anybody’s toes. On the other hand, if anybody’s an asshole, you should be able to make it work but if push comes to shove, you’ll get shoved. Try not to push. Let’s give it a 4. (This applies if you are growing with others, or have roommates.)

Now, take your “score” for each question and multiply by the appropriate “importance” factor to get the weighted value of your answer. Then sum up the weighted values to get your spaces grade as a potential grow space.

The perfect space would score a 250.
The worst space on earth would score a 50.

I'd give a score of:
210 to 250 an “A”
170 to 209 a “B”
130 to 169 a “C”.

It would be mess working in a space that didn’t even got a score of at least “C”. That’s just asking for a trouble. But with the right amount of “MacGanja Ingenuity” (80s Gadget Guy show reference), anything is possible. Just use it at your own risk.

Room Preparation- First thing to do. Enter a room and shut the door. Turn off nay lights. Wait for five minutes... Can you see anything? At all or any light anywhere?

If you're going to line the room in Panda, it will take care a lot of light leaks. If you are using mylar or white paint, you will fix the leaks of the lights before you paint or hang because in particular will let a lot of light thru.

Pros & Cons

Mylar:
Pros- highly reflective, easy to hang, does not wear well
Cons- makes noise in fans, electrically conductive

Panda Plastic:
Pros- very reflective, 10' wide, durable and cheap
Cons- may be hard to source, 10'wide, hard to hang alone

Flat White Paint:
Pro- cheap, easy to apply, easy to repaint
Con- messy to apply, must dry before plants go in, hard to clean

Hang a length of panda over the door opening for an easy way to light proof it and a self-adhesive zipper to close it up. Windows can be covered with panda or luan but you can hang a mini-blind between the glass and the covering as a camouflage. If you vent thru this window, remember to leave it open a few inches before you cover it!

Get the Right Light System

The systems with high pressure sodium lights are the most popular and frequent choice of the modern indoor gardeners. They are available in four main sizes:
250 Watt: these lamps are suitable for the small grow areas (closets or cupboards) and make a good first time light, ensuring rich crops

400 Watt: popular among the gardeners who have either small grow rooms or areas limited in height; such lights are suitable for the plants in vegetative stage of growth

600 Watt: these are the most popular, frequently used, and efficient lamps. They produce bright light in the required amount for grow areas of 4 feet x 4 feet or more

1000 Watt: These powerful systems are capable of covering areas of about 5 feet x 5 feet. However, they may produce too much heat; thus, ventilation may be required.

250 watt sodium light, used in a small area from the beginning to the end, will promote good yields, but the room should be not less than 5 feet tall. On the other side, if the task is to propagate seeds and enhance vegetative growth, the optimal choice may be a high output fluorescent lamp, which requires at least 4 feet headroom.

Lighting is an essential part of the support system for the plants in the indoor garden besides other four vital components, as water, nutrients, oxygen and CO2 are the others. It is especially important if it is out of season and you still plan to grow plants. Horticultural lighting systems offer a gardener a possibility to create lighting conditions in his indoor garden very close to those natural ones. Artificial lighting, similar to the sunlight, makes plants flourish and give crops all year round. It also hastens starting of the seeds, and a grower may already have seedlings when it is still frosty outside.

Horticultural lighting systems are subdivided into three main and most popular types: High Intensity Discharge lights (H.I.D.), incandescent, and fluorescent lights. Other kinds of lighting are not suitable for the gardening as they do not produce color spectrum (kelvins) necessary for the plants growth.

This type of lighting is very seldom used for the horticultural purposes. It has little effect on the plants growth as compared to the other lighting systems. Thus, incadescent lamps are listed as the least efficient artificial lighting.

This kind of lights is said to be twice as effective as the above mentioned type due to the higher number of lumens output per watt of the consumed electricity. These lights may be a good choice when starting seedlings and cuttings, and they are also suitable for the plants that do not require bright lighting. However, such lamps should be fixed not farther than 12 inches away from the plants. Besides, they are still less efficient than the next type of the lighting.

These lights are the most preferred among the growers due to their intensity, brightness, and the perfect production of the color spectrum required by the plants, which, in the long run, results in the highest efficacy of this type of horticultural lighting. These lamps include HPS (High Pressure Sodium) lamps, characterized with yellow/red color spectrum, and MH (Metal Halide) lights with the blue light spectrum.

Producing from 70 to 115 lumens of light output per watt of the consumed energy, Metal Halide lamps are rated as highly effective in the plants growing. Their light mimics the full summer sunlight rich in blue spectrum. It is perfect for the vegetative stage of the plants growth cycle, enhancing the springing of the compact and strong seedlings with short leaf internodes. Such lighting is most common for the growing of the green leafy plants.

Metal Halide bulbs are often used as the primary source of light, especially if sunlight is not available. These lamps can work effectively up to 10,000 cumulative hours. However, further utilization of the bulbs is not recommended, since then they do not produce enough light, even if the lamp is not yet burnt out.

A little bit of comparison: the bulbs of MH produce up to 125 lumens per watt of the used electricity, while standard incandescent bulbs produce only 18 lumens per watt and standard fluorescent lights create 39 lumens per watt.

With MH (Metal Halide) bulbs electricity runs through the clear inner arc tube, which is situated in the vacuum of the outer tube, made of clear glass (which may also be coated with phosphorus). The inner tube is filled with metals in iodide form and mercury. Under the influence of electricity these metal iodides create white intense bright light and heat, which is in favor with many gardeners.

MH lamps are sized from 70w to 1500 watts; however, the most frequently used in gardening are the bulbs of 250w, 400w, and 1000 watts. You should remember that MH lights need a ballast to work. The latter is a kind of a transformer, specifically designed for each bulb size. Its task is to adjust the voltage to the proper level necessary to ignite the metal iodides.

It is important to fix Metal Halide lamps properly: some of them are Horizontal (they are marked as HOR), others are Vertical (marked either BU or BD), and the third type is Universal (U). It is possible to place Universal bulbs in various positions, but they still will work most effectively when fixed vertically. It is recommended to change the lamps every 10,000 hours (about 18 months), as with the lapse of time they lose their brightness.

Creating orange/red light spectrum is the task of high pressure sodium bulbs. Such lighting hastens plants flowering and fruiting. However, note that HPS lamps are most often used as a supplemental or secondary lighting, because they lack blue light spectrum. Starting the seedlings with these lights will result in too long/tall and thin plants. Therefore, HPS are always used either in combination with bulbs that emit blue spectrum, or specifically designed HPS grow lights are employed.

HPS bulbs produce amazing 140 lumens per watt of the used energy, and they can last twice as long as the Metal Halide lamps. Nevertheless, it is usually recommended to replace them after 18,000 of working hours, or not later than in 24 months after the initial use, because at this point they start consume more energy and produce less light.

HPS (High Pressure Sodium) bulbs are nowadays treated as the most effective grow lights. They can also be successfully used when growing plants that do not require much blue light spectrum, and those that bloom, bud, or develop fruits in autumn. These days, however, there are HPS color corrected lights (e.g. Son Agro), which also emit some amount of the blue light spectrum and are thus more suitable for indoor gardening.

The lamps under description contain mercury, xenon gas, and sodium inside the translucent ceramic arc tube, which is enclosed in a glass bulb. Like Metal Halide lights, HPS bulbs also come in various ranges of power: from 35 watt to 1000 watt. The most commonly used in gardening are the bulbs of 250w, 400w, 600w and 1000w.

Nowadays indoor gardeners can fully enjoy the possibility to use HID lighting, as it is believed to be the most efficacious modern light system available. There are two major types of HID grow lights used for horticultural purposes:

HID Light Output	Primary Growing Area	Supplemental Growing Area
100 watts	2' x 2'	3' x 3'
250 watts	3' x 3'	5' x 5'
400 watts	5' x 5'	8' x 8'
600 watts	6' x 6'	10' x 10'
1000 watts	8' x 8'	12' x 12'

A gardener should always keep in mind that HID lights emit quite a substantial amount of heat. Consequently, it is necessary to fix them at a distance from the plants, which depends on the wattage of the bulb used. For example, small systems (100 to 250 watt) should be suspended approximately 2-3 feet from the plants tops. Medium wattage lights (400-600w) should be about 4 feet away from the plants. And the high wattage systems of 1000w should be set 4-6 feet above the plants tops.

Different plants and various stages of plants growth require some variations as to their lighting. For example, the majority of plants will thrive having about 10-12 hours of light. Nevertheless, if it is a flowering or fruiting period in the plants growth cycle they may need up to 16 hours of light.

Plants are characterized by their ability to transform CO2 (carbon dioxide) into their food through the process of photosynthesis. A chain of quite complex reactions in the plants results in the formation of carbohydrates, which are used for the further growth. Similar process is used by various organisms, and not only by plants, but even by bacteria.

In general, such reaction as electrons reduction is triggered by the water that is turned by the plants into protons and oxygen. Light plays a role of energy in these transformations. It gets caught by carotenoids and chlorophylls (plants pigments), which absorb blue or green spectrum of light. Red and yellow light either passes through or is reflected by the leaves and other aerial plants parts. This explains the green color of the plants.

To sum it up, cool (blue) and warm (orange) colors in the light are responsible for the plants feeding and, thus, growing. Colors of the cool spectrum are most available for the plants in summer, when the sun is high in the sky. That is why it is the time when plants are in the active period of growth. Warm colors prevail in the autumn sunlight, because sun is then lower in the sky. These colors promote flowering and fruiting; therefore, we enjoy a harvesting period.

When the main task of choosing the proper lighting system is completed, a gardener must evaluate how many lamps are necessary to light up the whole grow area. Below is a short description of different types of light and an explanation what area can be covered by lamps of various sizes.

HPS (High Pressure Sodium) lighting has a high lumen output and a longer life span than, for example, Metal Halide lamps; however, HPS bulbs cost about 15% more than other lights. MH lamps start losing their effectiveness in a year (up to 20%) since the beginning of the use. HPS lights, in their turn, may become about 5% less effective during the same period. Production of 100-150 lumens per watt of the used energy is a usual output with the HPS lamps, while MH bulbs offer 70-115 lumens per watt.

A gardener, however, has to choose the lighting system not only comparing the parameters of different lamps, but taking into account for what purpose the lights are going to be used. Thus, MH lamps are perfect for the vegetative stage of plants growth, though they may seem to be inferior to the HPS lights in the comparison chart. High pressure sodium bulbs are ideal for the plants blooming and fruiting. Actually, the most experienced gardeners choose to have both MH (Metal Halide) and HPS (High Pressure Sodium) lightings using them according to the goals they plan to achieve.

It is also possible to utilize a ballast suitable for switching different lighting systems. Some systems presuppose using either an MH lamp and then changing it to an HPS bulb, or using both of them and just switching between them when it is necessary. Such systems are a bit less effective than separate systems, but they are quite convenient and inexpensive.

Finally, no matter what lights a gardener uses, he must always timely change them not waiting till the whole system becomes ineffective. MH lamps should be replaced every 12-18 months, HPS lights should be changed once every 24 months. This way the plants will be guaranteed to achieve the required amount of lighting.

Not so long time ago fluorescent grow lights were not that seriously treated by the gardeners for their large and inconvenient size and low output. They were only sometimes used by the growers to start seeds. However, the situation has changed with the implementation of modern lights T5 and Compact, which offer full spectrum fluorescent lighting. If a gardener chooses the right number of bulbs for his garden, these fluorescent lights will turn out to be very efficient, producing from 75 to 90 lumens per watt.

The important benefits of the fluorescent lights include the limited production of heat during their work and improved color rendering abilities, which allow more of the light to be used and absorbed by the plants. As a result, these lights can be closely set to the plants, providing minimum loss of the light and lumens on their way from the bulb to the plants.

To start the seeds, grow the seedlings, and root the cutting standard 20w and 40w full spectrum fluorescent lights are one of the best possible choices. They are also good to be used for raising shade-loving plants and herbs. They are most often arranged at a distance of 6-12 inches from the plants tops. Note that these lights are not suitable for flowering, budding, fruiting plants and those that need full sun to thrive.

This type of lights does not require the use of a ballast. It is mostly used in combination with some other type of lighting to provide light for the small groups of plants or just individual plants. A significant weak-point of incadescent lights is their low lumen output in comparison to fluorescent and HID lamps.

To define the light operating expense per hour, take the combined wattage of the lamps and divide it by 1000 to obtain the number of kilowatts consumed. That figure should be multiplied by the cost of per kilowatt hour. With HID lights the number of watts used is the same as the number they produce per hour, no matter what spectrum bulb a gardener uses (e.g. 600w system will use 600w per hour).

(light wattage output / 1000) x electricity cost per kilowatt hour =
Operating cost per hour operating cost per hour x hours used per month =
Operating cost per month