Grow Box For Single Plant?? Need Advice!!

[KaliGreen]

Hey guys I am a first time grower and I was wondering if anyone out there could help me out with this. I want to build a grow box for a single plant. I'll make it out of 3/4" plywood and about 3' wide by 3' deep by 6' high. I want my plant to grow to height of about 5' so I can get more buds than if I built it shorter, just wondering if it would be worth it to build it that high or not. As for lights, I was just going to put several cfl's around the inside of the box. Maybe 6 at the ceiling and 2 or 3 on each wall, so that would total somewhere around 14. If I have this many lights, cfl's or not, will I need some sort of fan with the ventillation, i.e. computer fan or whatever? And as far as the inside goes, should I paint it white or use the foil tape for the best light reflection? Any help at all would be GREATLY appreciated, thanks guys!

KaliGreen Reviewed by KaliGreen on 02-13-2008. Grow Box For Single Plant?? Need Advice!! Hey guys I am a first time grower and I was wondering if anyone out there could help me out with this. I want to build a grow box for a single plant. I'll make it out of 3/4" plywood and about 3' wide by 3' deep by 6' high. I want my plant to grow to height of about 5' so I can get more buds than if I built it shorter, just wondering if it would be worth it to build it that high or not. As for lights, I was just going to put several cfl's around the inside of the box. Maybe 6 at the ceiling and Rating: 5

[keeko]

if you are going on those 'set' diminsions, you should not go for CFLs. a 400hps would fit in there nicely (given correct ventilation)......if your going for a CFL grow you dont need to make your box as high as 6 feet.....florescent lights do not penetrate that well so you would need to LST and tie down your plants in order for you to use all the available light that comes off of CFLs..

..............if your still set on using CFLs you should look into a Scrog grow, to maximize your light.:twocents:

[KaliGreen]

So If I were to use those same dimensions with the 400hps, lemme know if this ventilation set-up would work. A four inch active out take with a little computer fan or whatever towards the top and a two inch passive intake at the bottom. Of course I would use PVC elbows and what not to make the light traps by vent holes, but I was just curious if that would work, and also how often would the vent fan need to be on??
If I was to stick with the CFL's, what about a box that's 2' wide by 2' deep by 4' high? Do those sound like reasonable dimensions? And could I only grow one plant in a box that size or more?? Please lemme know because I've already germinated my seeds and I don't want to put off the build too much longer...thanks!

[daihashi]

So If I were to use those same dimensions with the 400hps, lemme know if this ventilation set-up would work. A four inch active out take with a little computer fan or whatever towards the top and a two inch passive intake at the bottom. Of course I would use PVC elbows and what not to make the light traps by vent holes, but I was just curious if that would work, and also how often would the vent fan need to be on??
If I was to stick with the CFL's, what about a box that's 2' wide by 2' deep by 4' high? Do those sound like reasonable dimensions? And could I only grow one plant in a box that size or more?? Please lemme know because I've already germinated my seeds and I don't want to put off the build too much longer...thanks!

I vegged a grow like this and am now flowering. I used a simple cardboard box and my plant is a beast. I also used CFL's.

take a look http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...-what-sex.html

[upnsmk]

Well im not very experanced in growing... ive been at it for a little over a year now and i have only used CFL's and recently switched to T5's... but as for a 400watt with one 4in computer fan... is that the normal one? cause a regular one is only alittle over 3in and move about 80cfm that from what i have read would not be able to keep it cool enough in there... If im wrong please feel free to correct me.. im just tryin to help alittle...

[KaliGreen]

I agree upnsmk, I think if I have a hps with that many watts then I think I'm gonna need a much more intricate ventilation system. I was even thinkin about possible getting a 600watt combo mh / hps ballast. The ballast itself has a little cooling system built into, but I know the light is what i need to be worrying about. I really appreciate the input upnsmk because I have been havin trouble gettin people to respond to my threads. I am a beginner and I am gonna spend quite a bit of money on this box setup, and I want to get it as close to right the first time as i can, cause this is the only box I will be able to build for quite a while and I want it to last through several grows. Any ventilation advice is welcome, thanks everyone!

[Roughrider]

3 feet by 3 feet? Man, that's a monster indoor plant. You should be able get 6-8 plants in an area that size. Seriously.

Don't go with CFLs if your area is over 4 square feet or so. They aren't practical or economical in larger areas. but they're terrific for smaller areas and supplemental lighting.

Question...why don't you try to build/get something that kind of splits the difference, and get a 250w HPS? If you had a 2' x 2' area--or, better, if you get a 30" x 30" area--you could flower four plants. In my experience, a decent indoor plant that three to three and a half feet tall takes up between 1 and 1.5 square feet of space. Four plants of that size should provide you with plenty of return.

If I were you--a beginner--I'd definitely think of starting a bit smaller. And, really a 250w HPS/MH lamp isn't small! You'll spend a little less money and learn about ventilation and cooling issues...and have fewer problems with them as well. The experience you get on your grows when you make mistakes--and you will make mistakes, like everyone else--won't be as magnified. (And don't worry; they're weeds. They'll be okay.) And, like I said, you can get plenty of smoke from four plants in a 5 or 6 square foot area with a 250w HPS.

[KaliGreen]

It's great to get the advice man, thank you so much! I will downscale it a little bit.

[Sjapp]

i wouldnt go over 250 watts on cfl's for fire safety reasons. the cfl's you would use will probably be 23 watts each so i wouldn't go over 10 bulbs

[KaliGreen]

Ok, I got carried away. I build the cabinet today, just the box out of plywood, no doors or anything, and I built it 4x3x7. My damn brother in law was helping me and it was a mistake because he convinced me to make it so damn big. Either way, this is what I am stuck with now, so what do you think? 400 or 600 watt hps?