First Time Grower needing advice/ my grow journal.

[OneTonManPanda]

First off, sorry that this has been posted multiple time, but i seem to have a hard time getting feedback. If this is the wrong part of the forum, a moderator is more than welcome to move it... i'm new here and this forum is HUGE!! haha
Today i'd like to get your feedback on this grow cab idea of mine:
Basically if a box built from plywood and 2x4's with a hinged door and locks etc. It measures 30" high and 17x17" base, so its pretty good size. I plan to only grow 2-4 plans in SCROG and LST togeather to get some really bushy plants that sit about 24" tall, far away from the lights. I'm working on now caulking every crack in the box as well as weatherstripping the door and getting a good lock. Thats the first step, the bare box with no door looks like this: (see attachment, and sorry for such a plain picture, more soon!)

So my second step is getting all the inside Mylar-ed, i plan on using those silver things you put in your car window to block the sun, a 'sun shade' for lack of better terms.

Third is lighting and ventilation, and this is were i'd love some feedback. I'm using 3 fans, their 4" 80 cfm computer fans, two will push and pull through a DIY carbon filter and the other will be on the plans for good air flow. I'm using a passive intake system, hoping the negative pressure from the fans on the filter will be enough (100-160 cfm?). the fan will vent out the top of the box, which will have a small mini-fridge on it (leaving a 2" gap on the bottom) to conceal the 4" hole covered in a "computer fan foam dust cover".

Lighting: I'm using 5 45watt CFl's for this venture. i'm buying two sets of 5, one cool set (for veg) and one warm set (for flower), i did the math and its over 75 watts per square foot. they will be the typical power-strip to socket to bulb design using "y" adapters and such. the other main power strip will have the timer, and 3 AC/DC convertors (phone chargers) to power the fans.

The plants: I plan to use some bag seeds i have, germ in paper towels and plant/grow all organic using soil of course. i have read numerous "nutrient" forums and i'm getting all the nutes as soon as the box is 100% done and running (should be done by next saturday i hope) And if all fails, i'll use non-organic nutes and be really careful, i tend to be that way... i plan for 4 ladies, i'm starting to think 2 big ones may be the way to go though... any opinions?

Anyway, thats the setup... any words of advice?
Thanks,
Mike

PS; good pics soon construction starts today!!

 

[2Lazy]

I'm thinking you should probably do 4 plants rather than scrog. Since these are bag seed you really have no idea how they are going to grow. Especially since this is your first time around. Having 4 plants to start with reduces the odds of you getting too many male plants. LST is always an option after weeding out the dudes.

I also am not a big fan of the 46w lights, but no biggee there, just make sure you keep your plants in the 2" to 3" from the bulb range and you'll get enough light without too much heat.

The IR insulation stuff you're talking about as mylar will be just fine. You're going to have to buy a pretty big roll though, and for what it's worth, a little titanium white paint is almost as effective. When it comes to CFL bulbs, the reflection the light from more than 6" away is a negligible gain. The little can of paint and the brush might be several dollars cheaper.

With all things considered though this setup is still going to run you $200 plus nutrients and is pretty minimal. If you can go a little bigger you can find a tent online for like $80, and a diy 400w ballast for like $60. There are other ways of going about this so just make sure you've done your research of products online before building yourself something you could buy online for less.