I am a first time grower and i am also converting my standing deep freezer into a grow box. I have gutted the freezer and have so far cut a hole in the top right corner of the back for my power cords. But sadly that is as far as i have gotten. The dimensions of my grow space are 4'11" high, 2'deep, 2'7" wide. I'm wondering how many plants i will be able to fit in their largest stages of growth. I too am having ventilation problems. I was thinking about having an intake fan somewhere near the bottom pointing at the plant stems. That would kill two birds with one stone wouldn't it? Provide intake and make stems stronger. And then having my out fan somewhere near the top. I don't know what kind of fans i will be using. Ive gone to Home depot and Freddy's, but couldn't find anything suitable. Suggestions would be helpful. I could use computer fans, but i don't know how to make then run off regular power, and i don't know if they are strong enough for my space. So yeah, so far thats pretty much my ventilation dilemma. The second problem I have encountered is lights. I was thinking of having 4 plants in there. Some dude, who might not have known what he was talking about, told me that any light in my space would be too hot, cuz its a fridge. At least thats what i think he was saying. Well my point is that he didn't think this was going to work because its in a freezer. So I was just wondering what lights would do well in my space. Suggestions would be really helpful, along with where i can get the lights. I prefer not to buy things on the internet, because i Have no patience. But thats another issue. I was also wondering what a ballast was. Or rather, what they do? will i be needing one? where can i buy a ballast? Are they effective? OH! and also the issue of Co2. When in the crop cycle do i use co2? how is it administered? Is it effective? Well this is getting long. and believe it or not I still have more questions. But I guess ill wait till these get answered first.
there is a thread called growing for beginers the guy that answers all the questions is a very smart guy on growing so i would search that thread for some of your answers or just ask. As far as you light as long as you have good exaust and intake the light shold not matter. The ballast is what powers a hid light (high pressure sodium-or metal halide) I bought my 400 watt high pressure sodium light and my 400watt metal halide off of ebay i paid $85.00 for the hps light and 75 for the mh light. The number of plants to grow really depends on the amount of light and space you have I say 60-80watts per plant but it differs from one person to the other. Fans they sell ducting fans i use 6inch fans i think i paid 35 a peice for them. They work great because you can slide a dryer vent tube right on top of them and run the hose out a way from the box so that your not sucking that hot air right back into the box You are going to be limit with height because if you do end up using a mh or hps your gonna want the light around 12inchs away from the top of the plant to keep from burning. So if i was you i would look to use LED panels or CFL'S. Plus both CFL and LED put off very little heat. If you want to see a real good CFL grow check out a guy named MELS on here he has a great CFL grow going. Well i hope i helped alittle good luck
Thanks for all the info mikelamb! It helped alot. Im thinking that your right about using lower heat lights. Also i was gonna ask: Mornings in my garage can reach 55-50 degrees F sometimes. I was wondering if i should place a space heater by my intake to keep temperatures more consistent. Thanks again for the info. Have a good one.
i to grow in the garage the problem with placing the heater out side the box is that the thermostat will think its always cold because it outside the box. I have my space heaters on the inside of the box so when the temp gets below 78 they kick on.