Closet Idea...Any Suggestions?

[Good_Vibrations]

Alright everyone tell me what you think about this.

Using part of a walk-in closet, utilizing a space of 6'Hx3'Wx2'D. taking the bottom two feet of the cab and use it as a vegging/clone chamber, and the four other feet for flowering.

The vegging chamber would be lit by two 27 watt CFLs (100w rating), hung in the middle of the chamber using a V fixture. The flowering chamber will be illuminated by a 400 watt HPS using a mirrored batwing reflector. For cooling/venting purposes a small intake fan (suggestions on size) would be blowing at the HPS. This would also be providing the fresh air into the chamber. Then at the oposite end of the section there will be another fan used to exhaust the hot/old air through the ceiling into a carbon can filter, and then into the air. I would also appreciate any suggestions on the sixe of the fan for this purpose as well.

I would also be using light safe vents at the bottom of the flowering section for air intake. As for the vegging section there will be a total of four, two on top at either end, as well as on bottom.

This will be an organic grow in soil from seed. I would like to use some compost tea that I found was pre-mixed. I would love any ideas of a DIY organic soil mix. Using supplies obtained at a home improvement store, or nursery. There will be panda film lining the floor of each section, and the rest with mylar.

Any suggestions/advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Respect.
G_V

*Anything I post on this site is purely hypothetical, I do not grow anything illegal, nor do I condone any such actions.*

Good_Vibrations Reviewed by Good_Vibrations on 11-06-2006. Closet Idea...Any Suggestions? Alright everyone tell me what you think about this. Using part of a walk-in closet, utilizing a space of 6'Hx3'Wx2'D. taking the bottom two feet of the cab and use it as a vegging/clone chamber, and the four other feet for flowering. The vegging chamber would be lit by two 27 watt CFLs (100w rating), hung in the middle of the chamber using a V fixture. The flowering chamber will be illuminated by a 400 watt HPS using a mirrored batwing reflector. For cooling/venting purposes a small Rating: 5

[Good_Vibrations]

The veg chamber will also have two 2' flouro fixtures attached to each 3' wall. If I am correct each tube on the fixture is a total of 40 watts. As I will need a total of four, I will be running at 160 watts for the flouro fixtures. Adding each 27 watt CFL (100 watt) it will be at a total of 260 watts for the chamber. Leaving me a 43 watts per square foot (If my math is right).

Peace.
G_V

*Anything I post on this site is purely hypothetical, I do not grow anything illegal, nor do I condone any such actions.*

[Good_Vibrations]

Any comments on the thread? I hope everyone is still out there, lol.

Respect
G_V

*Anything I post on this site is purely hypothetical, I do not grow anythingg illegal, nor do I condone any such actions.*

[jamstigator]

Get a 6" centrifugal fan for your active exhaust and dial it down so that it's not blowing at full speed. That makes it a little quieter and if you need the extra fan power you'll have it right there. I'd also at least consider a cooltube or some other air-cooled hood for your HPS light, they really help control heat in enclosed areas. A nice alternative to a standard cooltube is this reflector:

http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/Itemdesc....LRECB6&eq=&Tp=

That also has a 6" diameter, and so would match a 6" fan without needing any reducers. Not cheap, but good reflectors last basically forever, so it's a good investment. I have both a real cooltube and that Cool Breeze and I like them both, but I'll give the nod to the Cool Breeze because it distributes light better. It is a little bigger than a standard cooltube, but you have room.

With a 6" fan for exhaust, you wouldn't really need any intake fans, just use passive intakes, and a small oscillating fan in each of the grow areas to keep the air well-circulated and to strengthen stems. You'll have plenty of light for veg; I don't even think you need as much as you're planning, but more is better.

All-in-all, sounds like you have a good plan to me. It's basically what I do too, except that I made separate small veg boxes so I wouldn't have to deal with lightleak probs between veg and flower chambers, or worry about a complex air circulation environment.

[doco]

Hey GV, if youre nice maybe Jam will post some pics of his cabinet? It's an excellent setup for a stealth grow.

[Good_Vibrations]

Jamstigator.

Righteous, that makes it a little bit easier. I read that the plants need at least 30-watts/sq ft. That's why I was thinking about using a two foot flouro on either wall with the CFLs hanging in the center.

Another one of my concerns is the power for all the lights and fans. Would using a eight input power strip plugged into a single wall outlet be alright. I am just worried about the whole circuit issue. That reflector is a good idea, so thank you for that.

I would be interested in takin a peak at your set-up as it sounds like we are on the same page. Plus seeing one that works helps with the creative process.

Respect.
G_V

*Anything I post on this site is purely hypothetical, I do not grow anything illegal, nor do I condone any such actions.*

[jamstigator]

Okay, here's a couple pics. Ignore the ScroG screen, I over-vegged, and there was no ScroG'ing those three bushes, got too big. No veg chambers in the cabinet, that just started to feel too complicated to me with ventilation and lightproofing, plus you need all the area you can get when flowering.

The passive intakes are two Doran 8"x8" darkroom louvres (can get them at bhphotovideo.com, probably other places too) at the bottom left, carbon filter's on top hidden behind books and stuff. The second darkroom louvre is mounted in the back wall, bottom left, basically adjacent to the other one on the left side of the cabinet. Cabinet is stealthy enough that I've had people in the same room, didn't notice a thing, although I did turn the fan off for that, as it's hard to disguise the sound of centrifugal fans.

Here's a link to the darkroom louvres. I had to use two to provide enough intake air:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

[Good_Vibrations]

Jamstigator.

Cool man. That is a nice set-up, how much was just the cabinet itself? Do you think a veg chamber on the bottom half is cool? I would then been using a scrog screen like you have, it will just be mounted to the walls of the cab. Plus I am going to use you advice for the 6" fan going into the filter. It is cheaper/less of a hassle for me to do it that way. Definetly getting those louvres.

I want to go all organic with the grows. I plan on using some organic soil and using some compost tea that I found ---->http://www.hhydro.com/cgi-bin/hhydro/XHH0662.htm. Or maybe the Earth Juice "Rainbow Mix" nutrients, but I am also thinking of using the different varieties of Bat Guano, with the addition of some kind of beneficial bacteria additive. Which of these would you suggest?.

I was going to germinate in small rockwool cubes, then plant the cube into a 3-gallon container. However I saw the organic Growcoir blocks. I don't know if those will work though. I also saw some things called Rapid Rooters. They are made from tree bark.

Any more advise on anything would be gnarly.

Respect.
G_V

*Anything I post on this site is purely hypothetical. I do not grow anything illegal, nor do I condone any such actions.*

[jamstigator]

Honestly, I'd use a separate veg box, much smaller of course. Trying to cram it all into one cabinet sounds good in theory and all, but the extra ventilation paths, the lightproofing probs, being scared every time you open the cabinet to work on the veg area during the flower area's night...yuck, just sounded like much extra hassle for little or no gain. Since I didn't actually go through with the all-in-one plan, maybe it's not all that bad. But I can say this: I have zero regrets keeping them separate.

The cabinet in the pic came from Lowe's. It's not really the cabinet I would have picked because of the price: it was like $280 or something, and they also had a white one of virtually the same size for about $100. But the woman liked the wood look, and it matches the decor, so we got that one. It is a nice cabinet, although I had to add a real (non-cardboard) back to it, but most of the storage cabinets/wardrobes on the market have cardboard backs.

Can't really help with nutes. I'm a keep-it-simple guy. I just use FoxFarm Ocean Forest (with some perlite and vermiculite and dolomite lime added) for soil, FoxFarm Grow Big during veg, and FoxFarm Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom during flowering. Only if the plants start showing a major deficiency (which is rare) do I go beyond that. I stop giving them nutes 2-3 weeks prior to harvest, so the taste is as clean as possible.

I germinate with those germination station deals with the humidity domes and the little spongy plugs. Those work most excellently! Not as cheap as paper towels I guess, but that Ocean Forest soil is 'hot' with nutes itself, so those germination stations give the plants time to get a decent root structure going, and the plugs buffer the soil a bit when they first go into it. That's probably why I don't have any probs using that potent of a soil even with young plants, whereas some people apparently do have probs with that soil being too rich for seedlings.

Here's a link to one of those germination stations (the exact one I use, although they're probably all very similar):

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

Then you can just buy refill packs of the plugs, and reuse the container, humidity dome and heating pad. I tried to be a cheapskate and use the paper towel method a few times too, but my germination rates went up so much with those germination stations that once I started using them, I never looked back.

[Good_Vibrations]

Jams.

Sorry its been a while. ok so back to what we were talking about. I am leaning iwth you on the seperate veg box idea. Will some of those plastic cabinets they ell at homedpot work? Or am I better off finding some wood ones?

I had originally wanted to get a germination station, but I thought that might be overkill. Now I don't feel like I'm over doing myself if I get one.

Nutes is something that I will work on. I will eventually get my own system planned out. The only reason I am hesitant on the seperate veg cab idea is because that is another cabinet in my closet, which will probably raise suspicion. I think talking out of one will be easier, if you know what I mean, lol.

I am mainly concerned right now about how to power everything for the cabs. Would I just utilize one wall jack and plug in two 8-input power strips with a built-in timer, or is it going to need to be more work than that? I also have to find some kind of V-fixture that I can use to hag the CFLs from the ceiling, then mounting the flouros on the walls.

If you could keep shootin out advice I'd appreciate it.

Respect.
G_V

*Anything I post on this site is purely hypothetical, I do not grow anything illegal, nor do I condone any such actions.*