My Initial Plan.

[Gr8ness]

So I finally decided on which lighting fixture I'll be getting. Before I make the plunge, I wanted to share my initial grow box schematics with you all. Keep in mind, I am new to this; I've never grown before. BE GENTLE.

I came up with this design and I think it would suit my needs but please....I'd love to get some constructive criticism and see where it can be improved upon. One thing not mentioned in the image I'm sharing is that the tubing that runs from the centrifugal fan to the outside vent will be approx. 8 feet (if that).

I couldn't find any source as to how powerful a centrifugal fan would suit my needs (7'x7'x7') but I came across a nice one 2700 RPM's. Anyhoo....let me know what your thoughts are.

Thanks!

 

[FootClan]

Ok so if im reading your drawing correct you plan to use Passive intake then pull your air in this order. : Air passed in this order: Scrubber>Ducting>Hood>ducting>Fan>ducting>outside? Is this correct?? If so then thats how you want to do it and im suprised you got it right ont he first time not being a grower and all......

Ok so when you are looking at fans you want to look at CFM= Cubic Feet per Minute .... I would suggest getting an 8" inline fan thats usually around 700 CFM and thats a good size fan........ To give you an idea i run 2 1000watt lights in a 4x8x7 tent and i use One 8"inline fan for my Cooling and exhausting all in one.......

Also depending on where this box or tent will be you should have hepa filter for intake ........ If its in your home then you can get away without it but if its inthe garadge or outside or basement you will want to get a Hepa filter......So instead of having holes all around might wanna consider just one BIG hole and put a filter on that instead of having 4 small holes and 4 small hepa filters......

Theres much much more i could get into but lets start with that and see if you even respond....lol

 

[Gr8ness]

Ok so if im reading your drawing correct you plan to use Passive intake then pull your air in this order. : Air passed in this order: Scrubber>Ducting>Hood>ducting>Fan>ducting>outside? Is this correct?? If so then thats how you want to do it and im suprised you got it right ont he first time not being a grower and all......

Ok so when you are looking at fans you want to look at CFM= Cubic Feet per Minute .... I would suggest getting an 8" inline fan thats usually around 700 CFM and thats a good size fan........ To give you an idea i run 2 1000watt lights in a 4x8x7 tent and i use One 8"inline fan for my Cooling and exhausting all in one.......

Also depending on where this box or tent will be you should have hepa filter for intake ........ If its in your home then you can get away without it but if its inthe garadge or outside or basement you will want to get a Hepa filter......So instead of having holes all around might wanna consider just one BIG hole and put a filter on that instead of having 4 small holes and 4 small hepa filters......

Theres much much more i could get into but lets start with that and see if you even respond....lol

Talk about information overload. LOL. Uhhhhh where to start? Well I don't know what the "Scrubber" is exactly, so let me explain my ideology behind this setup. And again, I've never grown before so my knowledge of how this is supposed to work is very limited.

I've updated the initial image with little red arrows to show you how I've pictured the air flow (mentally).

But just to walk you through it, you'll notice that :

1) The air is entering from the bottom 4 holes
2) It enters into the charcoal filter
3) It goes through the charcoal filter (eliminating the smell)
4) The cleaned air goes through the light fixture (since the tubing that connects to the charcoal filter is connected to one end of the light fixture) [I know that may be hard to tell by my crude schematic] taking along with it, heat generated by the lamp
5) It passes through the centrifugal fan
6) It is pushed out through tubing which will lead to my vent outside the house.

Hope the updated image helps.



As far as the power in my centrifugal fan is concerned, I think my grow box is relatively small.....7x7, so....wouldn't your fan be overkill?
I was thinking of getting this one.

 

[firsttimeARE]

The room is 343 cubic feet so I would go with a fan along the lines of 500-700CFM and get a filter that matches those CFM's. Your drawing looks like it'll work, my advice, put all the equipment in as least bends as possible. And like footclan says 1 hole the size of the 4 is a good idea. Make your opening at least 2x the size of your exhaust.

The fan you listed would work. Its expensive though. I paid about 20 less for my 550/430 CFM variable speed Soler & Palau TD-200 and even on that I thought was overpriced. 700 CFM is changing the air twice a minute. Which isn't overkill.

 

[scroglodyte]

create 90 degree conduit for intakes, and paint interior of bends black, to absorb light. you must avoid light-leaks. you can run the bends into grow area. would bite into floor space a bit, bit would allow stealth. i'll look at scheme again, and ay have two more cents, inna minute.

 

[scroglodyte]

make it smaller, and increase yield by LST, ScrOG, topping, etc.3' x 4' x 5' tall; very accommodating for a trained/pruned crop. its my cousin Alfredo's box, in Lichtenstein.

 

[FootClan]

Talk about information overload. LOL. Uhhhhh where to start? Well I don't know what the "Scrubber" is exactly, so let me explain my ideology behind this setup. And again, I've never grown before so my knowledge of how this is supposed to work is very limited.

I've updated the initial image with little red arrows to show you how I've pictured the air flow (mentally).

But just to walk you through it, you'll notice that :

1) The air is entering from the bottom 4 holes
2) It enters into the charcoal filter
3) It goes through the charcoal filter (eliminating the smell)
4) The cleaned air goes through the light fixture (since the tubing that connects to the charcoal filter is connected to one end of the light fixture) [I know that may be hard to tell by my crude schematic] taking along with it, heat generated by the lamp
5) It passes through the centrifugal fan
6) It is pushed out through tubing which will lead to my vent outside the house.

Hope the updated image helps.

View attachment 2009789

As far as the power in my centrifugal fan is concerned, I think my grow box is relatively small.....7x7, so....wouldn't your fan be overkill?
I was thinking of getting this one.

The way you discribed your airflow is PERFECT and exactly how you should be running it GOOD JOB!! +rep for you sir!

HOWEVER , 7x7 is almost 8x8 and 8x8 is NOT SMALL....thats a BIG grow man.....8x8 would require 4 1k lights or 6 6k lights that is by no means a small grow bro..... So if your room is 7x7 that means you need almost 4 1000w lights or 6 600w and that requires ALOT of CFM....... I like to have atleast 350 cfm per 1000watt light....... So to anwwer your question NO an 8" is diffenetly not over kill if anyting its underkill....

So now im real concered about how much light you think you need for such a big grow room...... If you are only planning to use 1 light for this room then that is a real under estimaite of how much light you will really need for the size room you have.........

 

[FootClan]

make it smaller, and increase yield by LST, ScrOG, topping, etc.View attachment 20102683' x 4' x 5' tall; very accommodating for a trained/pruned crop. its my cousin Alfredo's box, in Lichtenstein.

Yes a box that size can work but for someone that is a noob hes better off with a taller box because any height restriction does nothing but make it harder for an unexperianced grower to have success in...

 

[FootClan]

oh and P.S. your scubber is your carbon filter.......

 

[Gr8ness]

The way you discribed your airflow is PERFECT and exactly how you should be running it GOOD JOB!! +rep for you sir!

HOWEVER , 7x7 is almost 8x8 and 8x8 is NOT SMALL....thats a BIG grow man.....8x8 would require 4 1k lights or 6 6k lights that is by no means a small grow bro..... So if your room is 7x7 that means you need almost 4 1000w lights or 6 600w and that requires ALOT of CFM....... I like to have atleast 350 cfm per 1000watt light....... So to anwwer your question NO an 8" is diffenetly not over kill if anyting its underkill....

So now im real concered about how much light you think you need for such a big grow room...... If you are only planning to use 1 light for this room then that is a real under estimaite of how much light you will really need for the size room you have.........

I'm a bit confused. I was reading "Growing Elite Marijuana". According to the documentation :

• 250 watts will cover 5-12 square feet (a 2.5x2.5 ft. grow area). ~7 plants or less.
• 400 watts will cover 8-20 square feet (a 4x4 ft. grow area). ~13 plants or less.
• 600 watts will cover 12-30 square feet (a 5x5 ft. grow area) ~19 plants or less.
• 1000 watts will cover 20-50 square feet (a 6.5x6.5 ft. grow area) ~32 plants or less. Now keep in mind that even though my grow room would be 7x7, as I mentioned earlier (or at least I think I mentioned it), I would not be utilizing the full 7x7 grow area with plants. I would just make it a pinch bigger (7x7) so that there's more room for the "scrubber" and things like that. The plants would only take up a grow area of 6x6 or the maximum 6.5x6.5.

I only want one light fixture (1000 watts). I thought that would cover 6x6 with great ease. As for the centrifugal fan, do you think you can point me to a link that gives me some numbers? Like a calculator? I've Googled it, but just can't find what I'm looking for.

 

[FootClan]

Iver never read or heard of that book you speak of but i can tell you for sure that a 1000w is not going to cover a 6x6 area well at all.......If your tent is 7x7 i wouldnt run anything less then 4 600watters period but your your welcome to go ahead and try one 1000watt.....let me know if it works out.....haha

 

[Gr8ness]

Iver never read or heard of that book you speak of but i can tell you for sure that a 1000w is not going to cover a 6x6 area well at all.......If your tent is 7x7 i wouldnt run anything less then 4 600watters period but your your welcome to go ahead and try one 1000watt.....let me know if it works out.....haha

Well as it just so happens, I'm not a know it all (hence my presence on this site). That's where nice growers such as yourself come in (and impart your wisdom unto us newbs).

So...with a 1000w HPS/MH lighting fixture what grow area would you recommend? Also, seeing as how the grow area will no longer be 6.5x6.5, how will that affect the centrifugal fan I purchase? Am I ok then with the one I listed, or would you recommend something still more powerful?

Lil' help?

 

[FootClan]

well if it where me i wouldnt do a 4x4 grow space or maybe 5x5 max.... and as far as fans go i would get an 8inch fan 700 plus CFM.....It ALWAYS better to get a bigger fan then you anticipate needing....this way you can slow the fan down with a speed fan controller when its cold or speed it up when its hot....I use an 8inch fan to cool my two 1000watters in a 4x8 grow tent..

I dont see the link to the fan you are talking about but it really dosent matter which one you get just get a 8inch inline fan and you be good to go.....also get the speed fan controller as im sure you wont want to run your fan at FULL BLAST.... i dont even run mine at full blast and thats with TWO 1k lights.....

 

[Gr8ness]

well if it where me i wouldnt do a 4x4 grow space or maybe 5x5 max.... and as far as fans go i would get an 8inch fan 700 plus CFM.....It ALWAYS better to get a bigger fan then you anticipate needing....this way you can slow the fan down with a speed fan controller when its cold or speed it up when its hot....I use an 8inch fan to cool my two 1000watters in a 4x8 grow tent..

I dont see the link to the fan you are talking about but it really dosent matter which one you get just get a 8inch inline fan and you be good to go.....also get the speed fan controller as im sure you wont want to run your fan at FULL BLAST.... i dont even run mine at full blast and thats with TWO 1k lights.....

Good man...thank you very much for your insight. Rep'd.

I'll go with a 4.5x4.5 (a nice happy medium) and this 8" inline fan.

 

[scroglodyte]

now that we have that settled...........go with an Afghani/Indica first run. nothing breeds success like success.

 

[FootClan]

Good man...thank you very much for your insight. Rep'd.

I'll go with a 4.5x4.5 (a nice happy medium) and this 8" inline fan.

cant go wrong with a Vortex fan they are one of the better brands.......If you are lookin to spend that much on a fan i would encourge you to look at maybe a "max fan" heres the link they are newer type of fan smaller and suppose to be better really the next fan i buy will be a max fan.....heres the link to one check it out http://www.igrowhydro.com/CanFan-8-Black-Max-Fan.aspx

 

[Gr8ness]

now that we have that settled...........go with an Afghani/Indica first run. nothing breeds success like success.

It'll be a while before I actually start growing. The last thing I wanted to do with this project was rush in and make mistakes. Granted, mistakes are part of the learning curve but I'd rather be armed with knowledge before getting my feet wet. I'm researching the hell out of this and my next step is to purchase some lumber (or possibly leech some off the old man; he's always working on some projects) and build my grow box. THEN I'll purchase the light fixture and the fan.
So now my next step is to get that grow box up and running! I'm going to shoot to have it completed by mid-February. I'm on a bit of a monetary crunch right now. I'm starting a new job which starts on Monday so I won't get paid for a couple of weeks. One thing I've come to appreciate in my quest for growing my own weed is it's a costly endeavor if you wish to do it right. I am not interested in cutting corners and posting "live and learn" types of messages later on (as a result of buying cheap/the wrong supplies). If I post a "live and learn" type of message, you'll know it wasn't because I cut corners but because I need more experience in growing.

I do have one more concern though and that is plugging in the light fixture and the fan. Won't that put too much of a load on the circuit breakers/fuse box? What are your suggestions in that respect?

 

[Thedillestpickle]

well if it where me i wouldnt do a 4x4 grow space or maybe 5x5 max.... and as far as fans go i would get an 8inch fan 700 plus CFM.....It ALWAYS better to get a bigger fan then you anticipate needing....this way you can slow the fan down with a speed fan controller when its cold or speed it up when its hot....I use an 8inch fan to cool my two 1000watters in a 4x8 grow tent..

I dont see the link to the fan you are talking about but it really dosent matter which one you get just get a 8inch inline fan and you be good to go.....also get the speed fan controller as im sure you wont want to run your fan at FULL BLAST.... i dont even run mine at full blast and thats with TWO 1k lights.....

This thread has been a good read I'm in a similar situation, could you recommend a good fan speed controller? I plan to buy an 8 inch fan but reduce it as needed to control temps

With your 8 inch fan do you find its crazy loud? I want my grow to be stealth but I also want to use 2 1000 watt bulbs in cool tubes. I need a fan that can handle cooling the tubes and scrubbing the air. my 175cfm 4 inch fan is already pretty loud, how much louder will an 8 inch be?

 

[scroglodyte]

the better fans are usually quieter, and plan to use some rubber bushings between it, and box, for added quiet.

 

[scroglodyte]

Craigslist........my box.....i mean cousin Alfredo's box.......was built on the cheap. what really cracks me up, is when i see a 17 y/o kid at Home Depot, in line, with a "Grow Cannabis at Home" kit. when its all on one cart.....its obvious.