I've been doing research on grow boxes and growing for years now, but this is the first time I have a chance to build a grow box. I've carefully planned out a lot for the for the project, but I still have some questions and I'm welcome to suggestions. The image I attached will explain a lot - and I'll have more throughout my process. My concerns are: Smell Noise (from fans) Electricity Cost The basic specs of the box are: 2 15w LED lights (Red + Blue on both) Growing Platform (Medium: Soil) Grate (for supercropping) 2 small fans for circulation (I want computer fans, but I'll spend a few extra dollars to not have wire them) Power strip DIY Carbon Filter Stanley Blower (anything smaller/cheaper that would be effective?) Hinges, Magnets - for the doors to the stealth-encasing box and grow box. Caulk (again smell is a big concern) Reflective film The idea is I'm taking a dresser (preferably antique to further look less suspicious) and basically turning the front side of it, into a door. I'll have it open by push-magnet or maybe a push-in lever somewhere hidden. Once this is open, there will be the door to the grow box - closed with some sort of lock. The height of the grow box shouldn't be more than 3 feet, and since I am using Supercropping, it won't need to be greater. I'll have two small (possibly computer fans) fans to circulate air. Exhaust will be a blower/fan and a carbon filter. Lights will be LED (energy costs down and heating down) so a light ventilation system won't be necessary and space is greatly reduced. That's the basic idea - again the picture is really helpful for understanding where I'm going with this. Here are my issues: My soil growing-platform dimensions (I need to ensure there is enough space for the roots of 4 plants to grow until they are completely done. Also I understand these plants need a lot of space, but since I am supercropping - what are the minimum dimensions i should have for the platform considering the plants need to have a certain distance from each other and their roots). The Intake System (I have a drawing - right above the closed dresser image - depicting what I was thinking for this. My questions are: How do I create the cheapest/simplest intake system that releases no smell? My idea was to create a bottom layer for the intake with the soil platform resting above it - and vents off to the sides blowing air upwards through the pseudo-floor. Do I need a carbon filter to ensure air doesn't somehow leak back through? Will a simple fan running constantly suffice?) Would an inline duct fan work, like this one LED Grow Lights (I saw ones on ebay around 20 bucks for a 15w 250 Blue + Red light set. If I had two of these, would that be sufficient for a 4 crop grow? If all the sides of the box have a reflective film on them and I'm supercropping - so they won't grow that far up past the grate - will I need to have the lights hang so I can adjust their height? Supercropping (The particular way I'm going about this is to place a grate about 1 foot up from the topsoil. This is where the stem will be strong enough to bend - let me know if I'm wrong. I was going to bend them over the grate and continue looping them through until vegetation started. The pattern I was going to use for the looping was to loop each plant through the grates and then circle them (but it will look more like square haha) to avoid hitting each other. I just made another picture to illustrate this. Will this be effective? Once you are bending them, does direction matter? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks, IES
Here are my main concerns with your design 1. Lighting - LED's are useless for growing. I invested money into a few expensive LED grow lights to find out in the long run that nothing grows under them. Go with CFL's. The more the better. I would suggest 10-12 CFL's in your box. Ensure that they are 6500K spectrum for vegitation and 2700K when you switch to 12/12 for flowering (If you are looking to flower in this box as well). This won't spike your electric bill, you are looking at about 200W at most. 2. Supercropping - After reading what you were talking about here, it seems like you're looking to set up a SCROG grow. Please see the Advanced growing technique forum stickies for more information on how to set one of these up. I hope this helps.