Stealth/Homemade Grow Box/Coco Journal

Hi all, first thread, first grow.
Just joined today to do some research and decided it would pay to put up a journal
Firstly, I'll just give you guys a quick run-through on the grow box that I made specifically to fit into my walk in robe.
Made from pine which I bought from the local hardware store, measured up & cut. materials cost me $20 for the wood and $7 for the screws & nails. (AUD)
I'm new to forums so if my pics dont upload properly please give me a break
I made the top extra stable for my lights to hang:

The film covering my box is called "SARK".
It is used in the roof tiling trade, and is placed under the batons which your roof tiles sit on-top of. So I found a building site which was waiting to be tiled, and patiently waited and kept eye on it until they finished the job and then I grabbed all the off-cuts which were getting thrown out.
Í then cut out a 15 x 25 cm hole in the top right side and covered with some flywire screen for the hot air output.
The air intake is just a circular cut-out which the fan perfectly fits whilst sitting on the floor.
Air Out:

Air IN:



That's it for the box.
The Grow!
Seeds: Random bagseed
Medium: cheap coco coir. ($25 25litres)
Light: Dual Flurotubes. (for the moment, until my 250W MH & HPS kit comes in the mail) 18/6 currently
Nutes: House & Garden coco.
Fan: Unsure of cfm.About 7'' Diameter. Timed to turn on for ten minutes every two hours. (unsure if this is too much only for seedlings, help )

Feeding: as they are only week old seedlings, they have only been getting PH'd water, although today I gave them their first very mild nutrient feed. ( 1ml per 1Litre) .... = 3.7ml per gallon for all of you in imperial.

This is it.

Day 7.


I have some seedlings in rockwool for germination purposes only. soon i will be putting them in 1L pots.

Before any of you say anything about the 2 seedlings in the single rockwool cube, I must explain this genetic phenomenon.
When I germinated these seeds, you may not believe me but one sprouted 2 tap roots! Yes, 1 seed 2 plants! Amazing stuff. I had to share it, as I am unsure of this ever happening before.
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM is MAJORLY welcome, as I am just learning on the journey.
And I'm sorry about the poor quality pictures, My camera's flat.
Thanks for reading =)

look good, tho Im a bit concerned with that SARK, Im sure its reflective and everything, but Im also sure it will trap heat, kind a made for it I guess, and even a small 250W MH/HPS will produce a lot and in a small space like yours it might become a problem to keep them 75-78F specially if your in a part of the world where you have/get hot wether ? a cool tube might be a idea to look in to if/when if become a problem

also, your ventilation is kind a "back wards" set up



I run my 6" vent. 24/7 not only do it help me cool my 600W HPS down when its on, but it also provide my plants with fresh air/co2 24/7 witch is important (I even run a pice of Ducting from my PASSIVE intake to "collect" some fresh air)

Ooh yea and a filter to fit your ventilation is a must once they begin to flower/stink, unless you live on your own Island and can smell shit yourself

Thanks for the feedback slipon!
I have thought about the heat, and the sark i thought would be good because to my knowledge it's used as a fire hazard precaution.
But i understand your concerns. My aim of this box was just to make an incredibly simple box to grow in, when they get bigger i'll have the fan running 24/7 or near that.
And I am in a rather hot location, and am going to invest in a temp gauge ASAP to monitor if I think I need a better ventilation system. but I am rather happy with the fan I have. Yes cooltube sounds excellent, but once again I am low on cash so i will invest when some comes in.

Thanks alot for your post much reviewed & appreciated.

yea well Im sure the sark is good for the purpose, just keep a eye on your temperatures, make a trail run once you have your 250W MH/HPS and see how high they raise over a few hours

a cool tube or hood is a good investment, not just to cool the bulb down and shield it from the plants, but also since its inside a glass tube/hood with a ventilation cooling it your able to keep it much closer so you actually end up providing your plants with more light in the end, I had my 600W about 20 inch`s away before I had the cool hood on, now I can keep it 12-15 inche`s away

View attachment 2597525

as you can see a 600W provide about +10K Lumens at 20 inch`s and about 18-30K at 12-15" tho the glass do block about 10% of the light according to my light meter, but you still end up with close to twice the light at your plants


here a one for the MH:
View attachment 2597526

but take it a step at the time, see how hot it get in there then try to tweak it before investing in a lot of stuff, tho a cool tube is kind a cheap, and you can even make a DIY for a small 250W with a glass tube from a oil lamp, be creative

You're rather knowledgable aren't you slipon? this table will come in handy when I chuck up my ligths. Thanks ! still got the fluro tubes on them at the moment and they're doing well, i'll upload some more photos tomorrow. I've got my lights now but i was considering putting them in in a few weeks so save a bit of electricity, what do you think?