Building a grow cabinet.

[maxsuperdanks]

Here's the plan thus far. I'm going to use hardboard/ 1/4" plywood to make a 2x2x4' grow cabinet, the inner lining will be reflective mylar or it's equivalent. I'll be using a computer surge protector, which will be housed inside the unit, the only electrical cord coming from the cabinet itself will come from this.



My only problems are circulation (I was thinking 120mm computer fans, one side blowing in, the other blowing out, with a carbon air filter on both ends, but I don't know how I'd wire it with 120 volts ac)

Lighting is another issue, I'm either going with 3 or 4 CFL's or 1 HPS.

Problem with the HPS is, while I work at a home improvement center (like lowes or hd) I don't know if I could get a ballast. But CFLs would not be conspicuous or difficult to obtain.

I'd be doing my grow in soil, either 1 large pot with a few plants, or a few small plants.

Sea of Green is the name if this game I think.







Any suggestions? Ideas?

[Zcomp]

Be sure to mount the surge strip high up in the cab. Electricity up-water down.
The fans can be easly wired to any 12VDC Supply. I used an old plug I had rated for 12VDC.
The HPS is the way to go. Its not very suspicious to walk out with one, Say your driveways dark. try to find the 150W but if you cant get the 70W maybe 2.
If you have any electrical skill you can easly mod the ballast to separate from the bulb. There are just Two wires running to the bulb, I believe 16AWG wire was the minimum recomended. I used a heavy duty extension cord that was 14AWG. Then used the plug end to attach the ballast to 120V AC.
If you do mod, Be sure to be safe. Mark wires, Cap them right, Then electrical or I use black (non-conductive)duck tape so the whole joint is tidy.

[maxsuperdanks]

Be sure to mount the surge strip high up in the cab. Electricity up-water down.
The fans can be easly wired to any 12VDC Supply. I used an old plug I had rated for 12VDC.
The HPS is the way to go. Its not very suspicious to walk out with one, Say your driveways dark. try to find the 150W but if you cant get the 70W maybe 2.
If you have any electrical skill you can easly mod the ballast to separate from the bulb. There are just Two wires running to the bulb, I believe 16AWG wire was the minimum recomended. I used a heavy duty extension cord that was 14AWG. Then used the plug end to attach the ballast to 120V AC.
If you do mod, Be sure to be safe. Mark wires, Cap them right, Then electrical or I use black (non-conductive)duck tape so the whole joint is tidy.

Thanks for the advice man, unfortunately, I discussed with some fellow employees who are down with the cause. And while I can get HPS lights, up to 150+ watts, I cannot get a ballast, but can get housing.

I have no real electrical skill, I've replaced the pickups in my electric guitar (with trouble) so I dunno about that.

[Zcomp]

Are you sure?? Check in security lights. I haven't been in a HD or Lowes that didn't have HPS security lights.

[maxsuperdanks]

Are you sure?? Check in security lights. I haven't been in a HD or Lowes that didn't have HPS security lights. I live near both of those places, so I'll check and see if I can buy them from there.


I probably shouldn't be buying a ton of growing shit from my own workplace anyways.





I can buy soil and stuff from my work though, along with fertalizers and materials to build, along with pots.


Because my family grows plants other than pot, and I have my own little pinapple bush in my window of my room, so there's a good excuse, just saying I'm trans-planting it.

[Zcomp]

What nutes are you thinking? Try to go organic if possible but don't die trying.

[maxsuperdanks]

What nutes are you thinking? Try to go organic if possible but don't die trying.

My family keeps a compost heap in our back yard.

We also dump ashes from our fire pit in there (phosphates will be good for flowering)

I'll be using black dirt, when fishing season comes around I'll buy some worms and try to get some worm castings.

Pearlite, peat moss and some sand will go in there too. I might put some saw dust in there too.




I'm thinking of planting them in 1 big container, and putting each sprout in it's own separate coffee can with the bottom cut out. That's my dad's method with tomato plants, and off just 3 plants we get hundreds of tomatos every summer. That way I can fertilize in the part of the dirt outside the can, and gradually it'll soak into the other dirt inside the can, up through the bottom and the roots will get it in the bottom also. That and I can tend to individual plant's needs more efficiently even in a single tub.

[stinkyattic]

My family keeps a compost heap in our back yard.

We also dump ashes from our fire pit in there (phosphates will be good for flowering)

I'll be using black dirt, when fishing season comes around I'll buy some worms and try to get some worm castings.

Pearlite, peat moss and some sand will go in there too. I might put some saw dust in there too.

I'm thinking of planting them in 1 big container, and putting each sprout in it's own separate coffee can with the bottom cut out.

Compost can cause problems (most notably pests) indoors.
Ashes change the pH of the soil and make it sticky and hard to work with.
Fishing worms and compost worms are not the same, and a source of disease-free worm castings (=commercially packaged) is safer indoors.
Peat moss has a VERY low pH and needs to be limed.
Sand isn't desirable. Go with extra perlite.
Raw sawdust leads to nitrogen problems.
Coffee cans are going to release iron oxide into the soil and lock out other nutrients. Never use metal in an indoor grow.

[maxsuperdanks]

Compost can cause problems (most notably pests) indoors.
Ashes change the pH of the soil and make it sticky and hard to work with.
Fishing worms and compost worms are not the same, and a source of disease-free worm castings (=commercially packaged) is safer indoors.
Peat moss has a VERY low pH and needs to be limed.
Sand isn't desirable. Go with extra perlite.
Raw sawdust leads to nitrogen problems.
Coffee cans are going to release iron oxide into the soil and lock out other nutrients. Never use metal in an indoor grow.


See, this is the kind of shit I need to know. Thank you very much for this wealth of information.

[maxsuperdanks]

Ok, so here's my plan for lighting thus far.


I'll be using one 70w HPS security light (comes fully enclosed)
One 70w MH security light
and One or Two 200w CFLs.


The HPS will be on for flowering, the MH for veg.

Would this be acceptable?

[Backpacker420]

Why again can't you buy a HPS from a site like High Tech Garden Supply?

[Zcomp]

Sweet, you found the HID's at the store. Now just imagine, you only have to walk out with 2 bulbs every 6mo's. Mush better than 20 CFL's every 6mo's.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[maxsuperdanks]

Why again can't you buy a HPS from a site like High Tech Garden Supply?


I'd rather not have to order anything online (other than genetics if I can help it)


Not to mention I fucked up wiring my own guitar.

[maxsuperdanks]

Why again can't you buy a HPS from a site like High Tech Garden Supply?

Because for some reason I feel like if I order a bunch of HPS bulbs, I'm going to prison.


I'd rather walk in with like 200-300 bucks in cash and get what I need and get out.



I do need genetics though :(

[Backpacker420]

If you buy lights online with a disposable credit card, the chances of it being traced back to you are slim to none.

The police would have to go through a hell of a lot of work just to trace down a guy who purchased a light kit, who in the end really may be just be growing tomatoes in the winter.

I'm sure the police are far more interested in the guy who had 8 1000w HPS lights delivered to his house, as well as all the hydro supplies and the "Cannabis Grow Bible" or whatever. ;)

[maxsuperdanks]

If you buy lights online with a disposable credit card, the chances of it being traced back to you are slim to none.

The police would have to go through a hell of a lot of work just to trace down a guy who purchased a light kit, who in the end really may be just be growing tomatoes in the winter.

I'm sure the police are far more interested in the guy who had 8 1000w HPS lights delivered to his house, as well as all the hydro supplies and the "Cannabis Grow Bible" or whatever. ;)

I need to figure out how to purchase disposable credit cards.

[maxsuperdanks]

I just found what looks to be a working beaner in my bag of Super Silver Haze.


This is good shit :D

[AllforMe]

If you buy lights online with a disposable credit card, the chances of it being traced back to you are slim to none.

The police would have to go through a hell of a lot of work just to trace down a guy who purchased a light kit, who in the end really may be just be growing tomatoes in the winter.

I'm sure the police are far more interested in the guy who had 8 1000w HPS lights delivered to his house, as well as all the hydro supplies and the "Cannabis Grow Bible" or whatever. ;)

LOL...sounds familiar! :stoned:(I said this in one of your posts!)
HTG supply is a big store that does alot of business. If word got out that they shared credit card info with the feds....down goes the ship. Remember, cops only go looking at purchase records if they already have you on target. Trying to gather a mass of evidence. They dont sit at computers checking ebay feedback to see who bought what. If they used the patriot act, which is alot different now with the 06' bill renewal, to gain illegal evidence, then a good lawyer would have a field day punching holes. Remember, everything purchased for growing, with the exception of seeds, is 100% legal. They are not looking to bust every single personal grow-op in the US. NOW, if you are harvesting...and subsequentially moving, poundage every week or month, then you may garner suspicion. Despite what you may have heard, most all busts happen from a "customer" who exchanges you for a lesser sentence, or from people showing their grow shows to the wrong people. Once the cops suspect you grow, then they get warrants to obtain credit card info, surveillance gets set up, and they get info until they have you dead nuts. I don't know about you, but if they were watching me already, I'm done, as I am not a high profile criminal with outside help. (sucks that I am even a criminal, since besides smoking pot(in lieu of being on lexipro and xanex all day, and topping it off with a 6 pack and ambien at night), I follow the rules. I rarely even speed! So keep your operation small, tell nobody who doesn't need to know. My buddy got caught growing before. He showed anyone who came over his house, and one person in conversation said to someone else..."yeah my buddy is growing! ", someone overheard, tells another, till the wrong person finds out. Like his baby's mother, who at the time was fighting him for child support. The bitch loved this, she brought a surprise inspection in..being still on the lease she had the right, found the growop. He gets nailed, plus loses hard to her in court, and had to go to all sorts of classes (at his expense) to even see his kid! Moral of the story is even tho your smoking buddy is down with the T.H.C., doesn't mean he needs to know about the origin of your supply! That will get you busted before any credit card records do! LOL I bought 12 cfl bulbs and fixtures, a 100 watt flourex flood light, ducting, duct fans, foil tape, rubbermaid bins, foamboard, etc on my H. depot card, but That list is the same as if I am finishing a room in my basement, venting the bathroom, and changing out my bulbs. Yeah, if someone suspected growing then they might think this is suspicious, but don't walk around the store smelling like reefer in a Bob Marley t-shirt asking questions about lumens per watt and "is this fan big enough to vent a small closet?" LOL I saw this happen in a lowes a few months back..... Plus, now adays I checkout at the self check stands. You could have all this stuff in your cart and unless the people know how to grow, would have no clue. I never thought you could grow pot with cfls! In all, the cops will use purchase records if they have nothing else and reall want to take you down, but first they have to even know who you are! By the time they do, your done anyways so don't sweat it. As far as computer programs, if they red flagged all small grow related purchases, then they would have ALOT of info to sift thru. That red flag is set much higher. They want the factories, not the closet grows. Those busts are usually circumstantial, and are accidently stumbled upon, not serched for. That would be like staking out anyone who bought a gun or bullets, just to see if they are criminals. Not likely. But if they thought you might have shot someone, then they'll check to see if you bought any guns. But not until they think you shot someone. LOL the first rule of security when growing, in my opinion, is to go outside to your car and take all the 4:20, Bob Marley, etc stickers off! A buddy wonders why he gets searched every time he runs a red light or speeds, and doesn't think it has much to do with the 10 inch weed leaf sticker on his back window, or his countless pot-related t-shirts he wears everywhere! When people find out that I not only smoke, but every day, they are astonished. I don't look the part. Also, don't drive around baking up your car with an ounce on you. Eventually you will have your house searched. Lastly, the failed war on drugs will shift gears with a democrat in charge. The failed drug policies that targeted Medical growers and stoners..while meth labs are running rampant everywhere else, are hold-overs from the regan/bush days, and remember that Clinton had GOP controlled Congress for the most part. Soon that war will change. Less gov't $$ will go to busting stoners, and on to fixing real problems. When will conservatives learn that trying to force everyone to become good little god-fearing Christians will NEVER work! (nothing wrong with christianity, just trying to force it on everybody!) wow do I ramble when I'm stoned!! Sorry for the long post! :thumbsup:

[maxsuperdanks]

Very informative posts, thank you all.

[Roughrider]

Ok, so here's my plan for lighting thus far.


I'll be using one 70w HPS security light (comes fully enclosed)
One 70w MH security light
and One or Two 200w CFLs.


The HPS will be on for flowering, the MH for veg.

Would this be acceptable?


The problem with small HPS/MH lights is that they really aren't any more efficient than CFLs. A 70w HPS light usually puts out around 5000 to 5500 lumens of light...between 70 and 80 lumens per watt. A 23w CFL from Wal-Mart puts out 1600 lumens...about 70 lumens per watt. I'd try to get at least a 150 HPS.
If you use the 70w HPS, you're still about 15000 lumens short--another reason to go to a 150w HPS. A 150w HPs will put out around 14000 lumens...that's a good 25% more efficient than the 70w HPS or the CFLs.

No matter what...you've got 4 square feet of floor area. Try and get at least 20,000 lumens in there. The way you described, it, you'd have a 70w MH or HPS on with two 200w CFLs. If you mean actual 200w CFLs, like these

Compact Fluorescent - 200 Watt - Full Spectrum 5000K - Energy Miser FE-IIIB-200W Light Bulb (http://www.1000bulbs.com/150-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorscent/33999/)

then you don't need any more lights other than two of those. They're 10,000 lumens each. But if you mean something more like this

Compact Fluorescent - 42 Watt - Full Spectrum 6500K - TCP 28942-65 Light Bulb (http://www.1000bulbs.com/42-Watt-Compact-Fluorescents/1086/)

then you've got 2800 lumens per bulb...you'd need five or so of them with your 70w HPS or MH to do the job right.

If I were you, I'd go with a 150w HPS/MH light. Then, try putting some T5 tubes along the sides and back. Two against the back wall, one on each side. 14w T5 lights put out about 1350 lumens each. You'd get good under canopy light too. Or, you can just hang a couple of sockets with Y-adaptors with 23w CFLs to go with the 150w. Just my .02.

[maxsuperdanks]

The problem with small HPS/MH lights is that they really aren't any more efficient than CFLs. A 70w HPS light usually puts out around 5000 to 5500 lumens of light...between 70 and 80 lumens per watt. A 23w CFL from Wal-Mart puts out 1600 lumens...about 70 lumens per watt. I'd try to get at least a 150 HPS.
If you use the 70w HPS, you're still about 15000 lumens short--another reason to go to a 150w HPS. A 150w HPs will put out around 14000 lumens...that's a good 25% more efficient than the 70w HPS or the CFLs.

No matter what...you've got 4 square feet of floor area. Try and get at least 20,000 lumens in there. The way you described, it, you'd have a 70w MH or HPS on with two 200w CFLs. If you mean actual 200w CFLs, like these

Compact Fluorescent - 200 Watt - Full Spectrum 5000K - Energy Miser FE-IIIB-200W Light Bulb (http://www.1000bulbs.com/150-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorscent/33999/)

then you don't need any more lights other than two of those. They're 10,000 lumens each. But if you mean something more like this

Compact Fluorescent - 42 Watt - Full Spectrum 6500K - TCP 28942-65 Light Bulb (http://www.1000bulbs.com/42-Watt-Compact-Fluorescents/1086/)

then you've got 2800 lumens per bulb...you'd need five or so of them with your 70w HPS or MH to do the job right.

If I were you, I'd go with a 150w HPS/MH light. Then, try putting some T5 tubes along the sides and back. Two against the back wall, one on each side. 14w T5 lights put out about 1350 lumens each. You'd get good under canopy light too. Or, you can just hang a couple of sockets with Y-adaptors with 23w CFLs to go with the 150w. Just my .02.

Now that the ordering woes are over, I'm going to probably swing a 250 watt HPS (maybe 2 150 watt ones). I'll think about using the T5's on the sides also.

You think this would be ample light?

[maxsuperdanks]

Would a 400 watt HPS be overkill???

[Roughrider]

A 400w wouldn't be overkill if you've got more than 6 sq. ft. of surface area. In a 2' x 2' area...maybe. You're going to need to be more careful with the light height and ventilation. It's technically true that you can never have too much light...but if your light is too close and your temp goes up, that's bad. Technically, warm air holds more humidity...but with a lamp, extra degrees can dry up your plants, which is hard on seedlings and young plants. If you know you can ventilate adequately and do a good job cooling, you're better off with a bigger light. But I can personally couch for using a 250w in an area of around 2' x 2', or even a little bigger. It will do a great job.

A lot simply depends on how much grow area you've got. If you've got about a 30" x 30" area or less, a 250w will do a good job and (probably) be less of a hassle. I know that some people will disagree...but they're experienced in grows in their areas and know how to deal with extra heat and stress from more light. And, just my opinion here, but...a 30" x 30" area will give you 4 very nice sized plants and a very nice yield. If it's your first grow, or even the first grow in a new area, you might be better off starting a little smaller and working your way through the problems that inevitably crop up. It's not like you'll ever have a problem selling a 250w grow light for 80% of what you paid! :thumbsup:

[maxsuperdanks]

A 400w wouldn't be overkill if you've got more than 6 sq. ft. of surface area. In a 2' x 2' area...maybe. You're going to need to be more careful with the light height and ventilation. It's technically true that you can never have too much light...but if your light is too close and your temp goes up, that's bad. Technically, warm air holds more humidity...but with a lamp, extra degrees can dry up your plants, which is hard on seedlings and young plants. If you know you can ventilate adequately and do a good job cooling, you're better off with a bigger light. But I can personally couch for using a 250w in an area of around 2' x 2', or even a little bigger. It will do a great job.

A lot simply depends on how much grow area you've got. If you've got about a 30" x 30" area or less, a 250w will do a good job and (probably) be less of a hassle. I know that some people will disagree...but they're experienced in grows in their areas and know how to deal with extra heat and stress from more light. And, just my opinion here, but...a 30" x 30" area will give you 4 very nice sized plants and a very nice yield. If it's your first grow, or even the first grow in a new area, you might be better off starting a little smaller and working your way through the problems that inevitably crop up. It's not like you'll ever have a problem selling a 250w grow light for 80% of what you paid! :thumbsup:

I'm thinking of enclosing my light in plexiglass or lexan or something, using ducting to create an in and out for 2 fans to cool the light itself. Then in the box, have a fan at the bottom sucking air in, and a fan at the top, blowing air out, this should keep the hot air from reaching the plants even more so.

[maxsuperdanks]

I'm thinking of enclosing my light in plexiglass or lexan or something, using ducting to create an in and out for 2 fans to cool the light itself. Then in the box, have a fan at the bottom sucking air in, and a fan at the top, blowing air out, this should keep the hot air from reaching the plants even more so.


My only worry is the wiring situation, as I have no idea what I'll need to set up an HPS ballast and light, along with CFL's (should be easy for those, they have built in ballasts)