# Help planning a large RDWC basement grow



## grodude (Jan 17, 2017)

I have a basement and I wanted to calculate if it would be worth an investment to do a large grow. If I did, what would an ideal setup look like? 

I have 6' of height to work with, so I assume 1000w lights are out of the question because it could burn the plants when they got too big. Rather not have to invest too much money on AC. 

I would like to grow as few plants as possible, but I don't want to veg for 2 months either. If I'm vegging for a month or so, is a 1ftx1ft area enough, or should I do 2ftx2ft? 

I have about 15ftx15ft. I was thinking Giving myself a 2ft aisle from the wall, then putting 2-2ftx2ft plants back to back, followed by another 2ft aisle, and so on. This should give me 8 plants per row and 4 rows. I was thinking of using a 600w light for each pair of plants. 

What do you guys think? Advice? Input? What's a range of how much bud I can expect to produce per light?


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## sopappy (Jan 17, 2017)

investment? that's a tough one. All I can say is it hasn't worked for me as an investment YET. But I don't see how it can lose in the long run 
6' height. ouch, I wouldn't try HPS down there without yuge A/C, and that height won't work for fewer plants, you'll need more, a la scrog. 
I'd be thinking T5s and LEDs for flower. I think I enjoy building/modifying the rooms more than growing. I still haven't got it right. You're lucky, clean slate!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 18, 2017)

First, I am going to recommend that you veg for over a month, especially if you are starting from seed.  Plants that are only vegged for 4 weeks are small and generally not sexually mature.  Putting a plant that is not sexually mature into 12/12 is counterproductive--the plant will stretch (gain height without developing bud sites), adding to your height woes.  In addition, a plant vegged 8 weeks instead of 4 weeks can produce twice as much bud as a plant put into 12/12 too early.  

It appears that you are looking at running 32 plants and 16 600W lights?  I doubt that you have enough amperage in the basement to handle a load of this size.  By the time you get fans up, you are looking at somewhere around 12,000 watts.  You are most likely looking at redoing your electrical system.  Running T5s would not help as you would actually need more wattage of T5s for the same amount of light as HPS.  I was told that you need headroom with LEDs.  You should have about 2' from the top of the plants to the light.  This will probably not b possible in a space that is only 6' tall.  Do you have time to take care of 32 plants?

As far as this being an investment to make money, remember that there are a hundred things that can easily go wrong with a grow.  I recently had 6 plants, 5 turned out to be male.  The resulting one female I was left with developed root rot when an air pump became unplugged somehow (still don't now how that happened).  A single hermie can seed up an entire crop with just one bad plant.  Spider mites or other pests can wipe out a crop.  Powdery mildew is another thing that can take out an entire crop.  So, be aware that your crop can be entirely lost, even at the last moment.

I am not trying to discourage you, but this is a huge undertaking in both time and money with no guarantees, so make sure you have all your ducks in a row if you plan on doing this.  I never try to guess yield, even on my own plants.  There are simply too many variables to give any kind of accurate estimate.


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## trillions of atoms (Jan 19, 2017)

You need to stick with your day job.

You are setting yourself up for failure.


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## grodude (Jan 24, 2017)

Would it be better to do one plant every 3ft x 3ft and one 400w HID under each. That way I can veg for 2 months. I already setup the electrical in my basement so I'm not worried about that.


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## grodude (Jan 24, 2017)

trillions of atoms said:


> You need to stick with your day job.
> 
> You are setting yourself up for failure.



Why is that? Any advice?


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## Hushpuppy (Jan 25, 2017)

I have grown in a 15'x15' space with 7' ceiling. If you intend to grow that much, you are going to be working full time on it (it is its own full time job). One of the key factors for growing indoors is *controlling the air space*. Is your space air tight or does it draw from under the house (possibility of mildew and humidity issues). Plants need fresh air and lighting generates heat. This means the more lights and plants you have, the more you will have to cool it and circulate fresh air. 

Not sure how experienced you are as a grower, and I certainly don't mean to discourage you but there is soooo much to growing successfully. I would recommend looking at beginning with something smaller and work your way up to commercial level growing. You can produce a pound of cured flowers in a 4x4 space and one 600wHPS. You want to begin with something manageable and then build it up as you get your methods down.

You will also need to have a veg space that is half of your flowering space. You will need a space for processing your harvests and for drying/curing. Many things need to be considered before beginning.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 25, 2017)

grodude said:


> Would it be better to do one plant every 3ft x 3ft and one 400w HID under each. That way I can veg for 2 months. I already setup the electrical in my basement so I'm not worried about that.



How many amps did you run?  Do you have dedicated circuits?  I am still worried about the electrical.  Most grow room fires start because of over amping electrical circuits.  And we are talking a lot of amps to run the amount of equipment you are talking about.

I don't understand why going to a 400W would change the veg times?  Rather than worrying about how much light per plant, I would set the space up with the correct amount of light for the square footage you have.  You are going to need x number of watts for that space and whether you provide that light with 10 1000W, with 16 600W or with 24 400W you are going to create heat.  I.E. 10 1000W lights will most likely not create more heat than 24 4000W.

I was wondering about your height limit...is this an actual basement or more a cellar?  

Like hush said, this is a big job...what is the most plants you yourself have ever grown at one time?


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## Growdude (Jan 27, 2017)

grodude said:


> Would it be better to do one plant every 3ft x 3ft and one 400w HID under each. That way I can veg for 2 months. I already setup the electrical in my basement so I'm not worried about that.


 
You would need over 90 amps for the lighting alone, there is no way you safely are going to pull that from your home service.
How big is your service entrance?


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## Budlight (Jan 27, 2017)

I run 14 plants  in an 8 x 11 room and let me tell you they keep me on my toes all day I run 4 1000's and my plants are in a bubble bin/drip feed style that holds two plants per bin  and let me tell you it gets very tight in there  or you could grow like Keef he keeps his a lot smaller but gets a lot more plants in there which might be more your style  with your low roof  and like the Hemp goddess  said make sure you are not pulling too much power and definitely do not I mean do not use those cheap white plastic timers if that's the case you might as well just light the match on your self  hope this gives you an idea of what you can fit in there


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## orangesunshine (Jan 27, 2017)

lots of great advice already stated---don't be swayed by issues that can be solved with a little thinking out of the box---every space is entirely different, has its own nuanceses, and may need to be tweaked a little here or there to run most efficiently---if there is a will---there is a way---things that pop out to me are---addressing the electrical issue---dividing the space into 2 separate areas with separate entrances---1 to veg and 1 larger to flower---moving fresh air in is also a top priority---whats the water situation---do you have a drain---i would want 4, 1k air cooled hps hoods and 2, 4', t5's for your lighting---rezzy in the veg room---considering the ceiling height your plant count is a bit ambitious and i would plan on something like 24 in the flower room---you can solve your issues of proper veg flower time, and being too close to the light by bending the plants to grow on the horizontal :joint4:


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## Budlight (Jan 27, 2017)

I was thinking about it to be honest for running lights in that low of a room I think I would run the same lights as hamster Lewis  and there  around the same price as setting up a H PS by the time you buy your shade your bulb and your ballast


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 27, 2017)

Budlight said:


> I was thinking about it to be honest for running lights in that low of a room I think I would run the same lights as hamster Lewis  and there  around the same price as setting up a H PS by the time you buy your shade your bulb and your ballast



I run my LEDs further from the canopy than I do my HPS lights.  You may find the same thing, too.  I.E. I could not run my LEDs in a 6' tent, but the 600W HPS was fine.  I also am not sure than a 185W LED will replace a 600W HPS.


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## Budlight (Jan 27, 2017)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> I run my LEDs further from the canopy than I do my HPS lights.  You may find the same thing, too.  I.E. I could not run my LEDs in a 6' tent, but the 600W HPS was fine.  I also am not sure than a 185W LED will replace a 600W HPS.



 I was just thinking with the smaller LED he might be able to get closer to the plant and cut down on heat. But at the same time I am still learning a lot about these LEDs


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