Going Rubbermaid - what about airflow inside?

Hey everyone.

Alright I'm currently on my 2nd grow (in a cabinet that is 15" wide and 23" deep) and due to my space restrictions, I'm looking at going Rubbermaid. I've felt that my current cabs width has been causing more trouble than it's worth.

Anyways, I'm planning on going with a passive intake and 2 - 120mm PC fans for exhaust. I'm never set anything up like this so I don't have experience with how the air circulates in this situation.

Question 1
What do you guys and gals do about air flow inside? I've looked up as many designs as I can find, and there doesn't seem to be a fan inside blowing on the plants. How do you strengthen up the stems without a fan blowing on it? Do I trust that LSTing will take care of strengthening the stem? I'm planning on growing in soil.

Question 2

For stealthiness, I know that it is recommended to plant the inside black, then white over top.

I was planning on lining the inside with Aluminum Tape. Do I still have to paint the inside, or will the tape block out the light and prevent the tub from glowing on the outside?


Thanks

bumpity bump!

A fan blowing on the plants isn't "necessary" unless you have heat/ventilation problems they do help though so you can basically put one anywhere, like near the fresh-air intake. With 2 120mm pc fans in the right spots, heat should be fine (depending on the lights).

The aluminum tape will probably work better than paint for light proofing.

Sup dude, I have a rubbermaid grow going on right now, I have a setup-up that's pretty much exactly what your talking about, check it out I have lots of pics of the 'maid, the link is in my sig. But instead of a passive intake, I have a fan blowing in. With the 2 exhaust fans, and the 1 inlet fan my temps are usually in the low 90's. I know this is not ideal, but it's the best I can seem to get. That being said my girls seem to being doing great. Also I can't tell you how the aluminium tape would work out cause I didn't go that route, I painted black, then white, then I put mylar ontop of all that I have no light leaking from the box except from the exhaust fans which I'll be fixing in the next couple of days or so. Hope my 2 cents helps you out a little dude.

i would use 1 pc fan pulling air out and 1 pulling air in they are cheap and work with any cellphone charger( or 12 volts charger) i have two connected to a pc temp controller they work great an i put one blowing at the top of the plants with a 6 volts charger just to strengthen the stem.

Great. Thanks for your help everyone.

Another question: What kind of caulking do I need to get to seal things up with a Rubbmaid Bin? I've read mixed opinions.. some people say caulking doesn't stick well to the bin.

doyoulikegreen said:

Great. Thanks for your help everyone.

Another question: What kind of caulking do I need to get to seal things up with a Rubbmaid Bin? I've read mixed opinions.. some people say caulking doesn't stick well to the bin.

Click to expand...

Use aluminum tape. It's lightproof, heatproof, waterproof, and seals up ductwork without falling off.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS362US362&um=1&ei=DHRcS4WoIo-TlAe2-9mIBQ&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=aluminum+tape&spell=1&start=0

doyoulikegreen said:

Great. Thanks for your help everyone.

Another question: What kind of caulking do I need to get to seal things up with a Rubbmaid Bin? I've read mixed opinions.. some people say caulking doesn't stick well to the bin.

Click to expand...

What do you need to seal up?
Aluminum tape works for light/ventilation.

i have some bubble buckets going in a rubbermaid now, and i use two fans, one for intake and one for exhaust and they generate enough moving air in the tubs to make the stems sway and thicken up, not to mention they keep it super cool, the fans are ones like these: http://www.amazon.com/Lakewood-1002-Construction-Velocity-4-Inch/dp/B001C8H2WI/ref=sr_1_37?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264353059&sr=1-3

hellbelly said:

What do you need to seal up?
Aluminum tape works for light/ventilation.

Click to expand...

I was thinking about sealing up around the fans that are put in. I've never used Aluminum tape before, so I don't know how well it would work for that.

Thanks

doyoulikegreen said:

I was thinking about sealing up around the fans that are put in. I've never used Aluminum tape before, so I don't know how well it would work for that.

Thanks

Click to expand...

It would work. And less messy than caulk. Aluminum tape can be a growers best friend. It's lightproof, waterproof, heatproof and sticks to everything.