Stealth Grow Box Diagram

2 by 2 seems to small, if you're going to invest in a grow make it a little bigger.

 

Looks like a good start.
- What's the height?
- Is the footprint 2x2? Not sure I understood that.
- You want the scrubber inline to the exhaust.
- Do you have an exhaust fan? You'll need that in addition to a small fan for inside the cab.
- You don't show but I assume you have intake holes.
- Be sure your intake and exhaust are lightproof.
- You may want to get a MH conversion bulb for vegging.
- Be sure the light height can be easily adjusted. Hanging from chains and hooks is a good way.

Keep us updated.

 

I know nothing but im researching the issue like you. I need stealth too. Im leaning toward CFL grow room (under my house). By using CFL or T5 FL, I believe you can eliminate the need for outdoor ventilation (on a small enough scale) which will keep things much quieter.

I presume you wont get as high a yield as HID and HPS but still get a frequent harvest for personal use. Whats your thinking on this?

 

4x4x7 -- damn! Wish I had that kind of space, especially the height. But then again growing in tight quarters makes you work harder at it. You could fit more than 4 plants in that space. To grow only 4-5 you are good with the 400w, you might want to cover some pieces of cardboard in mylar and put those around the plants to cut down on the light dispersing out to the edges. Or, go with the 600w and put a few more plants in there. You can definitely veg in there as well as flower (just not at the same time). Get one HPS ballast and housing, an HPS bulb for flower, and a MH conversion bulb for vegging. All wattages must match.

Sounds like you have a real good set-up going. To kill fan noise try suspending it rather than having it on a shelf or hanging on a side wall.

 

It's spectrum. Plants in the vegetative stage use blue spectrum put out by HID. Plants in the flowering stage need red spectrum put out by HPS. Mother nature takes care of all this for us, but indoors human ingenuity is required. If you use just an HPS your plants will flower too early and most likely ruin your crop.
EDIT: actually using HPS doesn't make your plant enter the flowering stage but may stunt growth during veg. Sounds like I need to read again

See all those links in toastbiz signature?? I read through every single one of them. You should too and it will save you a lot of time and answer all your questions.

 

Zarathustra, you're basically right but to clarify the blue spectrum light is put out by MH (metal halide). HID stands for high intensity discharge, which is a class of lights that includes both MH and HPS.

If you veg under HPS your plant can stretch because it is seeking blue-end light. The plant can become too tall and spindly, resulting in height problems for an indoor grow and then the main stalk may not be strong enough to support the buds. You can use fluros for veg OK.

Glad you're using my sig links and found them helpful.

SexyDank, where did you find the light kit? One good site is htgsupply-dot-com. One warning about their budget kits, though, the cord is hard-wired between the ballast and the socket. Here is why that's important: usually you want to place the ballast outside the actual grow space because it gives off hella lotta heat. That's why there is a long cord between the socket and the ballast. But, since it is hard-wired that means you need a hole big enough to pass the entire ballast through to get it out of the grow space. I don't know why they can't make that a plug at one end or the other so you could just pass the cord through a small hole and then plug it in. The large hole is harder to seal and lightproof. Not a problem for every set-up but was a hassle for mine.

As for size of intake/exhaust, you want as large as possible. For that size space use at least a 6" diameter exhaust. Rule of thumb is at least twice the intake area as exhaust area, so two or more 6" intake holes. The decision of the intake being passive (no fan) or active (fan-driven) depends on your circumstances -- if the exhaust fan can pull adequate airflow then passive is fine.

If you don't have a 6" hole saw I recommend buying a jigsaw -- for the same price as that 6" hole saw you will get a versatile tool that is very handy for building grow ops rather than one blade that cuts exactly one kind of hole. If your cut with the jigsaw isn't perfect use weather stripping or caulk to seal it up.

For light traps, I agree that for each hole get two 90º pvc elbows and a short segment of pvc pipe the same diameter, spray paint the inside flat black, and then set up as a "S" or "C" shape through the hole.

 

Ive been told 100w per plant is the minimum. Get more if you can.

 

Toasty - I gotta disagree with you on the deal on making a hole big enough to pass the ballast thru... I just got my 400watter from HTG yesterday, and all you have to do is take the back off the bulb base housing (4 screws) and there are 2 wire nuts and a ground cord that you need to disconnect. After that, you just need to pop out the wire strain relief (black plastic thingy) and viola - I am now able to pass the cord thru my passive intake holes and no need for any new holes.

You are absolutely correct on everything else
That ballast is a fire breathing dragon that must be put outside of a cabinet if you want to keep decent temperatures. Kinda wish I would have sprung for the digital one now... Oh well.