cfl entertainment center turned grow box

letam06

Well-Known Member
this is my grow box
http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/6/...20-09_1142.jpg

here are the dimensions
http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/6/...6271/plans.bmp
the red are exhaust and the blue are intake 80mm cpu fans.

here are my veg lights. they are 42watt (200 equivalent) 6500k. These put off 2800 lumens each so thats 14000 lumens for my veg room. i believe it averages to around 8000 lumens per square foot.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/6/...23-09_1320.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/6/...23-09_1324.jpg

will my intake and exhaust keep it cool enough.
 

SyNiK4L

New Member
couldnt tell u unless i tried it....thats how u gotta figure it out...try it keep a thermometer in there and just testm out...u can always add more fans right? i mean i started with like 4 bulbs and no fans...to 8 bulbs and 1 fan. to 12 bulbs and 2 fans...and now 18 bulbs with 3 fans...granted i didnt build a stealth box...mines ina closet. but closets are also hard to keep the heat down in...but im having no problems now with my 3 fans...remember u wanna keep ur temps between 65-88(at the most) 90+ will start to kill ur plants. i start to get worried if my temps get up to 88 or so...thats when i hafta turn my ac down or turn the fans up. lol.
 

letam06

Well-Known Member
ya i do have some experience growing. i harvested 3 beautiful ladies. 2 of them were 2 feet tall and one was 3 and a half feet tall. got almost 2 ounces. i also have a 250 watt metal halide. but i need something stealthy due to location.

i did order 10 33cfm cpu fans. they should arrive by thur. so either way i will have sufficient airflow. i have a digital thermometer with humidity as well for each chamber.
 

SyNiK4L

New Member
sounds good man...u prob got more experience than me lol..but i figured since u had 8 posts that u might be new... so are u gonna use that MH as well as the cfls? And let us know how it goes ill check back and check out my stuff feedback is appreciated +rep.
 

letam06

Well-Known Member
hell i would love to use that mh. but i need stealth due to my location. i am do have some experience. i will be recieving white widow, afghan kush, and super skunk clones once my box is finished. id say after you grow from seed to harvest the first time through you learn alot. my first plant got nute burn. the other two from my first harvest i started later and def had a better crop with those. wish i still had pictures. i had to reformat my computer a while ago and lost them.
 

SyNiK4L

New Member
pretty safe...dont use names if u take pics dont put much in it but the plant and ur setup...i dont worry that much...regardless i have 6 plants...for personal...im pretty sure if the DEA is comin on here they are looking for people with massive setups puttin out alot of bud for sale...not to mention if u become a elite member u can connect to the net thru 1 of thousands of proxy servers we have...but i wouldnt worry either way man...they arent lookin grow personal growers their looking for quanity growers.

back to the topic....what do u mean cus of ur location? apartment? closet?
 

SyNiK4L

New Member
lol just wonderin...im not a cop or something im just trying to get the idea of why everyone makes stealth stuff. i grow in my closet...big deal.
 

letam06

Well-Known Member
no i just like stealth because i do not want anyone close to me to know what im doing. i mean, im just doing it for personal. but still. im sure you know what im talkin about. im sure that you do not want all your friends to know what your doing. but as far as having to download my pics. you dont have to. it says click a link to download. but it just opens in a new window.
 

letam06

Well-Known Member
do you have any pics or threads on your cfl setup. im am just curious to see how everyone else is venting and hooking up their lights. also i dont know if i should make some sort of reflectors or just leave them be. i am painting the inside all flat white with some high quality spraypaint.
 

letam06

Well-Known Member
Almost done with my box. Got everything all painted except for the outside of the doors black to match the entertainment center. Inside of doors are white. I got my 3 separate exhaust fans wired for my veg room along with the intake fan and a fan to blow the plants. All Power wires are ran along with fan power for flowering room. will be planted in around a week. what do you think?
 

Attachments

NorthWest69

Active Member
Um...anyway (nice box, super stealthy), there could be some problems I see. I did a grow in space like this before, but now like Synik4L I like my closet. Those 42 watters get kinda hot, and will probably need a larger fan. Obviously you want to use the larger space for flowering so you'll be able to fit that. Find something that will fit nicely in the corner or something. If your using 42 watts for vegging, don't use many, or simply use 23 watters to lower the overall heat of the box. You wont need much light for vegging because you aint growing no 3 foot tall plant this time. I would recomend aiming to have at least 6-8 inches of open space above your plants in your flowering chamber just so that fan can push the air around. So account for the size of your pots, and how tall you expect the plant to be. You may know this already but your plant will be too big, unless you prune it. You'll need to ty-down, or simply top the plant. I would just top the thing twice and get 4 tops, seems easiest, and you get a plant that is bushy, and small in stature, but still a good producer. To make it worthwhile pack a few plants close together, you could maybe fit 4-8. You want to create an SOG (sea of green). In case you are a little confused about what a plant that has been topped twice looks like, I included a pic. Although the one pic is just of how my setup works, you could see more under "CFL Wrap Around" in cfl growing forums of course. The only thing I'm confused about is why is all you ventilation for the smaller chamber right now? You wern't going to flower in the small one were you? And what the heck is that black mass of cables shooting upward?

PS. can you send me your Metal Halid system please? I really want to try one. jk (unless you really want to?)
 

Attachments

NorthWest69

Active Member
Oh, I was going to say something about reflectors. I wouldn't worry about them. Normally I say, always use reflectors, but your walls are close enough to act reflectors, and, in a condensed space you'll want maximum airflow over your bulbs. Even though they're low wattage, they add up and you want good control over your temperature obviously.
here' some plants I was trying to make really small. Although I just noticed your box is only 20' tall, not 24' like I thought. Only the really mini plant would fit nicely in your box, although 12 of them would be substantial, lol. Anyway, there's people who know more about this than me, but there's lots of tricks to keeping your plants small without compromising all your yield. The one photo shows how I pruned to split the top in 2, then once again on each of those tops the create 4 tops. By this time the growth upward is stunted, but the lower branches will rise up through the top foliage. In the end all the buds are growing on one flat plane, ideal for your kind of situation. You may have to use a smaller pot, or a lower wider pot, in order to fit it in. FYI I the pots I use are 1 gallon, 2 gallon, and 2L cider. Your basic 2L bottle is good I find, cause you can really pack em together. Use green, not clear bottles. Six inch pots might be enough for your space.

In case you can't read the ruler, the plants come in at about 13' 18' and 19' , but this includes some of the larger pots I'm using, as I have the luxury of space. Hope this helps. You're not new at this so you probably, already know about SOG and topping, but that could be a good way to go.
 

Attachments

letam06

Well-Known Member
thanks for the info man. can never have enough knowledge. but i do have a 250 watt metal halide by hydrofarm. i have used it in the past with great success. I did a lil sea of green. I did get my lights all installed in my box and am germinating tonight. and planting in a few days. i do have experience with different methods but i never have topped a plant before. when is the best time for the size of my box. i know how to top plants. just never done it. i also know how to do clones with a mother. should i do that. keep a nice fat bushy mom in there.
 

NorthWest69

Active Member
Ya bra, I know about your Meta Halid system, remember I way joking around, saying that you should send it to me at the end of my 2nd post.

I don't think you have room for a mother, I've never done that way, I just clone a few good looking plants, and flowerer them hoping one will be female, then I throw out the male clones. This way functions like a continues cycle. If a plant pre-flowerers you can go ahead and clone it knowing it's females, and you don't need to keep this huge mother anywhere, or male clones. Pre-flower should happen 30 days after seed started.
Here's what I know about topping, growing from seed you need to wait 30 days, in which time you will hopefully see pre-flowers anyway, so this is a good time. From a clone you can go ahead a start topping once the plant is rooted. So topping is better on clones, but I have done both. read up on where you can make cuts, but remember to pinch it off, so "blood" doesn't come out, or cut at 45o angle so "blood" can flow off, and not make a pool up top there.

Also you never answered my question concerning, what is that black thing in piture "box-2.jpg"?
 

letam06

Well-Known Member
the black thing is a power strip. each different cord is a different plug. wallgreens 10 bucks. i finished my box, well the veg side. im starting some plants and will get flower side done when need be. ventalation is good. stays around 80 in there with those 42 watt bulbs.
i bet i could keep a mother in there, keep her real short. at least that would be very nice. im gunna try it.
 

Attachments

Top