A New Dawn awakes - Custom Built Closet Idea - First Grow

I had this image in my head of making a grow box for next year when I am off campus and living in my own apartment. I thought of many different lights, configurations, and placement of all the equipment that I want to be included in the box.

The front, which in the picture below is missing, Will be sealed off with rubber door seals for houses, the whole inside will be painted white, sides, corners, angles will all be caulked to prevent light leakage.

This is going to be my first grow and i am very interested and stoked to get it under way.... I drew this picture with paint... What do you think of the idea??

This is going to occur way later down the road, but with this plan I have something to really look forward to when I get a place of my own... and my own little kids.. haha. check it out.....

Closet: 4.5ft. height x 3 ft. wide x 3 ft. deep
Lights: Eighteen 25 watt 6500K CFL's - veg (six will be used for flowering as well)
Twelve 25 watt 2700K CFL's - flowering
Maybe (2) 4ft. T-5 fluorescent lights mounted vertically to each side
(2) 2ft. T-5 fluorescent lights mounted horizontally to the floor

Medium: Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Soil

Six Or Eight Solo Cups to Start Seed after Germination
Six Or Eight 3 or 4 Gallon Pots will be used next
(9)Hanging Light Fixtures
(9)Bulb Y-Splitters

Will be constructed out of 2x4's and plywood/other wood.

Comments/Opinions/Suggestions are welcome here.

How do you guys like the plan?

Do you think it would be an efficient enough grow room to produce some nice, potent bud?

growinthatsweetcheeba said:

Comments/Opinions/Suggestions are welcome here.

How do you guys like the plan?

Do you think it would be an efficient enough grow room to produce some nice, potent bud?

Click to expand...

a little overkill on the lamps..do yourself a favor and get yourself 3 cfl's..2-125 cool white,6500k and a 200 warm..get the mogul sockets for them and just hang them without reflectors and make sure you paint everything flat white..these type of cfl's grow nice tight plants and they are almost as good as the higher wattage systems(250-400 watt)

I would put the intake down low and the exhaust up high. I made a similar cab for flowering except I use hps. My intake air comes in the back of the cab passively and exhaust comes out the front through the carbon filter. Just your cfls are going to be using 750 watts why not get a hps instead? 400 watt hps will light up that cabinet fine. Why waste power?

yeh intake show be low down and outake up high!preferably ontop like a chimney,coz heat rises!

Dats said:

I would put the intake down low and the exhaust up high. I made a similar cab for flowering except I use hps. My intake air comes in the back of the cab passively and exhaust comes out the front through the carbon filter. Just your cfls are going to be using 750 watts why not get a hps instead? 400 watt hps will light up that cabinet fine. Why waste power?

Click to expand...

Thanks for commenting!! If I were to go that way I wouldn't just want HPS... I would want to be able to convert to MH as well...Do you think that Lamp will get too hot for the space I have planned out?

I might just put the MH & HPS light in my idea and drop the CFL's altogether.

I am still thinking the 4 foot T-5's mounted vertically to each side would be a really cool idea and help with growth a lot.

How do you guys think of a 600 watt HPS & MH Light Kit and T-5's mounted vertically?

DIGITAL AIR COOLED GROW LIGHT 600 WATT HPS+MH 600W - eBay (item 360020667672 end time Feb-07-08 13:52:00 PST)

Hydrofarm T5 Fluorescent 4 Tube Fixture - eBay (item 180212163092 end time Feb-07-08 13:13:34 PST)

thats a lotttt of cfls. why not just get some hps and mh setups?

Dats said:

I would put the intake down low and the exhaust up high. I made a similar cab for flowering except I use hps. My intake air comes in the back of the cab passively and exhaust comes out the front through the carbon filter. Just your cfls are going to be using 750 watts why not get a hps instead? 400 watt hps will light up that cabinet fine. Why waste power?

Click to expand...

I think you're right man. I was looking on eBay at some of the MH & HPS light kits and they would be way cheaper than buying 30+ CFL's... The main reason I didn't want to go this way was b/c of the heat factor. It scares me shitless to think of heat causing a fire.

My cabinet space is going to be roughly 4.5ft tall x 3ft wide x 3ft deep. With that being said do you think that a 600 watt MH & HPS light or a 400 watt MH & HPS light setup? I would really rather do the 600 watt, but if 400 is enough for my grow space, then that will do nothing but save me money.

The cabinet will still remain the same, except an HPS & MH setup. The fans will be rearranged with the intake down low and the outtake up above it like Dats said above ^^ thanks bro.

What do you guys think about these?? copy and paste in browser...
DIGITAL AIR COOLED GROW LIGHT 400 WATT HPS+MH 400W - eBay (item 360020667669 end time Feb-07-08 13:52:00 PST)
DIGITAL AIR COOLED GROW LIGHT 600 WATT HPS+MH 600W - eBay (item 360020667672 end time Feb-07-08 13:52:00 PST)

So you guys let me know what you think and I'll do whatever you all say b/c until the time I get this underway I want to know nearly everything about growing, light setups, temp. management, pH, humidity, and everything else there is to know. I have had a little gardening experience in the past, but nothing as unique as the growing of one of nature's finest plants.

Here is a modified version of the grow box and what you guys have convinced me to do. How does it look now?



I trust you all will lead me in the right direction. Thanks for the help already.

any comments on what i have stated about my setup? I am wondering 400w or 600w setup??^^^^

My cab is 55" tall 36" wide and 48" long I have an aircooled hood on a 400 watt hps heat is not a problem if you air cool your reflector. I bought my light used and got a great deal on it. If I was buying it new I would have bought a 600 watt not a 400 watt.

any other ideas fellas???

One more thing....don't use Miracle Grow soil. It will burn your plants.