Chossing Location / Grow Box Basic Requirements

[LickMyBuds]

Hello All,

I am sick of going broke so I decided to grow for my personal use. I have three options:
1. GARAGE
2. SPARE ROOM CLOSET (APPROX 10FT X 3 FT DEEP X 8 FT WIDE)
3. SMALLER 3 X 3 X 10 CLOSET IN MAIN BATH

Pro's & Cons
1. GARAGE I can easily and cleanly bring in nutrients dirt etc. I live in Florida so I would require an A/C unit. CONS: I must build the entire box, using a closet can't I use the closet itself?
2. LARGE CLOSET I feel safer since I can better control access. The garage is open at times and people are at times, in the garage but rarely.
3. MAIN BATH CLOSET: Further into the house, more difficult to bring in supplies etc.

Is there a clear winner here?

REQUIREMENTS:

What primary components should I choose in terms of the following components?

VENTILATION: Will a High CFM Axial / Carbon Filter Exhaust be able to maintain temperature by drawing high volumes of 76 degree air or iss Supplemental Cooling a Must?
ODOR CONTROL: Will a 6 inch carbon / Axial Fan variable speed, Provide Better "safety"?
LIGHTING: I understand that this depends on the size of the area, however can say a 600 watt Ballast fixture capable of switching types of bulbs be usable no matter what area I Choose?

I am trying to figure out what I need to do here!

 

[Thew1sest]

Well, I would personally use the 10' x 8' x 3'. The reason for that is I feel like the space can be best utilized for a veg cab/ section and a flower cab/ section. You can set up the perfect grow cycle. There are some great grow calenders here! To get a perfect rotation going from veg to flower. Also, you can control the climate in my opinion better than the garage and it'd be nice if it wasn't in your main bathroom.

Alright after you have your desired location, you can now select the proper lighting required to grow some dank bud. Whether your running HPS or CFL, your going to need to achieve a certain watt/ square foot, and lumen/ square foot. Lets say a typical wattage would be 50 watts / square foot. So lets take the square footage for the layout. (Using the spare closet for example)

We take the square footage of the closet. 8' wide x 3' deep = 24 square feet (SF)

So we than calculate out watt/ SF

24 SF x 50 watts (optimal watt/ sf range) = 1200 watts total for the entire closet.

Lets say you use 1/3 of the closet for vegging and the other 2/3 for flowering.

1200 total watts x 1/3 = 400 watts required for the veg cab.

1200 total watts x 2/3 = 800 watts required for flowering cab.

Now with the required wattage, I usually look at outlets that you can use. (Whereas whether you need to run 120v or 240v).

From there you can choose your lights, That 600 should work out pretty well for flowering. Giving you 37.5 watts/ SF in the veg cab, but In my opinion two 400 watt HPS would be bad ass for that flowering cab, giving you exactly 50 watt/SF

Lets look at the veg cab now. With 400 required watts. I would run three 125 watt cfl (6500k spectrum) and two 42 watt cfl (2700k spectrum). That will give you a ratio of 4:1 for your lighting. Giving you the required watt/ SF as well as the proper light spectrum. And be easier to vent and cool, reducing energy costs.

OK, so after that page long rant... lets keep going!

Now for ventilation.
The required ventilation would change the air in the desired room 3 times on average per minute. So the we need to find the volume for this.

For flowering we take

2/3 x 5.33' x 3' x 10' x 3 changes = 320 Cubic feet of air needing to be moved per minute in the flowering section. So you'll need to make sure your intake and exhaust can satisfy this. (Take into account a carbon filter etc, this will reduce the pull of the fan.)

For vegging we take

1/3 x 2.67' x 3' x 10' x 3 changes = 81 cubic feet of air to be changed in one minute in the vegging cab. Same things apply to this box for the fans you select. Make sure at a minimum they can pull at that CFM.

For odor control theres a number of carbon filters that you can DIY. Also a deodorizer can help, you can make one for extremely cheap.

So we now have our location, lights selected, and fans selected.

If the post was way too long... I know I get going and next thing you know..

Here's the cliffs

Location selected: The 10' x 8' x 3' closet Veg section will be 1/3 the total space, the flower section will be the remaining 2/3 of the closet.

Lights selected: Flowering: Two 400 watt HPS setups Cool tube would be best.
Vegging: Three 125 watt CFL's (6500), Two 42 watt CFL's (2700k)

Ventilation required: Flowering: 320 CFM minimum rated fan
Vegging: 81 CFM minimum rated fan

As for the actual design you want to go, Hydro, soil, coco etc, will be the next decision, what do ya think?? I wrote this fairly quick let me know if you see anything that doesn't sound right haha.

 

[kkdog77]

Great reply Thew1sest! I'm also a new grower & newbie to this site. Could you elaborate or offer some more of your kean insight? My space will be similar at 2.5" x 6' x 8'h with about a ~40% veg area & ~60% flowering room. I get the math-thanks for that! I plan on using a 600w HPS in the flowering area & 300+w CFL's in the veg. area.

A couple questions if I could impose on more of your knowledge?:
1) Veg. area lighting: I'm thinking 2' tube type CFL's over the plants-would/should I also add any bulb type lower to the sides?
2) I got a Continental Fan Mfg. AXC200B inline fan from a friend-not sure of the CFM rating. Your example suggests a separate exhaust fan for each area-could I get by with just the one I already have to exhaust both areas? I'll also be using a can filter. I was thinking I could put the filter in the veg. area and pull it thru the HPS light & out; or have 1/2 the filter in the veg. area & 1/2 in the flower area.
3) I'd like to try the LST method too, as well as add a cloning area under/over the veg. area. Any design suggestions are welcome.

This is my first attempt at building a grow area-I'd like to get it right the first time.

Many thanks and this is a geat site with lot's of knowledgeable folks!