First Grow - 3x3 with DIY COBs. Critique my plan please!

[TheHypnoToad]

I posted a similar thread to this in the LED subforum but was hoping to get some more general advice not related to the lighting, so I hope it's ok to post here.

After a week of researching and reading on here (mostly about lighting so far), I've finally decided on a plan for my complete setup from scratch. Many of my choices were shaped around finding components that were either sourced Canadian or nearby in the US, to avoid excess import fees and taxes.

Please let me know if you think there's anything I should change! (Prices are CDN dollars unless noted, and end up being more expensive than American sources unfortunately, but still cheaper than paying import duties and shipping from usa.)

Tent: 100cm x 100cm x 180cm (3'x3'x6') Mars Hydro Grow tent - $160
COB LED Lighting

Cobs: 4x Vero29 Gen 7 - Type B 52V 3000k 80CRI from Digikey canada - $36ea $144 total

Driver: 2x HLG-185H-C1400B from Mouser Canada - $78ea - $156 total - I think I could do 4 cobs with one HLG-320H but it's basically the same cost so from what I've read on here I'm going to go with the safer route of two lower voltage drivers.

Heatsink: 4x SST X Passive Heatsink (flared pins) from NorthernGrow $24ea USD - $96 total


Air

Active Air 4 Inch In-Line Fan 165 CFM from Amazon.ca - $105
iPower GLFILT4M Air Carbon Filter from Amazon.ca - $65
Active Air ACSC Duct Fan Speed Adjuster from Amazon.ca - $30


I was considering doing a 6" fan but it costs nearly $100 cdn more for the "6 fan and filter, will the 4" fan will be enough for this setup to maintain proper air circulation?

I already have 5 Jack Herer autoflower seeds that I bought before I knew enough, wish I hadn't bought autos but now that I have them I'm going to use them for my first grow. Should I grow two, three or four plants? I basically want to use up all 5 seeds, so should I start 5 plants and then just keep the best looking 2-4 after a while?

I was going to do FFOF soil with some amount of perlite mixed in, using smart pots. Should I go from Solo cups to 1 gal to 3/5 gal or just directly from solo cups to 3/5 gal?

Any recommendations for nutrients, theres so many different options! I was thinking of trying the General Organics Go Box. Unfortunately the selection locally available isn't as good in Canada, but they have a lot of the big names.

 

[Bank Breaker]

I'm actually trying to learn how to build my own high end Cob light system with high output that'll match 1000-1200watts.. so i'll stick around to see if i can pick up a thing or 2..
got a similar space comparable to yours so this'll be good info for me

 

[Cavsoulja]

From experience in the same sizes grow space. Get the 6 inch fan and a speed controller. It is worth every penny, trust me. I'm battling powdery mildew left and right because I went with the 4 inch. Spend the extra $50, or you will wish you did.

 

[Bank Breaker]

From experience in the same sizes grow space. Get the 6 inch fan and a speed controller. It is worth every penny, trust me. I'm battling powdery mildew left and right because I went with the 4 inch. Spend the extra $50, or you will wish you did.

speed controller is nice, but the speed controllers sell for anywhere between $30-$65CAD for a decent one on amazon. (i suggest you build and wire one yourself from the hardware store, any electrical store will sell dimmer switches, really easy to wire if you're handy enough to build your own LED setup)

but I always hook my inline fans (stronger cfm rating fans) to my light's timer. Strong flow only comes on when the lights are one to contend with the heat. Then i have a duct fan (same size as inlines- 4" or 6" is great for 3x3 or 4x4 tent) that i run air 24/7 for constant air movement in and out. Duct fans are super quiet and can sell for anywhere between $30-50. So save money on the speed controller as they're not the best built on amazon, and get another duct fan for the constant air movement. inline fans run a lot louder and more powerful, so it's only needed when the lights are on.

Mind you, this is a 1200watt hps/mh air cooled set up. all of my air comes directly from outside and comes in at a low 65-70F and leaves my air cooled hoods at 76-79F. The inside tent space is always a steady 72-79F. I don't know if it might be overkill in terms of cfm for your space since its mostly leds heat.

 

[Bank Breaker]

P.s if it means anything in terms of helping your save.. 4inch inline fans work better with a 6in filter than a 6inch fan with a 6inch filter.
My advice is to keep keep the 4" inline fan, upgrade to a 6" carbon filter, and get yourself a 6-4" reducer to connect the 2. (Home Depot/Lowes will sell a reducer for $15, any plumbing/hvac supplier will sell that same reducer for $5-
Scratch that speed controller on amazon because for the money you're spending it's not a good dimmer switch that controls variable speeds you want. Get a 4" duct fan, they're running for like $30 on amazon atm, with prime shipping.

I'd imagine your venting set up is something similar to this..
6" carbon filter hooked up to 4" inline fan (Suction) which is then hooked to 4" flex vent and you'll run it to your window or something??

 

[JDMase]

P.s if it means anything in terms of helping your save.. 4inch inline fans work better with a 6in filter than a 6inch fan with a 6inch filter.
My advice is to keep keep the 4" inline fan, upgrade to a 6" carbon filter, and get yourself a 6-4" reducer to connect the 2. (Home Depot/Lowes will sell a reducer for $15, any plumbing/hvac supplier will sell that same reducer for $5-
Scratch that speed controller on amazon because for the money you're spending it's not a good dimmer switch that controls variable speeds you want. Get a 4" duct fan, they're running for like $30 on amazon atm, with prime shipping.

I'd imagine your venting set up is something similar to this..
6" carbon filter hooked up to 4" inline fan (Suction) which is then hooked to 4" flex vent and you'll run it to your window or something??

Why does a 6 inch filter work better with a 4 inch fan? Won't that make the fan motor wear out quicker?

 

[Bank Breaker]

inline fans have much stronger motors than duct fan motors. they won't burn out. I'm using a 4" and a 5" i got for free way back when i was still working in the warehouse. that was more than 3.5 years ago. still haven't had to get a new one yet.
6" carbon filters are rated for a certain amount of cfm's to be run through them. 4" fans pull at a slower speed, giving the air more contact time with the carbon material to filter out that smell before finally exiting your tent. If you had a 6" fan there, more air through the filter at a faster pace means less contact time.
basically the lesson here is, it'll help make more use out of the filter you payed for. and you still get a cheaper fan at that. because 6" inline fans are overkill for a 3x3 tent. heck my 5"inline fan is moving more air than i want for my 4x4 tent.
4" fans run way quieter than a 6".

Here's a good tip though. If you have a 4" fan and run 4" venting (depending on how long the venting is, how much slack there is) the turbulence of the air being moved might sound annoying.
So what i did to dampen the sound was i ran EVERYTHING 6". (all of my hoods, intakes and exhausts were 6" anyways, so it was convenient for me to do this). both my 5" and 4" inline fans have 6-4 and 5-4" reducers on both ends. This just allows more space for the air to travel and it's less violent when it's being delivered into the space. Everything went from a humming and vibrating sound to a softer pitch flow now. All the sounds are coming straight from the inline fans themselves now. (if you're crafty just cut a cardbox and box it around the fan and enclose around it) here's a vid.

 

[JDMase]

inline fans have much stronger motors than duct fan motors. they won't burn out. I'm using a 4" and a 5" i got for free way back when i was still working in the warehouse. that was more than 3.5 years ago. still haven't had to get a new one yet.
6" carbon filters are rated for a certain amount of cfm's to be run through them. 4" fans pull at a slower speed, giving the air more contact time with the carbon material to filter out that smell before finally exiting your tent. If you had a 6" fan there, more air through the filter at a faster pace means less contact time.
basically the lesson here is, it'll help make more use out of the filter you payed for. and you still get a cheaper fan at that. because 6" inline fans are overkill for a 3x3 tent. heck my 5"inline fan is moving more air than i want for my 4x4 tent.
4" fans run way quieter than a 6".

Here's a good tip though. If you have a 4" fan and run 4" venting (depending on how long the venting is, how much slack there is) the turbulence of the air being moved might sound annoying.
So what i did to dampen the sound was i ran EVERYTHING 6". (all of my hoods, intakes and exhausts were 6" anyways, so it was convenient for me to do this). both my 5" and 4" inline fans have 6-4 and 5-4" reducers on both ends. This just allows more space for the air to travel and it's less violent when it's being delivered into the space. Everything went from a humming and vibrating sound to a softer pitch flow now. All the sounds are coming straight from the inline fans themselves now. (if you're crafty just cut a cardbox and box it around the fan and enclose around it) here's a vid.

Hey man good post. I actually asked this question a while back. About using reducers for fans. And was told not to do it. Im glad you have researched this. Thank you.

 

[Bank Breaker]

trial and error bro.. research is just the tip of the iceberg :/

 

[PDX Joe]

I posted a similar thread to this in the LED subforum but was hoping to get some more general advice not related to the lighting, so I hope it's ok to post here.

After a week of researching and reading on here (mostly about lighting so far), I've finally decided on a plan for my complete setup from scratch. Many of my choices were shaped around finding components that were either sourced Canadian or nearby in the US, to avoid excess import fees and taxes.

Please let me know if you think there's anything I should change! (Prices are CDN dollars unless noted, and end up being more expensive than American sources unfortunately, but still cheaper than paying import duties and shipping from usa.)

Tent: 100cm x 100cm x 180cm (3'x3'x6') Mars Hydro Grow tent - $160
COB LED Lighting

Cobs: 4x Vero29 Gen 7 - Type B 52V 3000k 80CRI from Digikey canada - $36ea $144 total

Driver: 2x HLG-185H-C1400B from Mouser Canada - $78ea - $156 total - I think I could do 4 cobs with one HLG-320H but it's basically the same cost so from what I've read on here I'm going to go with the safer route of two lower voltage drivers.

Heatsink: 4x SST X Passive Heatsink (flared pins) from NorthernGrow $24ea USD - $96 total


Air

Active Air 4 Inch In-Line Fan 165 CFM from Amazon.ca - $105
iPower GLFILT4M Air Carbon Filter from Amazon.ca - $65
Active Air ACSC Duct Fan Speed Adjuster from Amazon.ca - $30


I was considering doing a 6" fan but it costs nearly $100 cdn more for the "6 fan and filter, will the 4" fan will be enough for this setup to maintain proper air circulation?

I already have 5 Jack Herer autoflower seeds that I bought before I knew enough, wish I hadn't bought autos but now that I have them I'm going to use them for my first grow. Should I grow two, three or four plants? I basically want to use up all 5 seeds, so should I start 5 plants and then just keep the best looking 2-4 after a while?

I was going to do FFOF soil with some amount of perlite mixed in, using smart pots. Should I go from Solo cups to 1 gal to 3/5 gal or just directly from solo cups to 3/5 gal?

Any recommendations for nutrients, theres so many different options! I was thinking of trying the General Organics Go Box. Unfortunately the selection locally available isn't as good in Canada, but they have a lot of the big names.

I have a similar setup. I have a 3 x 3 x 5.5 closet. I use a 4" HO Can Fan and 4" ducting. My light has 4 Cree CXB3590 run at 1750mA. I haven't had a problem with heat buildup. If anything my room is a bit too cool. The air temps coming into the room is around 66 - 68F. My indoor temps are mid 70s, but I'd like to get them up into the high 70s. I plaid around with creating resistance with different size carbon filters and restricting the passive intake. But, I think I'm going to try a fan speed controller. My exhaust duct is about 8 feet long, fyi... this affects resistance a little bit.