After months of delays my hydro project if finally back on track. In a way the delays were good as it gave us a chance to rethink a few things. The original plan was to power everything with a generator. The concern was the amount of work that would be required to get electric to the shed as well as the cost of going all electric. The decision was made to switch from the Quantum Bad Boy T5s to LEDs. Even though the up front cost of the LEDs will be significantly higher, the electrical savings over an expected 5 year life of the LEDs will more than make up for the difference. But that meant getting enough power to the shed. That required digging trenches, laying conduit, pulling wires and dealing with the power company and inspectors, all of which took time. But now that's done and I'm getting excited to finally see this come to being.
Got some Orka to put up on the walls. After looking at everything out there, it seems the best for what we're doing. The inside is kind of rough with a lot of uneven surfaces. Orka works better for that. Checked on the lead time on the hydro system. PlantLightingHydroponics, who I've been buying from for years, is now a dealer for the Under Current Systems. They price match so I should be able to get the UC8XL, 8 pot system for $1,100. Can get it in a week. Under Current is also coming out with a new product called the UC Solo Pro. It's an 8 plant veg system that uses 8" net pots to match their system.
http://cch2o.com/images/products/system_pics/UCSOLOPRO.jpg. At 26" x 32" x 12" it will fit nicely in the veg area. 30 gallon res. That eliminates having to worry about different net pot sizes. Will make moving them from veg to bloom seamless.
Finding a suitable water storage tank has turned into a bit of a quest. The system has a 65 gallon capacity, so need at least a 70 gallon. I could build a two tank overflow system with garbage cans but I really don't have the floor space to spare. I've found some reasonably priced, around $150, but the shipping is a killer. Because of their size they have to go freight and the shipping is almost $200. I know that sounds like I'm being a cheap skate when I'm spending so much on other things, but it's the principle. I'm not going to pay someone $200 to bring me a plastic drum. So still thinking about that one. Got to be something I can get locally that I can use.
:crack: 
for all the hard work you have done on getting this going.
