400-watt lights in the vegetative chamber.
6 fluorescent lights in the cloning chamber.
12 600-watt lights in the flowering chamber.
Option 4
6 fluorescent lights in the cloning chamber.
4 600-watt lights in the flowering chamber.
2 400-watt lights in the vegetative chamber.
Option 5
A 400-watt or 600-watt light in the vegetative chamber.
A 400-watt or 600-watt light in the flowering chamber.
2 fluorescent lights in the cloning chamber.
Be sure to design all setups with a cleanup area and ballast storage area.
A good cleanup room.
Photo: Freebie
Ultimately, you will require five rooms / chambers / areas:
Ceiling height is usually your limiting factor, so do your best to find or build a high-ceilinged space. If you were to try to grow in an area with a 4-foot ceiling, the lights would hang down 12 inches. The plant containers are 12 inches tall and the tables the plants are on are 12 inches tall (to accommodate wastewater drainage). You can see there would be little growing room left, and heat would quickly build up and cause problems. A 6- to 8-foot ceiling minimum is a must, but the higher the ceiling, the better.
If you are using an existing structure (i.e., a closet, bedroom, outbuilding, basement, or garage), the shape and size is dictated to you. You will have to work around the design situation you already have. If building a new structure for your growing environment, you will be free to design a perfect situation.
If building a new environment, the construction methods you will use are essentially the same ones used in building a house: basic 2 × 4-inch framed ceiling and walls, and so on, with minor differences.
After framing the walls in the dimensions you want, you are ready for the electrical installation (see electrical section). After all electrical wiring, fuse box subpanels, receptacles, and plugs are completely finished, the next step is to install building-code-compliant insulation. This will aid in keeping the environment cool in the daytime or summer and warm at night or in winter. Next, you will place Thermal Shield (available on the internet or at your local hydroponics supply store) over the insulation. To protect you from illegal searches with thermal imaging cameras / devices, wrap all ventilation ducts, too.
After the electrics are done, and once the ventilation (see section on ventilation) is tested and deemed safe and compliant, you will cover the interior walls. Instead of using standard gypsum-type sheetrock, you will want to use a material used in bathrooms called green rock or DensGlass, which is fiberglass faced drywall and very moisture resistant. Walls constructed with green rock and DensGlass withstand moisture—and, when covered and painted with a mold-inhibiting paint (such as Kills primer covered with white paint or sheets of white Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic [FRP]), are the best combination for preventing mold, mildew, and fungi. After the outer walls are completed, you are ready to choose what system to use.
Note: if using an area that does not permit the use of growing trays, a shelf structure is your next best option, custom-made to suit. Ideally, the shelves will be covered with ⅛-inch thick sheet plastic or waterproof material on top, slightly sloping forward to allow for drainage and eliminating the possibility of stagnating water. Drain this into a collection reservoir, to be dumped by hand or automated with water pumps; whichever you prefer. The shelf must be sturdy and strong, made of metal, plastic, or wood, and, if it’s the latter, covered with sealer and mold-inhibiting paint.
Whichever system you choose—purchased or constructed, drippers or sprayers,
