285w LED box

Hello everyone, it has been a while since I have posted and wanted to share my updates.

First! I recently completed my first run with these lights (4 cxb3070s, 4 vero10, 1 CXA3070) for a grand total of ~286w
Plus UVB bulb supplemented at the end.

I got ~.7g/w of some of the best bud I have ever smoked (not to toot my own horn) I have been enjoying the fruits of my harvest and planning my next build.

Which brings me to my next point, towards the end of my last run I got my Arduino wired up and sensing the resevoir temp, air temp/humidity as well as controlling lights and fans. I ended up getting this stuff set up but then putting it in a box.

I am noW at the point where I can fully combine my diy projects. I have decided upon a 2Door storage cabinet because it is large enough to have a dwc bucket in it and it can lock, but more importantly it can be disassembled for easy movement. A storage cabinet is also less suspicious than a black tent humming in the corner. Plus I like the idea of hard walls and a pad lock to open it up.

I bought a ~8 gal tote and will have 4 3" net pots in each corner of the tub Filled with hydroton. I will have my powerhead in my tub with an airstone (roots seemed to love it last time). I will be feeding them General Hydroponics Micro and Bloom following the Lucas formula (had great results last time). I also have a UVB bulb that I will be turning on towards the end of the cycle.
I ran my last harvest for around 3.5-4 months and let them get almost 3 feet high, this run I will keep them shorter (2ft) and will be flowering after about a week or two of veg.
I was able to produce some good quality bud with this system, I just want to have a little faster turn around.

I got the cabinet inside covered in aluminum tape, I carved out 7 holes in the top shelf for my heatsinks, then I covered the bottom of the top shelf with aluminum tape, near the leds. I have the heatsinks and electrical wiring as well as LED drivers all in a small space in the top of the cabinet created by the first shelf. This allows all of my heat generating components to be isolated and exhausted away from my grow area. Under the first shelf is where the grow area is, one dwc tub and each plant with be topped and trained to keep it low and fill out the canopy. I may add a scrog in, I havent decided yet.

Here is what I have, let me know what you think

heckler73 said:

Other than the rat's nest of wires , it looks tight.

EDIT: I just noticed those might be shadows...can I blame marijuana?

Click to expand...

There are shadows that make it appear worse than what it is lol
I will be sprouting seeds this week.

But yea lol the top shelf wiring is a little messy, but it has plenty of room to allow air flow. I wanted to give myself a nice clean grow area, last time I had wires strung everywhere (grew in closet) and my arduino half mounted with the sensors everywhere.
I am excited to get another run going.

What are the dimensions of the cab? .75gpw is impressive, from clone or seed?

vitamin_green_inc said:

What are the dimensions of the cab? .75gpw is impressive, from clone or seed?

Click to expand...

From seed, no clones where I'm at lol
Yea I was amazed at my last yield, I could break a bud open and my fingers would be so sticky I can hold a full size bic for 30 seconds by touching it lol def top 3 best bud I've ever had and I'm so proud to say that I grew it. All of my friends were impressed too, honestly I have no complaints from my first run other than its over.

That cabinet is about 15" deep by 24" wide by like 38" tall. I had to go with a slightly smaller tub because the box was slightly too small. I think 4 on a 12/12 cycle should fill out nicely in there.

I took my homemade reflectors off since the leds are in a concealed box now. No light is getting out

Nice man, yeah you definitely got the light factor maxxxxed out for that size space. have you already decided what you are running next round? 12/12 from seed try and lean towards a sativa dominant but otherwise keep it up man!

I'm a bit confused. Are you saying you are going to be running ~115 W/sqft ?

vitamin_green_inc said:

Nice man, yeah you definitely got the light factor maxxxxed out for that size space. have you already decided what you are running next round? 12/12 from seed try and lean towards a sativa dominant but otherwise keep it up man!

Click to expand...

Yea I was going for Max light! All of my last buds were soooo dense and break up beautifully. I didn't have any airy or popcorn buds. I would rather have more light in a smaller area than less light with a bigger area.
I calculated it all out and I was under the max light levels for my space on my last run. Figured sealing off a slightly smaller (maybe 2" all the way around) box would bump my numbers up closer to max saturation. Giving me some nice results in a small,portable,concealable environment.

I have some seeds that I ordered a while ago, off the top of my head I have black domina, kandy kush, golden haze and a blueberry auto I believe (it's been a while since I opened my seed jar) plus some bag seed of any fire that I get.

My last run was bag seed from a fellow grower who bought Girl Scout cookies seeds. My seeds had good genetics I think lol so this last run cost me nothing for the seeds.

draz said:

I'm a bit confused. Are you saying you are going to be running ~115 W/sqft ?

Click to expand...

~3 sq ft @ ~2 ft vertical space.
~200w (CXBs) + ~50w (CXA) + ~36w (Vero 10s)

So ~286w for ~3sq ft = ~96w/sq ft

The CXBs are 3k and are on their own driver, the CXA is 3k and is on its own driver and the vero 10s are 5k and are on their own driver. So I can turn on whatever combo I want.

Seems a bit much to me but as you said you can turn some of the COBs off(can you dim as well?).

15"x24" = 2.5 sqft. Either way, 115 or 96 W/sqft is crazy high for any type of lighting especially with minimal vertical space.

Is that 2' of vertical space from the top of totes to the COBs? Since you are running them at 50W each, you need to keep ~1' away from the plants to prevent bleaching. Leaves you with 1' for the plant. I work with ~2' and I find it tough with some varieties.

draz said:

Seems a bit much to me but as you said you can turn some of the COBs off(can you dim as well?).

15"x24" = 2.5 sqft. Either way, 115 or 96 W/sqft is crazy high for any type of lighting especially with minimal vertical space.

Is that 2' of vertical space from the top of totes to the COBs? Since you are running them at 50W each, you need to keep ~1' away from the plants to prevent bleaching. Leaves you with 1' for the plant. I work with ~2' and I find it tough with some varieties.

Click to expand...

It may very well be, these were the best items I could find for my space I have available right now.
The 4 CXBs can be dimmed, all measurements are approximate.

I know that it will be tight, which is why I'm doing 12/12 and training them. Maybe supercrop or top them to slow them down vertically.

I was hoping it would be enough vertical space, but worst case scenario I have too MUCH light, which can be adjusted for free lol too LITTLE light would be a costly fix.
This is the only way I can do another run, I agree it is small but it's what I've got to work with lol
In envious of the people with a house, a college student lifestyle and moving between apartments does not make this an easy hobby to keep up lol

My last run was in a closet (loved it) this is in a box (like it so far) my
Final dream room would be a walk in closet all COBed out lol obviously this is the smallest of the environments. But hey if I can get this system set up and get a nice yield I could sell it to a friend when I move and no longer need it.

All trial and error, hopefully it will work out!!!

So I have some updates.

I raised the top shelf 2.5 inches to give me some extra space. I wasn't happy with the unused floor space I had, after some thinking I decided to cut notches into the front door frame and back supports. This allowed me to squeeze my old 12 gal tub into the box and shut the doors!

I was still thinking of 4 plants but with the bigger res it should be easier to maintain. I only lost ~1" in height between my old tub and the new smaller tub, the main difference was in its length and width.

I also shut he CXA off and only ran the CXBs for a while, the temps were much cooler. The CXBs can be dimmed as well. After thinking about the cooling requirements with the space given, I thought maybe only running the 4 CXBs (option to be dimmed)

So now I have:
12 gal tub
4 CXBs (dimming option) 200w
~2.7sq ft growing area
~20" height from tub to leds

So that is 200w/2.7sq ft = 74w/sq ft
My last run had an average of 47w/sq ft (if I remember correctly)

This is at full power, so I can dim accordingly if needed. This will help the amount of heat that is generated and allow me to design a much *cheaper* and simpler ventilation system.

I was thinking of using a four or five pack of 120-140mm computer fans for intake and exhaust. Something quiet that could be low power/heat and could be controlled via my arduino for future improvement.

So keeping in mind that this is a 12/12, max LED light for the space, quick turn around box, what are your thoughts on the changes?

You will never get away with PC fans as an Exhaust for that space, too little back pressure...Unless you buy the expensive Delta's or a EPM Pabst.....AC Muffin Fans are another options, I use them for my current cab, not the quietest, but not blower loud either...

Soler Palau TD-100 or the X, great fans for small cabs too......



7-900 ppfd maybe just fine....imho you are in oversaturation territory still [because of the height...]! ....You don't need so much for a small area!!!!!!

I am sitting at 700-750 in my 3.5 sq ft Cab @ 115ish watts....Cab is 19x24...32" height....
44% EffCombined with Vero 29/ CXA 3070 AB's all 3k.....1050mA

I am getting plants over 2' on the regular now from 1/2 gallons, 3-4 week veg FROM seed..........
and my PAR is sitting @ 14.5 or so watt/sq ft....they grow VERY quickly under even that intensity.....

My First run [all perpetual, so it had to add it all together, not quite the same as full runs........] was around 0.8 gram/ watt and increasing....I believe now that I am starting to inch up to 1g/w and beyond....

I think you could dim down to even less than 600 ppfd and keep height at almost optimal for that space.

Abiqua said:

You will never get away with PC fans as an Exhaust for that space, too little back pressure...Unless you buy the expensive Delta's or a EPM Pabst.....AC Muffin Fans are another options, I use them for my current cab, not the quietest, but not blower loud either...

Soler Palau TD-100 or the X, great fans for small cabs too......



7-900 ppfd maybe just fine....imho you are in oversaturation territory still [because of the height...]! ....You don't need so much for a small area!!!!!!

I am sitting at 700-750 in my 3.5 sq ft Cab @ 115ish watts....Cab is 19x24...32" height....
44% EffCombined with Vero 29/ CXA 3070 AB's all 3k.....1050mA

I am getting plants over 2' on the regular now from 1/2 gallons, 3-4 week veg FROM seed..........
and my PAR is sitting @ 14.5 or so watt/sq ft....they grow VERY quickly under even that intensity.....

My First run [all perpetual, so it had to add it all together, not quite the same as full runs........] was around 0.8 gram/ watt and increasing....I believe now that I am starting to inch up to 1g/w and beyond....

I think you could dim down to even less than 600 ppfd and keep height at almost optimal for that space.

Click to expand...

You raise an interesting point about the PC exhaust fans.

Also if it is too much I can dim it, I am glad I have too much light right now and I am dialing it down to avoid saturation.

I am just excited to see what I can pull off in this box. Even if I sell the box to a friend or keep it for a flowering box and get a perpetual system set up.

If I can get .7g/w again using ~150w that's still 3.75 zips in 3-4 months (not sure how long seed to harvest 12/12 would be) I would be happy.

You said you keep your plants about 2' high and get .8g/w, with one month veg. So what is your flowering time usually?

I looked into the AC muffin fans on Amazon and there's quite a few options for less than $25.

I do like the looks of the inline fans but those fans are more than I have into this entire project lol my ramen noodle budget would not allow a $150 fan purchase, although they look beautiful lol

So do you think one ac muffin fan for an exhaust and a set of 4 pc for intake will do? My thoughts are to remove the center CXA in the shelf, use that hole and mount a cPu fan to draw the heat from the top of the growing area (closest to the lights) up into the top half of the box where the electrical is (which is cleared out without the extra leds) I will have a muffin fan up there because that is where the majority of the heat in the box would be.
I figured since heat rises I would place 4 pc intake fans in the growing area near the bottom, one between the growing area to the electrical area (to suck heat from growing area) and a muffin fan to get it all out. Thoughts?

Yeah, besides the computer fan ventilation, I like the cab. What are your plans for smell? Also agree that is a lot of light but since you can dim down, you should be safe.

EDITED, try just an exhaust fan first, you don't want to force air in, it's better to have a negative pressure environment with just a fan sucking air out of the cab.

I used that same plastic cabinet for a drying cabinet years ago, had my fan/filter combo in the bottom exhausting out the back with a furnace filter cut into the chamber for filtered air intake. I hung my longer limbs form the shelf and cut the center out of the shelves, then covered them in 1/4" hardware cloth(mesh wire) for the smaller buds/limbs to sit on while drying. It worked VERY well, I will probably build another soon as my grow is approaching the end soon.

apoulin said:

I looked into the AC muffin fans on Amazon and there's quite a few options for less than $25.

I do like the looks of the inline fans but those fans are more than I have into this entire project lol my ramen noodle budget would not allow a $150 fan purchase, although they look beautiful lol

So do you think one ac muffin fan for an exhaust and a set of 4 pc for intake will do? My thoughts are to remove the center CXA in the shelf, use that hole and mount a cPu fan to draw the heat from the top of the growing area (closest to the lights) up into the top half of the box where the electrical is (which is cleared out without the extra leds) I will have a muffin fan up there because that is where the majority of the heat in the box would be.
I figured since heat rises I would place 4 pc intake fans in the growing area near the bottom, one between the growing area to the electrical area (to suck heat from growing area) and a muffin fan to get it all out. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I like that idea....as long as you get your ambient temps to stabilize around 75F....thats all that counts.....Passive is best like @the dopest suggest's....but adding if you need a little help start with one fan and then work up if you need to get down to 75F......

apoulin said:

You raise an interesting point about the PC exhaust fans.

Also if it is too much I can dim it, I am glad I have too much light right now and I am dialing it down to avoid saturation.

I am just excited to see what I can pull off in this box. Even if I sell the box to a friend or keep it for a flowering box and get a perpetual system set up.

If I can get .7g/w again using ~150w that's still 3.75 zips in 3-4 months (not sure how long seed to harvest 12/12 would be) I would be happy.

You said you keep your plants about 2' high and get .8g/w, with one month veg. So what is your flowering time usually?

Click to expand...

Plants are reaching to 2'....which is a product of intensity....same homemade strains have always been used, but my previous LED's were half the PPFD/ 125 watts/ 25% efficiency

I think they will go over 2' easily at this intensity with a few more runs under my belt......you will have no trouble of filling your cab , just remember the numbers, when it is too full! .....oh the life

I don't think I have ever gone over 55 days with the COBS, that seems to be about the time frame

Alright so I have some updates.

I had another shelf that fit. So I decided to make another mount, but this time only for the 4 CXBs. I didn't cut as large of holes that way the LED sat flush with the bottom of the shelf, this gave me and extra 1.5" of clearance from my tub to leds.

I rewired everything and eliminated a lot of the extra wiring. I have a heavy duty Tripp-lite surge protector along with the driver and heatsinks in the top shelf. When I put the top on the cabinet it is a nice tight fit and the heatsink fans keep the leds cool.

Alright so I have some more updates.

I have wrapped it almost completely with the reflective tape.

I added a fan that I harvested from an old computer. The fan is located in the middle of the shelf and is drawing air up from the grow area into the top shelf section.
I still have to get an exhaust fan set up and will be getting an AC muffin fan to ensure it is powerful enough to keep it cool.

I have my leds running at full power right now to ensure that the cabinet can be adequately ventilated, they will most likely be dimmed

I also bought weatherstripping for the cracks for the doors.

I installed a lock on the front and have a padlock, not the most inconspicuous thing but it locks and holds my doors shut, I'm happy.

I close the box and turn the lights on and there are still some light leaks I am covering but for the most part the box is dark, I plan on draping a sheet or blanket over the top and setting my fishtank on it to help cover up the sounds/light.

Overall the box is 90% lightproof as of now (200w led) and I will only have it on during the day to help with light. There is virtually no sound with the 5 fans I have running. I also cut an access hole for a long heavy duty extension cord, so I can keep my surge protector in the box and have a single three prong wire connecting the box to power.

Any thoughts as of now?