ngb style gow box

[wheelchair]

Hi everyone I've been wanting to start building/growing for a while but never got around to it.

That was until I found the ngb box, It seems perfect!
I plan on building it the same as The original but a bit bigger, use a cool tube or cool reflector, use a 250hps and rethink the ventilation also fit a carbon filter.
It will also be in a bathroom were the temperature always seems to be cooler than the rest of the house plus I have a noisy extraction fan which I can run when friends/family visit.

When Im finished if it works I may post a guide on how I built it and such.

Ok heres my dimensions H - 3ft W - 3 D - 2
I can make it taller if need be but smaller is better.

Would I be able to grow satvia's with that height or should I go taller?

First thing get my wood cut up down at the hardware store any reccomendations for
wood (3/4 inch thick?) It does get steamy when I have a shower!! so preferably something water resistant? hows plywood?

What power/size fan should I get for 250hps with a carbon filter?

The ventilation will be coming up underneath the box which will be raised 3 inches of the ground. Still thinking how I should vent the mothers room? Speaking of mothers I need to know what kind of lights I need for three bonsai mothers preferably something I can pick up at the hardware store CFL's? Fluros?

 

[Anti]

My reading suggests that you'd be aiming for somewhere between 5000 and 7500 lumens per square foot. (The sun is reputed to put out about 10,000 lumen per sq ft.) You can find square footage by multiplying your width by your depth. (For instance 3x2 = 6 square feet if you keep it all one big chamber. 6x7500=45,000 LUMEN. 42w CFLs are around 2800 lumen each so 45,000/2800 = 16x42w CFLs. That'd be a lot. But 6x5000=30,000 so you could go with as few as 10 and still get the minimum of 5000.) Wiring up lights in series parallel is only slightly harder than hooking up speakers to your stereo.

I'm running a 4'w x 2'd x 3'h cab with two chambers that are 17"w x 17"d x 23"h and each chamber is lit by six 42w 2700k CFLs (about 250w per chamber). I've got my CFLs separated with a pane of glass and they have their own dedicated exhaust fans... keeps temps way down and the fans can run at lower speeds/volume levels.


Something like that would probably do the trick very nicely for you.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Ok heres my dimensions H - 3ft W - 3 D - 2
I can make it taller if need be but smaller is better.

Would I be able to grow satvia's with that height or should I go taller?

As long as you have the pull out reservoir, you're OK where you are. I've got 54 inches but, my tallish res doesn't move and, with my lamp and scrubber/fan at the top, I'm hard pressed to get my head in there to ScrOG.

With ScrOG, you can keep the plant to 12"+height of medium. This leaves at least 12" for soil or reservoir and still keep space between lamp and canopy. Grown horizontally, my 19" long colas were only 6" tall.



FAIR WARNING: You WILL throw out the majority of the plant as you grow . Sativa's stretch to the very end and your space is finite. Forget the plant's potential and concentrate on maximizing the cab's potential. My 22x29 space with a 250 CMH produced over 4oz water cured (theoretically, had I not sampled heavily during the grow, it may have yielded close to 9 oz air cured) Yes, it breaks your heart every time you rip out handfuls of plant matter. Just remember it's good for you and you'll be well rewarded in the end.

For fans, how cool do you want to run?



Check these threads too.

Great Inline Fans (S&P)

Ventilation 101

DIY Scrubber

 

[wheelchair]

I'm pretty set on using 250w hps for the flowering chamber.

Are reflectors worth it? how about mylar on the roof? If not Im going to to buy a cool tube and then try to build a reflector around it if thats possible

Anyone got tips for my ventilation should I have the intake holes on the bottom of the cab? or coming from the side like the original NGB cab?

For mothers Im thinking fluros or cfl Which watt? or colour? should I get?

 

[wheelchair]

Is 5 gal enough for two plants?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Reflectors good. Lamps throw 75-80% of their light away from the grow. They lose half their strength every 6"(or is it 12"?). You want to bounce that back ASAP.

Determine the fan you want. Buy a hole saw the same dimension. Punch* 3 holes in the cab. One at the top for exhaust, two at the bottom for intake (you can use smaller intakes but, you'll need a lot more). *Plan your intake positions with reservoir in mind! Don't block your airflow.

5 gal in an 8 gal bucket or, 3 gal in a 5 gal bucket? Either is doable, but the smaller the res, the greater the attention required.

 

[wheelchair]

So you need an intake hole as big as the fan hole say the Im getting a fan 6inches? I could have 2 3inch holes or 3 2inch holes?


as for the 5 gal in an 8 gal bucket or, 3 gal in a 5 gal bucket I dont understand I plan to buy a rubbermaid container similar to NGB's

 

[FreezerBoy]

If you want to do exact numbers, Ventilation 101 linked above will get you there. Venting For Dummies (like me) says intake area is twice the area of the exhaust. Cut 3 equal size holes and be done. Three 2 inch holes are not equal to one 6 inch hole. Less than half,actually. You want the green (6") not the red (2")



Now, I love the NGB. Rocked my growing world but, IT HAS NO SCRUBBER! Not a wise thing to copy. No scrubber, plus no muffler, plus a fan large enough to stay 3º above the ambient temp of, what appears to be, a cool basement, explains why the NGB gets by with so little intake.

The gallon comment refers to your reservoir being "smaller" than your container. You need an inch or two for air. I use 5" netpots, the six inch gap means my 18 gallon tub only has 12 gallons of nutes. At 12 gal to a single plant I can go 3 weeks without peeking inside (family, gotta love um). A 5 gallon bucket will hold 3 gallons of nutes. With 2 girls drinking, you'll need to be there every other day. How often can you be there? How often do you have to bug out for weeks on a moments notice? Somewhere between those two questions is the size of your reservoir. Add 2-3 gallons to that for the size of your bucket.

 

[wheelchair]

Hey freezer boy do you have any pics of your cab or an old thread maybe?

 

[FreezerBoy]

There are links to my diaries at the bottom of all my posts.

 

[wheelchair]

Im just about to order the wood, hows 3/4 plywood or mdf?
I must say im no cabinet builder just plan on using heaps of wood screws to secure it all together.
In this picture would option B support the DWC and everything else or should I go with A the cabinets stick three inches up off the ground. Now option B would be easier to build but Im not sure if it can support the weight?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Sticking with the 5 gal metaphor, that's 40 lbs. Supporting the reservoir ledge is essential. If B is easier to build, build B. Then add a support underneath whose height is equal to the gap under the ledge. A single diagonal cross bar would do and should reduce cabinet flex as well.

 

[wheelchair]

Do you think 'L' brackets would work instead of the diagonal cross bar?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Well, now you're getting into engineering at a level beyond mine. You could use L brackets for general construction but, paranoid that I am, I'd want some form of brace under the res shelf. Needn't be diagonal, a + or I beam would do.

 

[stealthcabber]

one problem i see with the bathroom is showering will raise humidity levels to over 80 and in turn make the carbon scrubber/filter ineffective.

 

[wheelchair]

I never thought of that Any ideas?? maybe showering when the fan is off ?

 

[Black Sheep]

4giv my ignorance but wut is a NGB style cab?

 

[FreezerBoy]

one problem i see with the bathroom is showering will raise humidity levels to over 80 and in turn make the carbon scrubber/filter ineffective.

D'oh! It was sitting right in front of us the whole time. Pardon me while I find a rock to hide under ...

4giv my ignorance but wut is a NGB style cab?

Welcome aboard. The AMAZING NGB Cab is an all in one growing chamber. Clone, veg, flower. Rocked my growing world as it was my intro to both ScrOG and DWC. Threw out everything and started over from scratch.

Note it has one SERIOUS flaw. It has no scrubber. First rule of growing is no telling. Smelling is worse than telling, it's advertising.

 

[Black Sheep]

thanx once again FreezerBoy i apreciate the info and the link. u actualy already convinced me 2 go DWC. im still n the process of gathering info n money before i start my project. althought i cant fully enjoy the fruits of my labor, due to an employer that randoms frequently n peter gazes, i am already enjoying the process of researching and i know il realy love building the cab. wen i get started with the construction il definitely post some pics wen i figure out how 2 do that lol. so thanx again brutha peace

 

[Asil]

If you are looking at building your cabinet from scratch. I would look into a kreg tool. They have a pocket rocket model that is only like $30. Then you wouldn't need any l-brackets. It also makes one of the best joints out there in wood construction. You will be fine with plywood. I would use that ove MDF. Also I would seal to out side of the wood with a varnish or poly.

The NGB is a great design. I just keep asking myself why wouldn't someone just add a side compartment or a top one to include the scrubber?

As far as DWC. I totally agree with Freezerboy on the size of your rez. Try to make it as large as possible. Not only can you leave it longer, but it is also more stable as far as PH fluctuations. Good Luck to you!