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Help: Building a small grow box for cheap

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fernz420

Member
Hey guys I just recently joined this forum and there's probably several threads that are similar to this but i wasn't able to really get what i need out of them. I haven't grown my own plants before so this will be a first for me...

I'm looking for a cheap and efficient way to make a grow box for 4 plants. It doesnt have to be stealthy or nothing just something i can put together myself and something that will work well, and also something that is efficient and won't run my electricity bill up the wall. The goal is to get a good yield from the plants and also to get some good quality weed of course. I"m sort of looking for a tutorial of sorts on how to do this or even how you guys have done it.

If you could help with any of the following please do:
- Light setup
- Soil
- Ventilation
- Fertilizer (if really necessary)

If you guys could post your suggestions regarding what i would need to do this that would be great! If you guys have done a similar build that worked for you feel free to post your specs/photos/links! Looking forward to your responses:leaf:
(The more info the better)
 
YungMune

YungMune

Well-Known Member
fernz420 said:
Hey guys I just recently joined this forum and there's probably several threads that are similar to this but i wasn't able to really get what i need out of them. I haven't grown my own plants before so this will be a first for me...

I'm looking for a cheap and efficient way to make a grow box for a couple plants (2-4 max). It doesnt have ot be stealthy or nothing just something i can build myself and something that will work well, and also something that is efficient and won't run my electricity bill up the wall. The goal is to get a good yield from the plants and also to get some good quality weed of course. I"m sort of looking for a tutorial of sorts on how to do this or even how you guys have done it.

If you guys could post your suggestions regarding what i would need to do this that would be great! Looking forward to your responses:leaf:
Click to expand...
dont build your own box it will cost more and be less quality than you just buy one. go to home depot they have a nice white cabinet for 50 bucks or the sterlite plastic one. your gonna want maybe a 6 cfl fixture? just use a piece of wood. attatch 3 light sockets facing down, then get 3-2 way splitters then you will have 6 bulbs that are at a 45 degree angle. you can adjust the hieight of the board if you have a wood box using pegs and holes on the side. you need to vent. use a pasive intake and a 120mm pc fan for exhaust is enough. use the 1 dollar cfls they sell at walmart. should cost maybe 70 dollars all together.
 
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fernz420

Member
Thanks man, I've been doing some research and i think im gonna use one of those big rubbermaid containers. I've got some questions regarding the lighting though, is 6 CFLs good for 4 plants cause i think i'm probably gonna end up trying to get 4 plants. Also what kind of wattage would you recommend or does that even matter? Oh and for soil do you have any recommended brands that i could grab at a home depot or something? And what is a passive intake?

As for ventilation, i was thinking of two fans but does it matter if their in or out? i was thinking of just putting them both as exhaust fans that direct the air out

Some other lighting issues that i've come accross as i've been planning this is that some people use different light setups for different stages in the plants growing cycle why is this? If anyone could also help me determine what CFL bulbs ill be needing? (lumens, watts and K) if you know a specifc bulb you found worked let me know.

if it helps i'm porbably gonna be growing Barney's farm LSD feminized...
 
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fernz420

Member
Okay so I've been doing a bunch of reading around the forum and I think i've figured out my lighting plans: 6-8 23W 6500K CFLs for vegetative stage and 6-8 23W 2700K CFLs for flowering. As for ventilation I figured out the passive intake, so i gotta run a higher power fan as outake and a much lower powered fan for intake, Since im gonna be using a rubbermaid container i'm going to put 2 outtake fans with 1 passive intake. But what about soil, fertilizer and nutrients now? I'm looking for stuff i can just go grab at any local hardware store if possible HELP!!!
 
carl.burnette

carl.burnette

Well-Known Member
BUild a 2X4X4 box. Will allow you to grow 3-4 plants & you can put in decent lights. You can do the whole set up (see my pictures) for perhaps a hundred bucks.

Those rubber maid boxes are more for starting & some veg. I dont think people actually do the complete grow in them. I dont see how they could. Not enough space for growth, lights, ventilation etc.

I could be wrong though.

Anyways.. I started out with just the box & 4 t-12 shop lights (8 tubes total) I added the 2-150 watt HPS lights & the new fan last month. I have maybe $300.00 invested in the whole thing now. Started out with sheet of plywood (1/2" thick) & 4 $15 dollar fixtures. Forgot the piano hinge.. that was $6.00. I've been upgrading since the first grow.
 

Attachments

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fernz420

Member
carl.burnette said:
BUild a 2X4X4 box. Will allow you to grow 3-4 plants & you can put in decent lights. You can do the whole set up (see my pictures) for perhaps a hundred bucks.

Those rubber maid boxes are more for starting & some veg. I dont think people actually do the complete grow in them. I dont see how they could. Not enough space for growth, lights, ventilation etc.

I could be wrong though.

Anyways.. I started out with just the box & 4 t-12 shop lights (8 tubes total) I added the 2-150 watt HPS lights & the new fan last month. I have maybe $300.00 invested in the whole thing now. Started out with sheet of plywood (1/2" thick) & 4 $15 dollar fixtures. Forgot the piano hinge.. that was $6.00. I've been upgrading since the first grow.
Click to expand...
Thanks man appreciate the input. I was considering the size of the container and i didn't really think about the room the plants need. I like your setup but i need something a little more cost effective, say a total of about 150 on the box.

I'm gonna go take a look at some of the containers and dressers and stuff that i could possibly build/use. I was even considering maybe two rubbermaids put together to fix the room issue, cause yeah im gonna need a height of about 4 feet. I would much rather build a box from scratch but just dont have the time.
 
jamaica47

jamaica47

Active Member
if cost is issue you can get a 4x8 sheet of wood cut to 19"x 48" you should get five pieces and assemble them so the front slides in this will give you a 19X17.5 floor space depending on the thickness used i use 3/4" i have grown autos and reg strains with hydro and soil hydro 4 plants and soil two. for venting i use a cpu fan for intake and a 4" inline for exaust, currently using 150w hps temps are good also used cfls with great results but prefer hps
 
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mrmadcow

Well-Known Member
get your hands on an old fridge to use as a box. if it(fridge) doesnt work,you have to pay to dispose of it so people are more than glad to give it away.
it has a sealed door and plenty of room.freezer part can be used for storage or a place for clones. just add lights, intake & exhaust & your good to go.
 
djruiner

djruiner

Well-Known Member
if you want something,cheap,fast and easy to build....this was my last box before i made a more stealth dresser box...maybe $20 invested in the box,reflector,sockets,tapes...all bought at walmart...simple cardboard box...with a cardboard box light hood.had fans on each side of the light hood for intake and exhaust...can get 2-4 smaller plant and 1-2 larger plants in there....i still ahve it sitting in my closet..havent had the heart to break it down yet
100_9175 (1).jpg
 
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fernz420

Member
Those boxes looke pretty wicked, but the thing is i got no drills or saw or tools. I would love to make a custom box using wood but i just dont have many tools. You can have the cuts made at home depot when you buy the wood though right?

I went out today to get the pricing, and as you know i was originally wanting to just do a rubbermaid box. Turns out there's nothing i could find that would work and i even tried to see if using two(one ontop of the other, the top one being the lid, but even then the height i was getting was only about 3 feet and bit not to mention that they costed each about 25-30 bucks. I'm starting to think that sheet wood's the way to go or something like MDF. I will keep doing some research as well as some tool hunting so i can hopefully get this rolling by end of next week.

The ideal size i was looking for 3 feet x 2 feet x 4 feet (L X W X H). I am planning on using 8" diameter pots and would later want to possibly even fit 6 plants in there. Doing the math i figured it would give the plants enough room.

Width: pots will take up 16 inches of the 24
Length: pots will take up 24 of the 36

I think ill just put all six CFL bulbs up top in three fixtures all with 2-way splitters, still working on making it adjustable so i can do it all in that one box. But what do you suggest for ventilation in box this size? And anyone got designs for an overhead lighting set that is adjustable?

Thanks alot you guys, especially the mother box design from JD, very detailed and lots of pics. Much appreciated!
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
the problem with using CFL's is light penetration.

most ppl will use around 6-9 of them per plant especially if you plan on allowing your plants to reach 2-3ft tall and suspend the bulbs around the whole plant rather than just from above.


J
 
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fernz420

Member
6 - 9 per plant, that seems like alot. I had read that on average 1 plant needs about 1000 lumens or whatever, so i was going to run six 23 watt 6500k 1600 lumen lights
 
djruiner

djruiner

Well-Known Member
jondamon said:
the problem with using CFL's is light penetration.

most ppl will use around 6-9 of them per plant especially if you plan on allowing your plants to reach 2-3ft tall and suspend the bulbs around the whole plant rather than just from above.


J
Click to expand...
what ive found that helps this...make the box just big enough to fit the plants into...if you got some good reflection coming off the walls...with them so close...seems to help bounce the light everywhere.i had 2 3 foot plants in a box not even 15" wide....had light above it...and at the bottom of it...seemed to love it...but in a larger box it would not work as well...since cfl's start losing lumens like crazy the further they are away
 
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fernz420

Member
Yeah thats what i've heard, and its why i'm wanting to have my light fixtures be adjustable, so i can keep the lights within 2 to 4 inches of the foliage. I'm thinking also of having one or two lights on the lower portion to help with light penetration.

BTW i was just wondering what material you used as reflectors in your first grow box? Was it effective / expensive / inexpensive? Also i've seen alot of discussion on whether you even need or should just paint it flat white inside.. any thoughts?
 
djruiner

djruiner

Well-Known Member
fernz420 said:
Yeah thats what i've heard, and its why i'm wanting to have my light fixtures be adjustable, so i can keep the lights within 2 to 4 inches of the foliage. I'm thinking also of having one or two lights on the lower portion to help with light penetration.

BTW i was just wondering what material you used as reflectors in your first grow box? Was it effective / expensive / inexpensive? Also i've seen alot of discussion on whether you even need or should just paint it flat white inside.. any thoughts?
Click to expand...
i used one of those window visor reflector things...got one of the big ones and cut out the pieces i needed to fit...and white walls will work just the same..but that seems to help on the more high powered lights...and can use the mylar emergency blankets...either way you choose...its all about the same price..under $5
 
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