Noob to growing

[420truckin]

Hey whats up.. In the process of building a cab to grow a few plants in. 2'D x 5'W x 54"H Ive been doing alot of reading up on here and researching many different options. As of right now my biggest drawback is figuring out what lighting to go with. I will have plenty of airflow the inlet will be a inline 170CFM fan and the outlet i will also be using a 170cfm inline, however it will be pulling the air out of two activated carbon filters for odor.. my inside width is only 23" so ive been mainly looking into getting a t5 fixture, maybe 4ft x 6 or 8 lights, as well as 8 CFLs .. Anyone have any input on how to maybe make this setup a little better or any input at all please help me out! Right now im almost done building the cabinet, going to be ordering my fans, and lights within a couple weeks, hopefully have some seedlings by the end of october.. Also thinking about building a smaller cabinet for the seedlings as well.

 

[420truckin]

Hey all, still nothing huh? Well ive got my cabinet just about finished, now im read to coat the inside, however should i use that reflective "bubble" insulation or should i just prime and paint? Do i need to use a specific paint? Flat, semi gloss, or high gloss? Im pretty set on using a t5 fixture, due to the lower temps then an hps or mh bulb. Can some one please chime in on the inlet and outlet fan setup? Too much airflow going in? not enough going out? i mean ive read the whole cfm to sq ft but with the 2 activated carbon filters connected to the outlet i just am not sure if there will be "too much" air in the cabinet..? It is sealed VERY well, no light emitting from the doors, all inside and outside seams have been sealed with caulking, and around the cfl fixtures and inlet and outlet. Please point me in the right direction.

 

[oldhippie64]

I in the same process as you are figuring out how I want to build a cab to grow in my cab is 24WX48LX60H. if you paint the inside make sure it's dried completely I've read post about bad room syndrome? where outgassing from fresh paint was hurting paints. you may want to think about lining the inside with Mylar or similar. with a fan on both outtake and intake I think the pressures they create need to be balanced so the intake fan doesnt push air/smell out thru cracks light tight isn't airtight. this is why I'm only using 1 fan on the outtake so all cracks suck air in they cant have air pushed out. I not sure about what I' going to do about lighting either but I'm leaning towards a 250 HPS or DIY CFL set up

 

[420truckin]

Definitely will be letting it air out and fully cure if its painted of course. actually the cabinet it completely done right now minus the inside and i have screwed the door hinges to the frame so its all open and free right now. Also i think before i put anything in it i will run the in and outlet fans for a few days in it to make sure its aired out good enough if i paint it. So would i be better off just running a booster fan for my inlet and go ahead and use the inline as planned for the outlet through the carbon filters? Also i used stratlogic's filter idea with chicken wire and pvc and the activated carbon you used from a fish store, with pantyhose or whatever.. All im waiting on is a lil bit of help on my airflow and then i can get my fans and lights ordered..

 

[voucher]

Use any flat white paint. Something for a bathroom would be perfect so the humidity doesn't ruin it.

 

[420truckin]

just got done with the 3rd coat of primer, going to go pickup my "Y" splitters, CFLs, and some flat white paint this afternoon and hopefully get it done for the most part. Starting to look good though! haa

 

[oldman60]

Paint doesn't reflect the light as well as other options but will work.

Emergency blankets in most all sporting goods department are more efficient and cheap. Pretty delicate but not hard to work with.
Tape or tacks will hold it up.

 

[420truckin]

Well got a pic of my cabinet this morning before i started working on the doors.. The doors are done now, just need to paint the inside of them, and then i just need to wait for my Q badboy 4 ft 6 light fixture, and still waiting to find the best route for my airflow then i can get that stuff ordered. Also ran a new set of wires from a new breaker in a subpanel so the lights, and fans are all on their own circuit. Ive got so much wood left over from this cabinet, i am going to work on a smaller cabinet for the seedlings, i plan on running the plants 12/12 from start due to limited space, that way i can keep my bigger cab filled up and when its time for those to harvest, i can pull the smaller ones from the little box... Blah blah blah, anyways heres a pic of it before the doors were on.