Need Help Ventilating Closet

Ok, So I have a closet grow setup right now. I know I need some ventilation in there. My problem is that I am in an apartment so I can't destroy the door to put in exhaust fans or anything. I really can't mess up the walls or ceiling either. I have heard some people say that you can buy a replacement door. My problem with that is that the people come every now and again to change air filters and such. And if I happen to miss the notice that they are coming and they show up I am screwed. Right now I just open the door a few times a day. I also need to figure out a way to hide the extension cord coming from under my door. I was having a light leak but I have bought some window sealant to help with that. The closet is in the hall and not in my room. Thats why I even have a problem. Open to any suggestions.

Fist off if you live alone you should change out your front door lock so they HAVE to call you to open the door. If not maybe change out your closet door lock so that you can keep unwanted visitors from seeing your grow when your at home. As far as covering up the extension cord try gettin another white one ir maybe get white vinyl strips to blend it in to the baseboards. I wouldnt worry about light leaks as any extra crack you have is gonna aid in venting the room while the door is closed. You need a way to supply the room with fresh air every day and regulate temperature/humidity at the same time, so if youre not able to modify the walls or doors in the apt i would keep the door open and crank the A/C down! (78 is actually an alright temp tho). Just my opinion...

P.S. CFLs are not going to put out enough heat in that room to stress your plants unless you dont open the room at all so worse come to worse keep opening the door as you are and you should be straight until your next grow.

Glade to see it's still going for you. As far as venting, basically there is no way to do it besides having some space for the air to go. Which without being able to make a hole in wall, ceiling, or door would be near impossible. Only thing I can think of is drape a blanket on the inside of the door to work as a light catch but with a top or bottom corner slightly raised, and leave the door itself slightly cracked about an inch or so, that way even though the closet would look open it would appear to be completely dark. If the door is hollow you could also drill holes in the inside near the bottom, and then on the outside drill them near the top; but only go through to the hollow point. That way it'd work as a type of stealth vent and should avoid light leaks but the holes would have to be in a small obscure place(Hell maybe even the door knob) obviously so people don't notice them. As for the cable, a white one as said mounted to the baseboard would be less noticeable but the only actual way to hide it would be to go through something. (IE: The baseboard, the sealing.) If you had the money or a way to acquire it you could also get some 14/2 romex and run it under the carpet as it's flat surface would be pretty close to unnoticeable and unless the carpet is glued you could get away with cutting probably only 2 small holes and fishing it through rather then pulling up the edge of the carpet.

Yeah the grow is still going. 5 of the 8 died off. But 3 are strong and growing fast. I moved the cfl's alot closer too and ever since then the grow has been doing great. I think Im about one inch away. I could possibly buy a extra door to rig up but I would have to seriously be on checking when they come by. If I do that what would be a way of hooking it up? Cutting the carpet is a good idea or maybe pushing it underneath it. I may even paint the exposed part white and staple it or tape it to the baseboard. What if I bought a board to cover the inside and put fans in it and left the door open when I am here and closed when I am not. But now that I think about it the drape would be much cheaper and do the same thing. Keep the suggestions coming because this problem isn't going away yet. Also, do I need to worry about co2.

I just thought of an idea. Why not buy a door and do like aquafinaorbit said and drill a hole in top and bottom and they would never know the difference because they won't look that close until I move out and then replace the door. Maybe I could even drill big holes and cover them up with something. Is that what you were trying to say or something else aqua. Sorry if that was what you were saying and thanks for the advice from both of you.

dude what type of kelvins are those bulbs ? they look pretty warm in colour to me , which is only good for flowering , u want cool daylight for veg

Yeah they're 2700k. I bought 8 of those and then some people on here told me I needed 6500k so I bought 8 of those. I haven't hung them up yet because I thought I might have to take them back because I have been over buying stuff and spent way too much money. I think i will be able to keep those though. They are 26watt 100 watt equivalent. Do you think 8 of those would be sufficient. that is only 208 total watts and 800 equiv watts. With the 42 watters it is 336 total watts and 1200 equiv. I was also going to buy some t8 lighting to go on the side. Does anyone know where to get bigger 6500k lights from.

You need to get a ducted exhaust fan. For the sake of the plants health, and to get the smell out of the house. Masking the scent will not do. Figure out a way to get the air in the closet to the outside. You should also cover the walls with plastic and reflective material. Without plastic, the smell with soak into the drywall and you will never get rid of it.

Perhaps building a wooden frame with white/black reflective material(smaller than the cupboard - or put an old cupboard inside it) and then work on ventilating that. There are some excellent stealth constructions on RIU. Good luck

Hey thanks for the input. I can't really mess up the walls. I could get a replacement door and rig it up. As for the smell. I really didn't think that would be to big an issue. I have an air purifier and I live alone. I guess if the people come to change the filters though and smell it then that would be a big issue. They will be coming this week and I will have to move the plants to my room. After that they won't be back for 3 months. I will try to figure out a wooden frame structure to build. It will need a door though. And if I did that then the t8 lighting I was going to rig up will need to go in there.

please keep it coming

Yeah, that door thing is I believe what I was saying.

DST said:

Perhaps building a wooden frame with white/black reflective material(smaller than the cupboard - or put an old cupboard inside it) and then work on ventilating that. There are some excellent stealth constructions on RIU. Good luck

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I like this idea a lot that way you vent into the cloest itself and leave the door somewhat open but with the plants and lights inside their own smaller box no one would ever know anything was going on. 4x8 sheets of OSB board are about 5 bucks, but you'd probably need some framing boards for support. Judging by your CFL fixture though you atleast have a saw of some type?
Also PVC pipe can be used to make a cheap frame that is easily movable and then you just wrap that in mylar or whatever your choice is. Also don't worry about getting bigger 6500Ks for now as you have to place them further away from the plants which causes you to loose some efficancy in the bulbs.

Ok.... So here's the deal. I have a closet in my bedroom that the people will never go in. It is 6 foot deep and 8 foot wide and like 9 feet high. I would have used that but me and my girlfriends clothes are in there and I didn't want to mess them up. I could build a grow box to put in there. If I do that there is a lot more room to do stuff in and to air out. I also will have about the same heat and temp problems if I build a box similar to my closet. But on the plus side I can do whatever I want to it so I can fix the problem. I also won't have to worry about light leaks or cords showing. I will however have to build this and I will have to move the plants to that room. I have room now for 3 plants. That is what I want to stay with so that later I can have 3 diff strains. I can take back the 20 dollar fan I have now and buy smaller computer fans. This has been a freaking epiphany. Ok, so I have a lot of work too do but I need some help. What equipment do I need that I don't have and where to get it? (computer fans etc.) The osb board and fans I know. does anyone know where to get good priced fans. I am thinking i can build another light fixture and hang it from the top of the box with the chain i already have. How tall should the box be? Safe dimensions? where should the fans be placed for optimum potential. Will the heat warp the wood? and I may want to try hps some day so it will need to handle that as well or should that be another box completely. I want to stay low in cost too because i spent a lot on this already. this is critical.... I need this going soon because it is almost time for transplant. Keep it coming.

I'll post what I'm thinking later, bit to busy right now. I think you would get more assistance with this though if you made a new thread in the grow room section.

Thanks for the post aqua. I will definitely be needing some advice and help putting that together. I probably will be posting a new thread for that but if you have any advice I will try to hear yours first then post. So do you think that is a better idea. My girlfriend gave me the ok to do that as long as it doesn't take up her side. But like I said its pretty big. I may want to make it tall enough to have a clone/seedling area. Maybe not though. Because I might use a box in the old closet for that. I have 3 gallon pots because I read a book that said you need that size to hold a good size plant. And I have 3 of those. I would like to grow 2 to 3 plants so I can have a few different kinds. I also just got some free seeds from the net and I want to try cloning so when they come in I can clone them. What is the best thing to put the clones in.

Thanks, but I would go ahead and post the new thread. The more ideas the better. Anyway heres a rough idea using the max dimension you gave us. Really though it makes a box far to large for just 3 plants and would also probably be hard to construct in the closet, but at least gives you a slight idea of what could be done or something to work on scaling down. (Also wasn't sure where your door is so just put it in the most convenient place haha)



Also keep in mind those exhaust vents are using ducting all on the outside. I did that simply so you could keep the closet door somewhat open and not have light leaks as the only actual open place 24/7 to the box would be in the back and with ducting painted black (inside) light hopefully wouldn't do much escaping. Lights I would simply mount as you already have, and just screw in two hooks in the top to attach the chain to and then to lower and raise it just adjust what link is in the hook. Fan wise, for a space that size the only computer fans that would really do what you need would be something like a Tornado, or a Delta but theres ways to mount desk fans in the ducting with a little bit of work. (Keep in mind also that exhaust air ducting would go all the way to the front edge of the box to minimize recycling the hot air, and that intake is simply to add air circulation to the room (Nice thick stems) and probably should be removed from the design.

Would this setup be my whole closet or is it a box inside my closet. If it would take up my whole closet my girlfriend would definitely not ok that. I mean if it was just me I would sleep in the living room and convert my whole dang room into a grow palace but with her I can only do so much. I was looking at other grow boxes and thinking of building something that looks like your box. Except a lot smaller. I would love to have a veggin and cloning chamber but to save space I might make a really little box and put it at the bottom of my other closet for cloning or maybe on the side of my grow box. I was thinking of something that would be about 3.5 feet wide and maybe 15 or 16 inches deep and 6 or 7 feet tall. I don't know how tall plants get though so I don't really know how tall it would need to be. I don't plan on vegging very long either. I want to get good plants quick. I will put a door or double doors on it. I want to eventually use hps or mh if I ever find out how that effects the light bill. So I will need to start off with holes big enough for regular fans and then really good fans for the more heat. I will probably be starting a new thread for that though. Also real quick. One of my plants has started to have yellow tipped leaves. It only has one set and another trying to come in. I haven't made it to the local hydro store to get a pH tester yet so it could be from improper pH water. Or over watering under watering. I just transplanted also.

seemeat420 said:

Would this setup be my whole closet or is it a box inside my closet. If it would take up my whole closet my girlfriend would definitely not ok that. I mean if it was just me I would sleep in the living room and convert my whole dang room into a grow palace but with her I can only do so much. I was looking at other grow boxes and thinking of building something that looks like your box. Except a lot smaller. I would love to have a veggin and cloning chamber but to save space I might make a really little box and put it at the bottom of my other closet for cloning or maybe on the side of my grow box. I was thinking of something that would be about 3.5 feet wide and maybe 15 or 16 inches deep and 6 or 7 feet tall. I don't know how tall plants get though so I don't really know how tall it would need to be. I don't plan on vegging very long either. I want to get good plants quick. I will put a door or double doors on it. I want to eventually use hps or mh if I ever find out how that effects the light bill. So I will need to start off with holes big enough for regular fans and then really good fans for the more heat. I will probably be starting a new thread for that though. Also real quick. One of my plants has started to have yellow tipped leaves. It only has one set and another trying to come in. I haven't made it to the local hydro store to get a pH tester yet so it could be from improper pH water. Or over watering under watering. I just transplanted also.

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That box was full dimensions, but like I said is far to big for the amount your trying to grow and should be scaled down(Properly lighting something that size would require around 1000watt HID, but could be done with a 600). Just was giving a rough idea of how to distribute space but if you did scale down obviously you could loose stuff like that storage area. About as small as you could go would be something like a rubbermaid container sectioned into 3 (So roots don't mix)to use as the pot(since it wouldn't be using circulare pots you don't loose space in the gaps) and then just build a small 2.5 foot enclosure over that. Basically all you need is design a box that encompasses the size of the pot, then 3x the planned height of plant when it switches from veg to flowering. CFLs won't require much extra space and plant won't more then triple from veg to flower, so much beyond that would be extra convenience room. Since it's your first box and your using CFLs, I probably wouldn't design much with an HID in mind as that would raise the roof space at least 2 feet, unless your positive you'll be doing this again. As for the tips, are you feeding them nutes, and are the tips pointed up or down?

Also wouldn't hurt to just look on craigslist and look for an old free dresser or filling cabinet and modify that to your needs. Would save some work and money

Thanks aqua. That's a great idea to look on craigslist. I didn't even think of that. Yeah, that would save me a ton of time and energy and money. And that way I could use all cfls and save my money to build a hid system later. It would give me more flexible time to work on it. As for the nutes... I just transplanted yesterday so I haven't used any nutes. To be honest with you I don't even know what kind of nutes I am supposed to use. I wasn't going to use any until I heard some guy going on and on about them yesterday. But I still have no idea what to use. I thought my soil had it in there. It says it feeds for 3 months. I heard about this blooming stuff thats great. The leaves are pointed upwards. And it hasn't effected growing yet because there second set of leaves are fanning out now. Also, the rubber made idea was good too. I am losing a lot of space with the round pots. I will definitely check those out. What about holes for drainage though. Do I need drainage at the bottom of the pot. And when I transplant those should I dig up the transplant or take the whole pot out. How big of a rubbermaid should I use?