Possible 3-4 grams per watt
If you are going to grow weed, check if it is legal in your area - I do know im some areas it is not - where I live it is not and thats why when I want a smoke, I buy a bag.
Also, be aware that electricity and water are not friends. When making any system for yourself, you are going to be setting up a watering system and probably chopping around with some wires. If you feel unsure about electricity, find some one that knows what they are doing. If it all goes wrong, best case scenario you have flooded a room in your house, worst case is you have a large electrified flood.
Enough of the warnings.
The problem you have when growing is maximising your light. When you undertake a horizontal grow (where the light is above the plants) the vast majority of the light that reaches the plants is reflected – reflected from your growing area or reflected from the light hood.
With a vertical grow, all of the light produced is directed towards the plants – see diagrams.
A few years ago, a system came on the market called the EcoSystem – see picture. I have heard mixed results with this – it is expensive, bulky to move around and I have heard that the nute tanks fill with sludge and the whole system can lead to fungal problems.
I am not a fan of expensive solutions – at least expensive shop bought. I would buy what I needed and design my own. Below is a picture of a vertical grow cage made from drainage pipe 135 degree bends. These are quite expensive themselves, but will cost 1/3 of the price of an Ecosystem – on top of that, you can design it to the size you need.
I do not know where the picture originally came from, it was emailed to me by a friend.
With regards to medium and method, it would be a hydro grow, using either a NFT trickle down or aeroponics. You will have to site a feed tube next to each plant station otherwise the top level plants will overfeed and the lower level plants will be starved. For the plants themselves, I would grow them in 2 inch pots, having started the clones in a piece of foam, rock wool or whatever it is you are used too.
The lights hang inside a glass tube – these can be bought from growshops. The top end of the tube is connected to a fan, so air is pulled from the grow room, over the bulbs then exhausted through a filter. This means the bulbs do no heat the grow space – any air that is heated is drawn out of the grow space right away. This means you get your plants right on top of the light without running the risk of wilting or burning.
The number of stations will depend on the size of the cage you have created. It really is for an experienced grower in that you are going to have to produce a lot of clones to be ready to go in the cage at the same time. I would suggest using an aeroponic clone rooter – this I would probably buy as they are quite cheap for what you get and with an aeroponic rooter, you get the fastest root development.
If you are going down the aero root, make sure you get an aero horizontal grow under your belt first. Aero grows have their own problems, with blocked nozzles and weak pumps but to name two. If you go aero, you will need a high pressure low volume pump.
Yield is going to vary with the time and effort put into it, but I have seen it reported of grows reaching near 4 grams/ watt. Anyone (and I mean even a newb) should be able to get 1g/watt with a bubbler – if you cant URDOINITWRONG. You have to get the basics before you can go on and master this.
As soon as your clones have root development, that is the time to put them in. I have seen varying sized plants grown, but the most efficient method I have seen is to let the plants grow to 3 inches then put them to flower. That way, you are spending a very short period of time in veg and concentrating you time, your light and your nutes into flowers.
You must follow a regimented nute regime. As long as you are not over or under feeding, you should be fine, but anyone that does hydro should have a CF meter. If you follow the instructions on the nutes, you should not go far wrong, but it is always best to be safe. If you want to keep it simple, use a product like Canna Aqua Vega for veg and Canna Aqua Flores for flowering, with a bit of Canna bloom when flowering. You can go crazy and use a home brew mix – I have heard of people mixing up 10 different things for a feed – if thats your thing, power to you.
You are going to have to keep an eye on temps in the grow space – with the lack of heat from the lamp, you are going to have to make sure it is always warm enough for the plants.
A vertical grow is something that I see as much more efficient than going down the path of CO2 inputs into your grow space – again, if thats your thing, your plants will already (or should already) be performing like Russian athletes on Human Growth Factor and powdered Rhino horn. A vertical grow will maximise your use of space and light.
Over all, it is like anything else. No one is going to be pushing 3g/ watt on the first grow. If you get 2 – 2.5, you are on the right track. With experience, this will grow and with persistence to perfection, you will break the 3g/watt barrier quite soon. Of course, if you have a low yielding strain, this will not be the case.
You may be growing for the quality of the product – using a specialist strain, organic growing in soil and so on – a vertical grow is all about getting the most out of what you are doing. If you are spending all of that money on nutes, space to grow and seeds, make the most of the light you have.
Feel free to ask questions, flame away at what you think is a shitty idea, point and laugh or go :puke: hydro.
Also, be aware that electricity and water are not friends. When making any system for yourself, you are going to be setting up a watering system and probably chopping around with some wires. If you feel unsure about electricity, find some one that knows what they are doing. If it all goes wrong, best case scenario you have flooded a room in your house, worst case is you have a large electrified flood.
Enough of the warnings.
The problem you have when growing is maximising your light. When you undertake a horizontal grow (where the light is above the plants) the vast majority of the light that reaches the plants is reflected – reflected from your growing area or reflected from the light hood.
With a vertical grow, all of the light produced is directed towards the plants – see diagrams.
A few years ago, a system came on the market called the EcoSystem – see picture. I have heard mixed results with this – it is expensive, bulky to move around and I have heard that the nute tanks fill with sludge and the whole system can lead to fungal problems.
I am not a fan of expensive solutions – at least expensive shop bought. I would buy what I needed and design my own. Below is a picture of a vertical grow cage made from drainage pipe 135 degree bends. These are quite expensive themselves, but will cost 1/3 of the price of an Ecosystem – on top of that, you can design it to the size you need.
I do not know where the picture originally came from, it was emailed to me by a friend.
With regards to medium and method, it would be a hydro grow, using either a NFT trickle down or aeroponics. You will have to site a feed tube next to each plant station otherwise the top level plants will overfeed and the lower level plants will be starved. For the plants themselves, I would grow them in 2 inch pots, having started the clones in a piece of foam, rock wool or whatever it is you are used too.
The lights hang inside a glass tube – these can be bought from growshops. The top end of the tube is connected to a fan, so air is pulled from the grow room, over the bulbs then exhausted through a filter. This means the bulbs do no heat the grow space – any air that is heated is drawn out of the grow space right away. This means you get your plants right on top of the light without running the risk of wilting or burning.
The number of stations will depend on the size of the cage you have created. It really is for an experienced grower in that you are going to have to produce a lot of clones to be ready to go in the cage at the same time. I would suggest using an aeroponic clone rooter – this I would probably buy as they are quite cheap for what you get and with an aeroponic rooter, you get the fastest root development.
If you are going down the aero root, make sure you get an aero horizontal grow under your belt first. Aero grows have their own problems, with blocked nozzles and weak pumps but to name two. If you go aero, you will need a high pressure low volume pump.
Yield is going to vary with the time and effort put into it, but I have seen it reported of grows reaching near 4 grams/ watt. Anyone (and I mean even a newb) should be able to get 1g/watt with a bubbler – if you cant URDOINITWRONG. You have to get the basics before you can go on and master this.
As soon as your clones have root development, that is the time to put them in. I have seen varying sized plants grown, but the most efficient method I have seen is to let the plants grow to 3 inches then put them to flower. That way, you are spending a very short period of time in veg and concentrating you time, your light and your nutes into flowers.
You must follow a regimented nute regime. As long as you are not over or under feeding, you should be fine, but anyone that does hydro should have a CF meter. If you follow the instructions on the nutes, you should not go far wrong, but it is always best to be safe. If you want to keep it simple, use a product like Canna Aqua Vega for veg and Canna Aqua Flores for flowering, with a bit of Canna bloom when flowering. You can go crazy and use a home brew mix – I have heard of people mixing up 10 different things for a feed – if thats your thing, power to you.
You are going to have to keep an eye on temps in the grow space – with the lack of heat from the lamp, you are going to have to make sure it is always warm enough for the plants.
A vertical grow is something that I see as much more efficient than going down the path of CO2 inputs into your grow space – again, if thats your thing, your plants will already (or should already) be performing like Russian athletes on Human Growth Factor and powdered Rhino horn. A vertical grow will maximise your use of space and light.
Over all, it is like anything else. No one is going to be pushing 3g/ watt on the first grow. If you get 2 – 2.5, you are on the right track. With experience, this will grow and with persistence to perfection, you will break the 3g/watt barrier quite soon. Of course, if you have a low yielding strain, this will not be the case.
You may be growing for the quality of the product – using a specialist strain, organic growing in soil and so on – a vertical grow is all about getting the most out of what you are doing. If you are spending all of that money on nutes, space to grow and seeds, make the most of the light you have.
Feel free to ask questions, flame away at what you think is a shitty idea, point and laugh or go :puke: hydro.
Comments
A while ago he tried an aeroponic system which worked fucking amazing, but had constant problems with the heads on the "sprinklers" clogging up, at least one or two a day would stop working. Any suggestions on preventing this?
C/O
"green grass, high tide"
Thats a hell of a yield in 2 months - even what I would say is impossible if its baby plant to finished product in that time unless rooted clones grown vertically and of a type that will fully mature in 8 weeks
From the stuff I have smoked, everything that is best has had at least 12 weeks doing its thing and making pointy dudes and letting them go milky.
If it is in a flowering cabinet, then maybe, maybe you friend does not suck at growing and has persued it scientifically.
Ask a physicist to explain total internal refraction to you and the implications of a light giving non direct energy.
Tin foil does not cut the mustard.
Unless light is directed at the point it is needed, it is wasted.
Thats a nice picture and all, but you will notice I said total internal refraction - not reflection. Refraction is the true measure of how much energy is removed from a directional wave of light when it is bounced.
When a light beam is not bounced perfectly think of the light wave having some genetic mutation.
Also, refraction is the change in direction of an EM wave due to a change in its speed, not the "true measure of how much energy is removed from a directional wave of light when it is bounced". That's called reflectivity.
And does anyone have any advice regarding the clogging aeroponic nozzles?
C/O
"I make brownies that kill"
Ultrasonic cleaner - you can pick them up dirt cheap. The nozzles are going to clog, you just have to clean them when they do. Its a PITA, but its just one of those things.