Please help me with Grow Cabinet Ideas!

[SOADRULES420]

Hey guys. How are you doing? Cannabis.com kicks so much ass!:rasta: I have learned so much here. I've been reading these forums for a while now, but i just recently signed up. I have never posted a thread before, so hopefully it goes well.:D

Sorry about the long intro....... I will get to the point now.

Well, I need help figuring out a grow setup. I want it to be a cabinet. I will purchase the cabinet after you guys help me. I want to have a mother plant area, veg/clone area, and flowering area. Should i get multiple cabinets, or is it possible to somehow split up the cabinet into 3 seperate areas? Also, Once i figure out the size of the cabinet to buy, i need to know what lights to buy. I would like to get fluorescents for the mother plant and the clone areas, but i will purchase a high pressure sodium for flowering becuase it will pay off in the long run according to what i have read. Once i figure out what size cab to get, i will need to know what size HPS and How many fluorescents per area. Also, I will need help with ventilation and fans.

I am sorry for the long post guys. I am pretty much starting from nothing with this grow cab. I just want to do it right, so i turned to you guys for help. :)
I hope it wasnt too long.

Thanks so much guys!!!!! I am really looking forward to reading your replies!:dance:

[SOADRULES420]

Sorry for posting directly after my other post..........:confused:

I forgot to say odor control! I need help with that also.

Thanks guys.

[klup]

for odor control, use those 23w cfls, thyre like $11 each and i heard they work well. you could use them as complimentary light in your flowering room.

[TheGreenFog]

I have yet to see anyone who has posted that they actually use "odor-neutralizing" CFLs without any other odor control and they actually work. If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong but its only cuz I haven't seen it. I wouldnt count on it.

Hey SOADRULES, I guess it depends on how many plants you plan to flower at one time. I mean, technically you could chop a computer armoir approximately in half. Divide one half into 1/4 to 3/4 division with your 1/4 being your cloning area with a couple tube lights in it right up on the clones. The other 3/4 would be a place to keep your mother plant(s).

Then of course the other half would be your flowering area. You could grow 2 plants max in there if you pulled off a SCRoG. Do a search on justaseed's "lovely ladies" thread and you will see some nice compact SCRoGing. I think he uses a 150 or a 250wHPS in there. I'd invest in a good squirrel cage fan for exhaust and hook up a carbon filter <---research that. Then I'd use a passive intake system.

I would read up on Bonsai Moms and make your best effort to create them for your mother plants. You will also be training your clones as they grow into the flowering area. You could clone a couple. Root them in the cloning area, veg them til they are pushing at the lights, then move them into the flowering area. Once there, keep the HPS on 18/6 while you veg them a couple more weeks. Train them, then SCRoG them. If you make your cloning area a little bigger, you can veg them more in there and have them closer to being ready to flower when you move them down there. Then when you are ready, 12/12 baby.

I'm sure I left a lot out, but I'll check back in and answer any questions you still have with whatever little knowledge I have, which isn't 100% reliable all the time. I'm just repeating back to you what I've read here and "experienced"...hypothetically. And that is just the way I would do it.

Well, chew on that. I'm going to smoke a bowl.

Be cool.

TGF

[SOADRULES420]

Hey GreenFrog, Thanks so much for typing all of that info. I appreciate it bro.:thumbsup:
But, I have a few questions.

1. How much yield can i expect to get from 2 flowering plants with scrog?
Scrog seems like it might be kinda tricky because of all the training and what not, but it does look interesting.

Keep in mind, This is only for personal use so i am not expecting to get pounds or anything like that. I do not have any intent on dealing.

2.Can i expect a few ounces or something like that?

3.Would it be better to have 2 cabinets? Possibly Cab 1 (split into a mother room and a clone room) and cab 2 (all flowering)? What size would the cabs have to be if i had 2?
Does that sound more convenient? Becuase i dont want to be cramped for space. And would i still use the scrog technique if i had 2 cabs?


Which one of the 2 options would you guys go for? 1 cab or 2 cabs?

BTW.......ENJOY THAT BOWL DUDE:rasta:

[TheGreenFog]

Ok, SOADRULES...

#1. Do I really have to type in my Signature that I am not a friggin' amphibian for people to stop calling me a FROG? I took quite a while to type all that out and I got your weird name spelled right. Please read. Thanks.

#2. I don't know how much yeild you will get, but if you do it right, yes you should get a couple of ounces easy.

#3. Two cabs is always better than one, if you are going for a perpetual cycle, like it sounds. Hey, if you have the room and the dough to make it happen, I'd say absolutely. Take a look at my thread and maybe get some ideas from that. Scale it down of course, but I have those 3 areas in my hypothetical grow. :D

#4. Size of cab(s)? Depends. Just look around. Scrogging can be done in a relatively small space...but then again, you might want some room to work with.

Hope this helps. :)

TGF

That was not a personal attack at you (#1). I'm just tired of people getting my name wrong. I don't know if its just me...or are all of you just not reading it right. Does it really say FROG? (sigh)

P.S. Going to smoke another bowl...hehe :rasta::rasta:

[SOADRULES420]

Sorry about getting your name mixed up. :o My bad....

Well, I will probably end up getting 2 cabs. But i still dont know what size.
I will take a look at your thread and probably find some interesting stuff.
Thanks alot for the help GreenFOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
Later.

If anybody else has any answers to the other questions or regarding size of the cabs, please feel free to post. I really need the help.

[SOADRULES420]

WOts the mother plant section for? Don't you only need two, one for seedlings and vegatative growth on 18/6 & one for flowering on 12/12?

When you have a mother plant you don't have to start from seeds everytime. Instead of starting from seeds, you can just take some clones from the mother and put them in veg until they are big enough and then flower them. It's much easier than seed. and you can harvest year around.

Later dude.

[TheGreenFog]

Hey, SOADRULES420, no problem about the name. Like I said, I just making a point. :)

ANYWAY, glad you are able to do two cabs. Like I said, it will give you much more room to work with. For that matter, you can use one for mothers and clones and the other for TWO flower cabs! :D

Are you in US? If so, here's a $100 idea:

[SOADRULES420]

Hey, SOADRULES420, no problem about the name. Like I said, I just making a point. :)

ANYWAY, glad you are able to do two cabs. Like I said, it will give you much more room to work with. For that matter, you can use one for mothers and clones and the other for TWO flower cabs! :D

Are you in US? If so, here's a $100 idea:

Yea dude, I am in the U.S.

That cab looks pretty cool. What size Hps could i fit in the flowering cab if i used that cabinet without the plants getting to tall or it getting too hot? Also, I know it depends on alot of things but, How much yield could i expect from a cabinet that size if done properly?

And where could i buy that? I will probably wait a little while just to get some more ideas, but i will definantly keep that cab in mind.

Thanks again!:thumbsup:

[TheGreenFog]

Well, I would think that you could easily do a 150 or even a 250wHPS in there to flower. I'd shoot for an air-cooled hood or a cool-tube type system with a nice squirrel fan hooked up to a carbon filter, purchased or home-made. If you vent it right, you can put some strong light power up in that sucker.

If you had TWO of these, with one being a clone/veg/mother cab using CFLs and a couple cheap, small fans, you should have no problems with the heat in that. It's the bloom cab you have to really focus on. If you used one cab solely for bloom and to its full potential, I would see you harvesting 100+ grams dry. Maybe more. :thumbsup:

I'm sure you can get cabs like this at many places, even used at a thrift store. This one is from here (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2618720). Its very nice and if you hook it up nicely, you can have people walk right past it and not know a thing! Stealth-stylie, MAN! If I didnt have a closet to work with, this is most definitely the way I'd go.

Be cool, man...like an aircooled shade.

:rasta::D:rasta::D:rasta::D:rasta:

TGF

[orange_cloud]

I would say by SCROG'ing u could fit like 6 plants in one shelf and do flowering. and then use another shelf for plants in veg.stage or mother plants.
when I do SCROG, each plant gets a wire net above em'. 10'x10' inches. u could do like 9 inches x 9.
cuz Dimensions of this cabinet are: 31L x 19W x 51H

[SOADRULES420]

Well, I would think that you could easily do a 150 or even a 250wHPS in there to flower. I'd shoot for an air-cooled hood or a cool-tube type system with a nice squirrel fan hooked up to a carbon filter, purchased or home-made. If you vent it right, you can put some strong light power up in that sucker.

If you had TWO of these, with one being a clone/veg/mother cab using CFLs and a couple cheap, small fans, you should have no problems with the heat in that. It's the bloom cab you have to really focus on. If you used one cab solely for bloom and to its full potential, I would see you harvesting 100+ grams dry. Maybe more. :thumbsup:

I'm sure you can get cabs like this at many places, even used at a thrift store. This one is from here (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2618720). Its very nice and if you hook it up nicely, you can have people walk right past it and not know a thing! Stealth-stylie, MAN! If I didnt have a closet to work with, this is most definitely the way I'd go.

Be cool, man...like an aircooled shade.

:rasta::D:rasta::D:rasta::D:rasta:

TGF

I am totally gonna get two of those cabs. Thanks for the link. I have two walmarts near my house.:dance: You have been an amazing help so far, and I appreciate it. Thanks everybody else also. Sadly I am not done asking questions.:D

So is a 250 watt Hps the max wattage Hps I can put in there without crazy heat or height issues? Becuase I want to get the highest wattage Hps that I can get for my space.

After i get the cabs and the lights i will probably have many questions regarding carbon filters, ventilation, and fans becuase i know that is extremely important in veg but especially in flower.

Thanks again guys!

[jamstigator]

Here's a pic of my flowering cabinet, which I got at Lowe's, for like $300. They have some almost the same exact size for about $100 too, which are plain white. They're about four feet wide, 20" deep, and around six feet tall. You can pull as much as a pound per crop out of this kind of setup. You can use a smaller light than I used, but I wouldn't go below a 250-watt HPS, and I wouldn't go above a 600-watt HPS. I settled on the middle size, 400 watts, personally, which has been working well.

Your mother/veg cab doesn't need to be as big as your flower cabinet. I like that one Fog posted there actually, as it's a bit bigger than what I use for veg. (I got some $40 el cheapo cabinets from WalMart for mothers/clones.)

The carbon filter I'm using (which you can't see in the pics, because it's on top of the cabinet hidden behind books and stuff) is this one, and it's been working great:

http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AOCDBDFS03&eq=&Tp=

It's rated for less CFM than my fan, but I have my fan dialed way down, because I purposely got a bigger fan than I really needed, just so I *could* dial it down. To dial it down, I use that Dial-A-Temp doodad in the third pic. I don't remember where I got that, unfortunately - some specialty shop on the net, don't recall the name though.

[TheGreenFog]

No sweat, SOAD. :rasta:

Hey, well, I'm glad Jam put up his famous cab pics. I thought about that after I posted and planned to post a link to his thread but fell asleep. I thought you could put a 400w in there but wasnt sure. Definitely if you invest in a GOOD fan, you should be able to maximize your wattage while keeping heat under control. Can't wait to see your cab(s)!

TGF

[orange_cloud]

Here's a pic of my flowering cabinet, which I got at Lowe's, for like $300. They have some almost the same exact size for about $100 too, which are plain white. They're about four feet wide, 20" deep, and around six
<.......>
The carbon filter I'm using (which you can't see in the pics, because it's on top of the cabinet hidden behind books and stuff) is this one, and it's been working great:
[url]http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AOCDB
It's rated for less CFM than my fan, but I ha
<...>
A-Temp doodad in the third pic. I don't remember where I got that, unfortunately - some specialty shop on the net, don't recall the name though.
I've seen this pics of your cabinet several times.. and everytime I see it, it looks good. It just makes me wonder thou: whats is the purpose of that self cosntructed SCROG screen?
I guess there's no any...

[jamstigator]

Heh, that's a terrible example of ScroG, but it's my best cabinet pic. Had to leave town for a bit, didn't want to flower while I was out of town (didn't want the woman messing with anything, basically, as she has the opposite of a green thumb, plants die from her touch), soooo....had to veg for like a month longer than I wanted to, and then, when I put the babes into 12/12...boom, bushes from hell, blew past my screen! Lol!

Guess I better get a new pic this current grow. But it's kinda boring-looking right now, still vegging, screen barely filled, so meh, I'll wait 'til it looks more interesting. ;)

Either way, the basic concepts still apply, obviously. And I wasn't disappointed by the yield of the crop in the pics either; came out about the same as my average ScroG yield, which surprised me (around 16 ounces). I had a whole lot less air circulation with those bushes though, and had to fight them and tie them down the whole way.

[oturbojoeo4o]

im not anyhelp i just like post #6 :)

TOADRULES420
and
TheGreenFrog

im high, sar-E

[SOADRULES420]

im not anyhelp i just like post #6 :)

TOADRULES420
and
TheGreenFrog

im high, sar-E

HAHA DUDE!!:p :clap:thats awesome.:clap: Pretty cool:thumbsup:

Hey guys, All this help is awesome. thanks so much. I think i have a pretty decent idea of what i'm gonna do now.
I think i will do it like this.

1. Get the cabinet that GreenFog mentioned for Veg (split it into a Mother and Clone chamber)

2. Get the cabinet that jamstigator Mentioned for Flowering. (the 100 $ version)

3. Use the scrog method.

4. Get a 400 watt Hps.

I dont know the what the rest of the setup will be, so i will make another post in a bit with all the rest of my questions (air intake and exhaust, Fans, cooltube for the HPS, odor control, veg lights which will be fluorescent )

Thanks guys, and sorry I'm not done yet.:o

[jamstigator]

Here's a suggestion, which I didn't do, but wish I had: use insulated ducting, to dampen the sound of the fan. Even dialed down, mine is anything but silent. It's white noise and I'm used to it, not hard at all for me to tune out, but I should've used insulated ducting. Someday I'll get off my lazy ass and fix that!

I saw that cabinet that GreenFog posted a pic of a day or two ago. Really does look perfect for mothers/clones. Unfortunately for me, it's too tall for my sloped ceiling. Grr! Also, it's got cardboard backing, as do all of those cabinets I think, including the ones I mentioned. So when you get them, you will also want to stop by the lumber department at Lowe's or Home Depot and have them cut you some real backing for the cabs out of MDF or whatever. Figured I'd mention that now, and hopefully save you a trip back and forth when you discover cardboard backing sucks. ;)

And nobody's rushin' you, dude! It's best to take your time and figure stuff out first, saves you a lot of unnecessary hassle. Hell, I probably spent most of a YEAR planning and figuring stuff out before I spent a dime.

[SOADRULES420]

Thanks! I heard it was easier to grow from clones so I see your point:)

Your welcome dude!:thumbsup:

and you are totally right Jamstigator, Nobody is rushing me. It probably seems like i am in a hurry. Its because i am so excited!:rasta: Its gonna be great. having some sweet smelling plants. Its gonne be great! But your setup looks very nice, the time that you spent thinking about it really paid off becuase it looks great!

anyway, here are the rest of my questions. Sorry about having so many.

1. Should i use Squirell cages for intake and excaust? If so, How many per chamber and what size?

2.Do i just attach a carbon filter to the excaust on my flowering room?

3.How many fans will i need for each room and what size?

4.How many Cfls will i need for the veg room? I already have 4 new Daylight compact flourescents but i know i will need more.

5.Do you buy the cooltube seperate from the Hps or does it come with it?

I think those are all my questions. Thanks again guys.

[jamstigator]

Get a good-sized fan, centrifugal if you can, for exhaust for your flower box, and use a darkroom louvre (bhphotovideo.com sells 8"x8" Doran darkroom louvres, lightproof, you might need two, I did) for passive intake. If you can't afford a centrifugal fan, then squirrels are the next best thing. For the veg boxes, they don't really need to be lightproof, and since you'll only have CFLs in them, you won't need much of a fan for those. bghydro.com sells some AC-powered axial fans that work pretty good.

Attach the carbon filter outside your cabinet, to the exhaust from the cabinet. Put it on top or behind your cabinet. If it looks suspicious, just throw some stuff around it to disguise it. Mine on top of my cabinet isn't visible at all, unless someone seven feet tall comes by.

Four CFLs for veg/clones and four for mothers is probably fine, actually. WalMart sells the 26w ones pretty cheap, like 3 for $8. If four doesn't seem like enough, you can always add more of those easily later.

You can build your own cooltube; use the search function and you'll probably be able to find some threads showing how to do it. However, a real cooltube has an internal reflector (reflector inside the tube itself), which is better, as the light only has to pass through the glass of the cooltube one time that way. If you use an external reflector, the light can pass through the glass as many as three times, which degrades how much light reaches your plants. If you get your light from bghydro.com, you can get it with a real cooltube as part of the package. Get a digital ballast - they're lighter, cooler, silent, just plain better than the old ones.

If money's a prob (and isn't it always?), well, you can skimp here and there, but I wouldn't skimp on the light or the fan for the flower box, as they're really the core of the whole thing.

And no, I don't work for bghydro.com. They've just been good and reliable for me, so that's who I'm most familiar with. ;)

[SOADRULES420]

WOW DUDES!:stoned:

Thanks for all the Info.

Ok. I am gonna take this step by step now that I have most of the info. My first step is to buy the Mother And clone/Veg Cabinet First. Which is the one that GreenFog posted. I will need to split it into 2 spaces One space for a mother plant or 2. and the other will be clones and then i will veg them there also. How do you suggest i split up the cab? It is 51 Inches tall. Should i go half and half up and down? So i have 25 on top for the clones and veg and 25 on the bottom for the mommas? I will be buying it really soon.:dance: I will probably put 4 daylight compact flouros in each area. Unless i need more, Please tell me if so. Also, how much ventilation does a veg cab need? Do i need to buy a intake and exaust for each area? That would be 4 Squirrel cages! And do i need any oscillating fans in here?

I'm Excited!!!!!:D