Hello everyone. I have cabinet that is 6 feet high 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep. I have been actively looking for a supply list to build a stealth growbox. I have a friend who is into salt water fish. He has offered me 2 of the Blue Wave 1 250W Metal Halide ballast by Sunlight Supply. He said one only has one working output. He wants $70 for both. My question to you all, is should I go with another lighting all together? I have about $200 to spare right now on this project and want to get started asap. Please point me in the right direction with the simplest setup. I do know I want to grow autos at first. I will have more money to play with for this project in March. thank you everyone for the direction. I am interested in CFL lighting also. I also have option to buy a 90 watt UFO led with bridgelux led's for $90. please help this newbie supply the wife her meds.
Building my first Grow Cabinet
- Thread starter freeshit
- Start date
i have pretty much the exact same cabinet. is it red oak by chance? 
anyways, in there i have 14 - 26watt cfls. and 2 plants in a dwc scrog
for fans i have a 6" oscilating, and a 160cfm bathroom fan for exhaust.
i personally think the 250 watt MH, is overkill, but at 70$ for both... thats a pretty sweet deal. might be a bit hot in there though.
heat is your worst enemy in micro's.
i would say go LED, as thats what i want to do, but you only have $200... so, thats kind of out of the question...
i would say go CFL, 6500k for veg, 2700k for flower.
anyways, in there i have 14 - 26watt cfls. and 2 plants in a dwc scrog
for fans i have a 6" oscilating, and a 160cfm bathroom fan for exhaust.
i personally think the 250 watt MH, is overkill, but at 70$ for both... thats a pretty sweet deal. might be a bit hot in there though.
heat is your worst enemy in micro's.
i would say go LED, as thats what i want to do, but you only have $200... so, thats kind of out of the question...
i would say go CFL, 6500k for veg, 2700k for flower.
- Thread starter
- #3
Thank you for the reply. I ended up purchasing this today
https://www.ehydroponics.com/?action=...d=8495&cid=491
I also have a dyson air multiplier fan that we received for xmas. it is the 12inch model. We have no use for it. The cabinet is a metal storage cabinet
https://www.ehydroponics.com/?action=...d=8495&cid=491
I also have a dyson air multiplier fan that we received for xmas. it is the 12inch model. We have no use for it. The cabinet is a metal storage cabinet
HiTimes4Me
New Member
freeshit-It's against the rules to link to something that isn't a sponsor here or affiliated here.....And when you click the link it only takes you to the site not what your actually purchasing...
nibec- for the same watts your using with all those cfls you could just use a 400w HID light...And no the 250 isn't overkill in there nor would a 400w be...a 250w would be my minumum personally...And as far as heat goes cfl's put out alot of heat when there is lots of them and the distance you need them from the plants it's basically the same as the heat from the 400w...but that's just my .02 brother
nibec- for the same watts your using with all those cfls you could just use a 400w HID light...And no the 250 isn't overkill in there nor would a 400w be...a 250w would be my minumum personally...And as far as heat goes cfl's put out alot of heat when there is lots of them and the distance you need them from the plants it's basically the same as the heat from the 400w...but that's just my .02 brother
not really true... i tried a 400hps in that space. my temps shot up to 91.
with my cfls, i run 78F
i require stealth application... so, a big blower is kind of loud.. but... if you can point me in the direction of a 4-6" fan, that will run on a cooltube, and is less than 3 sones... im in.
250 watt HID would work great for your cabinet. Get a small, sealed hood for the bulb, or a cool tube. Intake from outside the cabinet, through the hood, and exhaust out, keeping the air cooling the light separate from the space. If you can get 100+ cfm's blowing through, that should keep things cool.
Don't buy a LED.
Cfls are tough to illuminate a plant larger than 12" tall.
Here is my thought...run to 2-4 23 watt cfl's (true wattage) for the seedling. That's only about $20 total for materials. When you get the cash in March, get a nice 250 watt HID set-up. I recommend a digital ballast. You'll be just in time to start flowering the plant vegged under the cfl's.
This will give you a chance to play with exchanging air in the cabinet as well.
Good luck!
Don't buy a LED.
Cfls are tough to illuminate a plant larger than 12" tall.
Here is my thought...run to 2-4 23 watt cfl's (true wattage) for the seedling. That's only about $20 total for materials. When you get the cash in March, get a nice 250 watt HID set-up. I recommend a digital ballast. You'll be just in time to start flowering the plant vegged under the cfl's.
This will give you a chance to play with exchanging air in the cabinet as well.
Good luck!
HiTimes4Me
New Member
From my understanding zones are only used as a linear scale for loudness not an actual measurement more or less just the intensity and also I thought zones only doubled from 1 to 2 then 2 to 4 and so on and zones are arbitrarily assigned so first you would have to designate a frequency then then the decibel level which is converted to phone then assign zones to the lower end of your range which will let you determine which zones would be suitable...but that's from my understanding my friend but back on topic its not how load the fan is the question is how much the sound can be dampened to get to a suitable stealth level?
- Thread starter
- #8
This is what I purchased for $154.95
Ultra Sun 250W HPS 1
Galaxy 250/400w Select-A-Watt Digital ballast
EconoWing Reflector
Lift Master Light YO YO
I have the Dyson 12' multiplier I also have 6 6inch clip on fans. I can upgrade the bulb to a 400watt since my ballast.
Thoughts?
- Thread starter
- #9
Cooling the bulb would be my only concern. Give it a test run and check temps to dial it all in. It depends on room temps that your space will be in. If its naturally cool, you might be good to go.
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- #11
Can you point me in the direction of a good light(cooling tube) I am also wishing I got a luma tek digital ballast. I am contemplating returning this and getting something else. I really liked the $154 deal they had and wanted to get started right away. Now I am wishing I pieced my stuff together better
Can you point me in the direction of a good light(cooling tube) I am also wishing I got a luma tek digital ballast. I am contemplating returning this and getting something else. I really liked the $154 deal they had and wanted to get started right away. Now I am wishing I pieced my stuff together better
I run a Lumatek 250/400 and have never had a single problem with it, great ballast.
One of the sponsors here at
have a killer light deal, with a cool tube reflector:250 Watt HPS Grow Light Electronic Ballast Cool Tube Kit - Access Hydroponic I have a 6" cool tube, they work well. Any vented hood will work for a 250 watt bulb. I'm looking to replace my cool tube with one of these:6" Hydroponic Indoor Grow Light Air Cool Reflector Hood - Access Hydroponic Perfect fit, and with that type of design you get a deeper lumen penetration.
- Thread starter
- #13
I run a Lumatek 250/400 and have never had a single problem with it, great ballast.
One of the sponsors here at
I have a 6" cool tube, they work well. Any vented hood will work for a 250 watt bulb. I'm looking to replace my cool tube with one of these:6" Hydroponic Indoor Grow Light Air Cool Reflector Hood - Access Hydroponic Perfect fit, and with that type of design you get a deeper lumen penetration.
I think I am going to switch up my setup. My current Ballast is the galaxy tek 250/400. I just picked up 4 SLI Lighting LED PAR30/FL says 40 lumen watts warm white 830/3000k Are these of any use? here is the model number. Please take a look for me SLT 48510 by the way your AK's were gorgeous
Thanks for the compliment on my AK!
Those LED's won't grow anything for you. In my opinion...stick with the 250 watt plan. That should give out 28,000 lumens or so. Grow a couple of 2 footers under that and you should get a nice yield
- Thread starter
- #15
Thanks for the compliment on my AK!
Those LED's won't grow anything for you. In my opinion...stick with the 250 watt plan. That should give out 28,000 lumens or so. Grow a couple of 2 footers under that and you should get a nice yield
I will use them for saving in the home lighting then lol. I have the galaxy tek Digital Ballast here are the choices.
Solis Tek 139
Galaxy Tek 142
Luma Tek 152
I want to get this going ASAP but just don't want to be constantly upgrading or whatever. Is Galaxy Tel a good ballast. I really like the Solis Tek. May just get the Luma Tek too many choices keeping me from growing
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- #16
Update! I was going to exchange everything. I ended up with a 400 watt HPS bulb and a Timer for $10 extra. I am now deciding what to do next. I have the light, reflector, ballast, cabinet, and timer. I have 6 6in 2 speed clip on fans plus I have the 12inch dyson air multiplier. Can I start using the cabinet now or do I have to wait until I get the carbon filter and the reflective paper for the inside of the cabinet? Sorry again for the questions just lost right now. I will be doing the 12/12 method
Nice job on the 400 watter! Exhausting hot air from the space is your goal. You need to draw in cooler air from outside of the space, either with an exhaust fan, or an intake fan...using passive vents. Fans moving air is good to keep leaves moving around, catching different angles of light, and not getting too hot (the leaves).
Getting rid of heat produced by the bulb is your #1 goal
- Thread starter
- #18
I am at a loss now. limited funds right now, what would you recommend if you were me. Keep in mind the cabinet is still in the wrapping, lol. I had to go with the econo reflector right now. I am very impatient but know I have to do this right. Will have another spare $100 at the end of the week.
Excited2start
Well-Known Member
yo can start using it now if you wanted to. Just have to get everything you have in there. Now what do you mean by the 12/12 method? because 12/12 is what your lights need to be on to induce flowering. If you are starting from seeds you are going to want to sprout them and use 18/6 for the veg period before you flower.
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- #20
I wanted to try the 12/12 from seed to complete. Is this a bad idea? I already germinated some seeds. I am just worried about heat in the cabinet. I can run the bulb at 250 if need be. I have some random bag seed not sure what they are or anything.
