first simple closet grow setup

cake

key words: first, simple, closet

ok, maybe not closet, Ima build a box, and then put it in a closet.. but you get the idea

anyway
ive done a simple (i mean 5$ grocery store light simple) grow once:



but it ended tragically

anyway, once my paycheck comes in (2 weeks, 4 weeks? who knows this time) I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with this dual setup:

400watt MH/HPS kit from HTG for 169+ shipping
High Tech Garden Supply

I'd consider CFLs, but this HTG setup seems like a really good deal, and everything that I would need. And it seems to me me if you really wanna grow right, then HID is the way to go- for now.

anyway, I've got a couple questions. Under a 400watt HID system, how many plants, and what dimensions cab should I make. I'm really only thinking 2-4 plants..

cab 4'(tall)x3'x3' sound good? I wanna make sure that I can keep the plants far enough away from the light(heat) but give them enough room to grow.

I know I should top. I understand the idea, pinch the tops of the plants to make others spout out,.. but I really dont understand the rest. When do I do it?, only done once?, etc etc..


mmkay I think thats it, thanks for the help!

scott06

that 400 watter sounds like plenty for the space/number of plants your are thinking of. as far as the four food height....sounds like you will need to do a screen of green or sea of green set up, or just flower at a short hight. it could be close even with topping...I would pick a small strain like mazar...and try to keep the internodal distance short as possible...A few techniques help with this....keep the day time and night temp close together..keep the light blue durring veg and as close as possible....I think you have a great set up...do you have a plan for venting/circulating air and controlling smell?

cake

a SOG setup might be a bit more than what I'm looking to get myself into. I say 2-4 plants now, but we all know where that goes... I already have the seeds, came from some fire that had a savory odor of cat piss to it, pretty tasty stuff.

Once I get box built, lights mounted etc, I'm going to deal with venting. Havent thought about it too much, but the general idea is to have a decent exhuast fan up top(300+ cfm?), and a small simple PC intake fan @ bottom. Put 1 or 2 PVC elbows on the intake hole outside of box to make it light proof.

Fans seem pretty expensive for what they do. Like I said I haven't looked into that industry very much. Any suggestions? college budget here.

I live in a 1BR apt with my girlfriend, and I burn often. I could probably count friends I have on one hand that DONT blaze up. The smell... it is what it is..


if worse comes to worse and maintence needs to come in forwhatever reason, I'll move the box into my truck, and stick the ferret cage where it was

whitetrash6

tastey cat piss? yuuuuuuummmmmmyyyyyyy!

Framster

SCROG-Screen of green would be the hot ticket for such a small space.

With only a 4 foot ceiling. I'd use tubs rather than pots (lower profile) and definitely have an air cooled hood, as that gives you more room to grow. Because a lamp without the cooltube/hood, will need about 18" clearance from the tops of the plants, to keep them from getting scorched by the bulb.

Here is an idea of what can be done with a 250w bulb. see attachments I found doing a little DIY search.

Also, a Barrel of Green (circular SCROG) should work in your space requirements. Very productive for the space.

That is great that you sprung for a 400w lamp as they are more efficient than a 250 watt lamp, but they put out more heat.

A word of advise . . . . . before you do anything, you should plan on getting rid of that heat.

Good Luck,

Framster

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the.fatman.cometh

First, cake, welcome to GP! If you need anything, just let us know. Good luck with the grow, too. Framster is right on the money.

Framster, that is some excellent advice, I have a small area to work with myself, so I am gonna try to rig something together to optimize space.
Good advice here. +rep

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cake

I'll do a bit more research into SCORG and the barrel version.. it just seems like a bit more than what I was planning on doing. I want to keep this as simple and straightforward as possible.

I'm still flexible on box size- what size would you say that cab is? I havent purchased the lamp yet. Usually when I jump into something my first couple decisions are usually not the best. So I'm holding off on lights for a couple weeks until I get all my info squared away.

let me ask this then, would I be better off using CFLs since my grow area(box) is somewhat limited in size? I would still have to(or really really should) use a HPS bulb for flwr? Thats why I was going to get that dual setup, save me the hassle of having two totally different lighting systems.

The tub sounds like a good idea. I wont have a problem with roots choking each other out? what size tub, for 3 or 4 plants?


thanks framster, some food for thought,
any other options or adivce to consider?

__________________
this is all just a wet dream. nothing I've said or done here really happened. only in imaginationland,

scott06

I would be very comfortable going cfl for that space, please read the cfl tutorial that is a sticky at the start of the CFL club....I use cfl exclusively now....smaller budz and not as dense but quality weed. Hell if you really want to go simple just curtain off part of that closet and grow two plants under some cfl's....don't build a cab at all....please don't underestimate the smell of flowering plants...it can be quite overwhelming...even with a couple of plants

Framster

Hey Cake,

Since you are still in the planning stages and have limited funds, I would start with CFL's with a high Kelvin number (6500K) for veg and then switch to HPS in a cool tube for flower.

I would use individual tubs, at least 16 quarts (4 gal.) each minimum and attach individual SCROG screens to each tub for ease of maintenance.

Attached are some photos of a Barrel of Green set up.

- Framster

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cake

cool, I have no problem going CFLs- that dual HID setup seemed like a great bang for the buck, and had me covered on both ends.

for CFLS, do I want less, higher wattage lights, or more, lower wattage lights. in other words, do I want x2 65wt (250) or x4 32wt(130)?

I'm going to do some more BOG research, at first I wasn't really interested, but I havent made up my mind. If I was to do it, I would still put the tub in cab under I wouldn't top it with another tub. I already have a big tub too. I really dont know anything about it though, so I guess I'll read up some more on it.

whats a cool tube?

__________________
this is all just a wet dream. nothing I've said or done here really happened. only in imaginationland,