Help me build my cab

[Smoke_A_Lot]

I've grown plants successfully in the past, using both cfl's and an hid light. I still consider myself a beginner and have a lot to learn. This is my first time in years that i plan to grow, and unlike before i want to do it right. I live in an apartment building so I'm very limited in space.

So here's my plan:
I'd like to build a cab, with three sections, one for veg under 150-200 watts of cfl, a 250 watt hps for flower, and a section for clones. This way i'll have a steady supply of buds instead of vegging/flowering in the same section. The maximum number of plants i plan on doing is 4 at a time, growing them in soil and LSTing them.

Here's some questions:
(please have mercy on me, i really suck at carpentry or anything to do with it)
1. Obviously stealth is of the up most importance, i plan on buying a 4" x 18" charcoal filter for odor and hooking it up to a "4 80cfm inline duct fan, will the fan be sufficient with this size carbon filter? I plan on venting it outside my cab, do i need to bring fresh air inside the cab? Venting it out the window or cutting holes in the wall is out of the queston.
2. I'd like to maximize my light efficiency, what size should my cab be under the lighting circumstance? What material and sizes should i make my cab out of? I'm limited in tools, and like i said i'm pretty retarded when it comes to carpentry.

 

[Guest 88950]

the veg / clone area in the same compartment.....one light source.

i tuck my clones under the shade of the veggin girls....they do just fine with less light until fully rooted.


im not sure the max distance from the 250w for max lumen output but id base my space on a 400w in case you find you want to upgrade your lights.

look around the site at other micro grows and you will find something to replicate.

build it out of an existing wardrobe closet, kitchen cabinet or build a shelf to sit a fish tank on like what Gnaut is doing.......600w micro cab, custom built w/fish tank on top.

doing some basic searching will show in the questions you ask and therefor get you more help from those here.


Edit: Gnaut 600w cab
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=231829

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

the veg / clone area in the same compartment.....one light source.

i tuck my clones under the shade of the veggin girls....they do just fine with less light until fully rooted.


im not sure the max distance from the 250w for max lumen output but id base my space on a 400w in case you find you want to upgrade your lights.

look around the site at other micro grows and you will find something to replicate.

build it out of an existing wardrobe closet, kitchen cabinet or build a shelf to sit a fish tank on like what Gnaut is doing.......600w micro cab, custom built w/fish tank on top.

doing some basic searching will show in the questions you ask and therefor get you more help from those here.


Edit: Gnaut 600w cab
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=231829

Thank you for your help, I'm doing research now and looking at other peoples threads for ideas and inspiration. I'd like to know if i'd be able to double up with two "4 cheapo inline duct fans for more cfm, could that be done or is it a waste of time? I'd probably hook both up to a Y connection.

 

[Guest 88950]

its better to go with a fan & filter combo imo......they are fairly cheap to buy. i bought one a few yrs ago from htgsupply.com and i just re-filled with granular activated carbon sourced locally from a hvac / h2o purifer company.

ist always better to overdo your cfm for your cab for many reasons.......keeping temps under control is the main reason....so im not sure on doubling up on the inline boosters.

dont cheap out on your ventilation / lighting or filter.........im not saying you cant diy the fan filter combo cheaper and as effective just find someone who has already done it and copy their design....im not that person to advise ya on that.

as you read n research if ya have questions just ask, ill try n help.

 

[aesoprock00]

definitely check out some classic threads like

the Mills Pride Club

the 400W club

the 250W club

and of course, the cab club

I'm also in the process of designing my own semi-stealth cab, it might give you some ideas too.

 

[dansbuds]

If your interested in a wardrobe cabinet as a grow box ... heres pipe dreams cabinet where i took my ideas from https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=21514

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

Thanks for the links and suggestions guys! I'm doing my fair share of reading, i probably should of read more before i even posted this thread because from researching this board i answered a lot of my own questions. But anyways i took the trip to home depot yesterday, i spent an upwards of a little over a half an hour looking over good material for my cab. I picked up some 2x3-8' studs for my frame which i had them cut to size, my cabs gonna be 4' High, 5' long, and 3' deep (is that the word for it? .) I'm taking my time with this build because nothing ever comes out good if you rush into it. One question though is 4' going to be enough for four plants LSTed under a 250 watt? I'm going to DIY a cool tube in order to maximize light onto my flowering babies.

@ SuperSilverHaze I agree 100% on that, growing in an enclosed closet years ago i had many heat problems. My plan is to DIY a carbon scrubber, it seems easy enough. I'll probably end up modding a stanley blower, it's cheaper and it seems like a work horse.

 

[Guest 88950]

what is the optmal sq ft for a 250 watt?

you are definitly not going to be runnin too much light for a 5'x3' base, and with 4' of height youll have plenty of room for scrog, sog, lst.

i run (2) 600's in a 4x4 tent and i try and keep all the bud sites on my plants within 3 1/2' of my lights. i grow in 10gal totes 2 plants lst'd because its too dificult to weave in and out of a scrog screen. i end up with a tub full of bud, not as even as a scrog canopy but every bud site is within 3 1/2' of my bulbs.

the problem i have to watch for is heat stress and light bleaching but its not enough of a prob for me to move them further from the light.

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

what is the optmal sq ft for a 250 watt?

you are definitly not going to be runnin too much light for a 5'x3' base, and with 4' of height youll have plenty of room for scrog, sog, lst.

i run (2) 600's in a 4x4 tent and i try and keep all the bud sites on my plants within 3 1/2' of my lights. i grow in 10gal totes 2 plants lst'd because its too dificult to weave in and out of a scrog screen. i end up with a tub full of bud, not as even as a scrog canopy but every bud site is within 3 1/2' of my bulbs.

the problem i have to watch for is heat stress and light bleaching but its not enough of a prob for me to move them further from the light.

I'm not sure my calculations are right but for a 3' x 3' i should be getting 3,666 lumens per square foot with a 250 watt. The other 2' x 3' for the veg section i still have to figure out depending on what wattage of cfl's i use.

 

[Guest 88950]

i see DHF post that yr good to go if you got 55watt per sq ft...........you can find DHF posting in the vert section in a few threads, bobbles, antis, megayields......he is always dropping grow tips.

do yrself a favor and filter post by DHF...........he fuckn rocks, just ask around.

 

[GP73LPC]

check out my VERY STEALTH fishtank cacbinet thread. link in my sig...

i had this cab in a very high class apartment for a couple years....

maintenance man coming and going all the time. plus friends/family admiring my fishy's...

no one ever knew but me and the ex-wife...

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

I have a another newbie question what do i do about the power cords from my lights, fans, e.t.c.? I imagine i'll have to cut holes in the box to put cords through? how do you guys tidy that stuff up so it's not a jumbled mess? What about vent holes, if i buy a vent cover and attach it to my box wouldn't light come through the cracks and openings? or maybe i could use pvc elbows? but i'm still worried about light leaks.

i see DHF post that yr good to go if you got 55watt per sq ft...........you can find DHF posting in the vert section in a few threads, bobbles, antis, megayields......he is always dropping grow tips.

do yrself a favor and filter post by DHF...........he fuckn rocks, just ask around.

Thanks for everything bro, you rock! Rep+ for all the help you've been giving me.

check out my VERY STEALTH fishtank cacbinet thread. link in my sig...

i had this cab in a very high class apartment for a couple years....

maintenance man coming and going all the time. plus friends/family admiring my fishy's...

no one ever knew but me and the ex-wife...

I actually have an empty 20 gallon long tank laying around, i may fill it with some easy tropical fish and put it on top of my cab. But if i do that i'll have to build my cab stronger in order to support the weight. I'll probably paint the outside of my cab black, and throw stickers on it to make it look inconspicuous to prying eyes. Air pumps and filters are definitely loud so that will cover some noise.

 

[Guest 88950]

i have a tent so there are 6'' vent ports and 2'' elec cord ports........these have fabric sleeves with a drawstring to sinch it tight around.....there are 2 sleeves per opening so you can sinch tight the inside and outside sleeve to minimize light leaks.

you can zip tie things to keep them out of the way and if you use pvc w/bends to stop the light you can run your cords out of it while using it for intake / exhaust.

 

[pearlemae]

My box is 4x4x2 and fits in the closet of the office/bedrooom. The flower side is 3x2x4 the mom side in 1x2xmaybe 18 inches the clone spot is right above and it 1x2x1 these are feet by the way.
I use a 420mm computor fan for air circulation in the whole box. It pulls through a carbon filter the plans which are here on the mag.
I've been running this box 24/7 for the last 2 and a half years its does a great job and it quite and doesn'tsmell.
I now run a scrog in this box 2 plant last run yeilde 184 grams, under HOCFL. Heres some pics

 

[pearlemae]

Damn hit the wrong button have another toke. PICS
Feel free tp pm me if you have any ?

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

My box is 4x4x2 and fits in the closet of the office/bedrooom. The flower side is 3x2x4 the mom side in 1x2xmaybe 18 inches the clone spot is right above and it 1x2x1 these are feet by the way.
I use a 420mm computor fan for air circulation in the whole box. It pulls through a carbon filter the plans which are here on the mag.
I've been running this box 24/7 for the last 2 and a half years its does a great job and it quite and doesn'tsmell.
I now run a scrog in this box 2 plant last run yeilde 184 grams, under HOCFL. Heres some pics

What's the wattage of the lights your using? I already have a 250 watt HPS that i will be using for the flower side. I'll be using CFL for the veg side, i'm not sure what wattage i'm going with. I plan to build a sort of hood for the CFLs, make a frame out of some wood then attach moguls and rig them to an extension cord, might add a small computer fan to the hood, and put plexiglass to shield the plants from light burn.

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

Just a little update, I'm in the process of sorting out the frame after driving myself crazy trying to put the thing together.. I realized nails fucking suck (screws are a lot better and easier) and strong ties are a damn lifesaver not to mention a time saver especially to a person with limited tools and know how.. On my journey to build my box of fun i realized that i utterly suck at carpentry . Right now my cab is just a skeleton until i take a trip to the hardware store and get more wood to complete my endeavor. Will update with pictures soon.

 

[GP73LPC]

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

View Image

Will do soon... I just think you want me to post pics to laugh at my sorry ass GP73LPC... haha