First Time CabinetGrow, hydro/Aeroponic CFL / LED

Ok I have been pouring over the forums here for a couple of weeks trying to get all of the information I can. Then last night I happen to find 2 seeds in my latest batch of bud from the dispensary, I'm taking it as a sign, it's time for me to start my first grow!!

I just wanted to through up my design and getting any input from you guys that I can. I'm very open to any help you guys can give. I'm also looking to experiment a little with some LEDS. Also the lower the cost the better.

I found a spot in my closet where I am going to build a semi stealth grow cabinet. The finished interior dimensions are going to be approximately 30" x 18" x 48"

For lighting I'm going to mount two 12 x 12 LED Panels and 6 23 watt CFLs to a piece of pegboard that I can raise and lower in the cabinet

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hydroponic-Lamp-...QQcmdZViewItem

For Vegetative I plan on using 4 23 watt Daylights and 2 23 watt soft whites.
For Flowering I'll reverse and use 4 23 watt soft whites and 2 23 watt daylights

Eventually as time and money allow I plan on getting more panels if they work well and mounting them to the sides of the cabinets for supplemental side lighting!

For ventilation I was going to cut a hole at the top and one at the bottom of the cabinet and mount this box to the top vent to get the hot air out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ARI-Mighty-Might...QQcmdZViewItem

As far as hydroponics units I'm going to build my own and plan on basically copying this unit:
HydroFlora Systems for Indoor Closet Hydroponic Grow Boxes / Chambers

As far as the hydroponics setup goes My only question is how many plants do you think my setup will support? The unit I linked to is 10 gallons and has spaces cut out for 14 plants. I'm interested in doing either a sea of green or Scrog grow. but 14 plants seems like it is a bit much for such a small space. I'm going to try and get some master kush seeds from my local dispensary if they have them in stock. The idea of ordering from a seed bank kinda freaks me out a little but if the worst that can happen is a letter from customs then I might risk it. How many plants do you guys think I can comfortably grow/ should build this hydro setup to handle? Will a scrog even be necessary?

Also I plan on doing some co2 supplementation to beef up output but for now it wil probably end up being some yeast and sugar in a 2 liter bottle!

Thats about all I can think of right now, and thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give. The cabinet itself is almost complete, and the lighting and hydro setup will be built in the next week or so depending on how fast I can get parts from ebay!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Ok I picked up some cheap 20 watt cfl's and fixtures from IKEA today... has anyone ever used these before? They don't say what temp the light is but since all of the incandesant bulbs they had there were soft whites I'm thinking that it's pretty safe to assume that thats what I have here right?

I don't even remember the last time I had soo much fun!!

I'm thinking I will definitely try for a scrog grow and then eventually when I figure out the system more if possible I will maybe shorten the cab some.


I'd love to here some feedback and tips if there is anything you guys see that I am leaving out or forgetting!!

THanks!

dont bother with the leds, to expensive and not enough conclusive evidence i think to make paying that amount worthwhile, if u get those splitter things for like 2 bucks u could double ur number of cfls, put some fans in if its to hot in there too, that carbon filter looks sweet though, lemme know how well it works

i think you should try the LEDs to see if there worth it, they seem like it would at least be a cool experiment
ry

Would that carbon unit hide the smell? If it works then it sure seems like a nice cheap small area carbon filter.

those lights are fixed? If they are make sure you can move the plants up or down.......one of the biggest mistakes I have seen with new grows is stretching. Other than that looks good.

Oh and what temp are those bulbs? They look warm and how much lumen does each bulb produce.

Thanks for the feedback!!

Little update and reply's to your guys questions:

The light board is not fixed so I can move it up and down throughout the whole cabinet. I got those cfl's at ikea and the packaging didn't indicate light temp. But the only other bulbs they sold were soft whites so thats what I assumed they were. I've since picked up a couple of 20 watt daylights, so now there are 4 23 watt "soft whites" and 2 20 watts that i know for sure are day light. I'm not sure on the total lumen output though.

I went ahead and got the LED panels so there are two of those as well. I know they are somewhat unproven but part of the fun for me in this is experimenting and building the cab and trying something new so I figured what the hell.

I'm debating whether or not to add some more cfl's on the side and back walls... we'll see how it goes. this whole thing is uncharted territory for me so I appreciate your guy's help.

I won the auction on that air filter so I'll let you guys know how it works. I already popped a couple of 4 inch case fans on the back.

As of last night I am officially germinating seeds!!!

I'll post some more pics when i get home this evening...

Sounds like a solid setup, I'm curious about those light panels. You said that you'd put them on the walls of your box, I think those will be good ambient light for some nice foliage in combo with the cfls. Have you started building yet? Also when do you expect to get these items? I ordered a bunch of rolling papers last friday, I'd be lucky to get them before new years just because the mail system is fucked up right now.

Thanks!

Building is pretty much complete, the only thing not finished yet is the air system. And thats only because I am waiting on receiving that unit I ordered off ebay. I'm expecting it anyday now though. I've had good luck with the other stuff, the led panels actually arrived 2 days after I payed for them, i was shocked at the speed. Hang in there, your papers might come sooner than you expect!

Yeah everything I've read said so far say that LED's work great especially in veg but you need to have a combination with the cfl's to get any decent yeilds. Eventually I would like to add more of the led panels, assuming this experiment is successfull. My budget what it was though I could only afford two for right now, i put them up top so i could get them as close as possible, which i've read is essential with led's. As the months go on though I would love to line the walls with the panels and have 360 degree coverage... We'll see how it goes though...

Here are some pictures of the almost completed setup... I started 6 seeds germinating in the cubes the other night as reccomended in Roseman's bubbleponics section. So far so good one of them has what looks like a small sprout starting to reach the top of the cube so if all goes well I'm looking to start my lighting cycles tomorrow or the next day!

I have to hand it to you, this is one of the cleanest setups I have seen in a while! Good luck on your grow!

Wow nice set up! This is a grow I will definitely be watching.

little update this morning... five out of six seeds have sprouted and the lights are on for the first time!

what do you guys think about the lights? should they be even closer?

Ok so day two of my light cycles, everything looks to be going great... one of the 6 seeds didn't germinate, but the other five are doing great... It looks like the outer plants are stretching towards the daylight bulbs in the middle of the panel so i am going to run out to home depot and pick up some more of those and try and dissuade the stretching from happening any more...

Lookin good, are you going to start a grow journal or is this thread it?

Ahhh good idea!

I shall do that right now...

Look for a grow journal with a similar title coming very soon!

what temp. does that box get to? just curious

Nice setup
check out my grow please comment

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/39360-lowrider-2-grow-journal-first.html

mr j2 said:

what temp. does that box get to? just curious

Click to expand...

temps have been pretty mild, so far with the lights on it's been hovering around 72... it has been cold out these past few days and I don't have heat in my apartment though so that could have something to do with it...

BabyFishMouth said:

temps have been pretty mild, so far with the lights on it's been hovering around 72... it has been cold out these past few days and I don't have heat in my apartment though so that could have something to do with it...

Click to expand...

yeah, i have 2 23 watt cools, 2 40 watt soft whites, and one 42 watt warm and my box gets in the 90s with an exhaust fan and a fan inside. (its only 3.5x1x2 ft though). Now im trying to leave it open in the night and blow cold air in from a window but the temp is still 78-85..

thanks!

check out my grow journal for further updates and pics!

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/39969-first-time-cabinet-grow-hydro.html