I have been lurking for a bit sponging info and boy this is a great site for that. Way too many people have indirectly helped me already to list, so thank you to all!! Wife and I are Med mj patients looking to offset cost of medicine and possibly be vendor to local dispensary to further offset costs.
Have grown a few plants outside from seed with a little luck, but have decided to look into a stealth cabinet grow for 7-10 plants. I like the design of the Supercloset deluxe, but from what I see heat and ventilation are issues. I will be putting this in my garage in So. Cal so temps can get high. If necessary, I will get a portable A/C to cool during the high heat times and run lights at night. The SC deluxe is also way more than I want to spend as I am handy with tools and believe I can improve the design for less $$.
The Cabinet is a monster 78x48x24 as seen here:http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/storage/cabinets/storage/paramount-storage-cabinet-easy-assembly-48x24x78-tan-2?infoParam.mode=1&infoParam.itemKey=30077834#tabs I plan on painting it with flat white rubber paint so cleaning is easy. May put mylar in high reflective areas for kicks and giggles, necessary?
I want to separate it with 2/3 up top for flower and 1/3 for clone/veg. I will be making 2 of these as my folks want in on the game as well, so I will probably make a separate smaller box just for 2 - 4 mothers.
For the top I plan on using a 400 hps with a cool tube (6" to 4" reducer on each end) 4" ducting with a S&P TD100 on low (97cfm) to cool the light. Consensus on cooltubes? Should I go with a small air cooled rectangle fixture instead? For below, I want to use a three foot 4 or 6 tube T5 for the clones and short veg cycle. Any problems with either of these?
For box ventilation I will use 2-4" black elbows (either inside box or on back) on bottom for passive intakes. The shelf will have either 2-4" or 1-6" elbow so air can move from below to above. At the top I will use a Can filter 33(max cfm 250) pared with a S&P TD150(293 cfm) with speedster fan controller. (I want to be able to run fan @ 1/2 to 3/4 speed to keep noise down) Is this way over kill on ventilation? Not enough? Can too much air flow be bad?
Want to go hydro, thinking a drip system out of rubbermaid containers for each as they seem to be shorter than ebb and flow and I am dealing with a bit of vert clearance. I am thinking of 350 gpm pumps and air stones for both systems. Is drip good for veg and flowering? Should I go a different direction? Those Turbogardens ebb and flows look nice for out of the box application, but again might be too high and sacrificing some growing inches.
For the actual growing, what brand of nutes does everyone seem to have the most success?
I know a pH meter is necessary, but what about a ppm meter? Are any other electronics necessary or help greatly for the novice? Best brand to use?
As I mentioned, I have found some cheap ~$75 portable A/Cs on C list to cool the garage during the dog days, but would a DIY water chiller be necessary as well?
My main hanging points are the box ventilation and either cool tube or rectangle fixture for hps.
Thank you in advance for any ideas or possible problems I have not thought of yet.
Have grown a few plants outside from seed with a little luck, but have decided to look into a stealth cabinet grow for 7-10 plants. I like the design of the Supercloset deluxe, but from what I see heat and ventilation are issues. I will be putting this in my garage in So. Cal so temps can get high. If necessary, I will get a portable A/C to cool during the high heat times and run lights at night. The SC deluxe is also way more than I want to spend as I am handy with tools and believe I can improve the design for less $$.
The Cabinet is a monster 78x48x24 as seen here:http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/storage/cabinets/storage/paramount-storage-cabinet-easy-assembly-48x24x78-tan-2?infoParam.mode=1&infoParam.itemKey=30077834#tabs I plan on painting it with flat white rubber paint so cleaning is easy. May put mylar in high reflective areas for kicks and giggles, necessary?
I want to separate it with 2/3 up top for flower and 1/3 for clone/veg. I will be making 2 of these as my folks want in on the game as well, so I will probably make a separate smaller box just for 2 - 4 mothers.
For the top I plan on using a 400 hps with a cool tube (6" to 4" reducer on each end) 4" ducting with a S&P TD100 on low (97cfm) to cool the light. Consensus on cooltubes? Should I go with a small air cooled rectangle fixture instead? For below, I want to use a three foot 4 or 6 tube T5 for the clones and short veg cycle. Any problems with either of these?
For box ventilation I will use 2-4" black elbows (either inside box or on back) on bottom for passive intakes. The shelf will have either 2-4" or 1-6" elbow so air can move from below to above. At the top I will use a Can filter 33(max cfm 250) pared with a S&P TD150(293 cfm) with speedster fan controller. (I want to be able to run fan @ 1/2 to 3/4 speed to keep noise down) Is this way over kill on ventilation? Not enough? Can too much air flow be bad?
Want to go hydro, thinking a drip system out of rubbermaid containers for each as they seem to be shorter than ebb and flow and I am dealing with a bit of vert clearance. I am thinking of 350 gpm pumps and air stones for both systems. Is drip good for veg and flowering? Should I go a different direction? Those Turbogardens ebb and flows look nice for out of the box application, but again might be too high and sacrificing some growing inches.
For the actual growing, what brand of nutes does everyone seem to have the most success?
I know a pH meter is necessary, but what about a ppm meter? Are any other electronics necessary or help greatly for the novice? Best brand to use?
As I mentioned, I have found some cheap ~$75 portable A/Cs on C list to cool the garage during the dog days, but would a DIY water chiller be necessary as well?
My main hanging points are the box ventilation and either cool tube or rectangle fixture for hps.
Thank you in advance for any ideas or possible problems I have not thought of yet.
