Growbox and Fert question.

So, after more money then I thought I would spin and 1 weekend later its finished.

After deciding to not build my own and driving all over the place looking at premade closets I bought this one from HomeDepot. It was $110 and measured 71"Hx48"Wx20"D. I also picked this 4" duct fan (I had already built this Filter), this temp control box, a 4" vent cover designed for dryer vents similar to this one, one 2x4 (over 8' long), 4 bolts, washers and nuts, some "window & door" caulking sealant, mylar sheeting at the local grow shop and some other misc stuff.

I made this over 3 days buying a little at a time. I wouldn't do it in the same order though again. I'll describe what I did in the order I should have done it.

Make your cabinet with the hardware provided. Mine came with mounts and shelves for other sections but I obviously didn't put those inside. Wanted to maximize space.

Drill all your holes now. One for a power cord on the bottom. One for the filter up top (a 4" hole in my case.) Four for the 4 bolts on my list to bolt 2 2x4x46" sections on the top for suspension of my light system. I only did this because I wasen't to confident in hanging my lights from the cheap wood that the cabinet is made out of. I drilled 4 holes and mounted 2 pieces of wood with 4 3/8in bolts. Then I screwed my hooks into that. Do what you will for your system. I plan to go to a HPS for budding so the system I build will be easily convertable.

At this point I sealed off the inside seams with window and door caulking. I don't think this is totally needed but I said what the hey. My doors aren't sealed and I have a bolt keeping the bottom open a bit as to allow air in from the bottom. If you plan on sealing your doors completly make sure to drill a hole for air intake before sealing corners.

I modified the carbon filter instructions and just inserted a duct fan between the vent cover (which I mounted on the ouside over the hole,) and the wiremesh/carbonfilter section. I hung the filter with just some wire and some screws into the 2x4's. I wired the fan to a 3 prong power cord I had from my old portable dvd player that doesn't work anymore. Just match up the colors guys. Then that pluged into the heat activated box that plugs into the powerstrip. The thermostat box I got is adjustable but doesnt tell you to what temp. It just has a colored dial with blue for cold and red for hot. Over the last 2 days I have been able to get it to come on at about 85F and it shuts off around about 82F.

I used some old charger for something I had laying around to run both the fans. The fans are rated at 12v and so was the charger. The fans draw .4amps and the charger is rated at 1amp. Good enough to run both. The 2 computer fans are enough to keep a steady breeze blowing over all 7 of my plants and shake their leaves a bit.

Now hang your mylar. Use a staple gun and use little pieces of duct tape where you staple to reinforce your mylar or it will tear easy.

Hang your lights, then insert plants. Right now I have 3 55w Full Spectrum CFLs and 2 18W Daylight CFLs.

I suspended my lights from some wire shelving I also picked up from home depot earlier. I just cut it to fit the closet. This way I can also set my 2 computer fans on the shelf facing down and set my powerstrips and wires on the shelf also. It all goes up and down with the plants. Seemed like a good idea to me. Need to pick up some zip ties and organize the wires still.

Still need to mount the temp control box. Need some advice as to what height? Seems like I'd want it to go up with the plants.

I also just got my "Jack's Classic All Purpose", and my "Jack's Classic Blossom Booster." Can anybody that has experience with these two products fill me in on the feeding schedule with this stuff? I'm using "Roots Organic" soil. The guy at the grow shop said It was the best organic he had. It has a ph of 7 and comes with no nuts in it.

Hope this gives some other people some ideas. Maybe somebody has some advice for me. Always looking to improve.

Closet from the ouside. I had to remove my hanger bar, closet shelf and remove the closet doors for this to fit in the closet. Put the doors back on after it was inside.


Duct vent fan.


Inside overview


Shelf with Lights, Powerstrips and Fans.

hey what kind of soil are u growing in.

Looks Good. I like your idea with the shelf so everything can be raised and lowered, good one

I am using "Roots Organic" The dude at the grow shop said it was the best organic soil he had. Its a local mix, but the description is as follows...

Made with only the best ingredients on the planet. 100% organic soil that contains peat moss, coco fiber, perlite and pumice. It is amended with Bat Guano, Sea Bird Guano, wonder worm castings, fish bone, Oregon-ism mycorrhizae, kelp meal, green sand, soy bean meal, leonardite, K-Mag, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal and oyster shell.

Since it already had perlite in it I mixed the bottom 1/4 of the pot 50/50 with perlite. The other 3/4 is Roots. I did this because I was unsure about the amount of perlite in the Roots but wanted to insure good drainage.

They were transplanted 2 days ago and despite their tramatic ordeal of pixie cups and my hands they seem to be perking up quite a bit. I think its the 83 degree 60ish% humidity. They like their new home.