[rdst_1]

Hi,
I am building a grow room for hydroponics and was thinking of building an insulated room .
Room will probably be built by using cement boards like Bison Panel. Room will be double walled with Glass Wool or other insulation inserted in between. Same will be done for the roof.
I need to maintain humidity at around 40-50% and temperatures in the 18-25° C range.
Probably don't need an AC unit because temperature over here aren't high but will need heating for the winters.
Initial growing area will be around 250sq ft which will gradually increase to 1000sq ft or even more.
Ventilation is important aspect because of high humidity in rainy months as well as keeping out different fungal spores that are usually air borne and are known to be dangerous for hydroponic systems.

Any advise on what kind of systems I can use will be helpful. I was thinking of buying a basic dehumidifier and an electric heater for the time being and later upgrade to an HVAC unit when the size of the room grows.

[Grr7]

Why not visit IMTECH or any biotechnology lab with 'plant biotech' lab. They pretty much have everything you need: light timers, dehumidifiers and likes.

Any prof or Ph.D lad would be happy to show around and help you.

There are ample of jugaads/desi-mods that can be easily done to have what you want.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting one in Delhi or Lucknow. I can help you with that.

Regards

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by Grr7

Why not visit IMTECH or any biotechnology lab with 'plant biotech' lab. They pretty much have everything you need: light timers, dehumidifiers and likes.

Any prof or Ph.D lad would be happy to show around and help you.

There are ample of jugaads/desi-mods that can be easily done to have what you want.

Let me know if you are interested in visiting one in Delhi or Lucknow. I can help you with that.

Regards

Hi,
First of all thanks for replying as I couldn't find a lot of information in other Indian forums.

I am more interested in the jugaads at the moment than build an expensive state of the art lab. I am even considering building the whole structure by myself as it looks pretty easy to build using Steel Studs and Tracks and attaching cement boards to those and filling insulation material in between. End result looks like some of those prefabricated structures one can find at construction sites.

I might be able to pull off the construction part, but I have little confidence in myself being able to handle the ventilation part especially if I would be using proper ducting and a HVAC unit.

I want to keep the costs down but don't want to jeopardize the integrity of the structure as that is important for it's operation. I will need to run plumbing and electricity which I can work on with the help of online tutorials. I don't mind dabbling in Arduino either but I think I don't need such a complex system yet since both a dehumidifier and an electric heater will come with in-built sensors and can get the job done for a small room.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Hi,
I am building a grow room for hydroponics and was thinking of building an insulated room .

Where are you planning to locate this room? On the roof of your house, completely indoors, or big scale on the ground? What are you planning to grow? Have you tried/considered a greenhouse or a cold frame for the winter? If you are doing something big scale, and not small hobby scale - then ignore my comments. You may have better reasons to go the hydroponics route.

I live in Southern California. I grow veggies in a raised bed planter. I have micro tubing with timer set to do drip irrigation. We have severe drought and we can get a ticket if we water our garden on random days. I have a rain sensor to adjust the watering interval if it ever rains. I only grow veggies from early spring through fall and beginning of winter.

I also grow tropical plants on the ground through the winter. These are prone to frost in our winters. I built a cold frame using pieces of wood and plastic sheets and lay it on the plant. Also use a soil moisture meter to prevent over/under watering. Our summers are scorching hot just like Delhi/Jaipur. Monitoring moisture content is key.

[rdst_1]

I will actually be growing Hydroponic fodder for my animals.
I have a 2 storey structure with no walls (external or internal). Animals are on the ground floor and this room will be built on the first floor.
I am doing this to be self-sufficient when it comes to providing green fodder for my cows, goats etc.

[Jaguar]

How many animals do you have? A friend of mine runs a dairy farm near bangalore with about 50 cows and abandoned his hydroponics setup citing it to be an overkill or something (don't remember the exact reason now). PM me if you want his contact details.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

How many animals do you have? A friend of mine runs a dairy farm near bangalore with about 50 cows and abandoned his hydroponics setup citing it to be an overkill or something (don't remember the exact reason now). PM me if you want his contact details.

For people who have lots of land, a hydroponic fodder setup is not needed as that works out to be nearly 3 times expensive to regular fodder.
In my case, I just can't survive without such a setup. I am starting with 10 cows but the number will cross 100 in an year or so.
I have done my research and it can be made to work.
However, Hydroponic fodder is much more nutritious and allows a farm to be self-sufficient when it comes to fodder all year round and that is a very big concern for a dairy farm that gets solved.
I have already done trials at my place and results are better than good. Farmers in Maharashtra's Satara region are growing this fodder without any sophisticated grow rooms, but they only use that as a supplement and therefore are not worried about fungus outbreaks as I am.