Ebb/Flow Hydroponics with 1000W HPS - First Grow

This is my first grow and I have no experience with plants or pot in general, however I'm an avid reader and pick things up quickly so here it goes. :)

I have a very concealed space buried deep within my house that's approximately three feet wide and deep. I've wrapped the space with heavy duty plastic (black) and plan on hanging white or reflective plastic on the walls to reflect the light. There's just enough room to hang my 1000W HPS in a reflector (on chains to allow for height adjustment).

Ebb & Flow Hydroponic System
I've never done hydroponics before, but I've read a lot of articles on the topic and decided the best system for my purpose would be an a storage tub reservoir with a small pump that pushes water up into the cement mixing tray full of pea gravel. An overflow tube drains the water once it has reached the top of the gravel and the pump tube becomes a drain once the pump turns off. The only possible problem I see is that the bulkheads I installed in the bottom of the tray are not flush so there will be a small amount of nutrient solution left in the bottom of the tray. I'm hoping it will be insufficient to cause root rot. I plan on running the pumps on a timer for 15 minutes three times a day.

Carbon Dioxide/Ventilation
I have a CO2 tank left over from when I did aquatic plants so I plan on putting the regulator on a timer to flood the room with CO2 twice daily. The exhaust fan is also on a timer so I can have the exhaust turn off just before the CO2 floods the room and turn back on shortly after. I will probably have to adjust the amount of time the fan is off based on the temperature fluctuation to avoid overheating. My ventilation consists of a continuous operation bathroom venting fan which blows into a dryer duct out the roof. I also have a small fan which I'll position inside the room to increase airflow through the foliage.

At the moment I only have the one area set up for flowering and haven't yet figured out a good place for a grow room so I'm planning on using the same space for both...just adjusting the timers accordingly.

I have not yet purchased any nutrients, but am looking at BC Boost/Grow/Bloom gallon jugs for $49 + s&h from 4hydroponics.com. I'm also tempted to pick up some Dutch Master Reverse/Penetrator to avoid having to deal with cloning by feminizing the plants. I have read quite a bit about cloning and it seems simple, but again I'm limited in the amount of space I can use and don't have a good place to keep a mother plant isolated.

Finally, I'm thinking of purchasing seeds from SeedsDirect.info (aka. GoldenGlow?) since I don't expect to make it to Amsterdam myself to mail any back very soon.

To Do:

• Install zipper on door to ensure no light leaks
• Run test cycles to test heat/humidity levels
• Buy nutrients
• Buy seeds

Wish List:

• Establish separate space for a mother to clone
• Frame real door (not plastic) and conceal with drywall to avoid discovery
• Add PH/TDS/Temp/Humidity monitoring (already have some monitoring hardware from aquariums)

Here's a pic I took the other day during setup. I'll take another one and post it later today.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...IMAG0277-o.jpg

Good Luck....:thumbsup: