I originally planned on going with a dual rubbermaid set-up for my first grow box, but I got a little "inspiration" when I was toking up last night. Any comments, questions, or critique as far as my proposed grow set-up would be amazing... Relevant Information/Requirements: *Closet* (2nd floor) -My closet is about 8'x4'x9'. -There are strong metallic (wire type) shelves about 6 feet high. -There is no ventilation in or out of the closet except for a normal wooden door that opens and closes. -Average temperature (w/o lights) is about 74 degrees F. -Average humidity (w/o lights) is about 65%. *Room* (2nd floor) -The room with the closet is about 10'x12'x9'. -It is cooled via a single vent with central A/C (that keeps the temperature between 71-72 degrees) which is across the room from the closet. -There are also two medium sized windows across the room from the closet. -I also open the door to the room (which leads to the rest of the house) if it gets too hot. *Miscellaneous* -Smell is an issue. -My budget for lighting is under $200. -I would like to grow 4 plants at a time. *To be completely honest, I don't really want to build a grow cab or some other type of enclosure. Proposed Grow Area and Set-Up: *Closet* -Use a 2x4x6 section of the closet. -Use either a large piece of cardboard (painted white) or a mylar windshield reflector as a divider to "close off" the section. -Hang my lighting fixture from the shelving, which is mounted/attached to the wall (it's about 1'x4' - so where the light is hung will essentially be the end of the shelving and the middle of the grow space). *If you are confused about the shelving, it is similar to this, but it is a single rack. *Basically, it is one of those metal wire racks that you can put boxes on top of, and hang clothing from with plastic hangers (It can support around 20+ lbs. of weight). *Grow* -1 Moby Dick and 3 Afghan Kush plants to start. -Each plant will eventually be transplanted into a 5 gallon bucket. -I plan on doing LST and topping with each plant. -I am going to be using FFOF for soil, relevant FF nutes, and molasses. *Smell* -Since the grow area is essentially "open" (not sealed like in a stealth cab) I plan on using a mixture of ONA Gel/Pro + Soil Moist + Fan in the closet. -There will also be a small jar of ONA in my room. -Most of my clothes in the closet that I will not be using will be sealed in those vacuum space bags. *Ventilation/Cooling* -I would either get one or two 8"+ circular fans or a decent tower fan for the plants. -The door to my room would be open whenever possible (and the windows as well since it is now fall). *Lighting* -I was considering the standard 400w HPS/MH set-up from HTG, but after a lot of reading it seems like the heat would end up being a serious problem in my closet. -My other options are a 250w HPS or an all CFL grow (several 26-46w bulbs on splitters) with some large plant/aquarium lights I have in the garage for side lighting. My main concerns with the set-up I have listed above are the lighting/heat and the odor control. Would I be able to successfully utilize an HID light in my grow space? Will the ONA provide me with an acceptable level of odor neutralization? (I have attached a small image of the proposed set-up below.) TIA, E
Yo. I used a CFL setup in my closet, and have four plants in 1 gallon pots (transplanted today) I use 10 26w CFL lights affixed to power strips/splitters. with a small 10" fan i can cool my plants very well, and heat exits the top, with my door closed, it gets kinda warm in there, or if i open the door it vents good. for small spaces, if you use CFl's well, you can really do well. I haven't spent more than 100 since start-up. today is day 21 for me
There's lots of resources in the forums for homemade (and cheap) carbon scrubbers. At most as cheap as the Ona. You should be able to score a modest HID hood, HPS, and Ballast, maybe 125 or 250watts used. Or from what Ive seen, you can start with CFL to veg and save your pennies for HID during flower. Best of luck!
Could you possibly cut a 4" circle in the ceiling of your closet? If not then maybe you can install something like this: Install a Bathroom Exhaust Fan | DoItYourself.com You'd be surprised how inconspicuous [sic] it looks. Remember that you wont be able to have the door open during 12/12 as you NEED darkness. HPS will probably be too hot without some sort of ventilation.
Thanks for all of the responses everyone... A few notes: -I can't cut a hole in the wall or ceiling. -As far as complete darkness goes, I would just make my 12 hour dark cycle at night. I have tested it out, and the closet door can remain open with minimal light exposure (mostly from my tv or overhead lighting in the room), which is fine if you consider that outdoor plants are exposed to moonlight. Some additional questions: -Can a carbon filter be used in conjunction with a normal house fan blowing from in the closet to my room (exhaust)? Or does the area have to be sealed off for it to be of any real use? -Is there any way to simulate the amount of heat a 250w hps and 400w hps would give off in a closet? (I was thinking about something along the lines of leaving my computers cpu running in there for a day or something...) Basically, I want to know what the temperatures are going to be like without having to actually buy the lights and test them out. If there isn't any way to simulate it, any sort of approximation would be amazing. E
I'm a strong believer in trying to do things properly (or as close as you can get). It sounds like you would benefit from using a grow box of some sort, chest of draws from thrift store maybe? With a box you can mount a fan inside and vent properly. No ventilation = much less bud and lots more heat. No at normal house fan and carbon filter. Sounds like you live with your parents. I wouldn't grow without their knowledge if I were you. The likelyhood of your house smelling like skunk is about 99% without halfr decent air cleaning For the dark period and your overhead lights I'm not entirely sure except complete darkness is usually what most people strive for. This has some info and is a cool read HowPlantsWork Weblog
I'm not against getting a grow box or tent for my next grow, but it would probably be just as useless (heat/temperature wise) since it would have to stay in my closet anyways. That's the reason why I went with the open closet grow instead of containing it in a box. Sure a box can ventilate, but because of the smaller space I figured it would get hot and stay hot more than an open grow in larger closet would. Yes, I am living at my parent's home since I decided to take the year off from university. My parents know that I am planning on growing a few plants, and could care less... In there eyes, I have a higher chance of getting busted trying to buy zips of bud from dealers than I do growing a few plants that no one knows about. I've tested out the ONA with a few zips of exposed bud, and it seems to contain the smell perfectly fine. Now, I'm sure my comparison isn't the best, but I don't think smell will be an issue if I have several ONA buckets (with soil moist and a fan) in key locations. The door to the closet will remain open whenever the light source is on for maximum ventilation. I've tested 200w+ cfl's in the room, and the temperatures stay at or below 80-82 degrees F with only a 100cfm computer fan blowing at the bulbs. As far the dark period goes, obviously the door does not need to be open if there is no light source on, so total darkness is easy enough to achieve. I don't mind using CFL's for the entire grow, but if HID is a plausible option I felt it would be worth asking about it. But seeing as how heat will most likely be a significant problem, I think I might just give up on them for now. Thanks for the reply futhamucka! E
You are not going to be able to have a HID light in that kind of space without real ventilation, keeping the door open is not going to be enough. If you cannot cut new holes for ventilation, what you could possibly do is use an inline duct fan connected to a some ducting that you run to a window to bring fresh air in to the closet. That's about the only way I can see you getting away with the lights you want to use in that space. You would probably need to build a box in the closet so that you could leave the door open for the ducting without light getting to your plants during their dark phase. It's not going to look great, but that's your only reasonable chance of doing what you want to do in that space without the ability to make any alterations for better ventilation.
Could you make some sort of heavy panda plastic lined curtain to hang from the inside of the door frame, secured around the edges with velcro (? or something similar), weighted at the bottom and cut the necessary ventilation holes in that? With the exhaust fan either secured to the door frame or sitting on a small shelf just on the other side of the curtain.
Mind if I borrow your parents (j/k) If your parents are cool with a small grow then there is no reason for you to do this shoddily. Pretty much every single grower starts out at the most basic of levels. The ones that usually fall in love with this (and it's easy to do) are the ones that take that little extra step in making the environment as good as they can get it. With the P's knowledge this means you can afford to have some duct work to help in ventilation. I would seriously look at a small grow tent and CFL light setup, there are tons on ebay and you should be able to do the tent, lights and blower for $200. g' luck dude
hey does anybody know if its expensive to get electricity in your closet....do u gotta hire an electrician ? my closet is nice and big but theres not a light in it or any outlets. my parants dont mind if i grow weed, but if its in plain sight then its more likley to be stolen by visitors or friends that might turn there back on u
ok so i get this rite, in the light cycle the door is open when on and shut when off, why dont you get a 4in inline fan from home depot or lowes and connect it to a cool tube on your mh/hps light that you want to get and exhaust that out into your room, maybe under your bed or somthing low key like that, just a thought and that way you mite be able to hookup a small carbon filter