dual chamber growbox design! Help/Advice needed.

After re-designing my box several times, I think and hope ive got the final plan idea but id like your input and advice on it before i get to building. Before i get started id like to inform you all that ive never grown marijuana before (although ive grown up around smokers and grow operations of all sizes ranging from a closet to a whole house) ALSO id like to thank everyone at RIU~there is truly an endless amount of precious information here! with that being said lets jump into it!

I planned on building an insulated box that will be put in my addict. to start off the hole to my addict(only accessible from my room) will probably have to be cut to be able to fit the box up there.. the hole atm is 20x20 inches. i planned on making the box itself 4 ft tall 4 ft wide and 2 feet deep(all lined with mylar) split in the middle with a divider giving each chamber 4 square feet of space with 4 feet of height which is planned to house 4 plants in each chamber, giving each plant 1 square foot of space(or i might build 2 seperate boxes, 4ft high, 2 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and combining them because the attic entrance is too small) the left chamber will be veg/clones and the right chamber will be for flowering. on the bottom of the left wall of the veg chamber will be an intake fan sucking air from the attic and blowing the air across the plant stems, and possibly attached with a filter to keep the air going in clean.(lots of fiberglass insulation up there) on the dividing wall will be another fan about level with the 1st one that will take air from the veg chamber and blow it across the plants in the flower chamber(everything light-trapped to ensure no light leaks into the other chamber or out of the box) higher up on the dividing wall will be another fan exhausting air from the veg chamber and blowing it into the home-made cooltube and across the light in the flower chamber. the last fan will be placed on the right wall of the flower chamber at the top to exhaust hot air from the box and cooltube into the addict(which i may duct outside if temps get to high) attached with a carbon filter to eliminate odor. for the veg chamber i planned on using a home made height adjustable light fixture and reflective hood with 4 Y-socket plugs which will hold 8 23watt 6500k cfls. for the flower chamber i planed on using a 250watt HPS with a homemade cooltube to keep the temps down. OTHER tools i planned on having in my box consist of 2 light timers-veging set for 18/6 and flowering set for 12/12 & thermometers in each chamber and one on the outside of the box & possibly one of the thermometers will keep track of humidity(for the flower chamber, i believe, to ensure no mold accumulates on the buds or plants)

Q: what would you recommend for insulating my box to keep the temps in? from the research ive done, im considering styrofoam. but should i insulate the inside of my box, inbetween the walls, or on the outside?

Q: should i mix in a few 2700k cfls with the 6500k cfls in the veg chamber?

Q: Would you recommend using t5s or cfls for my situation in the veg chamber?

Q: will i have a problem with the hps burning my beloved girls? (i plan on LSTing and other supercropping methods) and if so how can i assure this doesn't happen?

Q: Would tying down the plants or using a screen to LST work better?

thats all i can think of for right now so if i think of something eles to add ill post it. *Im trying to get my design finalized so i can start building and growing(right now im saving up and designing) so any suggestions/additions/subtractions/changes/ or ANYTHING eles that you can think of to make this project a safe, fun, experience with dank yields let me know! thanks RIU ~ stay high! :joint:
 

zo0t

New Member
use polystyrene insulating squares. yes i mix in some 6500k in my veg room to have a full spectrum i use a ration 2:1
yes a couple of t5 is all they need for veg. i prefer tying down for lst
 
ahh thanks for the advice.. how do u think it should be insulated? inside, outside, in the walls, all of the above? keep in mind im workin in an attic and the temps can get very high/low
 

Grava Unst

Active Member
Dude im currently planning a similar grow box using white laminated plywood for a nice flat white surface. In your case with the heat issue I would sandwich the polystyrene because if you have it on the inside it might be harder to clean with all its tinny crevices. Just a thought.
 

ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ

Well-Known Member
whats ambient temp? because attics tend to get hot and you dont want to insulate a grow box thats ambient temp is already hot because its hard to keep a grow box in 75 degree weather cool with no insulation
 
i havent tested it thermostat wise but id say 10 degrees or so hotter then outside.. but it has passive screened small windows all around the top of the attic so it should help it keep cooler and close to outside temps keeping in mind im probably going to run the box at night to control the temps better.. also if needed i can vent the intake from my room (entrance to attic in closet) which usually stays around 74*F in the day if temps are hard to control.

as for the insulation ive done a bit of research n i was just thinkin it would help keep the temps in the box and temperatures outside the box from effecting temps in the box as well.
 
Dude im currently planning a similar grow box using white laminated plywood for a nice flat white surface. In your case with the heat issue I would sandwich the polystyrene because if you have it on the inside it might be harder to clean with all its tinny crevices. Just a thought.
oh yupp thas wassup goodluck with it ill check it out. but yeah i was thinking about putting flat white in the box too but after some research i found mylar is more efficient in reflecting your light. so if i was to insulate the inside i would coat that with mylar=problems solved cleaning cracks,bumps,crevices.
 

ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ

Well-Known Member
yes but you would need somthing to cool the inside. if you had a constant powerful flow of air from your room kept at a low temp this would work and the insulation would help keep the heat out
 

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
A box will never survive in the attic with HID lighting unless it is always freezing where you are. You want your flower space 3x the size of your veg room, and in such compact quarters you will need a separate box for moms. I've done an attic grow and do not recommend it, try and build something that isn't obvious in your garage, maintaining temps in a garage is a breeze. No pun intended. I suggest purchasing a T5 fixture or a horticulture grade CFL, like a 125 or 200w CFL with a mogul socket in a modified HID wing fixture. They often sell them already modified to use a standard socket.
 
A box will never survive in the attic with HID lighting unless it is always freezing where you are. You want your flower space 3x the size of your veg room, and in such compact quarters you will need a separate box for moms. I've done an attic grow and do not recommend it, try and build something that isn't obvious in your garage, maintaining temps in a garage is a breeze. No pun intended. I suggest purchasing a T5 fixture or a horticulture grade CFL, like a 125 or 200w CFL with a mogul socket in a modified HID wing fixture. They often sell them already modified to use a standard socket.
ive done a bit of research and ppl have kept an hid light cool no problem with a cooltube and good air flow though it so i thought id go for it to get the dense buds and i have other methods of cooling it if it gets to hot/cold. i planned on vegging till there ready to flower then clone 1 of each plant and veg them while the others flower and continue that cycle.. maybe even keep the plants vegging another week with the clones so they get a head start. as for the garage its been turned into a granny house lol cant do it down there its gotta be the attic unfortunately.

THANKS for the replys everyone! keep it up RIU!
 

mr.bond

Well-Known Member
try using Reflectix from Home Depot or order online. it is a silver double-layer radiant barrier/insulator that does extremely well reflecting heat. you shouldnt need much for a box that size. makes sure you use it on all sides given the environment it will be in. cheers, hope this helps.

mr.bond
 
try using Reflectix from Home Depot or order online. it is a silver double-layer radiant barrier/insulator that does extremely well reflecting heat. you shouldnt need much for a box that size. makes sure you use it on all sides given the environment it will be in. cheers, hope this helps.

mr.bond
thanks ill check it out. any other advice guys?
 

Dennis Rodman

Active Member
I could not bring myself to read all of that. You've got to de-chunk your writing! Your audience is a bunch of pot heads!

I'll do what I can to answer some Q's though...

Q: what would you recommend for insulating my box to keep the temps in? from the research ive done, im considering styrofoam. but should i insulate the inside of my box, inbetween the walls, or on the outside?
-Insulate from the outside. You want as much space in your grow box as possible.

Q: should i mix in a few 2700k cfls with the 6500k cfls in the veg chamber?
-you can, but if you have enough 6500k's available, just go with those

Q: Would you recommend using t5s or cfls for my situation in the veg chamber?
-t5's if you SCROG.

Q: will i have a problem with the hps burning my beloved girls? (i plan on LSTing and other supercropping methods) and if so how can i assure this doesn't happen?
-just keep a lot of airflow on the 250w. see if you can keep temps under control with fans

Q: Would tying down the plants or using a screen to LST work better?
- if you can figure out how to move the plants (not sure if you'll need to?) I'd go for a SCROG. It'll get you better penetration since you dont have a whole lot of light power.

happy growing
 
ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ;6400288 said:
run a test of the box before you set up plants in there for like 2 days. just to make sure you dont need to make any adjustments with your plants in the way
oh yeah definately planned to
 
I could not bring myself to read all of that. You've got to de-chunk your writing! Your audience is a bunch of pot heads!

I'll do what I can to answer some Q's though...

Q: what would you recommend for insulating my box to keep the temps in? from the research ive done, im considering styrofoam. but should i insulate the inside of my box, inbetween the walls, or on the outside?
-Insulate from the outside. You want as much space in your grow box as possible.

Q: should i mix in a few 2700k cfls with the 6500k cfls in the veg chamber?
-you can, but if you have enough 6500k's available, just go with those

Q: Would you recommend using t5s or cfls for my situation in the veg chamber?
-t5's if you SCROG.

Q: will i have a problem with the hps burning my beloved girls? (i plan on LSTing and other supercropping methods) and if so how can i assure this doesn't happen?
-just keep a lot of airflow on the 250w. see if you can keep temps under control with fans

Q: Would tying down the plants or using a screen to LST work better?
- if you can figure out how to move the plants (not sure if you'll need to?) I'd go for a SCROG. It'll get you better penetration since you dont have a whole lot of light power.

happy growing
LOL! yeah i know but i try to be descriptive so people get a better idea of what im working with.. yeah ive thought about not insulating the inside cuz i wont have much room to start with.. didnt plan on SCROG tho but if i have height problems i might experiment with that. thanks for the answeres! keep it up RIU!
 
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