dancingshrooms
Active Member
Background
I'm 22, and have been enjoying the good green herb for about 6 years now. I recently moved to a new city and consequently lost all my "contacts", and haven't been able to find a reliable supplier for over 6 months now (read: I've been dry for 6 months). This prompted me to start growing. I have limited expertise with horticulture, lighting, and HVAC, but with my chemical engineering background, I felt I could push through most obstacles. Now that I have close to finished my grow box (around 85% complete), I can say with confidence that making a grow box isn't for anyone, but if you're willing to make a few errors / shell out around $200-300 / have common sense, it's quite doable.
Purpose of the Journal
The purpose of this journal is to not only keep a record of my first grow, but serve as a good one-stop starting point for other newbies who are on the line as to whether or not they should grow their own. In addition, the journal will hopefully prevent others from making the same mistakes I have made or will make. I have included a lot of details that I wasn't seeing in other grow FAQs, which I thought would be helpful to include for total newbies (like myself, still).
Quick description of the grow
I am doing a semi-stealthy indoor grow with two 37 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs as the main container, using CFLs and the Autopot passive hydroponics system. I say semi-stealthy because the grow box will most likely raise at least an eyebrow if seen, as opposed to a more stealthier grow such as a computer case.
*** On to business... ***
Day 1 - Gathering materials
After lurking around grow forums for a while and reading grow FAQs (very important before starting or else you'll definitely make mistakes!), I decided to just go ahead and buy the stuff or else I'd never start. From Home Depot, I got:
- 2 Rubbermaid Roughneck Tubs, 37 gal. ($32)
- 2 gallon pail ($3)
- Surge protector strip ($7)
- Outlet "lamp" timer ($7)
- Spray paint for plastic (3 black, 3 white) ($25)
- Electrical tape
- Bulb sockets. Home Depot has tons of these in open boxes in the Lighting section. Probably took me an hour running around figuring out what exactly I needed to buy for my lighting, since I had initially went in looking for a vanity light fixture for my lighting needs. ($17)
- Long (around 5 ft), thin (around 0.5 in) mounting bracket thing used for bookcases. This was going to be the fixture I would mount my bulb sockets on. ($3)
- CFLs (6 daylight 27w, 6 softwhite 42w). I chose the highest wattage CFLs I could get at Home Depot, and for some reason the daylight ones only go up to 27W. If you didn't know already, daylights are used for the "first phase" (vegetative), and soft whites are used for the "second phase" (flowering). ($120)
- Lamp wire (16 gauge, I think) ($3)
- Brown lamp plug cord (its the one with prongs on one end, and bare wire on the other) ($5)
- pH meter ($12)
From a computer supplier, I had ordered the week before:
- Small PSU ($25)
- 4 120mm case fans (4 pin connector) ($10)
From DrChronic, I had ordered the week before,
- 10 seeds of Auto AK47 ($30 or 40). Probably should've bought feminised since I'm not planning on keeping a mother plant around, so that's my first mistake. Buy feminised if you're keeping a low-profile / personal grow. The seeds came in less than a week (quite reliable)!!
- Started germination of two seeds using the paper towel technique, and vacuum packed the rest of the seeds with some raw rice grains as dessicant.
From Futuregarden,
- 1 Autopot Single kit. The single kit is pretty nice if you aren't overly concerned at penny-pinching - it comes with pretty much everything you need on the horticultural side (growth medium, pots, nutrients, reservoir, tubing). Not sure, but you probably can't save TOO much buying all the stuff separately. ($80)
As you can see already, even with a small CFL grow, you will end up spending at least $250, which might deter those without an income.
After buying all the equipment, I proceeded to paint the inside of the tubs black with spray paint, since it would take around a day to dry a decent amount. This is recommended to keep the light from leaking out through the sides of the tubs, and I read somewhere that two coats is recommended. I only did one, and I can tell you right now that that was not enough. From what I can tell, two coats will probably be enough.
Days 2 through 4 - Putting it all together
The design of the box went through quite a few iterations, usually with me feeling good about the box, then waking up the next day to add yet another "feature" or improve on existing modifications. To summarize,
- Added white coat of spray paint on top of the black coat
- Placed two exhaust fans (120mm, ~70 CFM computer case fans) powered by a small PSU at the top. Read somewhere that the air should be replaced 3-5 times per minute, meaning with two 37 gallon tubs (~10 cubic feet), I'll need 50 CFM's total for 5 air exchanges.
- Cut out a passive intake "circle" near the bottom, on the side. Only cut out one circle about the same size as one of the exhausts to have increased air velocity through the intake even though making a smaller (than exhaust) intake sacrifices fan efficiency. However, I had some "efficiency" to spare, having two 70cfm fans. The increased air velocity would serve to aid in mixing the air inside the growth room.
- Assembled the Autopot and prepared the medium, which consisted of Ultracoir and self-added perlite. Since I've read that a slight majority of growers just use plain coir without perlite, I added just a little perlite, about 2-3 handfuls to a brick of Ultracoir. I firmly packed (not TOO firmly) the bottom 1/4 to 1/2 of the pots to ensure the pots will "suck" in the water (via capillary action), and gradually decreased packing firmness as I got to the top (but not too loose).
- Planted seedlings (~0.5-1 inch deep, loosely "capped" the hole with medium)
- Prepared water for hydroponic reservoir for seedlings using included fertilizer in Autopot kit (so 1 tsp of "Vigor" and 1 tsp of "Grow" per gallon). Going by faith that it's decent fertilizer. Using PUR filtered water as I don't believe RO or distilled water is THAT much better than the filtered PUR water.
- Made the light fixtures and put it all together (see below). Used Dremel for cutting pieces/holes out of tub.
Simple schematic of design thus far (excuse my poor drawing skills
)
Some pictures of the setup:
I'm 22, and have been enjoying the good green herb for about 6 years now. I recently moved to a new city and consequently lost all my "contacts", and haven't been able to find a reliable supplier for over 6 months now (read: I've been dry for 6 months). This prompted me to start growing. I have limited expertise with horticulture, lighting, and HVAC, but with my chemical engineering background, I felt I could push through most obstacles. Now that I have close to finished my grow box (around 85% complete), I can say with confidence that making a grow box isn't for anyone, but if you're willing to make a few errors / shell out around $200-300 / have common sense, it's quite doable.
Purpose of the Journal
The purpose of this journal is to not only keep a record of my first grow, but serve as a good one-stop starting point for other newbies who are on the line as to whether or not they should grow their own. In addition, the journal will hopefully prevent others from making the same mistakes I have made or will make. I have included a lot of details that I wasn't seeing in other grow FAQs, which I thought would be helpful to include for total newbies (like myself, still).
Quick description of the grow
I am doing a semi-stealthy indoor grow with two 37 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs as the main container, using CFLs and the Autopot passive hydroponics system. I say semi-stealthy because the grow box will most likely raise at least an eyebrow if seen, as opposed to a more stealthier grow such as a computer case.
*** On to business... ***
Day 1 - Gathering materials
After lurking around grow forums for a while and reading grow FAQs (very important before starting or else you'll definitely make mistakes!), I decided to just go ahead and buy the stuff or else I'd never start. From Home Depot, I got:
- 2 Rubbermaid Roughneck Tubs, 37 gal. ($32)
- 2 gallon pail ($3)
- Surge protector strip ($7)
- Outlet "lamp" timer ($7)
- Spray paint for plastic (3 black, 3 white) ($25)
- Electrical tape
- Bulb sockets. Home Depot has tons of these in open boxes in the Lighting section. Probably took me an hour running around figuring out what exactly I needed to buy for my lighting, since I had initially went in looking for a vanity light fixture for my lighting needs. ($17)
- Long (around 5 ft), thin (around 0.5 in) mounting bracket thing used for bookcases. This was going to be the fixture I would mount my bulb sockets on. ($3)
- CFLs (6 daylight 27w, 6 softwhite 42w). I chose the highest wattage CFLs I could get at Home Depot, and for some reason the daylight ones only go up to 27W. If you didn't know already, daylights are used for the "first phase" (vegetative), and soft whites are used for the "second phase" (flowering). ($120)
- Lamp wire (16 gauge, I think) ($3)
- Brown lamp plug cord (its the one with prongs on one end, and bare wire on the other) ($5)
- pH meter ($12)
From a computer supplier, I had ordered the week before:
- Small PSU ($25)
- 4 120mm case fans (4 pin connector) ($10)
From DrChronic, I had ordered the week before,
- 10 seeds of Auto AK47 ($30 or 40). Probably should've bought feminised since I'm not planning on keeping a mother plant around, so that's my first mistake. Buy feminised if you're keeping a low-profile / personal grow. The seeds came in less than a week (quite reliable)!!
- Started germination of two seeds using the paper towel technique, and vacuum packed the rest of the seeds with some raw rice grains as dessicant.
From Futuregarden,
- 1 Autopot Single kit. The single kit is pretty nice if you aren't overly concerned at penny-pinching - it comes with pretty much everything you need on the horticultural side (growth medium, pots, nutrients, reservoir, tubing). Not sure, but you probably can't save TOO much buying all the stuff separately. ($80)
As you can see already, even with a small CFL grow, you will end up spending at least $250, which might deter those without an income.
After buying all the equipment, I proceeded to paint the inside of the tubs black with spray paint, since it would take around a day to dry a decent amount. This is recommended to keep the light from leaking out through the sides of the tubs, and I read somewhere that two coats is recommended. I only did one, and I can tell you right now that that was not enough. From what I can tell, two coats will probably be enough.
Days 2 through 4 - Putting it all together
The design of the box went through quite a few iterations, usually with me feeling good about the box, then waking up the next day to add yet another "feature" or improve on existing modifications. To summarize,
- Added white coat of spray paint on top of the black coat
- Placed two exhaust fans (120mm, ~70 CFM computer case fans) powered by a small PSU at the top. Read somewhere that the air should be replaced 3-5 times per minute, meaning with two 37 gallon tubs (~10 cubic feet), I'll need 50 CFM's total for 5 air exchanges.
- Cut out a passive intake "circle" near the bottom, on the side. Only cut out one circle about the same size as one of the exhausts to have increased air velocity through the intake even though making a smaller (than exhaust) intake sacrifices fan efficiency. However, I had some "efficiency" to spare, having two 70cfm fans. The increased air velocity would serve to aid in mixing the air inside the growth room.
- Assembled the Autopot and prepared the medium, which consisted of Ultracoir and self-added perlite. Since I've read that a slight majority of growers just use plain coir without perlite, I added just a little perlite, about 2-3 handfuls to a brick of Ultracoir. I firmly packed (not TOO firmly) the bottom 1/4 to 1/2 of the pots to ensure the pots will "suck" in the water (via capillary action), and gradually decreased packing firmness as I got to the top (but not too loose).
- Planted seedlings (~0.5-1 inch deep, loosely "capped" the hole with medium)
- Prepared water for hydroponic reservoir for seedlings using included fertilizer in Autopot kit (so 1 tsp of "Vigor" and 1 tsp of "Grow" per gallon). Going by faith that it's decent fertilizer. Using PUR filtered water as I don't believe RO or distilled water is THAT much better than the filtered PUR water.
- Made the light fixtures and put it all together (see below). Used Dremel for cutting pieces/holes out of tub.
Simple schematic of design thus far (excuse my poor drawing skills
)
Some pictures of the setup: