5x3x3 Home made Grow box questions

Discussion in 'Grow Room Design/Setup' started by yyoungstunnaa, Feb 13, 2011.

  1. #1 yyoungstunnaa, Feb 13, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 16, 2011
    Hey gc I've decided to invest some time and money into a 5 ft tall 3 ft long & wide growbox made of 5/8ths inch plywood. I plan on painting all 6 insides with flat white paint and using a combination of CFLs (for different stages). The plants will be 4 medium sized ak47 femininized seeds. Noise is not an issue and smell is the only real concern...but can be worked with as the box will be in a room ventilated by the outdoors. I bought a 7 outlet power strip and a extension cord for the lights and a seperate cord for fans. I also bought 4 120 mm 44cfm computer fans and one 80mm 34cfm so Im able to do ventilation however I need. Questions ..where should I put the fans, how should I do intake/outtake, how should I make a door(method of getting inside the box..I purchased some hinges?), how many lights exactly for 4 plants, and do I need to worry about carbon filters & light trapping my fans? I plan on caulking the inside corners and edges of the box as well.

    Update: made the box, pictures down the thread
     
  2. Update: making the box today, pics soon. Any ideas? Do I need to post this in the indoor grow section?
     
  3. nice, i used 5/8ths plywood too but i made mine 5'hX4'wX4'l. i am putting a 600w cooltube in it so i got a 6in canfan with a speed controller. put in a dedicated line from the breaker box with a 25A max. for a light trap i made a small box, then put panels inside so they make the air zig-zag and after 3 panels the light ceases to penetrate. i made a diy carbon filter, too lenghty to explain.

    what may be an issue is electricity, the smell(unless filtered), and light leaks in corners.
    i caulked my corners with liquid nail and the still leaked a little light so i put some aluminum tape(just what i had laying around that worked). if you hit a snag in the construction, take a step back, take a deep breath, think about it and don't be afraid to innovate.
     
  4. #4 yyoungstunnaa, Feb 14, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 15, 2011
    Update: Today we finished the box, caulked the inside of the frame and outside, cut a 3x2 door with weatherstrips and locks and hinges(airtight) on one of 5x3 walls, cut 3 holes in one of the walls at the top that fit 4" pvc pipes coming together into one diy Carbon filter end outside of the box. The fans are not yet wired but they are mounted on the inside over the 3 holes..120 mm 44 CFM Rocketfish cpu fans. Everything is sealed and there are no light leaks from the inside.
    Tomorrow, need to wire the fans, paint inside Flat White, drill hole for power strip for lights, and make an intake at the bottom.
    Question..Should I keep my current idea which is a 2 hole passive intake (no fans on bottom, only 3 for exhaust?) and light trap the holes with pvc and wire mesh to keep anything externnal outside the box. The holes would be on the bottom directly across from each other, on the sides adjacent to the door which is located opposite the exhaust fans.
    Pictures tomorrow to help. Any ideas?

    Edit: as far as plants go, we decided to go with 5 auto flowering low ryders in SOIL. Soil nutes and ferts links are wanted!, this isn't my first grow but it is my first growbox and low ryder grow, so those links & suggestions are appreciated. Lighting was also going to just be CFL combos, still unsure though.

    In the process
    [​IMG]
    Box
    [​IMG]

    Door, weatherstripped airtight with hinges
    [​IMG]

    3 hole exhaust leading to one carbon filter
    [​IMG]

    Exhaust again
    [​IMG]

    3 exhaust holes in the top of box ACROSS from the door
    [​IMG]
     
  5. hey man i suggest throwing down a couple hundred bucks and getting like a 400w hps or something for flowering. it'll pay for itself, the cooltubes sound great. put those 4in. holes to work. gooood luck. totally wanna see how this goes.
     
  6. Appreciate the advice man, I may just do that later on when i look at all of my lighting options. Right now, i think we're focused on just keeping it cool and having a CFL grow to make sure the box works properly. Still not sure though, we'll see.
     
  7. Today, coated again with white paint, wired and checked fans, plan to install intake holes. Would 2 4 inch holes with black pvc sealed over be good for passive intake? Also, fans seemed a bit weak coming out the pvc. Will the 44 cfms each be enough for a diy carbon filter?
     
  8. I like the setup man
     
  9. Hps is the way to go...if you can handle the heat


    "V"
     
  10. I started a straight cfl grow after my first h p s harvest. it is fine for vegetative state, but a month into flowering, I realized I wasn't going to get a lot of weight, so I hit it w my 400 h p s and advanced nutrients overdrive, and they have responded and swelled nicely. let's just say they will take your plants from a half ounce, to at least 2 ounces, compared to 4 ounces with metal halide and high pressure sodium the entire way through..... the weights are just examples to compare
     

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