Grow box planning help

I'm planning my new personal grow box which I'll be building from scratch. I know I could do it easier but I like projects and I need one right now.

My box will be 24" x 24" x 48", will be a scrog box with a full on carbon filter/fan combo. I'll grow only for personal use, obviously, with two plants max. Many of the components I've already got from my past grow box.

The question I have is regarding the light. I had previously used a 250w and after that a 400w HID system. I've decided on LED from now on and to purchase from timber.

I'm deciding between the 200w or 250w Citizen or Cree kits. I know the wattage isn't what's important but the ppfd is. I don't want to over or under light the space.

Your thoughts are appreciated. I'm from California.

giantsfan24 said:

I'm planning my new personal grow box which I'll be building from scratch. I know I could do it easier but I like projects and I need one right now.

My box will be 24" x 24" x 48", will be a scrog box with a full on carbon filter/fan combo. I'll grow only for personal use, obviously, with two plants max. Many of the components I've already got from my past grow box.

The question I have is regarding the light. I had previously used a 250w and after that a 400w HID system. I've decided on LED from now on and to purchase from timber.

I'm deciding between the 200w or 250w Citizen or Cree kits. I know the wattage isn't what's important but the ppfd is. I don't want to over or under light the space.

Your thoughts are appreciated. I'm from California.

Click to expand...

So here's my 2 cents worth. You will be happy with 750-1000 ppfd of photons raining down on your girls. In round numbers with warm cobs, that is 15-20 PAR watts a square foot, and with today's builds that translates to 30-40 dissipation watts a square foot. So only 160 dissipation watts in your 2x2 box is plenty! I have used 35 dissipation watts per square foot of 3500k/80cri Gen 6 Vero 29s in my 2x4 box with great success. I wouldn't change a thing.

So within reason, it's not how big your PPFD is, it's how you use it that counts! You do not need the equatorial sun, at mid day, on a mountain top, to grow pounds a herb!

As an aside, I have been in a place of "I need a project right now" too. I could have bought a tent, but I built a 2x4 grow box. Good on ya!

My suggestion isn't on the light, but the fan/filter combo.
Move it outside the area if at all possible.
Those things are huge and moving them outside gives more height to raise light when needed without bumping up against the filter/fan.
Push the air out the filter at end rather than sucking it in first, if you have the right air flow the filter will handle it.

About the same volume as I'm running 24x28x42 . check out the 5H Club post over in micro/cabinet grow section...

HalfBee said:

My suggestion isn't on the light, but the fan/filter combo.
Move it outside the area if at all possible.
Those things are huge and moving them outside gives more height to raise light when needed without bumping up against the filter/fan.
Push the air out the filter at end rather than sucking it in first, if you have the right air flow the filter will handle it.

About the same volume as I'm running 24x28x42 . check out the 5H Club post over in micro/cabinet grow section...

Click to expand...

I'd love to...found it.

I've thought about that too. The thing is with the kits, I can design the light around the fan filter combo. I don't know how viable an idea that is though...

I'm going to scrog it so I don't think, that's an understatement actually, I should have trouble with vertical space. If my calculations are correct, which they seldom are, then I should have plenty of space above the screen for 10" colas. We'll see though.

Same here... still in the initial testing period after a build.
Plant size is in issue in small tents and you can try to limit size in many ways such as scrog or LST/manifolding.
Need to find the distance from the lights to keep the canopy at and find the sweet spot level for the tops.
You can either raise/lower the lights - or the plants. Rotating plants in/out of the room (harvest & replace)
is different than full tent scrog. It either works or it doesn't and will keep trying...

HalfBee said:

Same here... still in the initial testing period after a build.
Plant size is in issue in small tents and you can try to limit size in many ways such as scrog or LST/manifolding.
Need to find the distance from the lights to keep the canopy at and find the sweet spot level for the tops.
You can either raise/lower the lights - or the plants. Rotating plants in/out of the room (harvest & replace)
is different than full tent scrog. It either works or it doesn't and will keep trying...

Click to expand...

I always LST'd everything in my box. In the new box, it'll be LST plus the scrog so plant height, depending on the strain, shouldn't be a problem. The trick will be to flip it as soon as I bend 'em over and locate the screen a few inches off the plant. That's the plan however, I've never done the scrog part before so that's the unknown. I know I could have flipped earlier after bending. I was over cautious about that in my grows.