dc534
Well-Known Member
So after scouring the internet for over a month to find a design that could be big enough to fit inside a small closet, not look so suspicious I came across a couple of designs for what other forums have deemed the "High Pod". This is a grow chamber for a single plant. Here is my attempt at it. So far the build is going well but I have ran into a few problems.
So for the Lamps I went with 24" 24 Watt 6500k T5'S, they are rated for 1600 Lumens. I have 10 replacement bulbs for flowering rated at 2700k and 1600 Lumens. I probably could have gone with just 4100k bulbs for the entire setup but I did not find those anywhere. I will probably just replace bulbs going into flowering from the 6500k to the 2700k. Originally I meant to go with 10 of them giving me 240 Watts but I did miscalculated when installing and only installed 9 of them. One other cool thing is that I velcroed the ballasts in using commercial/industrial velcro. The lamps themselves weigh less than 2 lbs each and the velcro is rated at 1lb per square inch.
*note I do have some CFL's and reflectors for more direct lighting if needed. They are clamp on like the one you see below in the pictures. I do not have the bulbs in there in my pictures so the light is all from the 9 T5 lamps. I have 2 reflectors, 2 6500k 23 watt 1600 Lumen and 2 23 watt 2700k 1600 Lumen bulbs. These are meant as supplemental and I am going to use them and move them around every few days.
The garbage can is 32 gallon. I have a 44 gallon I wanted to use but it ended up looking to big, I may use that when it comes time to upgrade this setup.
I went with just flat white paint on the sides. I am very unhappy with the application of the spray paint I used. It was uneven, it says it is meant for plastic but it did not stick to this plastic very well and that is why there are so many scratches in the paint if you look closely. I am going to go over my paint with another coat using something different this time.
I have not installed fans yet. I have a carbon scrubber but it is meant for a grow tent and there is no way it is going to fit in there. I am going to have to work on this. I definitely need a something to pull air through the chamber and preferably be filtered. Smell control is utmost important. I may have to do a DIY carbon scrubber. I have room at the bottom of the chamber or near the top. PC fans are probably my best option.
As for the growing medium I would likely go with 1 gallon pot you see in the bottom of the can, it wont be a very big plant maybe a 1 footer if I do everything correctly but that is what I am expecting. The chamber is about 3 foot tall, minus about 3-4 inches at the top and another 8 inches for the pot we are looking at maybe 2 ft viable grow space height. If I can find a wider pot I will use that I would like to maximize my space as much as possible.
Also not seen is I have the lid locked. I put to master locks on for security purposes. While this does not add to concealability it does add to security.
Here it is in the closet:
Another Image in the closet:
The rest are images of the chamber and lighting:
Thank you for any suggestions you may have. Any would be greatly appreciated. One other note I bought everything from menards/home depot or other retail outlet. The lamps I did have to order online but I picked them up at the store. Normally they only carry 14 Watter's in store and I had to go online to their website to order both the lamps and the additional bulbs. They were my most expensive cost. It cost me about $300 for 10 lamps and the 10 additional bulbs. The lamps already came with the 6500k bulbs. Total cost of build has been about $450 so far. If we add in the additional growing materials, seeds, food, grow medium, planters I am probably just under $600 for this entire setup. I realize this is probably way to much to spend to grow just 1 plant but I plan to use this for multiple grows.
One other thing, the other design I bummed the idea off of the guy ended up yielding 5.7 Oz dry weight in a similar chamber. While that is a great goal I am nowhere near as experienced as he was with growing, he has some 15 years grow experience. My ultimate goal is just to go from start to finish. The first time I ever tried growing was back in high school 12 years ago. I ended up killing my bagseed plant when I tried moving it from indoor to outdoor. I am going with NL for my first real grow. I am not sure I will have room in this chamber to grow a Sativa as they are usually taller plants. I do have seeds for a couple varieties but I wanted to go with something easier to start with.
So for the Lamps I went with 24" 24 Watt 6500k T5'S, they are rated for 1600 Lumens. I have 10 replacement bulbs for flowering rated at 2700k and 1600 Lumens. I probably could have gone with just 4100k bulbs for the entire setup but I did not find those anywhere. I will probably just replace bulbs going into flowering from the 6500k to the 2700k. Originally I meant to go with 10 of them giving me 240 Watts but I did miscalculated when installing and only installed 9 of them. One other cool thing is that I velcroed the ballasts in using commercial/industrial velcro. The lamps themselves weigh less than 2 lbs each and the velcro is rated at 1lb per square inch.
*note I do have some CFL's and reflectors for more direct lighting if needed. They are clamp on like the one you see below in the pictures. I do not have the bulbs in there in my pictures so the light is all from the 9 T5 lamps. I have 2 reflectors, 2 6500k 23 watt 1600 Lumen and 2 23 watt 2700k 1600 Lumen bulbs. These are meant as supplemental and I am going to use them and move them around every few days.
The garbage can is 32 gallon. I have a 44 gallon I wanted to use but it ended up looking to big, I may use that when it comes time to upgrade this setup.
I went with just flat white paint on the sides. I am very unhappy with the application of the spray paint I used. It was uneven, it says it is meant for plastic but it did not stick to this plastic very well and that is why there are so many scratches in the paint if you look closely. I am going to go over my paint with another coat using something different this time.
I have not installed fans yet. I have a carbon scrubber but it is meant for a grow tent and there is no way it is going to fit in there. I am going to have to work on this. I definitely need a something to pull air through the chamber and preferably be filtered. Smell control is utmost important. I may have to do a DIY carbon scrubber. I have room at the bottom of the chamber or near the top. PC fans are probably my best option.
As for the growing medium I would likely go with 1 gallon pot you see in the bottom of the can, it wont be a very big plant maybe a 1 footer if I do everything correctly but that is what I am expecting. The chamber is about 3 foot tall, minus about 3-4 inches at the top and another 8 inches for the pot we are looking at maybe 2 ft viable grow space height. If I can find a wider pot I will use that I would like to maximize my space as much as possible.
Also not seen is I have the lid locked. I put to master locks on for security purposes. While this does not add to concealability it does add to security.
Here it is in the closet:
Another Image in the closet:
The rest are images of the chamber and lighting:
Thank you for any suggestions you may have. Any would be greatly appreciated. One other note I bought everything from menards/home depot or other retail outlet. The lamps I did have to order online but I picked them up at the store. Normally they only carry 14 Watter's in store and I had to go online to their website to order both the lamps and the additional bulbs. They were my most expensive cost. It cost me about $300 for 10 lamps and the 10 additional bulbs. The lamps already came with the 6500k bulbs. Total cost of build has been about $450 so far. If we add in the additional growing materials, seeds, food, grow medium, planters I am probably just under $600 for this entire setup. I realize this is probably way to much to spend to grow just 1 plant but I plan to use this for multiple grows.
One other thing, the other design I bummed the idea off of the guy ended up yielding 5.7 Oz dry weight in a similar chamber. While that is a great goal I am nowhere near as experienced as he was with growing, he has some 15 years grow experience. My ultimate goal is just to go from start to finish. The first time I ever tried growing was back in high school 12 years ago. I ended up killing my bagseed plant when I tried moving it from indoor to outdoor. I am going with NL for my first real grow. I am not sure I will have room in this chamber to grow a Sativa as they are usually taller plants. I do have seeds for a couple varieties but I wanted to go with something easier to start with.
