Suggestions for a large grow cabinet

Alright, I will post pics as I am building as of now here is my plan. the box will be 3.5 - 4ft wide x 2-2.5ft deep and 6-7.25 tall. Is what i have room for.

Plants will be grown hydroponically with a 25 gallon res on the outside of the grow cabinet. Inside the box there will be two 5in. square pvc about 3 foot long next to each other with 3 plants each in them using 3 3-4in. net pots in each. Something like this but with a detached reservoir. View attachment 1247872

My question is as the pvc will have to be raised to keep them draining properly into the res. Should i separate the bottom of the cabinet for clones and a mother. If so how much would you guys suggest? 2 foot bottom 4 foot top? 3 foot bottom 4 foot top? If not make the box a bit smaller and make a smaller box for the mother and clones.

Depending on what i do a 400 or 600 watt hps with electric ballast will be used for the top for vegging/flowering. The bottom will use t5s for the clones/mother.

or each will be done in a separate box.

Since your grow is going to be so tiny I would recommend using coco. Coco is much more forgiving than hydro. I've done soil, hydroton rocks, rockwool, and coco grows. Coco using the Canna line of nutes outperforms hands down. It's my favorite method of hydro. It can be hand watered every other day or you can setup a drip system for about $25 in parts.

I would recommend keeping your clones outside of your closet. You want to keep them between 65-75 degrees without much fluctuation going on. With your 600 hps kicking on and off every 12 hours it will most likely effect your clones. Keeping your clones somewhere else will also give you extra vertical space which will come in handy. Clones don't smell and don't require hot lights that need fans so they're odorless and silent, which means you can keep them anywhere. You don't need a separate box for clones. A shelf in a closet or on the floor in a closet is fine enough.

You seem like a first time grower and the system you're thinking of has lots of room for error. If you go coco you will more likely than not get better results. 3 3/4 inch pots are really small. I would personally go with four 2 or 5 gallon pots using coco mix and nutes. If you decide to go the Canna route let me know and I will give you my recipe for success and guide you along the way.

Do you possibly have any good links to a drip system set up? Or is it more like a dutch bucket system?

and thank you of course for the input.

JKnuckles said:

Do you possibly have any good links to a drip system set up? Or is it more like a dutch bucket system?

and thank you of course for the input.

Click to expand...

I haven't looked on here before but its pretty easy. I use a 1200 gph utility pump dialed down to 50% using an inline valve to feed 12 lines and it works good. Since you would only be using 5 or 6 lines you could get away with a 200-300 gph maxi jet pump.

Here's the steps. Run 1/2" tubing the length of your cabinet past the plants and out of the hole you plan using in the cabinet, then down to a 25 gallon rubbermaid with a lid. About 7 feet of 1/2" tubing would work for your setup if you're going to have your external res right outside the cabinet. Cap the end of the tubing that will be inside the cab. Using a 1/2" line puncher, punch holes where your plants will be. Insert drip connectors into the holes. Hook up 1/8" drip line to the connectors on the 1/2" hose and run to the top of your plant pots. Connect other end of 1/4" line to drip stake and insert stake into the growing medium in your pots. The uncapped end of your 1/2" line that runs into the reservoir is then hooked up to a pump. When you turn the pump on it fills the 1/2" line, up the 1/4" drip line and out of the drip stake with a steady pressure. As long as you have enough pressure you will get an even flow.

The whole system costs about $25 from the site on the links below but all that stuff can be bought at home depot for cheaper. It is more convenient to go to a hydro store though where everything is in the same place. The optional stuff below is beneficial but not necessary. If you don't have an airstone make sure your nutrient solution gets mixed up every once and a while so it's not stagnant between feedings.


$22.95 pump: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=PWPEP03&eq=&Tp=
$0.42 ea. drip stakes: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HPMDA&eq=&Tp=
$0.40 per foot 1/2" tubing: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HPMT12&eq=&Tp=
$0.20 per foot 1/4" drip line: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HPMT14&eq=&Tp=

optional:
$2.94 inline valve: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HPMIV12&eq=&Tp=
$57.95 air pump: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HPAGHD&eq=&Tp=
$5.29 air stone: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HPASF36&eq=&Tp=

This system seems to be a lot safer and seems to actually give the plants some time if a pump fails. My only question is how does the nutrient drain from the buckets back to the reservoir?

JKnuckles said:

This system seems to be a lot safer and seems to actually give the plants some time if a pump fails. My only question is how does the nutrient drain from the buckets back to the reservoir?

Click to expand...

Throw saucers under your pots. You want your pots to get dry but not bone dry and then water. Once you have an established root system your plants will drink about a liter every other day. You can judge when the plants need water by the weight of the pot. Let them get dry between feedings but not bone dry. The main reason pumps fail is because they get clogged. Since you're not doing flood and drain you won't have anything running back into your res that will clog the pump. If you use an airstone and air pump you won't get any foamy buildup that comes with a stagnant resevoir. I'll include photo's of the drip connectors, assembly of 1/2" to drip connector to 1/4" setup, hole puncher that I forgot to include in the cost of the setup, drip stake that you'll be putting in pot to water plants, and your standard saucer.

Ah finally getting near the ending stages of getting the set up complete. Will post pictures soon. Any suggestions on what type of climate controller would be good for a set up like this? The box ended up being 4ft x 3ft3in, and 6ft6in tall. Ill be housing 6 plants in 5 gallon buckets. Just trying to decided on a 400 or 600watt light set up as well.