Ideas For Indoor Micro Grow?

Discussion in 'Grow Room Design/Setup' started by 420cacti, Jul 25, 2014.

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  1. #1 420cacti, Jul 25, 2014
    Hey all,im looking for some ideas on creating a type of indoor micro grow box, it doesnt have to be stealth just able to function and grow plants well with good results. i have a small tube fixture and the ability to add cfls if needed, just looking for some ideas as to an enclosure, ventilation, etc. any and all input is much appreciated! this will be my first indoor grow 

     
  2. #2 GoldGrower, Jul 25, 2014
    The smaller it is the harder it is to run. Micro growers have to tackle problems that you just don't get it larger set ups. Usually the reason for a micro grow is because the grower lives with other people and needs to be hidden. If yours doesn't how come you want a micro set up? 
     
    A small but easily useable set up would be something like a 3x3x5 tent. Tents are great because they are dirt cheap and cut down on a lot of work. 
     
    If you need it smaller than this, what sort of size were you thinking? What other restrictions do you have? 
     
  3. #3 Atmo, Jul 25, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 25, 2014
    My first grow box was only 2' x 1.5' x 3' - This Sterilite cabinet from Walmart.. it was a lot of fun to build. I had a scrogged Northern Lights plant in there with 150w HPS and 2x 125w CFLs, got almost 2 ounces from it. I have the journal for the building of my box and the grow journal in my sig if ya wanna take a peek.
     
    I'm tellin ya, though, you're gonna want to go bigger immediately. I know I did. I am on my second box now, it's the same exact box except twice the height. I still wish I went bigger haha! Anyway, this new one is gonna have a mother/veg chamber on the bottom (bonsai mum, small area) and a larger flowering chamber on top. Doing either perpetual SoG or perpetual Scrogs.. gotta experiment to see which gives the biggest yield for me.
     
    I love the Sterilite cabinets, though.. they are super cheap, very easy to cut. Only issue was light proofing it. My first box I lined with metal ducting tape and that was a bit tedious.. this time I think I'm just lining it with panda film. Gonna use velcro so the panda film is removeable for easy disassembly or making alterations to the box.
     
    Anyway, that's just one option. Some people use those big Rubbermaid tubs and stack two one top of each other with the openings facing each other, if that makes sense.
     
  4. #4 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 25, 2014
    As a current micro grower, go big!!
    I love my setup but I ever only was planning on running maybe 2 full grows micro style. The ultimate plan for me is to use my PC case for clones n seedlings and vegg/flower in a tent I plan on buying. Everything in the previous post I agree with. The smaller it is the harder it's going to be.

    Heat is more than likely going to be your biggest concern so ventilation is your number two priority. Your number 1 would be to figure out if your gna do hydro or soil. If you wana go hydro, micro is out of the question. It's not impossible but very difficult IMO. So assuming your gna do soil, the more soil you can fit in your pot the better so you also wana keep that into consideration.

    So here's the setup I would recommend:

    1. Build a cab w/a height of about 3ft. For your length/width, base that off of what type of light you wana go with.
    2. Get a 2 or 3 gal Square fabric pot. This would give you plenty of soil for a 2ft plant. Assuming the pot is about 1ft tall, this would give you exactly 2ft of vertical space from top of soil to top of cab, minus lights.
    3. Look into LED lights, deff help with keeping temps down and electrical cost. You would also be able to do 2x2ft for your L/W of cab
    4. I would run 2 small intakes. One passive about 1/2 way up the case and a PC fan at the very bottom. Keep the passive intake closed until she grows to about that height.
    5. Set up your exhaust at the very top of the cab. Get a decent exhaust fan and carbon filter that's gna set outside the cab w/ducting attaching it to the exhaust hole you have at the top
    6. And of coarse all the necessities: timer, thermometer/hydrometer, Mylar/panda film, screen for SCROG.

    I've had plenty of time to think about what I would do differently...lol


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  5. #5 Atmo, Jul 25, 2014
    @[member="Baldheaded Rasta"] yup that's pretty much what my first grow was!
    I am now moving into LED lights for my next grow, I may still supplement them with those 2x 125w CFLs I have, but I am leaning toward getting those Cree bulbs from Home Depot instead, and possibly even for my mother and clones/veg - 100% LED grow would be awesome and very low cost. My main goal is to hit ~1oz/month which I think is totally doable judging by my first grow (~2oz scrog yield in the same footprint) - I figure if I take 1 clone every month and veg it under the screen, put it in flower, then if I time it right I should be able to yield a half scrog every month, so hopefully about 1oz.
     
    Also I highly recommend checking out the organic section and making yourself a living soil. Your whole grow will be basically "just add water" - that's what I'm doing now and am very excited. There is a very simple beginners soil mix that is essentially compost and earthworm castings, peat moss, perlite, lime, some organic dry fertilizer, all fairly inexpensive stuff - and the good part about it is you can reuse the soil over and over, you can always replenish the microbial activity with a good organic tea (very easy to make.. I just made a batch this morning to add to my soil!) - I've been reading amazing things and already know I will never be going back to non-organic again.. it makes no sense to me. Mother Nature is the queen of growing plants ;) The giant sequoia trees didn't get any chemical fertilizers, just had proper soil to grow from.
     
  6. #6 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 25, 2014
    I second the "living soil"!!!

    I'm still working on my first grow but after reading up on organics...I have absolutely no reason to go to chemical fertz. I'm using BAS living soil now but been buying up all the ingredients to mix my own. Organic is the shit!! Take the time to mix together a quality soil and literally water only! You dnt have to worry about PH or flushing. Your also gna save so much money not having to buy all the different bottles of fertz.


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  7. #7 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 25, 2014
  8. #8 GoldGrower, Jul 25, 2014
    Organic is fine, but you certainly won't save money by going that route. A £7 bottle of ionic bloom will grow you about 30 oz. To make up a decent amount of organic soil would cost more
     
    Organic and hydro both have their advantages, bashing hydro just shows your inexperience with it 
     
  9. #9 Atmo, Jul 25, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 25, 2014
    But you can recycle and reuse that same soil for as long as you want.. I think eventually it becomes cheaper (and the soil gets better!). I got all my soil stuff for like $70, definitely gonna try to reuse it as much as I can, and can always replenish with some ACT and letting it cycle again (from what I've been reading)
     
    Then all you need is the soil, a pot and water... hydroponic setups still have a bunch of stuff you need (pumps, etc.. I don't really know all the specifics)
     
    Then there's making your own compost and EWC bins, which would definitely be more startup money but over time price goes down to almost nothing.
     
    I'm not bashing hydro at all, I am just saying organic is what I would choose for many reasons. I have no experience with growing hydroponically so I'm basing this all off the things I have been reading.
     
    I would love to try growing hydroponically one day, but right now I really feel like organic is where it's at for me personally.
     
    It's all a personal preference really.
     
  10. #10 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 25, 2014
    Sorry if I came off as if I'm bashing...that deff wasn't the case. I'm simply very passionate about the method of growing I chose to get married with..lol

    But your absolutely right! I have no(none what so ever) experience with hydro. When I said it was cheaper, I was basing it on the start up costs for a small micro grow when I was looking into it. BAS has a complete soil for $25 vs. FoxFarm trio for $40+.

    There's deff something to be said for hydro! I'm following a bunch of grows now where these hydro guys are working miracles it seems like..lol. And I do want to learn more about hydro for the sake of having the knowledge.

    Nonetheless, I was simply sharing my opinion!


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  11. #11 GoldGrower, Jul 25, 2014
     
    As the fertiliser is used up by the aerobic bacteria it will need to be replenished. You can re use the soil, but it has to be amended with fertiliser every time. 
     
    I use organic mixes outdoors and hydro indoors, hydro gives way more bud because it provides the roots with a lot more oxygen than soil can. The quality is the same though. Organic being better quality than hydro or the other way round is 100% myth. Do them right and both are equal quality
     
  12. #12 Atmo, Jul 25, 2014
     
    Oh yeah absolutely.. few bucks for some good fertilizer.
    And I agree absolutely, it is really down to personal preference and what you are looking for out of the growing experience and what fits best with what you have available. To each his own!
     
    I do love watching hydro grows, they can be great for sure. Organics also falls more in line with my personal reasons as well. I don't have the room for hydro at the moment either, but one day I may give it a go!
     
  13. #13 420cacti, Jul 25, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 25, 2014
    wow tons of killer info guys thanks! still sorting through it all as i havent been on in about a day. i was digginf around my home and found an almost perfect enclosure, a double doored cabinet with a shelf you can raise/lower easily and even better the inside is already white, and the rear pannel is super thin so i could easily cut a hole and mount a fan for ventilation, the reason i would like to do micro is because i do live with others and cant convert a whole room (say a closet or bedroom) to grow indoors. im mainly just looking to take some clones and keep my strains around from my outdoor grow and possibly flower them, as of now i have a 2 bulb t8 fixture and some sockets i could use for cfls. as for nutrients im working with the whole general organics line and for soil i have 3 bags of happy frog layin in my back yard and i love the smart pots so i was planning on using them as far as containers go. pictures arent the best quality took them on my iphone, ive been considering hydro.. but from everything ive read its rather complicated and space is needed, in my application it would have to be very simple and compact...
     

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  14. #14 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 25, 2014
  15. #15 420cacti, Jul 25, 2014
    Right on good news to hear! dimensions are roguhly 2.5' wide x 2' vert x 1.5 deep i want to keep them short and wide being as bubba kush clones will be grown in the cab. id like to use one massive exhaust fan at the top near the lights with passive vents on either side to allow for max air flow through the cab rather than having a smaller intake and smaller exhaust, opinions on this idea would be appreciated, as for lights im pretty sure im underequipped as well the fixture only has 2 cool 18w t8 bulbs, not sure on the lumen rating but i know that just wont cut it. what are some inexpensive ways to up my total lums in the cab?
     
  16. #16 420cacti, Jul 26, 2014
    UPDATE: started working on it more today and got a little something put together at least for the time being
     
     

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  17. #17 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 26, 2014
  18. #18 420cacti, Jul 26, 2014
    Yeah it is all flourescent so ill look for a way to raise them girls up! anyone ever ran gen organics in a micreo? how were the results?
     
  19. #19 Baldheaded Rasta, Jul 26, 2014
  20. #20 420cacti, Jul 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 26, 2014
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