Closet Growing with the General Hydroponics 6-site Rainforest 36 System

This thread is being created to act as a growing resource for those using the General Hydroponics 6-site Rainforest 36 System pictured below or very similar hydroponic systems. As the resource grows (npi), I will periodically reorganize things so that the resource remains easy to navigate. Anyone should feel free to join the conversation. We begin by asking some questions of members already growing with this system:

puff4twentynow + zandor,

I have the same General Hydroponics Rainforest system that I saw pictured in your setup, puff4twentynow. I would really appreciate your help going into my first multi-plant grow. I am growing white widow. Four of the plants are seedlings in their third week of growth, the fifth is a 2 ft gimp that was taken part-way through a flowering cycle and then brought back to veg growth (read on for details of why). The sixth spot is empty. Here are some questions I still have:

System: How many adult, flowering plants can the GH Rainforest handle? How often do you have to change nutrients during veg and flowering stages respectively? Is there anything peculiar about this system that I should know about?

System Aside/Concern: My first grow got completely screwed bc the rainforest system runs hot. I had the system sitting on a carpeted floor, and the water temp kept creeping up over 80F. This high temp seemed to encourage bacteria or fungal growth in the roots, and I almost lost all of those plants to infection. One lived, but is pretty gimpy looking now. I solved the temp problem by lifting the system up onto some

Growing Space: The closet I am currently using is 16in wide x 16in deep x 7ft tall. It's been fine so far for the four clones (~8in) and 1 gimp (~2ft) that I am growing, but it looks like things might start to get crowded. Is this small closet going to supply a large enough space for growing multiple adult plants or should I move these to the larger closet (which is, unfortunately, not hidden as well as the tiny closet i use now)?

Lights: What type/how powerful are the lights you use for your rainforest system? My small closet has 1 shoplight with 2 40w flourescent bulbs. The light is positioned vertically and all of the walls are covered in aluminum foil, which produces a fairly bright environment. The light is almost completely non-directional (e.g. there is so much reflection going on in there, no matter where you place your hand it doesn't seem to cast a shadow). I am concerned that this is not enough light, but I don't want to go out and spend more money on this setup until I am sure. I have seen some people recommend compact fourescent exterior floodlights like the one shown below. Any experiences with these?

Nutrients: I have been using the free nutrients that came with the system. These are about to run out, so I'm looking around for replacements. Have you used different types of nutrients? Have you noticed a quality difference between brands? If you had to identify a best-buy nutrient mix and a highest-quality nutrient mix, what would these be?

Odor Control: Currently, I use Optimal Growth's Odor Control crystals. They seem to work pretty well. How much should I expect odor to increase once flowering begins? If you have any advice on odor control, please share.

Thanks in advance for your responses. I think the Rainforest 36 is a pretty good system, and I would like to see more people feel comfortable growing with it at home. Hopefully, this resource will help to that end...with, of course, the ultimate goal of legalization.

Give me a sec to finish rolling this duber, smoke it then i'll be right back.............................................. .................................................. .........................................5 minutes later............................................. . :stoned:
Ok, you asked and i have some time to kill. I'm not a pro but i will share what i have learned so far.

Your rainforest system has six sites for six plants. You can use them all from seedling to full maturity. Nutrient change is every 7 - 10 days (its up to you). Keep the water level from dropping below the lower water level line. I try to keep the water level toward the high level mark by adding fresh water with nutes every other day or every day depending on how much they drink. If your ppms go higher than the feeding chart suggests then you should give just Ph'd water on the next feeding. Do you have a ph tester?

The rainforest system does not run hot. The temperature of the environment you have your system in causes the water temp to increase. Do you have an exhaust system and fans blowing on your plants?

Your grow space is fine for the one system that you have. You can grow all six in that space. Think maybe single cola plants. As for having one plant at 2ft tall and the rest at 8in, its a good idea for all your plants to be the same height but thats also up to the grower. I don't know if you've tried cloning with your system but i have had a 100% clone rate so far with this sytem. Thats one thing this system IS good for. As for the rest we shall soon find out.

When talking about lighting what you have now is keeping them alive but if you want them to produce a decent end product, you need HID lighting. HPS is preferred for flower and metal halide for veg. Hortilux HPS bulbs can be used for veg and flower. A 250w HPS would probably be good for your space. With exhaust and fans running you shouldn't have any heat problems.

Nutes, not only do you need to use N-P-K but also need to use boosters and supplements to produce with this system. Very important because a plant cannot grow by just drinking water with only n-p-k in it. Along with your system, did you get a "Weekly Phase Feeding Chart"? In that chart GH gives you options of how you can apply what nutes and additives at what phase. What type of water are you using?

Odor is going to get stronger during flowering. Get a good exhaust fan with a good filter at the end to scrub the air clean.

I hope this helps you a little bit. And i hope you have the $ to spend. A wise man once said that if you go cheap, you grow cheap. Wise words to think about. Happy Growin!!!!!!!!!!!!1 :D :D :D

thats all good , the CFL floodlight will produce a good result, but the tubes you have now wont do much... i say use both :D

overall, fluoro lights have better spectrums available, but HID lights put down more light, i have seen both produce some very nice grows, and i prefer to use a mix of the 2 myself.. if ya wanna use a high power CFL, look into envirolights :D