Help With New Grow Closet/Room.

[groover]

Hi Groovers. I am new to the site and need some advice. The more ideas the better. My Dad passed away a few months ago so I have moved in to his house to help look after my Mum. I am converting part of a large shed/garage into a bedroom for myself. I have insulated and lined the walls with ply. I have an area allocated for my built in closet. It is a little under 8ft high and 2ft 3in deep. I dont know what width to make it. I have 2X130W CFL grow lights 6400k for veg 2700k for bloom with small six-fold dimpled batwing shades a 1X6in inline fan. I have two of each lamp so I can go for full vege, full bloom or divide the space and use 1 of each. So what should i do? I have a few ideas but would really love to hear yours. Also, what is the best way to put up mylar? I plan to use it for lining the side and rear walls. Can it be permanently fixed. Does it lose it's reflective properties with time and exposure? Can it be glued using like a spray contact adhesive? If i staple it do i need to use thin timber battens between the staples and the mylar so it doesnt rip out at the staples. I dont mean to sound stupid but have only ever used panda film before which is very robust but no as reflective as mylar. Panda 75-80% Mylar 95-98% does this sound right? Thanks

 

[boxpipe]

Yes Mylar is very high reflectivity something like 96-98%. I have used staples to put mine up but I find duct tape actually works best. Don't worry about covering every last nook and cranny with it. Just do the big open spaces on the sides, front, back of your chamber. Don't put it on the floor, it's just a pain in the ass because stuff spills all over it. I've seen pictures after people have glued on their mylar and it looks like hell, ripples all over the place. My advice is try duct tape because it's easy to change it if you don't like. Just tape up the corners. Easy to pull tight too.

 

[groover]

Thanks for da info boxy. I have some aluminium tape i think i will use. Its shiny like foil and super sticky. I wouldnt consider mylar for the floor. I will use panda and run it up the walls about a foot to protect against spills.

 

[magnetvn]

Why not just pain the room flat white? You'll get a pretty good reflectivity off of it, and you won't have to hassle with putting up plastic.

Alternately, I've heard people use velcro to keep mylar up, and it's nice because it allows you to adjust and smooth out the wrinkles. Just be careful you don't create hot spots between the mylar and the wall.

 

[Hogdady]

Check out this link...some good info

What Reflective Materials Can I Use For My Grow Room?

 

[groover]

Thanks Everyone. I appreciate all ur input. As usual the universe decided for me. Today I went shopping and stumbled upon some rolls of adhesive velcro velcro for 2bucks a roll when i was buying other stuff. Woo Hoo
So the mylar is sorted but i still dont know about the setup. I got a week to decide. Cant build closet till electrician is done. I am getting a full powerbox upgrade and lights and power to the new bedroom. Easier to build closet after than explain to electrician why i want a 4 socket outlet inside a closet lol. So i got 8ft of height and 2ft3in of depth width??????? Please give me some ideas my brain is melting.

 

[boxpipe]

What level of stealth are you going for? Are you thinking of building a cabinet within your closet, or just building the closet to suit? Are you able to vent heat/smell to an attic type area, or just into your room?

 

[groover]

Cheer Boxpipe. A little stealth is necessary but it will be in the back corner of the room and well hidden by other stuff. I am building a small closet on the end for my clothes so from the outside it looks like 1 big built in robe. I can vent straight outta the back wall of the closet into a big steel shed with two big whirlygig things in da roof. My temporary set-up is chargin along. I am tring a new media called fytoflake its like chopped up white foamy stuff. Seems good so far except for the liberal covering of green algae. Doesnt seem to be affecting growth but i might try some fishtank algae control in da nute tank(active constituent is 3g/L Simazine). Dont know anything about it but it doesnt kill fish or marine plants if used correctly. Gave em a spray of Bonzi growth regulator. (havnt used b4 but my mate swears by it) I wanna keep em short 15cm-6in because i am aware that CFL's light hasnt the penetrative qualities of HID's. The guy at the hydroshop said they wont grow any higher once i hit em but we will see i know what can happen once 12/12'ed they go thru da roof lol. Gonna
turn em as soon as the closet is done. I also ordered some thai hazeX skunk no1 seeds. I hope their steath ensures a smooth delivery. I have said a growers prayer so fingers crossed. Photo's, journal and stuff to come. So busy buildin this room, sortin out my late fathers sh*t and lookin after my elderly mum but I will get around to it all.

 

[OldMedMan]

What level of stealth are you going for? Are you thinking of building a cabinet within your closet, or just building the closet to suit? Are you able to vent heat/smell to an attic type area, or just into your room?

Good point boxpipe
Due to my room/house set up I can not vent to the outside. The air and smell and all just keeps going through my grow over and over with a mixture of some fresh air from my AC. It is not good for me or my plants. I fight humidity problems constantly.
Vent if you can and get fresh air in if at all possible.

 

[boxpipe]

Cheer Boxpipe. A little stealth is necessary but it will be in the back corner of the room and well hidden by other stuff. I am building a small closet on the end for my clothes so from the outside it looks like 1 big built in robe. I can vent straight outta the back wall of the closet into a big steel shed with two big whirlygig things in da roof.

Sorry Groover, I'm having a real tough time picturing what you're doing. Is it a real closet just like you'd find in any bedroom or a wardrobe like you might buy in Ikea? If it's a real closet, what kind of door do you envision on it? Sliding mirrored doors?

If you can find a picture of something similar on the internet, that would help immensely.

 

[boxpipe]

This is what I'm visualizing anyway:

Ignore the weird dimensions. They're just approximate.

 

[groover]

A built in closet. I am gonna try and get a twin sliding door arrangement. If too expensive I will put a door on each end and a panel between the two doors that does not move. I can make it 7ft wide max. Thats the width of the back wall it is up against. The clothes will be on left side looking at it.
The grow area will be much wider than clothes area but u got the general idea. Check the wardrobes at smartpack.com.au for an idea of the doors and stuff.

 

[CharlieMopps]

clothes are gonna smell like weed.

 

[groover]

Nothin unusual Charlie I usually stink of burnt weed lol

 

[boxpipe]

Ah ok, so I wasn't too far off. And now I only have more questions. Are you just growing for your own personal use? That will determine if you actually need separate veg and bloom chambers. I would recommend just set up one chamber and use it for germ/sprout/veg/flower/bloom/everything. Keep it simple.

Have you thought about hydro vs soil?

 

[groover]

Thanks for all ur effort boxpipe. It is muchly appreciated.
It's for personal use and maybe a few gifts but only to the people that know and appreciate good smoko. I agree with the 1 chamber after serious consideration. As they say "keep it simple stupid" Gonna go for hydro only because the temporary set up is hydro. I am using drip fed 6in pots in a 2in deep tray. I think i will try and keep width of chamber not much wider than the tray. I assume the smaller i keep it the more intense the light will be. (does that sound right) so the tray is 3ft3inx18in The two Cfls should give the whole tray really good coverage(i think). I can always fit a normal lampholder down lower in each side of the cab and put a 48w cfl there and in winter i could just fit normal incandesants to bring up the temp.(kill 2 birds so to speak) Sound good??? So much for the growth reg. I soaked those girls and theyve all grown an inch o/night. Gonna have to scrog, LST or break em. I just know when i turn em theyll grow taller lol

 

[boxpipe]

Sounds good. I was going to suggest scrog because you can use it to really maximize a small space. But it's daily maintenance. Btw, you can't have any lights on during dark cycle, so if you think it's going to get too cold in there, you can't depend on light to keep it warm. Good to keep it one chamber. Should grow more than enough for yourself and close friends.

 

[groover]

Duh, I didnt even think about the warming lights affecting dark cycle, STOOPID Can you get ceramic heater thingies that just screw into a standard domestic light socket. Not that I will need it soon. Summer is on its way and its gonna be a steamer! We have already had a couple o 31deg C days and its only spring.

 

[boxpipe]

An Aussie!

Well then yah, you need to be prepared either way. My biggest problem was with the temperature of the nutrient solution. But then I bought a used water cooler for $12 and circulated the water through it and back to the res.

It's hard to tell how hot/cold it's going to be until you get it running. Just worry about heat for now, then in winter you may need a thermostat and heater of some type. Plenty of time for that though.

Holy christ I wish summer was coming. But no, we're on the other end. October and getting colder by the day. ARgh.

 

[groover]

Whats the climate like in Ontario and where is it. Is it near Pomona? Or is that a different Ontario. Excuse my ignorance. The temporary setup is runnin about 21-22deg c in the tank and between 17 nights 25days the tank drops to about 17 at night. It seems ok there 6in tall and as thick as my pinky in the main stem. Constant oscillating fan really does make a heap o difference to those TRUNKS.