Hello,
This is my first basement grow op, the basement is 27x37 in a square shape so about 1,000 square feet. The ceiling is 8 feet tall. What do you guys recommend in setting this up, someone told me to run 2 rooms on and off and someone told me to have one big room.
How many lights can I fit in this basement? How many plants can I crank out? I am in legal state using caregiver so I can grow up to 72 plants.
Sounds like you need a consultant…
I absolutely hate this question but what kind of budget are you working with to get up and running? How much power do you have and I’m assuming you’re in the Midwest
Also, do you have any growing experience? It’s generally easier to tailor to what you’ve done before
Sounds like you need a demon
Lol
Edit
Thought you were my buddy @SmokinSupply
He uses the same screen name.
Lol
This is huge lol
I would look into flipbox. I only had 100 amps and it allows Me too run 12k including cooling and pumps.
What is the electric service? 100 or 200 amps? And how many of those amps from whatever you have do you need to live in the house? You have circuit breakers and not fuses, right? Are there empty slots on your panel?
My honest opinion is start smaller to start. Even a 5-10 light setup will be hours of work daily. First time indoors if shit hits the fan you need to be properly prepared. Last thing you want is to get mites on your first run on a 20 light setup…
My suggestion is just lightproof a solid portion of the room and do like 8 lights to start or something. Do 3-4 lights in veg and 8 in flower. You can ALWAYS add more clones very easily.
Look into solid lights - CMH and Quantum boards are super popular for getting up and running quickly. Alibaba has some pretty solid choices as well that I’ve seen recently. I forget exactly but if you search mammoth 10 bar you can find the same exact light on alibaba for like 400-500 a piece.
Dehumidifier + AC unit + fans + controller with sensors.
IPM I can not stress this enough. Before you even buy your equipment have a solid IPM in place. Most commercial programs you will need to hit the plants a few times a week with multiple things throughout majority of the cycle.
Nutrients, genetics and feeding. Loads of info on the web. Basically comes down to your style
C02 - Figure this out when you are designing your room. Properly used c02 as far as i’m aware will up your yields by like 20%-30%. I’m pretty sure it speeds up cycles significantly.
These are just the very very very basics. Talk to someone like @Demontrich or anyone else. They key here is to PUT THE MONEY UP FRONT IN THE BEGINNING. Buy quality to start or you will regret it later. I am by no means a professional and would 100% recommend paying for a consultation with one of these guys.
Are you sure that the basement stays dry all year? A lot of basements in the midwest are nice and dry during the winter, then have standing water all over the floor and wet walls come spring. If it does leak, be prepared to deal with the water and extra humidity.
A good coat of waterproofing paint on the walls and floors would be a good thing to do whether or not the basement leaks. Power washing the walls and floor before you paint will help it stick. Having a painted surface will make it easier to keep clean and sterile.
This is a good point. This is the 10th post since the OP lol so maybe we’re drowning him, but having fit a couple basements I highly suggest a french drain. My luck with the waterproof paint has been… poor. Obviously exterior french drains are fantastic but you know, scarcity is real and money is a limitation. An interior perimeter drain is fairly inexpensive and makes a HUGE difference. With something like a stone-and-rubble foundation you may still build a vapor barrier in addition, but a small trench around the inside of the foundation lined with 3/4 crushed stone draining to a sump is the bees knees with a wet basement.
Water management is key. I like the drainage idea. Waterproof paint never really seems to keep the water from coming in, but it does cover up the concrete, which acts like a big sponge for humidity. Any water coming in is easier to get to the drain if it doesn’t soak into the concrete.
It would be easier to make suggestions if the OP would chime in with some details but what I’ve found best in the past is to just build a curtain wall between the foundation and room with a poly vapor barrier. This is not effective if water can reach the slab from the wall (hence the interior French drain suggestion) but is honestly cheaper and faster than the paint. It does eat some square footage though. Run a footboard of PT and studs 5 foot OC (Poly usually comes in 10 foot width increments). 2’ OC if yu’re going to run greenboard on top.
Funnily enough, I’ve done 5 basement builds and none of them were for weed lol. Three woodworking shops, one wine cellar and one dark room.
Meijiu is a solid provider of quantum boards and led strips. They just got a new light in stock, pretty neat. Can contact Rita fang on Facebook or through their alibaba.
And a grow book to read
Spoon town over here
Sorry… Slow night lol
You should reconsider growing on any sort of large scale for now. Start with 1000 watts and go from there. Unless someone wants to hold your hand for the next few years. That’s far to much for someone new…
He should just sign up for Cheebas patreon
If I could double italic this I would…
I think he’s going to need a much bigger spoon. I opted for this 1000ml Pyrex bowl. That’s about 66.6 large table spoons at 15ml each.
Something tells me it’s not big enough
Gotta link to their new light?
Sounds like you gotta whole buncha advice already @SmokinSupply , care to chime in with some details to oblige everyone?
You said it’s your first basement grow, how much growing have you done previously? What’s the biggest op you’ve had experience with?
