1st official grow - cabinet, soil, cfl

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by PhL0aTeR, Oct 27, 2008.

  1. I say official because i germed a seed a couple months ago and it failed miserably, more info on that here.

    Before i get started i wanted to give some props to the OP of this thread for doing pretty close to what i had in mind, providing the pics that got me motivated to start.

    First off, a Cabinet is NEEDED because of the area I'm growing in, and the obvious lack of a better place like a closet. It gets down to about 50 at night, so I'm going to be doing the day cycle at night so the heat from the lights will help keep them warm. During the night cycles the temps should be 70's or so. I chose soil because it seems more simple than alternatives. I chose CFL because they are readily available.

    I wanted to put together my cabinet last night, unfortunately walmart didn't have ANY of these cabs, so I'm off to home depot today to snag one up, ill have it put together tonight, and hopefully the lighting system too. Pics are coming, i just don't have anything to take pics of.

    Just to run down some more details, I plan on doing a light bar pretty close to what this guy has done, I'm also going to put 4 more down lower to hit under the canopy, but i wont need to do that till later, and i wont need to build the light bar, but you will see how that works much later.

    Some of the above might change as i continue to read on light schedules, temps, etc, but its a decent baseline for me to work with.

    I hate to leave off here, but i wanted to put something down to start, hopefully ill update tonight.
     
  2. #2 Anony, Oct 27, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 27, 2008
    Hey mang!
    Glad to read you did your research.
    Sounds like your well on your way, will be keeping an eye on this one.
    Something that helps me in this stage is to make a checklist if your that type of person, make sure everything is on it, that way you dont have to try to remember what you need/dont need, have/havnt gotten yet.
    Only two things I notice on "Individuality"'s thread that I notice is maybe find a cab thats doors come together a little better, or buy some weather stripping.
    Also, not only proper ventilation, but a fan blowing directly on the plants for stability.
    Easily adjustable lights with chains and "S" hooks makes moving the lights a lot easier.
    I would also only use heavy duty items (timer, power bar), and wiring with a ground wire.

    Do you know what type of soil and lights to get?
    Also, if you ever want me to move this thread to the "Grow Journal" section, let me know.
     
  3. #3 PhL0aTeR, Oct 27, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 28, 2008
    Thanks man, i know a lot of n00bs hit this site up and leave a lot of trash behind, so i try to learn as much as i can without opening my mouth, plus i know its easier to help someone who has helped themselves
    Check :cool:
    I bought my cab today, and i did notice the gap between the doors on the other thread so i bought some stuff i hope will work in case mine has the same problem, but I'm hoping i can foresee that and make adjustments before putting it together.
    Still on the list, seems with the onset of winter, stores have put the fans away, might have to disect a dual fan that i have or even dissect a space heater and rob it of its fan, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there, ive got an ad on craigslist, so hopefully someone will come up with one that i can use.
    I'm hoping that the plan i have will work, if not, definitely the link chain with hooks will be plan B.
    I had a strip on hand, so im using that right now, and i bought a timer that i used to use for my outside lights that lasted about 2 years before i sold my house, so hopefully its heavy duty enough.
    I know i need a nitrogen rich soil, and my better half is the one with the green thumb, but as far as lights, i bought 6 daylight and 6 soft white, all 26 watts, so basically 150ish watts for 2 plants. i understand one is for veg, one is for flowering but also am reading that some people do a mix, i had planned on just replacing all the veg lights with the flowering lights when the time came to force flower.
    I don't wanna move to grow journals just yet.... I'll gain some confidence once its up and running and ill hit you up when im ready... Thanks!

    Now its time to go put things together..... hopefully update tonight.
     
  4. #4 PhL0aTeR, Oct 28, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 28, 2008
    Fairly anti-climactic update here....

    Got most of the cab put together, I didn't want to mess with the doors till everything else was inside, so it just looks like a shelf less bookcase right now, lol...

    What i was thinking before about the lighting/suspension was just mounting the lights to one of the shelves, drilling holes in the shelf for air to pass through and using what you normally use to adjust shelves, those pins in the sides for suspension. Unfortunately, this model of cabinet is supposed to have a "fixed" shelf in the middle, so there's no adjustment holes for the shelves where they are going to be needed during veg, so it was either build the light bar or drill more holes..... I think it would have been easier to just drill the holes, but at least I'm using a light bar that's "tried and true" so to speak and am not experimenting with the shelf method.

    Anyhow, i built the light bar, suspended with chains, S hooks, etc. I didn't have a "hood" on the list, cuz i forgot to put it on the list when my plans changed, so i didn't get it... duh... ill get it tomorrow.... One thing about the light bar, it was a pain for me to wire the last corner where you had 10 wires coming together that needed to be soldered into 2 groups of 5, these were the only 2 terminals that i did not use heat shrink tubing, i just used electrical tape. The wire i was using to wire all the sockets together was pretty stiff, might have been 12 or even 10 gauge, might have gotten the wrong wire... Anyway, got it together and im pleased with it. I wont put the bulbs in till I'm ready to use them for real, but i did test all sockets with a regular light bulb and they are good to go.

    Fresh air.... Well i was at harbor freight and happened to come up on a bathroom vent, i snagged it up but quickly realized that it was going to be too large for what i needed, and the reason i got it is because i thought it would move a lot of air, but it was only rated for 50cfm, which i was surprised. Anyway, I need to do some more reading on how much air needs to be moved and whether or not putting it on a thermostat is necessary (feedback on this subject is much appreciated).

    I'm finding out that everyone locally has put up their fans for the winter... I'm thinking a small personal type of fan pointed up set between the 2 pots and the back wall, or maybe 2, one of those clip on style for each plant.... might try eBay.... (feedback?)

    I think the only thing ill need to do tomorrow is get something to make the hood out of, and continue research on the air flow thing, and try to find a damn fan.

    Anywho, here is what i have tonight....

    [​IMG]
     
  5. #5 PhL0aTeR, Oct 28, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 9, 2008
    I'll edit this as I go and keep a running total update....

    Main cabinet

    Cabinet _________________________________________ $37.99
    Analog Timer _____________________________________ $14.98
    Power Strip _______________________________________$7.97
    "Exercise" fan _____________________________________ $7.99
    Spray sealant _____________________________________ $3.77


    Total $72.70

    DIY Light bar

    1/2"x10' PVC _____________________________________ $1.90
    1/2" PVC elbows X4 @ $0.28 ________________________ $1.12
    Jack chain 8' @ $0.43 per foot_____________________ $3.44
    Misc wire ________________________________________ $5.72
    4 Porcelain sockets @ 1.39 ________________________ $5.56
    1 male plug end __________________________________ $2.19
    2 double sockets @ $2.48__________________________ $4.96
    1 sheet of metal for the hood ______________________ $6.51

    Total $31.40 not including lights

    DIY Exhaust Filtering System

    Dryer close connect ______________________________ $9.98
    Cap for intake ___________________________________ $3.24
    Dryer vent hose clamps ___________________________ $1.97
    3 900ml activated charcoal @ $5.76 _________________ $17.28
    2 120mm 115VAC "muffin" fans______________________ $23.90
    1 tube of silicone caulking __________________________ $2.00
    Dimmer switch ___________________________________ $9.96

    Total $68.33

    Total ______________________________________________$172.43

    So far the only thing i really had on hand was the eye hooks i screwed to the top, the S hooks that are linked between the eye hooks and chain, and the stuff i used to solder the wiring.
     
  6. Nice, looking good so far, keep up the good work!
     
  7. #7 PhL0aTeR, Oct 29, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 29, 2008
    quick update for this evening with a couple teaser pics...

    Updated price list with some new stuff purchased...

    I purchased the material for the hood, so ill probably mate that to the light bar tonight. Something I've been contemplating all day is the ventilation/filtering. I love the smell, but to keep it low key, ill need to mask the smell, and i didn't feel like paying $100+ for the readily available can filters+fans. I'm not sure how much this is going to cost me, but im going to go into detail on my DIY charcoal carbon filter when i get it all put together in a few days. But as a teaser, here is the housing I'm going to use.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    A few random details about this is, it will house 2 120mm PC fans, the cylinder on the bottom will house the activated charcoal. But more info + pics when i get on that... Ive got to order the fans tonight, and figure out how im going to power them. What i like about this filter im going to build is it will take up minimal space, and hopefully be enough to move enough air to provide good fresh air flow, plus filter the exhaust into the room. This is my very first time even thinking about filtering, and i don't know ANYthing except when you draw air over the charcoal, it takes the smell away.... lol.... wish me luck...

    Anyway, i wanted to post that up there, unfortunately i wont make a decent update on the air flow/scrubber till i get the 120mm PC fans.
     
  8. i will keep checking back! keep up the clean work.
     
  9. Alright, this may not seem like a big update to you, but I'm super excited at the semi completion of my light bar hood... the reason its semi-completed is, I'm redesigning the chain system, i have learned that 4 separate chains (as shown in the pic here) are a pain in the ass, but you will see more of that later when im done and i post pics. But for now, here is what i have....


    As a sidenote, i actually planned on having the light bulbs hang further down, but i flipped the light bar upside down when i mounted the hood so that the sockets would be recessed into the hood a bit allowing for an extra 3-5 inches of growth :hello:
    [​IMG]


    I honestly love seeing pics "in process" unfortunately im finding that once i get on a roll, i cant stop and take pics, but to explain a bit here, i decided to use a hose clamp (slightly modified) riveted to the sheet metal.
    [​IMG]

    I need to trim up the excess from the hose clamps, but needless to say the more it comes together the more pride i have in it..... :D
     
  10. You should be preoud. You are obviously pretty handy and resourceful.

    Looks great so far. I can't wait to see how it works out for you.

    Good luck.
     
  11. Good job mang! Should turn out great.
     
  12. #12 richirich_99, Oct 29, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 29, 2008
    i have that same exact cab, and have put the permanent shelf in place to separte it into a small veg area in the bottom, and the top is my flowering area. I placed one adjustable shelf at its highest point below the fixed shelf and use the center for storage. Im definatly following this one. I was actually looking to make two of those DIY lights with the pvc to get better dispersment of light and to take up less room in my veg area. Also for fans, check out this site, it has some cheap things, i've bought my exhaust fan and my small fans for the inside from them. :
    http://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?UID=2008090614031871&catname=&byKeyword=yes&search=VAC Fan

    once unrelated question....how do you make a link so its no the entire web address and just what ever you want it to say so ppl can just click on it?

    ps. if you want any pics of how mine is set up, let me know, and i'll take some and get them posted up.
     
  13. Type the word you want it to say. Highlight that word, click the icon with the globe and chain link next to it under the smiley face, and paste in the web address.
     
  14. Yeah, I'll have to keep a check on this one as well, I suspect you will have a pretty clean grow area with lots of lovely ladies.
     
  15. Thanks for the props guys, being the "gottahaveitnow" type of person, i went and spent some money on my 120mm exhaust fans today at a local shop even though i ordered some last night :D im too much "on a roll" to lose steam.

    Couple more pics.,...

    She thought this was cool so she took a pic..... obviously im cleaning up the hose clamps.
    [​IMG]

    Hooded light bar = DONE

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Going to work on the scrubber now.... with any luck ill get it done.....
     
  16. #16 PhL0aTeR, Oct 30, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 30, 2008
    I was at a stopping point where im done modifying the exhaust/filter box thingy.... lol... heres some pics

    2 fans, both rated at 75CFM EDIT.... Dammit, i just pulled the specs on the site and they are rated for 55CFM, the guy at the PC store lied to me.
    [​IMG]

    For those wondering how this will be mounted, breifly, i will cut a rectangular hole in the top of my cab and recess the scrubber from the inside till the flange in the middle rests on the inside top of the cabinet. I'll attach the contraption to the cab somehow... I was thinking of a bungee, but at this point i think ill just screw it to the cabinet and be careful taking it off when i have to change out the carbon.
    [​IMG]


    I'll mount a screen inside this hole to prevent charcoal carbon bits from being exhausted, and the cap for the bottom will also have a screen.
    [​IMG]
     
  17. hey man it's looking really good!

    i'm going to be starting a grow (hopefully) somewhat like yours

    ill keep checking up
     
  18. Good lookin out... i just ordered 2 fans for my exhaust and that one clamp fan.

    on a related note, the PC Fan idea is not going to work..... #1 the guy at the PC shop lied to me about the CFM, so I'm taking these fans back. #2 Its a pain to wire them and just adds to the cost of the build since you have to have the correct power adapter and even used they are $10. I bought 2 of these fans instead.... they are AC powered, so rather than futzing with a power adapter, they will just plug straight into the power strip. Plus these fans i just ordered, move a lot more air, I'll start with 220cfm, less anything through the scrubber. Probably wire it through a dimmer so i can adjust....
     
  19. Hopefully i can keep you guys entertained while my fans get here... While im waiting for those to arrive, ill probably cut the hole for the exhaust in the top of the cabinet, wire my "under canopy" lights, seal up the back with caulking, mount the doors as well on working on sealing those doors from light/air, drill holes in the bottom for ventilation, and i have been toying with the idea of filtering the intake holes in the bottom with a furnace/ac filter that fits in the bottom, cant hurt..... Stay tuned...
     
  20. :wave: i like your hood man very impressive! seems alot of work for just six bulbs tho ya get me but either way u done a great job +rep
     

Share This Page