Need Design Ideas for my Cabinet /w Pics

A bit about me I have been growing outdoors the past 4 years and 1 Indoor season using a 400w Metal Halide (Which I have in storage).
So the task ahead of me is I recently moved for college and now want to make a personal grow cabinet.
What would be the best approach to make a functional grow cabinet using the side by side Cabinets I have pictured below.

Ideas I have pondered so far

1. CFL's seem like a good choice electric bill friendly and low heat.
2. Was debating auto or "Normal" strain?
3. Sea of green?, Screen of Green?, or neither. ( Never done a SOG or SCROG grow before but done half the work RESEARCH!)
4. Budget is a factor
5. I would prefer not to cut into the cabinet
6. The good question that I am forgetting to ask goes here.

Thanks for the help in advance.

-GeekIt

You are going to need something you can make into a grow cab IE: mod it, cut holes ect...

reku said:

You are going to need something you can make into a grow cab IE: mod it, cut holes ect...

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So what you are saying is I am going to need a cab that I can mod, and if I cant cut into this one I need to find another cab?

Absolutely.

You'll need at the very least 3 holes, 1 hole for the power to come in, then 2 holes for in take and out take.

Sauder type cabinets work well for this, IMO.

Dragon311 said:

Absolutely.

You'll need at the very least 3 holes, 1 hole for the power to come in, then 2 holes for in take and out take.

Sauder type cabinets work well for this, IMO.

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cool thanks, If I were to take off the door make one out of particle board cut into that then I don't mess up my cab. For a cab that size I am assuming I will need a decent sized fan, bigger than a 200mm? 1 in 1 out

You haven't mentioned stealth or smell worries. If stealth isn't a factor you could just hang some mylar in there, keep the door cracked open to run the cables in / allow air to get in etc and grow autos. If you're in a dorm room or sharing then that would be a no-no.

Failing that, your particle board door should work fine.

millerino said:

You haven't mentioned stealth or smell worries. If stealth isn't a factor you could just hang some mylar in there, keep the door cracked open to run the cables in / allow air to get in etc and grow autos. If you're in a dorm room or sharing then that would be a no-no.

Failing that, your particle board door should work fine.

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Cool thanks for the reply, I do have to be stealthy to an extent smell is not a problem because the people I live with are cool, I just want to keep the grow personal since I am growing just for me anyway. And as the saying goes "lose lips sink ships"

Ventilation is very important, just because you are dealing with someone "cool" all it takes is a sniff from someone knocking on your door. Hiding in plain sight will fool a blind person all the time but almost everyone can smell pretty good. Good luck in your growing adventure.

Maxed Out said:

Ventilation is very important, just because you are dealing with someone "cool" all it takes is a sniff from someone knocking on your door. Hiding in plain sight will fool a blind person all the time but almost everyone can smell pretty good. Good luck in your growing adventure.

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Think if I made the door and had 2 x 200mm CPU fans with carbon filter on the out that would be sufficient?

GeekIt said:

Think if I made the door and had 2 x 200mm CPU fans with carbon filter on the out that would be sufficient?

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Probably not unless they are really good fans with good pressure not just cfm. Especially after you block it with carbon, that will reduce your airflow 50% at least.
Just keep it in mind. Silverstone and Sunon Maglev are good. As well as Bosch

Digikey
Arrow
Mouser
etc. all have good dc fans that will do the trick in a CPU fan size, but much more powerful [aka like 1-3.5 amps versus .35 amps @12v]

Easy way to calculate what you need........ Take your overall cubic footage and make the fans, strong enough to clear it out 5-10 times a minute. Then add a passive intake that is Twice, the surface area of your exhaust.

I do this same step on anything I grow in that is indoors, from tents to boxes. Then I tweak slightly for humidity and temp.

GeekIt said:

Think if I made the door and had 2 x 200mm CPU fans with carbon filter on the out that would be sufficient?

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I have had better results just using one fan, as the exhaust fan. Mounted higher than intake opening. Check out some electronic sites for cooling fans. Ideally it would be nice to be able to control the speed with a rheostat to offset pulling through a carbon filter. You can check the draft or pull of your fan with a incense stick or a lighter. If the draft pulls the flame of your lighter you are on the right track. Plus don't forget your fan inside your cabinet for air circulation.

Thanks Abiqua and Maxed Out for your help I will obtain a sufficient fan per your advice. Another thing I would like advice on is lighting and grow method. I was planning to go the CFL route in a SOG or SCROG method if I can get enough CFL's in the cab that can supply the light to do it. Going to paruse the forum for some pics of other peoples grows as well to see what would work best for my space got some great help so far