First indoor grow, Cabinet Plans + Design, Advice needed.

Hi guys,

In the process of my second grow now, nothing serious.. few beans in the garden which will no doubt yield little to nothing due to my own incompetence and the bad UK weather. (Even though it's been quite nice this year)
Never grown indoors before so I don't have a clue what I am doing and all knowledge is based on what I have been reading over the past few months.

Anyway here's the plan, The only purpose to grow is for personal supply, if I can keep a perpetual cycle going I will be a very happy man.

Cabinet: Roughly 40x40cm and 120cm high which I plan to use, I will probably expand after but I want just 1 working at first.
Lights: I'm thinking 1 250w CFL Dual spectrum with hood, will this be enough? Overkill?
Intake: hole cut with PVC elbow attached at bottom of cabinet
Exhaust: 80mm Fan at top
Carbon filter: Carbon pad cut to fan size and attached.
Powerstrip: I have quite a few at home, will these be ok or should I invest in a 'special' one?
Fan: Small 12v fan in there.
Mylar: Will be covering the inside of the cabinet with reflective mylar


If I could get some feedback on this setup it would be most appreciated, again I am yet to do an indoor grow so I have no clue if this will suffice, I plan on using LST / SCROG method to maximise potential in this small growing space.
What do you think? Any advice, anything I've missed? Anything I will need to do differently?

Damb! a lot better then my first indoor setup!! i was rocking tin foil suspended from the rafters in my attic

I slowly added to my set up, upgraded, and built up over the course of a few years ... the only thing I regreted not getting right away was my grow tent ..

I love it, I set up and tear down with moves all the time. its traveled with me from canada, scotland, england, Cyprus ,and now set up in my current home in poland. I only grow from seed for personal use twice a year, and i set it up and tear it down often, even when my parent come from canada and live with me for a month plus...

You can probably pick up a grow tent for 50gbp on amazon ... you wont be disapointed .. and it will save you moneys in the long run esspecially if you rent. or move lot.

As for the 250w CFL, I grew on the exact same bulb it was perfect for my 60x60x120cm tent, I actually regret switching to HPS.

Really? regret going to HPS? Why so?

Everyone so far has been advising me to go HPS, I'm just a bit worried about heat issues. Anyone else feel to contribute?

yes, and also a by-product of the Heat: Noise!

I should note that I get higher yealds, and the buds come out way more compact. However I just grow for myslef, so yeald is not an issue ( lol my friends would differ as after harvest I give away anything I cant smoke ) and since I make sure the plants get well taken care of quality is definetly not an issue.

I live in a small 40m2 one bedroom flat in the city center,the tent is in my bedroom. Durring the summers temperatures are in the 30s, even now in September it is high 20's and when the light flicks on temps rise fast and humidity drops. This means my fans spool up to max, which makes it impossible for me to sleep ( I wont even metion what my wife thinks about it). Also I find I am misting the walls of the tent and watering more then with a CFL, and I cant take off the weekend like I used to . I veg on my CFL because the extened light cycle.

I guess I regret because I dont have the conditions to utalize the HPS. However, I am looking for something outside of the city now .. at whick point I will probably keep the set up in the garage and it wont be a problem. So its really up to what you have to work with.

Anyone else feel like weighing in? I would really appreciate it.

Just a carbon pad put over the filter will help prevent smell, but won't completely eliminate it. especially when she starts to flower. plus just putting it over the fan will really constrict the air flow, and probably shorten the life span of the fan. I'd recommend a carbon scrubber. you can buy them, or make one yourself. There's a ton of great DIY carbon scrubber threads around.

Save 2-300 buy a 400w hps 4 inch inline fan(not duct fan) and a nice carbon filter some good organic soil or mix your own with a little research. try to water every few days and add some nutes in flower. Thats my best advicw for you.

I would say go hps.

I plan on going 250 watt hps with 2 kessil h150 LEDs in a cab somewhat similar.

Wait wait wait. Your grow area is 40cm x 40cm so roughly 16in x 16 in?

Your cab is definitely going to be a lot smaller than mine so I apologize for my previous post. You're gonna have serious serious heat issues in a cab that small with hps. I would definitely go cfl if its gonna be micro grow. I would check out some 250 watt cfl grows.


My tip is just research similar grows to yourself and you'll be able to see common occurrences and get a feel for yield, light training etc.