My First Indoor Growbox - Start to Finish

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

I plan on building a grow box in my bedroom and would like to share my experience with you guys. Can someone with past experience on building grow boxes please be kind enough to lend a hand with the below few questions.

1. Would a 24'' x 16'' x 36'' (LxWxH) be a perfect size for 2-3 plants. More inclined towards growing 2 plants atm.

2. I plan on making 2 holes on the unit. One for the intake and one for the exhaust air supply. Really confused on what side i should make the cuts given the above dimensions. Naturally, the intake hole will be below the exhaust since warm air rises.

3. How many 40 W bulbs will i need for the grow. I was looking to get started with 6 or 8 of the 40W spiral cfl's and planning on installing clamp light sockets which are retractable so that i can position all 6-8 bulbs individually throughout the grow box.

Any other suggestions are more than welcome to be discussed. I should be starting this project within a week and hope to build this by the end of this month. Please sub, I will try to update this post frequently.

-Bigman.

 

[valuablevariable]

Here are two finished grows of mine with similar dimensions 21x17x27 inches (l,w,h)
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/25711-masterkush-masterstealth-cfl-growbox.html
https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/43555-white-widow-grow-5-weeks.html

6-8 40w bulbs should be plenty for that space. No real need to add more than that.
Side of exhause hole doesnt matter, just make the intake at the bottom and exhaust at top.

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

Do i use cool light cfl's for the veg and change to warm light cfl's when harvesting begins? Or do i mix em up and buy all the bulbs at one go and use them?

 

[valuablevariable]

Generally its cool light for veg and warm for flowering, so optimally you would start with cool and switch for flowering. You will be fine just mixing them up and doing half warm, half cool from start to finish.

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

I have placed an order with a carpenter for making the base frame for the grow box. I have finally decided on building a 24x15x36 unit which i will pick up on Monday. Will post pictures once it arrives.

As far as the lights are concerned i did a little reading and found out that its better to go with the 23W bulbs vs the 42W since the lumen output per Sq/Ft is more with the 23W cfl's.

I would guess 6-8 23W cfl bulbs would be enough to start my adventure.

Also, what do i keep in mind when purchasing the 4 inch fans for exhaust and intake of air. This is my first grow and I'm really looking forward for some help from this awesome community.

Keep Toking!

 

[valuablevariable]

Sounds good. Nothing really to look out for when buying pc fans, what can make a difference is what type of cell phone charger you will be connecting to them (if thats what your plan is). They vary in Watt output, I have some ranging from 6-10 watt. They will all power the fans but the higher wattage ones spin the fans faster=more airflow.

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

I ordered 2 fans for the intake and exhaust of my grow box and received them today. Details of the fan below.

			Overall Dimension 120X120X25mm Fan Dimension 120X120X25mm Net Weight 118.5g Bearing Type Hydro Bearing Rated Voltage 12VDC Operating Voltage 10.8～13.2VDC Started Voltage 7VDC Rated Current 0.2±10%A Power Input 2.4W Fan Speed 1300±10%RPM Max. Air Flow 53.65CFM Noise 26.6dB(A)

Deep Cool - Wind Blade

When i choose an adapter to connect to the fans to, what Watt do i look for. I have an extra adapter from a trimmer that i may go ahead with. It says 9W on the adapter and i'm not sure if i can hard wire this adapter to the fans.

 

[Adam & Cola]

Save yourself the trouble in finding the right one. Go here and get a couple AC adapters to run your fans. or buy one of there kits. simple and relatively decent price.

http://www.buyextras.com/fanacadapter.html

 

[valuablevariable]

Save yourself the trouble in finding the right one. Go here and get a couple AC adapters to run your fans. or buy one of there kits. simple and relatively decent price.

http://www.buyextras.com/fanacadapter.html

Those are rather expensive. I bought mine at a second hand shop for 1-2$ each.
@Bigman, the 9 watt should be fine.

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

Hey Guys,
Even though I'm late almost a week, I'm back with some pics of my grow box. Feel free to comment.

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

I have made 2 light traps one for the intake fan and one for the exhaust fan. I have painted the grow box complete White (Satin Enamel) and am waiting for the paint to dry off before i can install the light traps and the light sockets for the bulbs.

ps: On the 2nd pic, top hole is for the exhaust and bottom hole is for the intake..

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

I read that its best to install the lights horizontally rather than vertically downwards. Is it true that CFL's emit more heat and light from the sides..?

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

I'm thinking of installing the sockets horizontally like below. If most of you guys disagree with the below setup i will be looking into constructing a hood concentrated with 8 cfl's in the middle of the box. Please share some advise on this.

 

[lee harvey]

you can install them horizontally if youd like.. all personal preference.. ive had great results with both vertical and horizontal grows.. nice box by the way.. dont forget to do something about the light leaks around the doors, foam weather stripping works great

 

[hiitsbob]

good luck sounds like you have you have it under control. you might have to do a mix of the cfl's horizontal and vertical to get best coverage.
get y adapters from lowes or home depot for 3 bucks a piece and can double your lumen output.
from what i have read you will want to be able to get up to between 5,000 and 10,000 lumens/sqft.
this is my homemade light put out about 19,000 lumens in an 18inx18in space will add on to get around 35,000 lumens for a 2ftx2ft grow room.

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

Just got done with my baby. See below!!

7 - 23W lights @ 1450 lumen per bulb = 10,150 lumen for the whole grow box.

 

[The Red]

good luck sounds like you have you have it under control. you might have to do a mix of the cfl's horizontal and vertical to get best coverage.
get y adapters from lowes or home depot for 3 bucks a piece and can double your lumen output.
from what i have read you will want to be able to get up to between 5,000 and 10,000 lumens/sqft.
this is my homemade light put out about 19,000 lumens in an 18inx18in space will add on to get around 35,000 lumens for a 2ftx2ft grow room.View attachment 2530034

Make sure to get some lights set up for the undergrowth. The light from the cfl's barely gets through the first set of leaves so anything under the top growth isn't getting much light. If you just put a couple lights on the sides about halfway from the bottom to where your top lights are you should be fine.

 

[The Red]

Just got done with my baby. See below!!

7 - 23W lights @ 1450 lumen per bulb = 10,150 lumen for the whole grow box.

View attachment 2530813

shit I replied to the wrong post. I meant for this one

 

[BigmanInTheCandyVan]

Make sure to get some lights set up for the undergrowth. The light from the cfl's barely gets through the first set of leaves so anything under the top growth isn't getting much light. If you just put a couple lights on the sides about halfway from the bottom to where your top lights are you should be fine.

Do you think i'll be fine if i raise the pots up to near the cfl's and bring them lower as they grow tall.. I really don't know if I'll be able to add more lights on the sides considering the depth of the grow box.