Whats up GC! After a ton of planning and debating I've finally decided to start my very first grow! I dont got much space and I gotta keep it stealth because of the parents. I decided to grow a Feminized Auto-flowering dwarf (snowryder to be specific) in my closet in a 30 gallon Sterilite container (a cheap rubbermaid container). My supplies so far are: 1- 30 gallon sterilite container - 9$ at walmart (I bought more to make this one blend in) 2- 2ft T5 Fluorescent grow lights (one's $40 on amazon, the other's $15 at walmart) I really with I got a 125 watt CFL, I'll definitely get one if This grow works. 2- Plug to Socket adapters - $3 each on amazon 2- CFL bulbs - around $10 each 1- Power strip - $5 2- 120mm 90cfm computer fans - $8 each on amazon (plus 2-12v transformers I had laying around) 1- Appliance Timer - about $3 1- Roll of twine or string - a few bucks 1- Roll of duct tape also a few dollars 1-Bag of potting soil - $5 at cvs (weird place to get soil right? lol) 1- Bottle of houseplant nutrients (found this in my garage, no idea how much it costs) 1- Soil tester (PH, moisture etc..) shouldn't cost more than $25 for a good one A total cost of about $130! (should cost less, I just estimated the prices of things I already had around my house) Theres a couple small things I didn't add to the price such as seeds, wiring, etc... So I rigged this all up, I turned it on and realized I have a giant glowing box in my closet! LOL ! So I'm wondering: 1. What should I line the inside of the container with in order to block and reflect all of the light? I just bought 2 cans of spraypaint for plastic (flat black & flat white), my plan is to spray a few layers of black on the inside of the box to stop the glowing, then add a few more layers of white to reflect the light 2. Since the box is only about 18" tall, How big of a pot should I use? I estimate the pot can only be about 6" tall because snowryder grows to about 12"-15"... Does the plant really need a deep pot? or can use something thats short and wide? ...In other words: Do the roots need to grow down or can they mostly grow out instead? 3. What is the ideal temperature to grow in? I'm guessing my box will only be about 70-75* F, since my room is usually only 65-68* F and I'm using 2 pretty good little fans (claims to run at 90cfm but its probably only about 60-70cfm) 4. Lighting wise, Do I need more than or less than 2 fluorescent lights AND 2 2700k CFL's, since I'm only growing one small plant and about how many lumens would I get out of my 2 t5 Fluorescent lights? Im studying to become a mechanical engineer so I'm pretty good at this kind of stuff but I realize I need advice from experienced growers to make this work! THANKS in advance for any advice or criticisms! Let me know if you think I'm just being a dumb-ass [18 year old] kid and this whole things gonna fail! lol Check out the pics of what I've got done so far!! pictures 1 & 2 are the inside of the container, pic 3 is the position of the container (bottom left) and pic 4 is the box glowing lol Ill be updating soon with any progress I make!!!!
^this^ that glowing box looks like something from the movie Repo Man. Good luck in getting paint to stick to the surfaces of the Sterilite tubs. Maybe try some aluminum foil tape
I am doing my first grow now, I started out almost identical to what your set up looks like. Let me tell you from now bro, they grow and they grow fast. I had to move them three times already. Im just saying if you want to keep it discreet from your parents, for now its cool. But once they grow, they smell. Just be careful.
I don't see any room for or any mention of a carbon filter and fan setup....smell is going to attract the parents in a heart beat, especially when the lights are on. Without being filtered or very heavily masked, you will probably smell it throughout the house.