My stealth doublestacked rubbermaid

So after reading and lurking here for awhile I've decided to build my box I went with a doublestacked rubbermaid I joined them by cutting out the bottom of the top bin as big as I could. I then used that hole to trace it onto the lid of the bottom bin. I used a heavy duty sealant to join the two pieces and the used paper clamps to add extra support. I lined them using aluminum tape. I should have used Mylar but its already done. On the bottom bin for my intake I already cut a 4" hole and mounted a 4" dryer flapper using the same sealant. I haven't cut my exaust holes yet. Here's some pics:
The two rubber maids stacked and joined




Side view with flapper in


Inside from the top down

Here are my supplies


Some things shown in the pic are:
3 120mm fans, vanity bar with 3 socket splitters and 6 cfl bulbs, aluminum tape, 4" dryer duct, 2 timers, 4 square 3.5" starter pots, 2 mesh pencil holders to make carbon filter, activated carbon, 3 6" pots, 15' double loop chain, 4" personal fan for inside circulation, and a garden gnome to hang on the side of a pot... It was a dollar and it said its to bring good luck lol I couldn't resist!
close ups of my 3 120mm fans I got for free





As you can see two of them are 115 volts and one of those list it as 105 cfm so I assume both are about the same.
The other is 24 volts so I have no clue how many cfm it is

looking good bro. i have almost that exact setup, i would suggest a little more air AND about 18 more bulbs. i flipped my tubs upside down so they join. its a bit easier

As soil goes I posted in another area of the board on what to get and never got any responses so I got this



8 qt bag of Miracle Grow moisture control potting mix
4 qt bag of all purpose organic starter mix
8 qt bag of Miracle Grow Perlite
5lb bag of Dessert sand
5lb bag of Pearl stone

And a bottle of bug stop home barrier spray so I can clean and treat the whole room before my grow. I use to save soda and beer cans to recycle for extra cash. They have been removed but there's these little black...I guess bugs but the don't seem to move, coming from the bin I hade the cans in.


all bought from Walmart and Home Depot in their garden sections

btw i meant around 18 bulbs extra for flower you could get away with less for veg.. i use equal parts perlite and african violet mg with bloom booster.

Thanks qwizoking. You don't think two 105 cfm fans as exhaust will be enough?
i actually plan on getting another vanity bar with 6 cfls and making a jig to hold em towards the sides of the bin so I can raise and lower them with the chain I have instead of mounting them and raising and lowering the plants.

I thought about flipping the top bin but stealth was important and who really stacks regular rubbermaid a like that?
this is going in my washer/dryer room right next to my dryer so I can utilize the vent for my exhaust. It slides in perfectly with the vent side towards the wall so all my wires and vents will be all on that side

So I have a couple questions...

how can I attach my exhaust fans to my carbon filter and duct work to send it outside? Should the filter be in the box then have air pull thru it, or should the fan push it thru? How am I going to fit it to a 4" duct?


soil....
will it work with what I have? Are my pots too small? I'm a total noob I know.

How many plants should I put in there? I plan on buying some seeds, anyone know a good site that ships to the US? I was going to use bag seed but I have no clue how big the plants get, plus I rarely get seeds in a bag anyways


any other suggestions or advice is gladly welcome I want to start as soon as I can get ahold of some seeds

true true, mine was for the sake of cheap diy not stealth.. your lights and that ventilation will work good together but you will need a bit more if you upgrade the lights, i use 24 23 watt cfls on 4, 6 plug extension cords. 2 bulbs on y splitters 6 bulbs per extension cord. all mounted on the top(its flipped so the bottom) its cut out and i raise/lower that. all are a dollar or 2 besides bulbs

carbon filters like air to be pulled through,the fan also will pull air threw the filter easier than pushing air through. mount the filter inside the tub. for attatching the ducting,unless there is a lip to put a clamp on that aluminum ducting tape is gonna be your best friend

man for some reason i cant edit, where or how are you exhausting, you could run a y connector in the ducting with your dryer.

I have to make a cut on the same side as my intake but all the way to the top. I will run it straight thru to my dryer vent by a splitter

i just don't know if I should use both of my 105 cfm fans or just one(that's why I haven't made my cut yet) while at Home Depot I saw this
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-8-in-x-4-in-to-4-in-Insulated-Register-Box-IRB8X4X4/100193986/
i guess I could hook up both fans side by side on this. Cut a hole for the 4" tube to fit they so the register part can be inside my rubbermaid I just don't know how ill get my carbon filter on it. I could get 2 and sandwich the fans in between that way I can have my filter on it and the whole setup can be inside with just the 4" tube coming out of the box

i would suggest putting one right above the soil,too prevent mold and mildew down there also. but you have to have an intake and exhaust, there would be alot of neg pressure with both fans in their but it would work great with a passive intake/cut in the bottom above dirt..i think that sounds good, though after reducing down to a 4' duct it might have a lot of pressure..i know you can find 4" 6" and rectangular pencil holder/ tray. lined with carbon filters you could cut chicken wire to size

Ok lets talk soil.

Miracle grow has nutes in it so most people don't put thier seedlings directly into a medium with nutes as young plants are easy to stress. Walmart and home depot will both have peet pelets pop your beans in that then move to the miracle grow once you have roots out the bottom would be my suggestion. You can grow in miracle grow but be careful as it has nutes in it already so you have to make sure you don't over water. Water until a little run off so you can check ppm and ph then let the plant dry out before watering again. Also the miracle grow is a soiless mix you do not have to add perlite to it. Some growers put a layer of sand over thier soil to ward off fungus nats so it that is your plan for the other stuff cool but if your plan is to mix that stuff together to make a cutom soil don't waist your time you will be making thing worse not better with the mix of things you have there.

well thats not true at all, miracle grow has poor drainability and is prone to overwatering. equal parts perlite and soil makes it near impossible to overwater. and no it wont burn or hermie seedlings, they need a little bit of nutes, the perlite dillutes it perfectly then you start feeding in 3 weeks. also flushing and checking run off is a waste of time... ive never checked ph or ppm...ever

My plans from what I've gathered was use equal parts miracle grow potting soil, organic starter mix, perlite. Add in some sand, not sure how much, I was hoping for some input. And use pearl stones at the bottom of the pot. Tell you the truth I'm not sure how much of each or jack about ph.

I still don't know if my pots are the right size or too small (they're 6" diameter and about 4" tall)

well how many plants do you plan on running and size, that will determine pot size/ count, i do 2 rows of 4 you might want to just do 6. or you could put in a screen and scrog its up to you. if running the same strain its easiest to not use pots at all

Just get a tent. No one thinks you're growing dope in your closet and no one randomly wanders into a grow man's closet.

pfft you obviously dont have inlaws lol....or mine are crazy

I haven't got my seeds yet but I plan on getting something medium sized. I want whatever will get me the best yield wether it's 6 plants or 2 with some scrog, so I'm taking suggestions...


my inside dimensions are 30h x 24w x 14d

I can make a rectangular pot as shallow or as deep as needed, that can be constructed with corner posts that I can use to attach my screen on. Use it to hold the pots on (will need to know what size I'll need) or can make the base into its own pot. That way I can use the posts to hold and adjust my light fixture. Since I'm buying seeds (suggest site?) I want to do this as good as I can. I have more room to have another two rubbermaids not joined, but stacked. One for a drying chamber and one for cuttings to clone. That way I can grab cuttings before flowering to set up the grow. I may be new to this but I catch on and adapt quick. All I need is to know what's best for my situation.

People will go into my closet before they go into my little laundry room specially if I put some dingy looking underwear and socks on top of this thing. This is meant to be stealthy and not suspect like a big black tent is.

Everytime I bring a new girl home she checks out my closet. Since its a walk-in they "have" to see it. People like to check out your apartment when they first see it. Laundry room door gets opened, you take a glance and walk away. I've put a lot of thought into this, it was the rubbermaids in there, or a armoire/dresser in the bedroom room but females are nosy. No offense to the females here lol