Couple Questions about my Growbox im building

M

MikeD86

New Member
Hello to all from sunny Florida!

I am currently constructing my first "grow cabnet". Getting a new dresser has inspried me to use my old one. I (like most) have a couple questions. My cabnet will be 3ftX2x3.5ft tall approx.. I am probley going to go the CFL route until funds are aviable for a HPS/MH setup.. What type of ventilation will i need? I am going to try to do 3 girls.. (is this adaquite space?).. Still debating weather soil or hy... I have talked to my friend he reccomended 100W of CFL lighting per girl... Is this accurate? Any help will be appreciated since i am a newbie. thanks so much!:thanks::roorrip:
 
Hey Mike and welcome to 420mag :grinjoint:

If you actually are building the cabinet as the thread title suggests, I would suggest you make it a little higher than 3.5' tall, as you will be needing some extra space for when you have an HID setup (HID lamps must be kept significantly further away from the plant than CFLs). So keep this potential scalability in mind. Also don't forget that if you're going hydro your reservoir will usually be under your plant(s), making you lose another foot of height or so.

If your cab is your old dresser and you have to make do with what height you have, CFLs might be the better way to go as your plants will be able to grow a bit higher. Downside is of course the 'weak' lumens vs HIDs.

Also, 3 plants might be too much for a 3 x 2 x 3.5 space. You might want to start with 2, see how they grow and flower and maybe go with 3 the next. Whatever you do, make sure you get some mylar onto the walls of your cab! :)

good luck man, make sure to start a thread showing up how your construction is going! :grinjoint::grinjoint::grinjoint:
 
Unfortunitly i am stuck with the 3.5 Height so im thinking soil is gonna be my best bet... My new concerns are going to be Heat being trapped in.. I am doing some research on that.. would you reccomend 2 computer fans or more if using CFL lighting.

I will be putting up Mylar inside the whole cab..


Thanks agian Curly and i must admit im in love with your setup!
 
I would build a chamber up top similar to how people have a small clone chamber except I would seperate the chambers with heat resistant glass or lexan. Give your self an intake and exhaust and you have a built in air cooled reflector sort of. In that chamber I would pack cfls. This will help when your plants get taller. top colas tend to get scorched in tight grow areas like this. the glass will help prevent that. Plus I haven't seen anyone do it yet and I think it will be cool.

You also need intake/exhaust for the plant area. You should get by with axial /muffin fans.

You may lose 8-10 inches of space up top which gives you about 2.5+ feet of growing space not counting pot the plant is in. I would grow 1-2 plants but lst or scrog it/them. Stay with a short indica or lowryder strain.
 
Thanks McBudz for the idea. So I will put an approx 10 Inch chamber up top for my CFL's. (by doing this it would work for veg/flower state)? What do you mean by Axial/ Muffin fans exactly?
 
do you think it would be beter for the lighting since im using CFL to mount them on a hanger so i could adjust the height.. Also what about a "shop light" on each side of the box when the time comes or just stick with CFL?
 
MikeD86 said:
do you think it would be beter for the lighting since im using CFL to mount them on a hanger so i could adjust the height.. Also what about a "shop light" on each side of the box when the time comes or just stick with CFL?
Click to expand...

no shop lights. Wrong spectrum. You can always raise and lower the plants to the light. Don't always have to move the light to the plants. :) What if 1 plant grows faster than the other? Its your box though bud. experiment and find what works best for you with what you got.
 
MikeD86 said:
Thanks McBudz for the idea. So I will put an approx 10 Inch chamber up top for my CFL's. (by doing this it would work for veg/flower state)? What do you mean by Axial/ Muffin fans exactly?
Click to expand...

veg/flower state is basically your light schedule if you are not using an auto flower strain like lowryder. 12/12 on/off will induce flowering. anything over and its veg. As long as you box is light proof it will be ok for flower. Don't think you have enough room to have a veg and flower room in there if thats what you meant.

Axial / muffin fans are like the fans you find in your PC. they come in different sizes. They are usually slim though and are good for this type of application
 
Thanks agian Mcbudz.

I didnt mean to insult your knowledge about the lighting on the chain... just never really thought of moving up the plants..:;):

So you think a fan blowing in and one blowing out for the lighting and the same inside the grow area would be good for air flow..?

What would you recomend as far as lighting with CFL.. I have heard some say 7500 for veg and 2700 for flower.. would this be to much for 2 plants in that small of a area?

Later this week i will be making a list of what im buying ect.. probley snap a few pics as well. Thanks all!:roorrip:
 
McBudz said:
nah bro I wasn't insulted just getting you to think outside the box :)

I think the fans will do alright. Just find the highest CFM ones you can that will fit.

6500K for Veg
3000K for flower

Check out how 1 or 2 100w cfls will fit.
Click to expand...

thanks again mcbudz.. So my phone rang off the hook today.. buddy of mine ran into some MH and HPS lights for 20.00$ EACH! So ill be running there after i take my morning medicine and may be ditching the CFL idea for MH HPS.. Wouldnt that be beter? Sorry for all the questions.
 
Antec - TriCool 3.125" LED CPU Cooling Fan - Blue - 75020

Will four of these be enough? not a big fan of the LED but ill see what i can find.. believe it says 34CFM... should transfer air pretty quick?

If i do look into CFL..100 watt of straught CFL or CFL equivilent..(id think straight)... Also would it be benefitual once the girls got bigger to throw some flours tubes in the corners if heat wasnt an issue?
 
Good news! I was searching on craigslist today and ran into another dresser that is approx 6 feet tall with the same width and lengh as mine for only 10 bucks. So looks like i will run a 6 foot tall system.. Still going to stick with the CFL lighting... gonna pickup some supplies tonight and probley will just start a new (construction) thread...Going to have a compartment up top for the CFL's like Mcbudz mentioned! (gee i should just fly him down to fl..lol)


Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to wire up the PC fans to 120V?
 
When selecting CFL lights what spectrum of them should i get..? Would these work and if so i would want atleast 4 lights?

0129091536.jpg


0129091536a.jpg
 
DaMagoMan said:
Yes they will:



You'll need a converter, since PC fans are DC and 120(wall outlet) is AC.
Radio Shack carries one that has adjustable voltage output.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much DamagoMan..


Sorry all for all the questions.. What spectrum do i want exaclty so i can buy the 10 bulb value pack.. Would if i put like 6 in there creating almost 8000K Lumens.. would that be to much?
 
MikeD86 said:
Thanks so much DamagoMan..


Sorry all for all the questions.. What spectrum do i want exaclty so i can buy the 10 bulb value pack.. Would if i put like 6 in there creating almost 8000K Lumens.. would that be to much?
Click to expand...

Not such thing as too much lumens. Only too much heat and too much power consumption. CFLS don't use much power so you are good there and they don't get as hot as HID's so you should be able to manage the temps.

For veg 6500K is perfect. For flower 3000K.

The taller dresser will serve you much better for the grow congrats on the find. Thats a tall dresser btw..

PC case fans dont usually move a whole lot of air. if you search around for "muffin fans" or "axial fans" you will find some moving more air than 34 cfm. If you have your heart set on PC fans then look into a voltage converter or low watt PC power supply to power them. I would also double up if you go with the 34 CFM. 2 x intake 2 x exhaust for each chamber. Go ahead and start with 1 each and do a test run for 18 hours and chart your temps. The cooler you keep the room the dresser is in the better off you will be during lights on.

Again I'm only giving you advice. I leave it up to you to experiment with what you have available and share your experiences so others may learn and grow :)
 
McBudz said:
Not such thing as too much lumens. Only too much heat and too much power consumption. CFLS don't use much power so you are good there and they don't get as hot as HID's so you should be able to manage the temps.

For veg 6500K is perfect. For flower 3000K.

The taller dresser will serve you much better for the grow congrats on the find. Thats a tall dresser btw..

PC case fans dont usually move a whole lot of air. if you search around for "muffin fans" or "axial fans" you will find some moving more air than 34 cfm. If you have your heart set on PC fans then look into a voltage converter or low watt PC power supply to power them. I would also double up if you go with the 34 CFM. 2 x intake 2 x exhaust for each chamber. Go ahead and start with 1 each and do a test run for 18 hours and chart your temps. The cooler you keep the room the dresser is in the better off you will be during lights on.

Again I'm only giving you advice. I leave it up to you to experiment with what you have available and share your experiences so others may learn and grow :)
Click to expand...

Deff going to look into the Muffin/Axial fans after im finished typing.. so you think approx 80+ CFM in and 80+ CFM out per chamber would be a good place to start..? so what color would be 3000K? Now when i pack the top with 6500 (full spectrum) lighting how many lumens should i shoot for..? the more the marrier? whats a base you woudl rec to start at. ;):thanks::roorrip:
 
found these and they are already converted to 120 V.. 62CFM could probley get away with 1 in 1 out per chamber...?
 
MikeD86 said:
Deff going to look into the Muffin/Axial fans after im finished typing.. so you think approx 80+ CFM in and 80+ CFM out per chamber would be a good place to start..? so what color would be 3000K? Now when i pack the top with 6500 (full spectrum) lighting how many lumens should i shoot for..? the more the marrier? whats a base you woudl rec to start at. ;):thanks::roorrip:
Click to expand...

Working with CFls I would literally go with as many as you can "safely" use in one space. Good rule of thumb is 2000 lumens per square foot. But thats at the plant canopy. The average 100 watt equiv. CFL is throwing off 1800 lumens or so at the bulb or within inches of it. The lumens exponentially decay the further away from the light you go. Instead of trying to rig up and manage 15-20 small cfl's look into 2 or 3 100 or 105 actual watt CFLS. That will do you good imo.

There are just too many possibilities to list. 400 watt HID in cool tube would be nice too. But requires more $$$ for inline fans, reflector, ballasts ....

As with anything else though you get out what you put into it.

RE: the axial fans. Start out with 1 pair and run a heat test for 18 hours or whatever you intend on running your veg cycle at and watch the temps for the whole time. If they are getting to the mid upper 80's then look into adding another pair. You can always add more as need as long as you have the space.
 

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