Closet Setup

The remainder of my first grow will be harvested tomorrow and I am already starting to remodel my closet for a second grow. I am planning a SOG and have 2 plants with cuttings being sexed right now.

Here are the plans for my closet

2' X 6' X 8' size

I plan to add a shelf at about 40" and have a completely self contained veg chamber on the bottom and flowering up above. Each chamber will have it's own electrical and airpumps. Each compartment will have it's own door with weatherstripping etc. to make it light proof. Each chamber will be lightproof from the other and all of this will be closed up behind my existing closet door. I will have to get a new lockset for the door that has a doorknob only on one side and is able to be locked.

It will all be painted white. Soon I will get some mylar and glue it to some kind of boards like maybe a heavy type of poster board and make some panels that are about 2' X 2' that can be placed in the closet where needed. These panels will make a smoother surface than the textured walls and can be thumbtacked in place.

I am using some plastic pots that are 8" in diameter X 10" tall, 8" basket pots with hydroton. Cuttings are being rooted in Rapid Rooter Pellets.

I had used waterfarms in the past with ok success but I built some that work on the same principal but do not have a drip line. They will not get stopped up as easy and it is much easier to see that nutrients are actually flowing. The 2 potential moms are using waterfarms for now.

I use a clamp lamp from Walmart along with 3 Y sockets to make a fixture to hold 4 CFLs. Right now I am using 23 Watt CFLs so that gives me about 100 Watts per fixture. In this last grow I used 1 of these 4 light fixtures per plant. In this SOG grow, the plants do not get nearly as bushy. That worked pretty good on my last grow but this time I will also add some lights to the lower parts of the buds. I read a thread about a guy who got a "spider light" from Walmart that holds 4 bulbs and each one is on a goose neck so the bulbs can be positioned as needed. The thought of either a 250 or 400 Watt HPS is also a possibility. I am thinking maybe have it come on for 4-6 hours a day in the middle of the light cycle.

I have these 4 bulb light fixtures hanging side by side. I think I will be able to put 2 plants under each of the 4 bulb light fixtures and 2 plants between each set of fixtures making it 6 plants per 8 light bulbs with others added lower.

This last grow, although it went well, it was clear that the buds that got the most light were the biggest. The top that got the most light is about as big around as a beer can and about a foot long. Hopefully with carefully placed lights and/or more lights I can get this from each one of the clones in a SOG grow. The one clone I have now has a top about 16" long and almost 2" in diameter.


The only bad thing about this closet is it will suck for pictures. I will only be able to take pics of plants if I move them in front of the door. As far as pics inside the closet, I dont see how I can do it with this digital camera. Perhaps later in the grow I will be able to.

Watch for my grow journal that will be starting in a couple of days.

 

There was a wire already run from my breaker box to right above the closet where I am growing. It had been used for something before but was no longer being used. I used this wire for the power in my closet.

This wire is connected to a 20 amp breaker. I'm not sure what size wire this is. After running the electric into my closet, connecting the plugs and plugging in the light, the breaker flipped.

What size wire and what size breaker should be used to power about 500 watts worth of lights. etc.?

 

I generally keep the doors open to this closet. It worked fine in this last grow. There was a period of 3 days in which I was out of town and the doors remained closed and there was no problem. These CFLs don't get too hot. It is able to reach temps of 90+ degrees but it didn't seem to hurt my last grow. If I find that I need more ventilation, I will use an exhaust fan and either dump it into my attic or connect it to an existing duct line that goes out a vent in my roof.

This is aluminum wiring in this house. I have heard all of the dangers about aluminum wiring and I think maybe I should get an electrician here to finish this wiring for me. I guess this closet has just turned into a room where I plan to either keep some entertainment equipment or I am going to house a server in this closet. Can anyone think of any other good excuses for wanting to add 4 recepticles to a closet?