Noob Micro-grow setup

Hi everyone. I'm new here and new to growing. I've been doing lots of research for a micro grow I'm setting up. I live in a small apartment in the city and just don't have room for a tent..yet.
My plan is to grow an auto plant in a 3-5 g air/smart pot (transitioning to hempy bucket after a few grows) inside a 32gallon trash can. I'll be wiring the can with in/out fans and a door for access.

Here's where I question.....my plan is to build a custom cob light.
3 x Vero 29 37v 3000k 90cri powered by a hlg 185-c1400b. I was planning on wiring a potentiometer for the dimmer, thinking this light will be bright and maybe need to be dialed back at beginning of grow.

Does this sound like it will work?
Am I missing something in the design?
Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks

As long as you can achieve acceptable conditions in that area, there is no reason it won't work. Should be no different than any cabinet grow space.

I can't remember the specs on the Vero 29 but I'm running Luminis CXM22 gen3. Got 2 of them running and they are almost overkill for my 2x3 space.

May be worth the spec sheet review to save a few bucks...

As Chip said though, so long as you can get proper lighting and ventilation... any cabinet will do.... size of the cabinet defines the maximum size of your resulting yield obviously...

MJCanada said:

I can't remember the specs on the Vero 29 but I'm running Luminis CXM22 gen3. Got 2 of them running and they are almost overkill for my 2x3 space.

May be worth the spec sheet review to save a few bucks...

As Chip said though, so long as you can get proper lighting and ventilation... any cabinet will do.... size of the cabinet defines the maximum size of your resulting yield obviously...

Click to expand...

This is why I think I need that dimmer. Ideally this light will be upgradable up to 4 cobs on the same driver but I only have access to a very small space at the moment. But I might only need 2 cobs to start the bucket grow.
Honestly, after going down a rabbit hole of Growmau5 vids on YouTube, 420magazine, hightimes, and rollitup...I think I'm overthinking it and just need to jump in.

TheOutlawBubbaKush said:

This is why I think I need that dimmer. Ideally this light will be upgradable up to 4 cobs on the same driver but I only have access to a very small space at the moment. But I might only need 2 cobs to start the bucket grow.
Honestly, after going down a rabbit hole of Growmau5 vids on YouTube, 420magazine, hightimes, and rollitup...I think I'm overthinking it and just need to jump in.

Click to expand...

Everything sounds good plan wise. Got you a space can grow lol. Always fun and interesting! If you got the funds to get what you want.. Get it! Since its your first grow Start small get to learn the ins and outs of growing. And when u r ready to upgrade to a bigger size, more plants u can alwaaayysss add on to what you have cob leds and good ventilation . Especially that u r diying, you're golden! Subbed up bro. Good luck my friend

Rolla J said:

Everything sounds good plan wise. Got you a space can grow lol. Always fun and interesting! If you got the funds to get what you want.. Get it! Since its your first grow Start small get to learn the ins and outs of growing. And when u r ready to upgrade to a bigger size, more plants u can alwaaayysss add on to what you have cob leds and good ventilation . Especially that u r diying, you're golden! Subbed up bro. Good luck my friend

Click to expand...

Thanks man. I'm excited to get this going. I'll try to document everything

Yes. Dive in. My first DIY lights were overbuilt on purpose. So much "splitting hairs" over spectrum, and efficiency. That design will soak your available area with photons. Creating suitable conditions, to achieve proper plant health,are the main objectives.

3 x V29 on a 185 sounds like serious overkill for a trash can.

Maybe consider a cheaper and perhaps more suitable option of V18s with a 185 1050b instead? A trash can doesn't have a lot of vert space, so you don't want to burn the plant. All the HLGs have a dim range down to 50% of the max current, so the 1400b will be dimmable to 700ma. I would want more downward adjustment range for a trashcan build than upper range, and the 1050 dimmable to 500ma seems to me to be a better match for a low vert space.

By the time you move to a tent, there may be better COB/Strips avalaible (and you will probably want to build a new diy setup from scratch rather than upgrade the can light)...and you can keep your trashcan as a mother ship.