DIY - Grow box questions

Canuckbuds

New Member
Hello everyone. Time to ask the experts another question.
I'm thinking about building my own grow box, so I can grow just one plant inside over winter. I started a few outside for the first time this year and god damn it's addicting. I'm an electrician and managed to salvage a 2x2 fluorescent fixture that I stripped out to make a top frame for mounting lights.
420-magazine-mobile1736903857.jpg

I was planning on ordering two 65 watt CFL lamps from my electrical distributor and mounting to the steel frame. I can add more as necessary. Ive been reading about topping/FIM/LST so I'm hoping I can get by with just the two top lights. So basically just build a 2x2 box around the light frame so I can adjust the canopy up or down as the plant grows. Max probably 4 feet high. Built out of plywood and painted flat white.
I found this fan the previous owner of my house left which I can order another to use as an intake/exhaust
420-magazine-mobile171084032.jpg
119 mm, 85 CFM. Would the fresh air intake have to actually be brought in from outside the house? Or is just the household air fresh enough to supply oxygen to the grow box.
Any tips are appreciated, however budget is an option as I was laid off work today. Most of these materials I already have lying around the house. Thanks so much for reading.
 
You can see the ones I made in my first Journal link in my Sig (and the tiny one I had bought to start this whole thing going). Shouldn't have to bring in air from outside (unless you trying to cool it down), as you can breath in the house ;) so plant should be fine. I'm was just using the cheap LED grow lights for my boxes, fixed up my shed so I could up the game as it got too cold last year and I had to bring them into the house (well, my Old Lady allowed me to bring my boxes into the house as the smell bothers her). I did the plywood and flat white paint on walls in shed, it seems to be working fine (I cut up those window shade things for my boxes when I built them, but I think the flat paint as good if not better at reflecting the light).
 
Hey thanks for the quick reply and for sharing your info. I definitely didn't want to have to bring fresh air in the winter, as I live in Canada lol. Your boxes look pretty nice. Mine won't be that nice as they're probably just going under my stairwell. I read that flat white paint reflects 85 to 95 percent of light, and I've got some already so that's what I'm going with. I haven't told my wife I plan on doing this indoors either lol, so I really have to focus on keeping the smell down. My two on my outside deck she already can't stand, and they're not even that big.
 
Can you be a little more exact DM? I followed the first link for a ways and saw a lot of nice bud and plant photos but didn't see a box...
It is on the first page of the Anti Journal Journal link, as I had been growing for about 3 months before I had found this place so it was kind of a recap of my setup as caught the first one while finishing and was already going on my next grow. Or if you can see my gallery in my profile it is on the last page of that as the pics are most current first and oldest pics last (or least that's how my settings show them).
 
I haven't told my wife I plan on doing this indoors either lol, so I really have to focus on keeping the smell down. My two on my outside deck she already can't stand, and they're not even that big.

Varies on the strain but they do stink pretty well, I was in the doghouse even though the Old Lady let me bring boxes into house as they were pretty smell last two weeks. I'm using that carbon pre-filter sheet stuff you can buy online (the stuff that goes in those HEPA air filter table top things), it cuts quite a bit of the smell down as I have it on both intake and exhaust holes that the Computer Fans sit in, but it doesn't get all of the smell.

Looked like a kitchen cabinet.

I think it was one of them bathroom cabinet thingys for linens that you put together yourself, you know the ones that usually you have extra parts and parts you are missing (or the holes misdrilled etc...). I got it at the Habitat for Humanity used store, it was 8' tall and once I got it home it hit the rafters in the shed as too tall, so I cut it in half and made two boxes out of it (the top door on the one is from a kitchen cabinet, same thing from the used store think it was $2 and the box/cabinet was $25, so was a lower budget kind of build to start with as I never had any luck with House Plants but good thing Cannabis didn't have that problem for me ;) :rofl::rofl: )
 
Hello everyone. Time to ask the experts another question.
I'm thinking about building my own grow box, so I can grow just one plant inside over winter. I started a few outside for the first time this year and god damn it's addicting. I'm an electrician and managed to salvage a 2x2 fluorescent fixture that I stripped out to make a top frame for mounting lights.
420-magazine-mobile1736903857.jpg

I was planning on ordering two 65 watt CFL lamps from my electrical distributor and mounting to the steel frame. I can add more as necessary. Ive been reading about topping/FIM/LST so I'm hoping I can get by with just the two top lights. So basically just build a 2x2 box around the light frame so I can adjust the canopy up or down as the plant grows. Max probably 4 feet high. Built out of plywood and painted flat white.
I found this fan the previous owner of my house left which I can order another to use as an intake/exhaust
420-magazine-mobile171084032.jpg
119 mm, 85 CFM. Would the fresh air intake have to actually be brought in from outside the house? Or is just the household air fresh enough to supply oxygen to the grow box.
Any tips are appreciated, however budget is an option as I was laid off work today. Most of these materials I already have lying around the house. Thanks so much for reading.

Is that a Comair Rotron fan? The notches lead me to think so.
 
Hey thanks for the link. Last time I ordered something from the states the shipping turned a $75 item into a $150 item. I'll look into this site though.
 
I have a question. I've always done closet grows so I've never needed to use a cabinet. Now I'm really considering it because of the stealth and customization but one thing keeps throwing me off the height. I currently use a 450w dimmable LED and I've notice people using grow boxes/cabinets that are 4' high give or take. Considering the distance needed to keep your plants away from the light, container size (hydro grower) and so on how does 4' or so in height really work out? I mean I'm thinking you'd want no less that 6' in height for adequate light spacing and so on. So are people just growing really short/auto flower plants in that set up or what?
 
Considering the distance needed to keep your plants away from the light, container size (hydro grower) and so on how does 4' or so in height really work out?

It doesn't. Lights that work best right next to the plant, such as household LED light bulbs or CFLs, work best in short spaces. Similarly, soil or coco would be a better bet unless you have a comparatively flat hydro reservoir. Even using dwarf strains is worth considering.

It also bears mentioning that working in a cramped space gets old fast too.
 
It doesn't. Lights that work best right next to the plant, such as household LED light bulbs or CFLs, work best in short spaces. Similarly, soil or coco would be a better bet unless you have a comparatively flat hydro reservoir. Even using dwarf strains is worth considering.

It also bears mentioning that working in a cramped space gets old fast too.
Thanks for the reply. I didn't think so either. The math just wasnt adding up.
I usually use 5gal containers for my hydro grow. I like my ladies to have leg room. Plus it helps with other things.

I think for my needs I'll do 3x3x6 or so. That should allow me to grow almost any strain without height issue. Maybe I'll shoot for 7' but I don't want anything oversized unless it's worth the extra foot.
 
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