Micro cabinet build general advise.

Discussion in 'Micro Grows' started by SpaceHaze, Mar 31, 2023.

  1. Hi... I want to make a low heat, low energy consumption as possible, low noise, an no smell micro grow. Ok, so I got these old cabinets I found two also they are different. Which works out perfect for my situation. Helps with starting a perpetual grow cycle rotation. I just got 2 or 3 huge pc fans prewired. And I got old plywood to cut for a back piece to close the box. I will will paint it white eventually over time. I got to seal the front doors more properly. An figure out the best ventilation setup for my space. Im thinking two fans blowing out. At the most upper section. An then a passive vent on bottom. I got odor air filters enough for two cabs. But, maybe not enough fans. Im not sure how I plant to run the ventilation on the veg cabinet. Im not sure on lighting I think any decent white led. I know there's a lot of great ideas here an was just curious about what yall would do with 2 spare cabinets. And, the wood and fan mounting ways or techniques. I got these odor filters an no idea to find another supply of these they are near impossible to find
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  2. Sounds like a great ideal, I would like to see this working, what size are the cabinets, inside and out, I can design the lights for you, let you know what parts to buy etc if your good at DIY and basic electrics, odour is your main problem
    Everything I can work out.
     
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  3. Oh that's ok, I can't do diy led but, have watched many builds on YouTube. I am planning on using what I have around, or possibly spending a little bit on the grow. It's 27 inches tall 14 inches and 3 quarters wide. 14 inches an 3 quarters long. One of the cabs has a divider. I will get some pics later. I have the pics but, my phone had motion pics. Somehow an it won't upload I'll get more.
     
  4. That a shame about the led
    I built this 3 x 9w leds, chips on 50mm x 50mm aluminium channel, gives out 240par
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    4 bulbs in your smaller cabnet(36w, that's about 30w ft2)with a fan in the middle, you would lose 6" height and with a short wide pot, say 12" wide and 9" tall, you could have a single plant over 12" wide and 12" tall, you could pull 1 oz off that plant. You could use 1ft strip lights(10w) But you need 4(40w) 3 might be ok but if there not enough light its all going to fall apart.

    a 4" square hole/(low speed)fan in the lower back with a cover aiming into a tray/box with some Ona gell, will kill most the odor, the extraction fan will cause a vacuum and control the odor and keep the temperature in range( 20-27c)
     
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  5. #5 SpaceHaze, Apr 1, 2023
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2023
    Oh nice man pretty awesome build. Thanks for the offer to help, heres some pics of the two cabs the are separate, I just stacked them. It's pretty decent to start with gives me a huge break on labor. But, if I do something with the wood. I want it to come out properly how I plan it out. I made 2 grow boxes before, an made some build mistakes like cuts not coming out perfect. Ruining pc fan holes by drilling so close to the edge of wood. Im still figuring everything out considering different builds an lighting methods, an such from a lot of threads. Most of many of these threads are old, but still hold a lot of valuable information. An to refresh my memory. Some photos give errors.

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  6. thanks SpaceHaze
    happy to help.
    The hole, it needs to be towards the top/back center say 20cm from the inside to top edge, I would mark a dot here and take a 10cm hole cutter, inside you need a 4" mains 120 pc fan and on the back a
    MANROSE COWL VENT WHITE 100 X 100MM with a small container (containing the ona gel) to kill any odor
    you need a space between fan and top
    in case it gets in the way of the strip light.

    The split cabinet, I would lift the shelf, I would use a 4" high clear container for the seedlings and cuttings
    need to add the led (6-10w), I would say 7" max height, you need the rest of the space for the veg/drying area
    you will need a fan/ vent same as the flower room, late veg and drying weed will smell.

    I would take 3 cuttings, root them and keep the best plant to flower off.

    you need some board on the back of the cabinets, needs to be light proof and you need to control the air flow
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  7. Thanks, yeah that was something I was looking at myself. I can send a pic showing how it would possibly look with fan size, if I placed it in the middle or in the top corner and on the bottom opposite corner make smaller passive intake vent. I will show you a pic what im trying to explain. An help with giving me a more clear idea of what your thinking maybe a great option for my setup situation. (Hold on will edit pic in soon) my fans are huge. An run smooth woth odor filters. An holders I got from a old grow tent kit. I got 3 big pc fans that all power together. Maybe, I should do fans wiring on the outside of the box? An do the holes same size is fan blades. Thing is I just 3 fans. I can plug in all together. I was thinking 1 fan in each grow chamber? Hmm... Question what do you mean you would lift the shelf. In the split cabinet? Would be better to have 2 separate chambers? To have a seedling chamber and veg chamber for a single plant in each chamber, then a flower chamber. To get a rotation going? That's a great idea to use maybe 6w-10w led grow light bulb.
    Yeah, I got to have a solid plan set up. How to build it to be easy to work with and completely seal. Even then light leak shouldn't be a problem. I will have it in a closet, where it's dark. But, I will also, get a big piece of card board to block the wall. From any possible sunlight or any light getting passed the door cracks anyway. An try to keep it light tight is possible and sealed up. Haven't decided, if I should put the plug power strip in the box. Or outside the box. Yeah when I put the board I want to be sure, I make necessary cuts like for the wires to enter by a tiny hole for example. If I decide to do it maybe I will. Or if I run the wire on inside how I will strap it up against the wall organized out of the way.
     
  8. start with the flower room, the 120mm fan will give the plants enough airflow, canopy level
    small flower room .jpg
     
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  9. not sure how low the leds will end up, maybe you can raise the fan 2-3" but not sure at this stage.
     
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  10. so the veg room can be used to dry the weed, while you start some more cuttings off as you put the vegged plant into flower room(12/12) crop every 8 weeks.
    3 weeks to root and 5 weeks in veg.
     
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  11. Do you think multiple plants? Like a sea of green in waves. Or single plants?
     
  12. Thanks for plans of a way to approach it I can show you some pics now
     
  13. I know you said I should focus on the flower box. Which I completely agree im just showing what it would look like if I put a pc fan there. An here's pics of my straps just incase if i need it. An some extra odor filter those are smell proof. I haven't tested them. But, I do ona gel I heard in older threads here. It may cause health concerns breathing it in alot but, I never researched extremely deep into it. I got 2 bigger fans 1 smaller. I want to see if the air filters made for growing actually work its made from carbon but made in a filter style. Its not even on the market I honestly think this is like some rare filters. The guy who sold me the temt hooked me up. But, never wanted to give me a supplier for these filters.
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  14. I would do one plant or 4 plants in that space, both options would work, because you need to keep the plant small for 5 weeks, one plant would be less work imo
     
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  15. They look just like these filter on amazon, I hope they work, I would put the fan/filter in the center.
    I don't know if ona can cause health problems, a small amount should be OK but if the carbon pads work, sounds like a better option, can you try a Scented Tealights or something in the cabinet, see if the filter stops the smell, would be interesting to see the results.
     
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  16. What's a scented tealight? If there's any anount of odor. I will smell it an I can give a better description of about how much odor is leaking. The carbon filters last like 3 months so, wonder how long this will last. I will check out the filters you mentioned what filters are they?
     
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  17. Small scented candle in a foil container, if the carbon odour filter works, it will stop any sent leaving the cabinet, in late flower, even a small plant can stink your house out, just trying to fix any problems before you start.

    The filter i found on amazon looks the same as yours, just smaller but the reviews are very good.
     
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  18. That's a great idea I will most likely try that thanks for the info.
    Can I see the filters so, I can tell you if it's the same kind?
     
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  19. if you click on amazon, its a link to the website.
     
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