My first DIY growbox and grow, need some help!

Hey guys, almost all of my time on this forum has been spent reading endless threads and soaking in the pools of information that this site has to offer, but now I think it is time to get a few questions answered directly.

Yesterday I started to build my very first grow box. First off, the area is a bathroom closet. The closet has no door, but does have an area of about 23" x 20" that is hidden behind a wall. I decided to make this my box space. I built a frame out of 2x4's and then made some walls for it out of 1/2" plywood. That thing is built like a brick shit house as it is now, but I still have a few questions about it.

First, this box is 4ft high, so obviously I am making it into 2 separate areas, one for a mother to veg, and the other to have 2 to 4 clones hanging out. I am going to be doing a DIY Bubblebucket for the mother, and then a DIY rubbermaid bubbleponics deal for the clones as well. I am wondering what height I should make the shelf. I was thinking about splitting it right down the middle and putting the shelf in at 2ft from the ground. Is 2' going to be enough for my clones and my mother? Keep in mind, I am staying small, and decently low profile.

Also, as far as ventilation is concerned, I have a question. I am going to put two intake duct booster fans on the side of the box one on the top and one on the bottom so that there is ample air being taken in. Now, I also plan on having another booster exhaust fan out of the very top into a DIY carbon filter and then most likely out the window. The two shelf areas are going to basically be sealed and separated when the door is shut (after i make it =/ ) so should I put another booster fan somewhere on the shelf pushing/pulling air from the bottom up to the top better?

I think that is about it for now, I have a bunch of other stuff to get done with it that I will ask for later I suppose.


All advice, criticism, questions, comments, concerns and such are welcome and appreciated!!

Thanks


***I tried to attach pictures but it didn't let me do it. If anyone is confused about the box I have or anything else and needs a better image than a mental one to help me out, then I will try a bit harder to get those to work.

tmsculli said:

First, this box is 4ft high, so obviously I am making it into 2 separate areas, one for a mother to veg, and the other to have 2 to 4 clones hanging out.

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so ur not gonna flower in there?

i think your going to need the whole closet, including all 4 ft for the mother and bubbleponic chamber. and your going to need a light proof door by the time you flower. if you have a drier in your bathroom you can tap into the heat exhaust of the drier for your closets air exhaust. sory if thats all a jarbled mess, im baked, and need to sleep

OldSchool, I was under the impression that I could veg my clones and flower them in the same area. It would just require the change in light timing correct?

Kaleo, You really think I need that much room? I don't really have use of the whole closet, or I don't want to, that is why I decided to make a box instead of just making a door for the closet.

What do you guys think I am drastically missing to make this happen? Is it just that my box doesn't seem to be optimal, or is it just plain not going to work?

It has Potential to work, but 2 ft isn't alot of area to work with, Considering plant height (those suckers get tall) height of your hydrosystem, and then the lights.. Im sure it could be done but you'd have alot of problems and a pretty small yeild.

Hm, that is really unfortunate. I was planning on trying to grow more indicas, and possibly even training it short. I am only looking for some consistent personal use, nothing else so it doesn't need to get ridiculous. For now do you think it is okay to use that box as 1 until I get some decent growth and then worry about making another box to flower in?

Also, I am using a 2600k and 6500k CFLs mounted onto a power strip like someone else did in a thread I read a few weeks back. So the lighting being close or in a tight area is not too big of an issue at this point.

Now you guys all have me thinking that I have bitten off more than I can chew =/

I have been standing in the room staring at it for a few minutes now and nothing magical is coming into my brain. If I were to just build another box and stack it on top of the other, would that work out? I was thinking that I may want the cloning bubble set up deal be in a bit of a wider area. Kind of a short and fat kinda feel to it. In that case, I am thinking about just putting a shelf over the top of the 4 ft mother box, and then closing off the top area some how to have a bigger space for the flowering.

Def need the whole space for one operation. 4' is about the bare bones min to bud or veg.

ya man i agree with 4 feet you need to fit your buckets that takes a foot and a light that hangs and at min that will take a foot. That means you have to flower at 1 foot high. Or learn how to trim well or tie them down. Good luck to ya and stay green

grow in 50 drums or garbage cans glue tinfoil to the inside and fill the bottom with dirt cut holes in the lid to put your lights through

actually dont use tinfoil paint the inside white

Chop, are you suggesting I do this for my other "room" of sorts to flower in? I have a shit ton of wood, and a lot of love for DIY. I got the box into the closet and it looks great, I impressed the hell out of myself with my measurements and cuts haha.

I am going to keep that 20"x22"x4' box in there as my mother/veg box, and then I am thinking about making a shorter, but wider box to put on top of that. Maybe something like, 3' high, 3' wide, and then the rough 2' or so deep.

Anyone else have any recomendations for this issue? Also, anyone feel like taking a stab at my ventilation question that I posted earlier?

Last but not least, a door. I obviously know hinges and some plywood, but I need to make sure it seals light and air, any suggestions?


Thanks for all of the responses so far guys!

tmsculli said:

Chop, are you suggesting I do this for my other "room" of sorts to flower in? I have a shit ton of wood, and a lot of love for DIY. I got the box into the closet and it looks great, I impressed the hell out of myself with my measurements and cuts haha.

I am going to keep that 20"x22"x4' box in there as my mother/veg box, and then I am thinking about making a shorter, but wider box to put on top of that. Maybe something like, 3' high, 3' wide, and then the rough 2' or so deep.

Anyone else have any recomendations for this issue? Also, anyone feel like taking a stab at my ventilation question that I posted earlier?

Last but not least, a door. I obviously know hinges and some plywood, but I need to make sure it seals light and air, any suggestions?


Thanks for all of the responses so far guys!

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ive tried door seals and things of that sort but ive found that black duct tape works the best when its applied right..

Hmm, sounds like a decent idea Ron. So are you saying take the black duct tape and wrap it around the edges of the "door" until when it closes it is nice and snug/sealed? That sounds like a good idea and I think I may go through with it.

tmsculli said:

Hmm, sounds like a decent idea Ron. So are you saying take the black duct tape and wrap it around the edges of the "door" until when it closes it is nice and snug/sealed? That sounds like a good idea and I think I may go through with it.

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exactly.....and you gotta make sure you do at least 3 layers of it for it to completely seal.

I also noticed that people keep suggesting HPS over my cfls. I am thinking this is a possibility. The HPS is used for flowering correct? So I could still veg very well with all of my CFLs and then just have the 400W HPS for flowering?

With the 400W HPS, aren't I dealing with additional heat though? I know there has to be a line somewhere that changes when it is necessary to cool the lighting and duct it etc. How much more expensive and difficult is it going to be to put this 400HPS in there as opposed to my CFLs on a power strip?

RonPwilkins said:

exactly.....and you gotta make sure you do at least 3 layers of it for it to completely seal.

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Excellent, thank you very much Ron. I am thinking just going to get some basic hinges and a mid duty lock for it and call it at that.

Still anxious/nervous about this flowering situation. The more research I do and the more effort I put in I am starting to feel the walls move in closer haha

tmsculli said:

I also noticed that people keep suggesting HPS over my cfls. I am thinking this is a possibility. The HPS is used for flowering correct? So I could still veg very well with all of my CFLs and then just have the 400W HPS for flowering?

With the 400W HPS, aren't I dealing with additional heat though? I know there has to be a line somewhere that changes when it is necessary to cool the lighting and duct it etc. How much more expensive and difficult is it going to be to put this 400HPS in there as opposed to my CFLs on a power strip?

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i used a 150 watt hps on 6 plants in a 3'x4' box and got great results...and alot less heat

but yes the hps is used for flowering......but you can also use for veg.....stay with ur cfls on ur clones and mommas....

Alright, you've convinced me. (I am pretty swayable stoned) Tomorrow morning I am going to take on a few more pieces of the puzzle. getting my rubbermaid container and air pump, hose, stones for my clones. Also going to build an opening cover for the top cloning area.

Aiye yiy yiy oy I am toasted sir.