New Grower

bnestars said:

In my spare time, I am a computer geek sort of guy. I have never really been much of a do-it-yourself kind of person. I have been drooling over one of those pre-made all-in-one grow closets. I finally saved up the money to buy one, but just couldn't bring myself to hand over the $3,500.00 for it.

So, I decided I would become a do-it-yourself kind of person. I watched some you-tube videos and discovered an awesome program called Sketch-Up. Having done some 3D video game programming, I leaned to use SketchUp in about 20 minutes. There are only a handful of buttons you need to learn to use. It is very easy to learn, and I would not have been able to build my closet without it.

Once I was able to completely visualize the dimensions of my closet in virtual 3D space, I took a trip to Home Depot and bought some supplies. And some more supplies. And some more supplies. The grand total for this project, including a circular saw and a drill (I didn't own ANY tools whatsoever) currently stands at $1,179.97. This project probably could have been accomplished for less than that, as I have a lot of wasted materials due to the learning curve. I still saved myself $2320.03 and I have 45 more cubic feet of grow space than the pre-made closet. Of most value, however, is the experience and tremendous sense of accomplishment I got from doing it myself.

The project is not yet complete, although I shouldn't have to make more than one or two more trips back to Home Depot for a few small things. Today, I am installing the outer walls and preparing the interior for paint. I might even get around to painting today. I hope to have it completed before the end of the day tomorrow. My first seed sprouted this morning, so the race is on.

I am sharing all of this with you because it is killing me not being able to tell my friends and family what I am up to. This is the most ambitious project I have ever undertaken on my own.

The Floor

A wall frame

Wall frames up

1000 watt HPS/MH reflector

Activated carbon air filter and fan

Click to expand...

I'm considering building a grow room for a winter grow. Thanks for sharing.

Some hydro supplies have started arriving. I told Amazon to make as few shipments as possible, but they decided to break my order up into 3 different shipments. I think I may have overestimated the amount of floor space I have. The only other way to arrange them in a square is to only have 4. That just doesn't seem like enough, but 9 might be too many.

Awesome project man!
I've found that floor space looks bigger when it's empty, I thought I could flower six in a 4x4 tent, Turns out I won't be trying more than four again.

The documentation is awesome as well! I really hate using the word "epic" as an adjective but that shopping list is epic.
If the cord isn't long enough to put the ballast on the outside, I saw 20 foot cords at way to grow today for $20, they'd probably be half the price on amazon.

depending on where you live, I might recommend using your newly found tools and skills to build another one and putting it on craigslist! you could start a lil' business

The documentation is awesome as well! I really hate using the word "epic" as an adjective but that shopping list is epic.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I am a rare breed of programmer. I actually enjoy the documentation process. I also want to encourage people to give this type of thing a go. If I can figure it out, there isn't a stoner alive who can't.

depending on where you live, I might recommend using your newly found tools and skills to build another one and putting it on craigslist! you could start a lil' business

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I live in the heart of Dixie, so I doubt demand would be very high around here. Also, by the time I charged them to build it, they could just buy one of the much slicker, 900 pounds lighter metal cabinets. I do, however, plan on using my newly found tools and skills to build a separate flowering closet after I get a couple of grows under my belt. This is where the real savings will come in, because I don't have to buy tools and I have some left over materials.

While waiting on more supplies to arrive (one shipment will be here Saturday and the final shipment still says "preparing for shipment" after an entire week. Thanks for nothing, Amazon.) I went ahead and caulked up some of the light holes I noticed before. There is still a little bit of light leaking from around the door. I have caulked everything I possibly can. The closet is in a blacked out room(tin foil on the window), so this small amount of light leak shouldn't be a problem. My main concern is the smell leaking out. I hope my fan and filter are up to the task. I also took the light down and moved the entire closet to the other side of the room.

When I initially hung the carbon filter, I couldn't find the pre-filter that is supposed to go around the outside. I figured I must have thrown it out when I was cleaning. Leave it to a stoner to put it inside the filter and forget about it. Don't ask me how, but moving the closet from one side of the room to the other caused the pre-filter, still in a bag, to fall out of the filter, through the duct work, and onto the ground. So, I had the pleasure of not only taking the light down and rehanging it, but also the filter. At least there aren't plants in there yet.

Finally, the cord from the light to the ballast is plenty long enough to hang from the light in its highest position, through the intake hole in the floor, out the intake hole in the back, and up around to the side of the closet where the ballast now hangs.

Why can I no longer edit my posts after one day? Most of my posts are for my recollection anyway. I mean, you guys are welcome to every single piece of information I have access to. All ya gotta do is ask. However, you probably don't need to know that the order Amazon shipped 3 days ago won't be here until Saturday but the last part of the order that just shipped today will be here tomorrow. I might find that rather amusing one day. Reading this post years from now might just make me want to fire up a bowl of that super skunky, funky smelly green shit I have at this future time perfected the art of growing.

Originally, I ordered 3/4 inch black tubing from Amazon. The next day, I noticed that Home Depot had black tubing. They also had 3/4 inch tubing. So, I still had time to cancel the Amazon order and re-order, leaving the tubing off. How I walked out of Home Depot convinced they had 3/4 inch black tubing is beyond me, but they just simply don't have it. I didn't buy the tubing the same day I saw it because I was there for other things, and didn't want to connect too many dots for the cashier. So, two days ago (Monday), I placed an order for just black tubing. I paid $5.00 and some change for 2 day delivery because I didn't want to be waiting on just the black tubing. It got here today. SMH.

My original plan was to learn on bag seed and then get some better strains. However, Nirvana seeds has 10 Regular Full Moon for $30.00. I read that the regular seeds produce stronger mother plants than the ones that are genetically feminized. Anytime my dad has ever mentioned marijuana, he always tells me the exact same story about Thai Stick. If you watch his mouth when he says the words Thai Stick, you can see him start to salivate a little. In his mind, it was the greatest thing ever. So dad, you can't know what I am up to, but one day, you might get to smoke a little Full Moon. It won't be dipped in opium like Thai Stick, but hopefully it will knock your balls into your watch pocket.

According to Nirvana Seeds, "We came across this beautiful marijuana strain on one of our many research trips to Southeast Asia; to be precise, at the Full Moon party held monthly on the Thai dream island of Koh Phangan. Nirvana's Full Moon is everything you would want Thai weed to be like. This totally tropical Cannabis Sativa packs a trippy, almost spooky, visual high. Under high wattage bulbs, its popcorn buds become tight and heavy. Full Moon has a sweet marijuana scent and an unmistakably Thai spicy flavor."

I have the high wattage bulbs, no doubt. But can I keep them cool? If so, is this stuff going to funk up my entire apartment? Will my carbon filter be able to filter out that much funk? Do I have enough negative pressure to keep the smell from escaping without going through the filter? Is the seal around the bulb tube on the reflector sealed completely? The ducts connected to it? Am I just being paranoid? No, I have to be paranoid. Prison life wouldn't suit me at all. I have had doubts about all this from the very beginning. I almost called my brother in on it to help me at one point because I was frustrated and didn't know what to do. Luckily, he didn't reply to the text for several hours, during which time, I took a break. The solution just popped right in there, out of the blue. I was too close to it to see it. Luckily, I didn't give away anything to my brother.

EDIT: So Full Moon is from Thailand. Very tropical. Hot and wet. Maybe the higher wattage will be good for them. The wet part has me concerned. I might have to paint the ceiling and floor.

Just remember that a sativa will stretch a lot when switched to 12/12 so train it to stay low with topping or flip early they useally will gain 2x-3x their hieght in there stretch. Sounds like a winner strain good luck have faith in urself if u built all that u can easily produce some killer meds.

When I initially painted the inside of the closet, it was for reflective purposes only. I caulked on the outside because there was far less seams on the outside. However, due to late and sudden mildew paranoia, I caulked and painted the entire inside of the closet in Killz.


I also finally got around to cleaning out the walk-in closet and turning it into a proper mother/clone room.


All of the pieces for the easy drain DWC system have finally arrived. I drilled a 1 inch hole in the bottom of each bucket and squeezed a 3/4" black rubber grommet into the hole. I then squeezed a 3/4" barbed tee fitting into the rubber grommet.



I started getting the black 3/4" in hose hooked up to the tees, but my brother will be calling any minute now to tell me he is home and that we can start cutting and removing the tree that fell in his back yard this weekend, so the rest of the hydro system will have to wait at least until I get off work tomorrow.

Also, after taking the lights, filter, and fan down, I realized how flimsy the ducting I had ran was, so I ordered some Max-Duct 6 in. PVC Flexible White Vinyl Ducting. Its a lot more expensive than the plastic ducting I already paid for, but I feel it will be much less prone to tiny holes.

EDIT: Can't seem to get my bucket picture to work right inline with the text, so I have attached the image below.

Project Status: Complete!

I ran into some problems with the hose size vs. the barbed tee size. I wound up cracking two buckets trying to get the tubing to fit onto the tee, so I have decided to just empty and fill the buckets the hard way. I might revisit the easy drain system at a later date, but I am done spending money on this thing for now. Everything functions, so its time to get my grow on. I wound up ordering 10 regular Northern Lights seeds. I have heard this strain recommended for new growers more times than I can count, so I figured I would start there. After a few grows, its going to be a tough decision between White Widow and Full Moon. I will eventually do both, and hopefully a lot more different strains. I really need to work on a proper vegetation/mother/cloning cabinet...

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention... Now that the pre-filter is no longer hiding inside the filter and blocking the air flow, my temperatures have dropped a couple degrees inside the cabinet. Also, I get a very satisfying peeling/sucking noise when I open the door. How do I know if I have too much negative pressure for the fan? Will having too much negative pressure wear the fan out faster? Also, I did the math (440cfm / (4*4*7)cubic feet = 3.93) and I am changing out all of the air in my cabinet nearly 4 times per minute. Does that seem a little excessive?

Also, I just noticed that my circulation fan isn't in this pic. I have one. I promise. It was just sitting on the floor outside the closet when this pic was taken.

Click here to download the SketchUp plan for this cabinet. You will need to download and install SketchUp in order to view this file. SketchUp is free. Some of the additional SketchUp related software that comes with the download is just a free trial, but the program you need is free forever. I made several changes to this plan on the fly. The door is completely different, the plywood on the sides doesn't go all the way to the floor, and the cabinet is 2 inches shorter, on purpose.