Cabinet growing-need advice

Discussion in 'Marijuana Growing Techniques' started by ReadySetGreen!, Jun 26, 2006.

  1. ReadySetGreen!

    ReadySetGreen! Member

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    So, here is the deal. I'm new to growing, and as I have limited space to practice my hobby, I decided on the method of cabinet growing. The dimensions I am building this box is 5 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. My intentions are to grow enough for personal use only, so I'm am only going to grow 2-4 plants. I am growing from bagseed, being a newbie.
    I have not decided fully on what to line the walls with, the many reflective surfaces the grow guides recommend, or perhaps a simple white paint job. I'm big on simplicity. Each corner will have a fluorescent light going vertical and at the top I'm building an adjustable rack of more fluorescents. I know most of you recommend the better lights, but being a beginner, I am going for simplicity and ease of use. If I am at all successful, I will probably upgrade. The parts to the box I'm building are designed to be interchangeable.
    For ventilation I have four computer case fans making a larger square for both intake and exhaust. Thats 8 fans alltogether. Light leakage is of course an issue, so I was thinking of building like a tunnel around it, that has a couple of bends so light can't get around all the corners. (that make sense? sorry, i'm a tad fried atm) Inside the actual cabinet, I plan to place a couple of small oscillating fans in the upper corners for air movement and to help temperature control.
    So really, I'm leaving it up to you guys to give me any advice that you feel I might need. Are there flaws in my logic? Do you think temperature might be an issue? Odor control? Are the dimensions allright? Really, any and all input you might wish to impart to this poor newbie would be greatly appreciated, and greedily accepted and consumed. Thanks for your time.
     
  2. buffoonman

    buffoonman Senior Member

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    Your dimensions sound good but for ease I would just hang a 4OO HPS light. When starting off getting your lighting correct is the main thing.
     
  3. ReadySetGreen!

    ReadySetGreen! Member

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    Thank you for the reply, appreciate it more than you could know. As far as the HPS light, the whole concept of ballast and watnot is kind of daunting for me, and moreover, I live in a really small town in Texas, and getting all the correct things to make sure I don't burn down my apartment is hard. Also I'm a little paranoid about ordering anything "related" to my apt, and I don't have an alternate mailing address to use. Would an HPS light generate more heat than the setup I'm building? Temperature is one of my primary concerns so far, no point in growing if you just burn your poor little plants. Also, do you have a ballpark guesstimate as to how much those setups would cost me to properly light my cabinet? I've been looking for through sites for such information, but most that I see seems to be more than I need, and of course not being the smartest person around, I don't really know what I need at all. Sorry for so many questions, I'm an information junkie, and absolutely hate making mistakes that are avoidable with a little research.

    These forums rock, I've looked through alot, and these seem to have the most stable information and easy to understand lingo, and well informed members.
     
  4. buffoonman

    buffoonman Senior Member

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    My room is slightly smaller than yours and I use a 400W HPS but to keep the temperature down I use a really good extractor fan. The next best lighting option is 200W Envirolites. These run a lot cooler and although there not as powerful more of there light sprctrum is actually used by the plants. They don't need a ballast.You would be best of with the reflector that takes two 200w bulbs. look under the hydroponic section on this website to get some ideas. This site also sells HPS lights so that you can get an idea of the prices.
    http://www.theonlineelectricalwholesaler.com/catalog/products.php?cpath=88_254_257
     
  5. Naturalhi

    Naturalhi Great hairy ape

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    Must be nice to have 2-4 plantz last from harvest to harvest, 'round here lucky if a LB last that long!
     
  6. ReadySetGreen!

    ReadySetGreen! Member

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    Yeah, I'm not a real heavy smoker. I work 4 days on 4 days off, 12 hour days on the days on, so smoking of course is a no no on those days. So a little bit for me goes a long way. The whole concept of growing is of interest to me because of the challenge, and the feeling of accomplishment when I smoke my first bud I grew myself. :D
     
  7. Naturalhi

    Naturalhi Great hairy ape

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