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OfflineBottleCaps
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Registered: 10/26/04
Posts: 66
Loc: Douglas, Ga
Last seen: 8 years, 1 month
Fruiting Room Suggestions
    #19205109 - 11/29/13 02:40 PM (10 years, 2 months ago)

Hello everyone,

To preface:
In the past I have done several successful small monotub grows as well as helped a few friends in doing the same.
I am a huge fan of mushroom hunting, which started simply for the actives,
but lead to learning and becoming fascinated by all types of edibles.
At this point in my life the active varieties are the least of my concern.
My wife and I have become pesco vegetarian and food is expensive to say the least.
This coming year we are taking our first steps in becoming more self sufficient by growing our own food.
Since one of our staple foods is mushrooms I was able to convince my wife
that the room in the basement would be perfect for fruiting mushrooms,
and with the right planning it may even be big enough for us to profit from it.
Which basically brings us to where we are now.

Here is the basic layout, (I apologize as it's not to scale)

It's not written on the layout, but I've got just under 7' ceiling height

Here are some pictures of the framing work I've done so far.
As you can see the bottom half of my space is underground,
which I hope will help some with maintaining a comfortable temperature.


I bought a simple 4 stage RO filter and installed it with the help from a SharkBite 'T' adapter with no soldering!


The RO water fills my BRUTE humidifier (Modified Agar design)
It also splits off and meets with the spigot that came with the RO system so I can have water too.

I forgot to take a picture before I sealed the unit, but here is a crude rendering of what it basically looks like inside
(I apologize as it's not to scale)
And for the top>
I added a UV light with power head inside the humidifier to help discourage any bacterial growth in there.
Haven't completed the humidifier plumbing..
The pipe is 1" PVC split four ways to promote even humidity throughout.
(if you can tell what you're looking at)

The incoming air is supplied by a 4" activated carbon air scrubber and fan
I enclosed in a small trash can with quilt batting and cut holes for more smaller activated carbon filters

I've got these rolls of insulation about to go up

My next step after that is covering the walls.
I've got more insulation in the form of foam board

I've stopped here, for one, because I want to keep moisture from getting to the joists.
I've been thinking about using thick painters' plastic over my rolls of insulation under the foam board,
but I think that may just be overkill since I'm covering the foam board with a hard, smooth,
food safe, white plastic paneling board, which will make the room nearly air and water tight
aside from the air and water I choose to put into it.
Along with making it super easy to sanitize.

Also, I'm wondering what I should do about the floors.
They are ugly concrete with cracks here and there,
especially in the corners.

Is there recommended floor covering?
Or should I just try one of those epoxies at the depot?
Perhaps a membrane meant for under hardwood floors?

About the door going from the decontamination area to the fruiting room..
I have a lot of options, because I haven't framed that wall yet.
I was thinking of a weatherproof sliding door, but those seem to be expensive.
I don't really want a traditional swinging hinge type door for the sake of space and air movement.
I was thinking of building my own top hanging sliding door that work like a mix between a barn door and a sliding door on a van if that makes sense.
Hell, I've even thought about just buying an old van door and mounting it up just to brag!

I've divided the room in my head to look like this,
(I apologize as it's not to scale)

but I may do away with the shelves and just do bags if those work out better for me.
I've got a really good deal on used dough trays like these Pizza Dough Trays.
I'd like to make them work since they are reusable and bags are not.
They also stack up nicely as seen Here which would make colonizing take up very little space.
They are 3" deep, and they should fit 6 wide along my back wall.
If I make the shelves 5 high, that's 30 trays fruiting at any given time.

My last thought is lighting.
I've been looking at These.
They are available in the 'cool' color spectrum and they seem like they'll do what I want,
but before I pay for them, maybe someone else has a better option that I have not explored.

I intend to keep posting as I do work every few days,
but for now I'd like to hear some opinions.
I'm anxious to see what kind of input I get from the experienced members of this community.
Please ask questions or just leave your comment.
Let me know if I can do anything to keep from shooting myself in the foot.


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Offlinet3chnobily
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Registered: 02/04/12
Posts: 651
Loc: As Seen In VT
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Re: Fruiting Room Suggestions [Re: BottleCaps]
    #19206599 - 11/29/13 09:43 PM (10 years, 2 months ago)

Oka lot going on here so I might not get to everything on the first shot.

Your first concern is waterproofing.  The cement block is good but the studs and what look like sheetrock is very moisture sensitive.  Carefully fitting the foam insulation and taping all the seams with waterproof house tape is a good start.  The FRP panels are great but the plastic is cheap so put it up first while you can.

Next deal with the floor.  It needs to slope towards some sort of drain or sump to deal with condensation and wash water.  You could epoxy coat it but that money is better spent installing a proper drain.

Now on to ventilation.  I'd loose the ducting off of the humidifier.  It just drips and grows mold.  Move the humidibucket into the grow space.  Run the fresh air intake into the bucket and put your vent fan on the exhaust side.  This will put the room under negative pressure which will help protect your house from moisture/spores.  It will also pull fresh air through the humidifier directly into the room. 

The RO isn't really necessary unless your water has a particular problem.  RO water still gets slimy if it sits around and foggers don't work as well if its been deionized.

Carbon and anything but a simple bug screen is not needed on the fresh air intake.

The UV thing a ma jig is interesting but will do nothing for the mold growing on the sides of the tub and in the ducting.  Better to just scrub it out once a week. 

Pizza trays are not ideal for most gourmets.  Might work for some compost lovers though.  If your growing on straw then poly tube logs or 5 gal buckets is the way to go.  Buckets are reusable but keeping them clean is a challenge. Sawdust blocks are best for shelving; preferable something easy to clean like pipe shelves. Which you want to use is dependent on the species you are growing and the materials/equipment available too you.

Your on the right track with the lighting but the flexible strip is a better deal.  I just got 50 meter roll form alibaba for 4.99/meter and they run on 110v so no drivers needed.

Well hope that I helped a bit.  Always like to see knew heads taking a real stab at it.  Good Luck

*Remember that your substrate prep and colonization areas are just as important as the grow space.


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OfflineBottleCaps
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Registered: 10/26/04
Posts: 66
Loc: Douglas, Ga
Last seen: 8 years, 1 month
Re: Fruiting Room Suggestions [Re: t3chnobily]
    #19207969 - 11/30/13 09:52 AM (10 years, 2 months ago)

Thanks, t3chno!
I was afraid I had overwhelmed everyone with such a long post and so many questions.

The plastic before the foam board is a good idea? I've been having that discussion with
my dad when he comes by to help. He seems to think it's a waste of time, but sometimes I like overkill..

For my floor, I guess my best bet is to mix up some concrete and get to work filling in those cracks and sloping it slightly.
I don't think I'll be able to put a drain in as that would probably mean busting a hole in my basement floor. As you said, a sump pump can move the water out.

Your ventilation ideas sound spot on.
Would it be advisable to put a smaller fan on the humidibucket if I'm detaching it from the current fan and moving inside of the fruiting space?
My concern is that the high humidity air fog may just stay inside of the reservoir and only the lighter, less humid air would move through it without carrying the fog.

If I have any problems with the RO system , it can easily be eliminated.
Although there is a very obvious chlorine taste to the water which I read could be detrimental to mushroom growth.
So, for now it stays. If I see signs of slimy water it'll be gone too. (Maybe that UV light will help)

The pizza trays, although I realize not ideal for most people, I think will do well for us.
We eat a lot of portabellas and even the regular white button ones, which seem have better yield in trays.
I live around a lot of cow and horse pastures and have permission to acquire poo for free, which of course is an ideal substrate for those two.
Also, the stack-ability of the trays is great.
I did just see people using buckets instead of bags, or even bags inside of buckets. That's probably my best route.

I did like the idea of the flexible light strips, my only concern was brightness with them.
From the pictures (drawback to shopping online) they don't look very bright at all. They seem like the type of light you would use for mood lighting.
I still have a couple of weeks before I will purchase my lights, so I'd appreciate if you let me know how those work, please.

I want a door mounting kit like this one, but the price is ridiculous.

Here is a video of it in action. It's pretty sweet and would make it easy to seal up.

My garage is going to be my space for preparation and colonization, and also a project for a different thread.
I've got a ways to go, but I'm excited!

Thanks again for your response, I do appreciate any help or advice I can get.
I'm trying to prove to my wife that I can follow directions :wink:


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Offlinenanncee
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Registered: 12/01/12
Posts: 434
Loc: Utah
Last seen: 9 years, 1 month
Re: Fruiting Room Suggestions [Re: t3chnobily]
    #19207973 - 11/30/13 09:52 AM (10 years, 2 months ago)

I agree on lining the walls with plastic. You can never guarantee a perfect seal in that situation so another layer is just backup.

A drain of some sort is a must.. Honestly if it were me, I would look into putting a drain in the floor, then mudding in a nice slopped floor. you can then put a pool liner or shower liner on the floor up the walls to make sure nothing is going to seep in behind the membrane. But that isn't going to be a cheap option. My biggest worry would be where the drain in your basement is located. Any moisture on the floor right now is going to go towards the drain(if the poured the floor correctly in the first place) and any wall in the way is going to get wet. Basically you want to make a shower on a bigger scale.

I can't say I agree with technobily on the humidifier in the room. While I understand the idea of keeping moisture out of the house, moving your electronics into the room is never a good idea in my mind. Plus it then just takes up more room in your grow room. Just remember, most people recommend positive air pressure.

The RO, Carbon and UV are probably overkill. I think the UV would be good for the area it hits, then immediately following in the duct would be very dirty. Just get tools and a regimen of cleaning frequently.

I agree on the LED lights with you, I have done a ton of research on those and they will do great. although I would probably go with a role myself instead of the strips. When I upgrade to a new fruiting room we will be going with the smaller SMD's to get a bit of power savings. You can get the SMD 5050(biggest diode right now) in a 3 led group that draw quite a bit of power, but man do they put out the light.


--------------------
I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros

Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros


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Offlinet3chnobily
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Registered: 02/04/12
Posts: 651
Loc: As Seen In VT
Last seen: 6 years, 9 months
Re: Fruiting Room Suggestions [Re: nanncee]
    #19209958 - 11/30/13 07:54 PM (10 years, 1 month ago)

The LED are the same (SMD 5050) in both formats so the brightness is the same.  They go right over the shelves, close to the top of the substrate and are very bright and directional.  It takes a lot of them to brightly light a grow room though.  They do suck some juice at full power but can be dimmed easily. 

If your growing A. bisporus then the light is not important since they're kept in the dark and fed bullshit.  Most people forumites grow wood lovers on straw or wood chips for several different reasons.


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Offlinenanncee
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Registered: 12/01/12
Posts: 434
Loc: Utah
Last seen: 9 years, 1 month
Re: Fruiting Room Suggestions [Re: t3chnobily]
    #19211616 - 12/01/13 09:08 AM (10 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

t3chnobily said:
The LED are the same (SMD 5050) in both formats so the brightness is the same.  They go right over the shelves, close to the top of the substrate and are very bright and directional.  It takes a lot of them to brightly light a grow room though.  They do suck some juice at full power but can be dimmed easily. 

If your growing A. bisporus then the light is not important since they're kept in the dark and fed bullshit.  Most people forumites grow wood lovers on straw or wood chips for several different reasons.




The LED Strips come in many different forms, so be careful you are getting the ones you want. Last I checked I found 4 different varients of the SMD 5050 (1,2 or 3 diodes grouped together and 2 groups grouped together) and multiple variants of the smaller 3020's and 3528's.


--------------------
I am a small scale farmer, come check out what we do. www.facebook.com/biocentricbros

Check out our Youtube videos. www.youtube.com/biocentricbros


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OfflineHungarianMonk
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Registered: 10/29/13
Posts: 8
Last seen: 2 years, 17 days
Re: Fruiting Room Suggestions [Re: nanncee]
    #19215605 - 12/02/13 01:24 AM (10 years, 1 month ago)

Great setup. Wish I had the space for that.  If you choose to seal the floor a sheet vinyl used in bathrooms and kitchens would work great.  Its cheap and easy to install over concrete or wood. 

    Or Wood... If you need a drain, your epic framing skills could toss some 2x4's on the floor, add some shims and sheet it. You could put a slope in any direction.  First dump a gallon of water in that concrete/block corner, you may just luck out and have a desirable grade in the floor. 

    I'm also not totally sold on the idea of water proofing this grow room.  Sealing up the wood and sheet rock yes.  Block and concrete hold a ton of moisture which will add to the RH.  That exposed mass would provide a heat sync to help regulate the temp.  Since this isn't a lab where sterile technique is preformed, the few contaminates will fall victim to the healthy mycelium.

    Anyway - you have a room - its going to produce.


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