Hydroponic Virgin
- Thread starter Quazi
- Start date
northerntights
Well-Known Member
I have had experience with similar wardrobes, those interior shelves act to stabilize the whole thing, without them it can rack and twist and won't support much weight. I would first recommend buying a 1x4 piece of lumber and cutting it to the width of the cabinet and securing it to the back with screws (screwing only into the edge of the side walls). That will stabilize the whole cabinet. Also the back of the cabinet is usually a thin layer of fiberboard, it won't even hold staples and can make hanging mylar or astrofoil difficult if not impossible. White paint is your best bet there.
The other question I have is if the doors close on top of the edges of the cabinet or if it closes flush in the front. If it closes flush your gona have one hell of a time light-proofing the thing, took me hours of carpentry work and in the end I still plan on getting a new cabinet because I just couldn't get it right. Even if the doors close on top of the edges the center will still need weather-stripping to lightproof it.
As for Hydroponic systems, it is wide enough to hold two ebb/flow trays (the 6" wide ones) that you could use to create a rockwool based system. They are not that easy to build but are rather inexpensive. You could even try two bubbleponic units if you wanted to make it an easy build and you can get great results from that. Especially if you connect the two together in essence creating one tank, email stealth hydroponics and they can set up the tubing for you custom. You may also be able to use General Hydroponics Waterfarms, they are self contained and easy to use for a beginner, but you will have to double check the measurements of that system. Hope this helps.
The other question I have is if the doors close on top of the edges of the cabinet or if it closes flush in the front. If it closes flush your gona have one hell of a time light-proofing the thing, took me hours of carpentry work and in the end I still plan on getting a new cabinet because I just couldn't get it right. Even if the doors close on top of the edges the center will still need weather-stripping to lightproof it.
As for Hydroponic systems, it is wide enough to hold two ebb/flow trays (the 6" wide ones) that you could use to create a rockwool based system. They are not that easy to build but are rather inexpensive. You could even try two bubbleponic units if you wanted to make it an easy build and you can get great results from that. Especially if you connect the two together in essence creating one tank, email stealth hydroponics and they can set up the tubing for you custom. You may also be able to use General Hydroponics Waterfarms, they are self contained and easy to use for a beginner, but you will have to double check the measurements of that system. Hope this helps.
northerntights
Well-Known Member
For heat and smell I would recommend a centrifugal fan and a canister carbon filter, there is really no substitute for it. They are rather expensive but try ebay. That alone will cost you but it's really an investment and for a cabinet that size, the only way to do it and keep it stealth. For an air intake I recommend darkroom louvers, you can get them online at a photo supply warehouse. They let air in but don't let light out.
Doran DV-99 8x8" Light Tight Darkroom Louver for D-68 and DVM-199 Fans
I would also recommend an air cooled light fixture, they aren't as expensive as they used to be and they keep the heat LOW. Plus you can get your plants a lot closer to the light, I recommend this model:
400W & 430W HPS Grow Light Systems > 400 HPS Cool Breeze Grow Light System
It gets you the most out of your light and cools almost as well as a cool tube. But that is if your using HPS (which I'm guessing you are). You don't HAVE to use an air cooled fixture but not having bought one for mine, I regret it a LOT. Still, you can save a good few dollars and get a batwing fixture or something similar.
Now keep in mind, to use one of those air cooled you have to link everything in line; fan, light then filter and the fewer bends in the hose the more airflow you will have, not always easy to mount that way, or mount at all! So you can save a lot of labor and go with an old-school fixture.
I would also recommend a galaxy digital ballast (or similar fan-less digital ballast) because you can actually mount them inside your cabinet and you don't have chords going everywhere and they can be mounted easily and are low profile. Plus that way you can use metal halide without an expensive conversion bulb. Helps keep things stealth and plant growth compact. Otherwise you may have to have your ballast outside of the cabinet and not mounted at all (the walls of a walmart cabinet can't take the weight of most coil ballasts) and thats more holes with wires coming out that you will have to plug up for flowering, and that is a bitch.
Now I know what I have recommended is a little expensive, hell more then a little, but if you want to be growing bud in a nice cabinet you don't have to maintenance for a good few years, spend now and pay less in the long run... but thats just how I swing
P.S. You could get MASSIVE yields from this cab if set up right, so you better post your future grow!
Doran DV-99 8x8" Light Tight Darkroom Louver for D-68 and DVM-199 Fans
I would also recommend an air cooled light fixture, they aren't as expensive as they used to be and they keep the heat LOW. Plus you can get your plants a lot closer to the light, I recommend this model:
400W & 430W HPS Grow Light Systems > 400 HPS Cool Breeze Grow Light System
It gets you the most out of your light and cools almost as well as a cool tube. But that is if your using HPS (which I'm guessing you are). You don't HAVE to use an air cooled fixture but not having bought one for mine, I regret it a LOT. Still, you can save a good few dollars and get a batwing fixture or something similar.
Now keep in mind, to use one of those air cooled you have to link everything in line; fan, light then filter and the fewer bends in the hose the more airflow you will have, not always easy to mount that way, or mount at all! So you can save a lot of labor and go with an old-school fixture.
I would also recommend a galaxy digital ballast (or similar fan-less digital ballast) because you can actually mount them inside your cabinet and you don't have chords going everywhere and they can be mounted easily and are low profile. Plus that way you can use metal halide without an expensive conversion bulb. Helps keep things stealth and plant growth compact. Otherwise you may have to have your ballast outside of the cabinet and not mounted at all (the walls of a walmart cabinet can't take the weight of most coil ballasts) and thats more holes with wires coming out that you will have to plug up for flowering, and that is a bitch.
Now I know what I have recommended is a little expensive, hell more then a little, but if you want to be growing bud in a nice cabinet you don't have to maintenance for a good few years, spend now and pay less in the long run... but thats just how I swing
P.S. You could get MASSIVE yields from this cab if set up right, so you better post your future grow!
Thanks for that info Northerntights.I tryed to upload some pixs last night and they didnt get posted?My cab is 6' 7" tall and 4' 2" wide and 2' 4" deep.I divided it into two sides.One 35" wide and the other 14" wide.One 400watt MH galaxy electronic ballast,22"x22"x7" flood tray with a 15 gal res.I pick up a 300 cfm fan from a surplus center to exhaut the cool tube.Second fan at the bottom is 200cfm fan from the same pulling air in to the cab from a dark room vent.I'am going to post this now and try to post some pixs of the cab in a another reply. Peace
northerntights
Well-Known Member
looking good!
splifman
Well-Known Member
dude, that looks like an awesome set up. You should start a journal. I'm very interested to see the final version.... What type of duct fan will you use for ventilation?