Second grow questions

[GanjaGoon]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in the planning phase of my second grow - my first grow was about two years ago with a 150w hps in a closet. Due to my circumstances, the current grow has to be in a stealth cabinet. At first I was thinking of keeping it small and super stealth (small cabinet or even a pc grow), but I've been looking into larger cabinets lately. If I do end up going big, I'll be putting the cabinet in my closet, and I'll need to keep the height 60 inches or under. The width would have to be 30 or under, and the depth no more than 21. Basically, I'd be looking for something with these dimensions - http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_139000JOD-3060-KP?keyword=drawer&vName=For+the+Home - without the drawers or the divider in the middle. If it has a discrete built in lock that would be a plus. I went to my local home depot and couldn't find anything appropriate. I have absolutely no handyman skills, so building my own is not an option. If anyone has a link to something that fits these specifications, please share. Thanks in advance!

 

[Shady Smoka]

Where are you located? If in the US, try Walmart or IKEA (some assembly required, but very easy).

 

[GanjaGoon]

I've checked Walmart, Ikea, Target, K-mart, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. and can't seem to find anything that matches the size I need. All the wardrobe type things are 6 feet or more, and the smaller cabinets are 3 or 3 and a half feet tall at the most. I'm looking for about 5 feet. Any other suggestions? I guess if I can't find anything I'll just end up going for a small cabinet. If I got something like this - http://www.homegrown-hydroponics.com/ecgrboxbecug.html (I would build my own, just using this as an example) what sort of yields could I expect? I assume I'd have to scrog or sog in a box that size?

 

[breeder]

With low powerd gardens some sort of training is a must. This is pretty much true for any indoor garden though.
You might want to consider the NGB box. I've built one of these awhile ago to spec...for the most part, and I can testify that it does indeed work very well.
You can change it slightly so minimal cutting is required. Homedepot, lowe's carries sheets of 2x4 ect. plus they'll cut the sizes you need right there. sumpin else to tink aboot.

 

[GanjaGoon]

Thanks for the advice. I'll think about it - I'm still intimidated at the thought of building my own - never even attempted anything like that before. What would you say is the smallest box I could do (height, depth, width) if I wanted a harvest of an ounce or more?

 

[breeder]

Well i've also done afew rubbermaid bins just as a side project, and there pretty good. Although i've never done a harvest with them. Veg. only.
I'd rather veg under cfl's then anyother light. However there are times when I have no choice but to use a larger light because I need all the space that the flower area has. Such as when starting beans to find a good mom/dad, or veggin out clones for a week or 2.
So as far as the smallest possible box with a 150hps, and being able to sustain itself..(clones), I would say the NGB box fits the bill perfectly.
The box really is ridickously(sp?) small. Easy and cheap to build to boot!
When approaching to build for the first time, just take your time. Make sure you can read a ruler, and mark a straight line. Take the time to plan every cut, every piece, every screw ect. It all comes together in the end. Go at your own pace. You'll be rewarded in the end....I promise.
If ya do go this route then you might want to change the ventilation set-up. I know I did, and others have as well. Thats the only (small) downside to that box. Other then that it does a great job.

 

[GanjaGoon]

The rubbermaid bin thing seems pretty cool, but it isn't stealth enough for my situation. But I did finally find something that fits the size I was originally looking for. http://www.amazon.com/Outstanding-S...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1206721299&sr=1-1 Is there any danger in growing in a plastic cabinet? Will the temps be too high and start to melt the plastic? Stupid questions, I guess - I'm pretty clueless about this kind of stuff. I've decided I really need to have a locked cabinet for security reasons - it doesn't look like that one has a lock, not sure if I can throw a padlock on it - I called the company but they said that unit is out of production. How hard would it be to add a lock to something like that? Other than the locking situation, the main concern would be odor. With the help of a carbon scrubber is it possible to completely remove odor from a unit like that?

 

[breeder]

hey GG,
yea lowe's carries them also. I do belive that there is a slot for a lock to be placed. Thats awful big for a 150hps. Those cabbys aren't light proof either. so your gonna have to handle that as well.
I would recommend something diffrent them those cabbys but it's your call.

 

[GanjaGoon]

Yeah Lowe's carries the rubbermaid ones and some other brands but those are all 6 feet or more and too big to fit in my closet. I'm not set on using a 150w hps - as long as I can control the heat, I have no problem going with more wattage. Would light proofing one of those be as simple as lining the inside with some mylar or would it be more complicated than that?

 

[GanjaGoon]

I ended up buying that cabinet I linked to earlier. I wasn't 100% sure that it is exactly what I need, but it's the only unit I could find that fits my closet perfectly and uses all the available height. If it ends up not working out I can always use it for some extra storage. So any ideas on how I would go about light-proofing that box?

 

[breeder]

mylar isn't completly light proof, so you could do what a did for a friend. 4-6mil black plastic..(lowe's, homedepot, ect.), 3m spray, and mylar. Works damn good! can be abit noisy though if ya don't secure it tight enough, and/or your ventilation is as powerful as a hurricane
alittle bit more time consuming.. you could line the inside with duct tape. Real duct tape. The reflective, tuff as nails stuff. I use this offten.
Sombody else might come up with something better for you though. However i'm true fan of the duct tape.

 

[GanjaGoon]

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I'm hoping to find a ventilation solution that keeps the cab nice and cool but is not too noisy, I need to keep it stealth. Any suggestions on that? I'm guessing those blower things everyone uses are probably as loud as a truck...

 

[GanjaGoon]

So my cabinet arrived today, and it fits perfectly in my closet. There is also a slot to place a padlock, which is nice for some extra security. There is one removable shelf. Right now, with the shelf in, the dimensions of the inside are as follows - 25" wide, 15" deep, 49 1/2" high (up until the shelf). Not much depth to work with, unfortunately. From the shelf to the top is about 8 more inches. The shelf is rated for 45 lbs. A few more questions:

1) What light would be appropriate for this space? I'm thinking I want to go with a cooltube - it is a plastic storage shed and I'm worried about having a super hot light in there. I'm not sure what wattage I'm going to use yet.

2) Regarding the cooltube, just want to make sure I understand this - having a cooltube means there will be two separate exhausts right? One for the cooltube and one main exhaust. And technically the cooltube should be air sealed? So I wouldn't need two carbon scrubbers, one on the cooltube exhaust and one on the main exhaust?

3) Is there any way to have good quality cabinet exhaust with a scrubber and keep it quiet? I've read that having a scrubber means it's gonna be really loud... I really need to keep this cabinet stealth. The scrubber will be inside the cabinet, for stealth reasons, and because my closet is quite crammed and there isn't much room in the back.


Thanks for your help!

 

[breeder]

Well I did say..."the choice is yours". I'm not a fan of those cabs. But glad you got it though.
How you set the scrubber up is also up to you.
I have something close to a cooltube. It's called...coolbreeze. I love this thing! Neway...I use one end to suck the air out of the cabby, and straight into the scrubber. The bottom of my cabby is a false floor that has 2" holes placed into it. This allows the air flow and zero light leaks. However I also use a small..(but powerful) pc fan the blows into the cab. across the canopy.




Hopefully this pic. makes sence to you???


As i've mentioned in other threads, I could lick the glass of the hood! This set-up has proven the best thus far.
I would think that a 250hps could fit in there, but you'd have to run a somewhat strong ventilation, thereby making it more difficult to keep the noise level down enough to call it stealth. So you might be better off with a 150hps.
There's pros/cons to no matter how you set things up. I'm just trying to give ya my 2 cents worth of advise, and how I would/have gone about these issue's.

 

[GanjaGoon]

Thanks man, I really appreciate your advice. I wanted to get a wood cabinet but I just couldn't find anything that was the size I needed. Even finding a plastic one this size was a challenge. That coolbreeze thing looks fantastic... you can lick the hood?!?!? Man that's crazy - I remember my first grow my 150w hps was so hot I couldn't even touch it. Do you have a fan sucking in air on the right side of the cab for the coolbreeze? Or just passive intake there? So the white thing on top is the blower and the green can is a homemade scrubber? Unfortunately I don't think that coolbreeze thing would fit in my cabinet - I only have 25" width and I looked that up and it is 23.625" - does that leave enough space for the exhaust tubing?

 

[breeder]

Hey GG,
No there are no holes in the side of the cab. Let me see if I can explain this better for ya.......

If you look closely at the pic. of the bottom floor you'll notice what looks like some plain wood. I used this..(actually their are 2 pieces...1"x2"), to prop up the false floor. The false floor is the middle shelf that came with the cab. You can adjust this shelf to various heights if you were to use the cab. as most people would...ergo...clothing, shoe's, ect.
I took this shelf and cut off about 1.5" on all side's.
Now the actuall floor of the cab. has 2" holes drilled through-out. Some here, and some there, yadda yadda, you get the idea....right?
So at this point I now place 2 piece's of plain'ol wood..(1"x2")...one in front, and one in back, so this can prop up the false floor, thus allowing the blower to pull the air from the bottom of the cab.
So this is how it works..... Air is pulled from underneth the cab, and has to pass through/around canopy of plant(s), and then has to pass through the hood..thereby cooling/expelling hot air straight into the scrubber.
I run my blower around 25% of power. I use a controller for this.
My pc fan doesn't have a controller, it just runs at full power, and is set at canopy level. Without the use of the pc fan, I'd have to run the blower at about 50-65% of power. This little PC fan does a great job in this set-up.
Hope this halps ya abit better?
The hood may look abit tight, but it fits just fine. Like I said, I only run at 25%.


If you already have a 150hps, I'd give that a shot before purchasing another light.

 

[GanjaGoon]

Thanks for the explanation. How wide is your cabinet? Looks like probably 30" or more? Mine's 25" so I don't think that coolbreeze will fit, but I'll find something similar. My old 150w hps is not even air cooled, and in this little cabinet I think it will get too hot. I was thinking of doing passive intake with some darkroom louvers, but maybe I should install a pc fan like yours. Seems like it does a good job.

I went to home depot to get some duct tape like - I'm thinking of duct taping like you recommended before to help lightproof the box. This is the tape I bought: http://www.drillspot.com/products/65719/Nashua_322-2_Aluminum_Foil_Tape?s=9 ... they had regular duct tape and then foil tape, I got the foil because it was the only one that seemed reflective. Will that stuff work?

Also, what kind of tool would you recommend for cutting holes into the plastic for exhaust, intake, etc.? Would a regular Stanley knife work or do I need something else?

 

[breeder]

Yeh bud thats the right stuff. Thats the tape that i'm talking about.
As far as making hole's, you could use a knife, but thats pretty labor intensive. I used a holesaw. It's a tool thats commonly use for putting hole into doors...for locks and stuff. Your gonna have to have a drill for it though.