Cab almost complete. Got a few questions

I'm about 80% complete with my cabinet build. I still need to install the LED and fan/filter combo as well as paint the interior.
The inside dimensions of the cab are 18"x20"x56"
The fan/filter combo is a 4" Apollo fan w/ 12" carbon filter.
The LED will be a ViparSpectra 450W.
The fan is insanely loud, so I dialed it down with a 3A speed controller. It's still noticable but I intent to place an air purifier beside the cab to account for the sound or at least drown it out and it will also help with the smell when I open the cab.
Since the fan will take up 12", I'm left with 45" of space. Add the LED and I'm left with 30" or so of usable space.
This will be my first grow and I've decided on an Indica strain as Sativas just make me too anxious and paranoid.
Even though I have a filter and an air purifier, I'm still concerned with smell so I'm going with a "low odor" strain, Cream of the Crop Hybrid X fem seeds. Has anyone here grown it? I can't find any reviews or journals on it. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
With regards to my height constraints, which size pot would be best suitable? It will be a soil grow and Happy Frog will be used for sprouting and Ocean Forrest for the grow. I intend to grow only 1 plant and I'm wanting to get at least 2 zips out of it. I also intent to scrog. That being said, should I sprout a few seeds to choose the best and least smelling or would it be a waste of seeds?
Thanks in advance!

Popping a dozen seeds is a waste if you only want 1. There is no way to tell which one would have the least odor.
The fan will be quieter if you mount it on rubber mounts or suspend it from straps. Use flexible rubber hose to minimize any harmonics. I'm growing a skunk strain at the moment and my filter handles the smell just fine.
As far as pot size, grab a plastic milk crate from behind a gas station and put a garbage bag in it. Presto, 6 gallon pot. They're about 12x12x9 if I remember right. If 9 inches is too tall, grab a kitty litter pan.

Thanks for the reply!
Re: the fan, I have it mounted directly to the cab and haven't noticed any vibrations, but then again, I have it slowed down considerably...it's running probably about 25cfm. It you can imagine a gentle exhale, thats about the force of the air coming out. Should I increase the speed? The cab is sealed up airtight with the exception of 3 2" passive intake holes at the bottom of it.
For pot size, I think I'm going to go with a 3gal smartpot. I've got smartpots in 1/2/3 and 5gal sizes. I'm thinking the 2gal will be too small and the 5gal will produce too big of a plant for my space.

palmetto420 said:

Thanks for the reply!
Re: the fan, I have it mounted directly to the cab and haven't noticed any vibrations, but then again, I have it slowed down considerably...it's running probably about 25cfm. It you can imagine a gentle exhale, thats about the force of the air coming out. Should I increase the speed? The cab is sealed up airtight with the exception of 3 2" passive intake holes at the bottom of it.
For pot size, I think I'm going to go with a 3gal smartpot. I've got smartpots in 1/2/3 and 5gal sizes. I'm thinking the 2gal will be too small and the 5gal will produce too big of a plant for my space.

Click to expand...

Temperatures are going to dictate what your fan speed is going to be. My upper canopy temps can sometimes reach maybe 82 degrees, but the entire cabinet, measured at the top of the cabinet, never goes above 75. Do you have a small fan inside stirring the air in the cabinet? If not, you should. Your plants will benefit from a little turbulence, a.k.a. wind.
Dialed in with decent COBs, you should be able to pull a consistent 3 to 4 ounces out of that box. With the Vipar, maybe 2, 2 and a half ounces.

Thanks Kevin!
I haven't bought a small fan yet, but I will.
I may purchase a COB pending the results of this grow. I've got the Vipar, a MarsHydro 300w and a Global 360W.

Honestly i wouldnt waste time trying to scrog in a space so small. It would be easier i think to just LST the plant and keep it short. Thats a lot of light and if they grow too close you will burn up the leaves with light. Happened to me on my 2nd grow.

If you need more height inside cabinet remember you could always move the carbon filter outside the cab to where you are exhausting the air at. Just place a prefilter screen over the exhaust hole to keep debris out of your fan. I have an apollo 4" 190cfm fan i just set it on top of my tent and its pretty quiet. I see some people will wrap their fan in a towel or something to help buffer the noise.

Would like to see some pics of your set up.

ScrOG is just an easy way of doing LST. In my opinion, it's almost a requirement for such a small space..
I would also like to see a few pictures.

Thanks Mean!
Yeah, I'm going to do my best to keep the light at least 15" away since they are 5w leds.
I plan to use the Global veg side for sprouting, then after a week or so, turn on the Vipar and use it solely for veg until I switch to bloom, then I'll use that and the Global bloom side (lots of red)...if that makes sense.
I have to contain everything within the cab as it's needs to look unassuming so I won't be able to place anything outside of it.
I also have a double sided wardrobe that one side is partially complete, about 80% as well, that I may use instead. I can't make up my mind which one I want to use because I love how my cab turned out and I don't want to cut an exhaust hole in the side of it, ha!
The wardrobe side is 19" x 21" x 64". It offers more height, but venting is an issue because I would need to vent through to the other side and it's where I keep linens and towels. A 4" hole with air coming out of it would raise eyebrows should a guest go snooping while I'm in the shower or whatever.
Re: scrog, I'm torn between wanting to do the grow as quickly as possible and wanting a decent (2oz) harvest. By that I mean going directly to 12/12 from seed or going 18/6 till it's on it's 5th node and then topping, then scrogging.
Originally I wanted to sprout 9 different photo strains in 1gal square pots (5.5"x5.5"x7.5") and do single cola grows but I figured that would probably be too advanced for me at this point considering I've yet to master the basics.

Get a couple of runs under your belt. You'll eventually decide to modify your blurple lights into COBs and you will then have a bit of experience. I'll help you choose what you'll need for the conversion whenever you're ready.

Hey, thanks so much Kevin! I uploaded a couple of pictures of the cab. I'll upload some more tomorrow of the equipment and the interior.
I definitely agree with you that some trial runs are in order to firm everything up.

Honestly, I would be content growing a bonsai sized plant that produced half a zip. At this point, I smoke maybe 4x a month so half an O would last me between harvests.

Nice work. Im used to seeing a lot of really crappy craftsmanship, it's refreshing to see something turn out professional every now and then.
After you get a little organically grown goodness in your hand, your smoking habits might increase slightly...
Keep it up!

Thanks Kevin!
Yeah, I wanted to make something that was functional and looked good at the same time and wouldn't look out of place no matter it's location.
The top compartment of the cab was designed around the idea of using a WhipserQuiet fan. The fan would sit inside the compartment atop a sliding tray of carbon. The shelf the unit would be mounted to would have a 9"x9" square intake beneath it that would intake from the lower compartment. I still may go this route as the Apollo filter I have is 1/2" to big lengthwise to fit. I really don't want to spend the coin on a smaller filter.

The Vipar is currently in use for sunflowers and Thyme. They'll be put out once the fear of frost is over.
Here's my selection of seeds. I'm currently waiting on the order that has the Hybrid X so I still have some time to complete the cab.

This is the wardrobe that's also an option. I still would need to chalk everything, paint it, and mount the internals.
The intakes are 2.25" and drilled out for 1.5" pvc 90° elbows. Initally, they'll all be plugged and I'll remove the plugs one at a time until I get the best neg pressure within the wardrobe.
The tray is 18"x18". As it sits now, it blocks the intakes so I need to route out a channel so it can sit flush against the side wall.
The last picture has a 3gal pot in it to depict size within.
If I use the wardrobe, I'll probably go with an autopot setup. A 10gal RV watertank would be installed in the otherside.

Mean Gene said:

Honestly i wouldnt waste time trying to scrog in a space so small. It would be easier i think to just LST the plant and keep it short. Thats a lot of light and if they grow too close you will burn up the leaves with light. Happened to me on my 2nd grow.

If you need more height inside cabinet remember you could always move the carbon filter outside the cab to where you are exhausting the air at. Just place a prefilter screen over the exhaust hole to keep debris out of your fan. I have an apollo 4" 190cfm fan i just set it on top of my tent and its pretty quiet. I see some people will wrap their fan in a towel or something to help buffer the noise.

Would like to see some pics of your set up.

Click to expand...

I also use my 4" fan outside of my tent to save space.

Couldn't you cut half an inch off of the aluminum mounting flange? It looks like you'd certainly be able to figure out how to salvage half an inch.

palmetto420 said:

This is the wardrobe that's also an option. I still would need to chalk everything, paint it, and mount the internals.
The intakes are 2.25" and drilled out for 1.5" pvc 90° elbows. Initally, they'll all be plugged and I'll remove the plugs one at a time until I get the best neg pressure within the wardrobe.
The tray is 18"x18". As it sits now, it blocks the intakes so I need to route out a channel so it can sit flush against the side wall.
The last picture has a 3gal pot in it to depict size within.
If I use the wardrobe, I'll probably go with an autopot setup. A 10gal RV watertank would be installed in the otherside.

Click to expand...

Putting your tray on scrap 1x would space it up plenty for airflow.

Thanks for the idea Kevin! I guess 30secs with a hacksaw would be the simpler solution.

Putting it up on 1x would work too. Because I cant slide it over much to the right, the 1x slats would enable it to draw air up from the right where there is a 2" gap.

I'm currently at a stand still with the project. I'm leaving next month for a few weeks and won't be around to water so will have to start when I get back. However, since I have some time, I've decided to build a smaller cab (10"x18"x36") and I would like to build some leds to put inside of it. I'm thinking 2 50w CREEs...I just need to do the research on putting them together and buying the needed parts.