Operation Closet Build is back in action!

Hello everyone! As the title says, wife has approved me to convert the closet! Main thing she said - if your going to build it don't build it half @ss - Yes ma'am! It is going to be in the basement, in a closet. Exhaust through wall into clothes dryer duct via y connect with one way valve. Intake - still in design but thinking from AC vents or from adjoining room ( wash room ). Electricity already ran in center ( currently CFL light for closet ) with more electricity available to hard wire if needed.

The room is 6 1/2 foot wide x 4 1/2 foot deep x 7 foot tall. I would prefer a single bulb that would be sufficient for veg and flowering - but if you all have better advice, please let me know! Some have said a 600w HPS, others say a 2 foot T-5 and CFL's.

I do have financial limitations but I would rather get the proper equipment and spend a few extra months saving. My optimal goal is quality over quantity if that is a factor.

Another question - in a room this size, roughly how many plants would I be able to fit in there?

Thank you everyone in advance!
Hornchen
Semper Fi

hps are the best if you need only 1 light for veg and flower but a lot of people are getting into leds and on most sites that sell grow lights it tells you how much square feet each light can reach out too, i just got a new hps from htgsupply.com so if your looking to order online check them out.....since you want quality make sure you get some seeds from a good seedbank, attitude seedbank is the best one in my opinion if your again ordering online but you have plenty of space to grow a good ammount of plants it all depends on how much your growing medium (soil/hydro pots) takes up the floor so you can stiill move around in that small area easily without bumping into plants and risking something falling on them. just remember 90% of the quality of the bud depends on its strain only 10% depends on if you grow soil or hydro and also remember light is the biggest issue along with ventilation, it cant get too hot but the bigger the hps you get the hotter it will get so make sure you have good air flow and may invest in a co2 tank with a regulator

Very nice - one thing i am thinking ( might be overkill ) is running 1 or 2 T-5's across the top and then having a 400w or 600w HPS on adjustable chains to lower/raise it as needed. Getting air out isn't an issue, getting air in might be my issue ( unless its alright to pull from connecting rooms ). I was reading up from monster gardens and they produce this bucket that is full of mushrooms and food for them - the byproduct is C02 - says it is good for a 4x8 tent for 90 days. Would a tank and regulator be a better option?

Thank you again,
Hornchen
Semper Fi

It really depends on how much space you want to use. If you are only going to use a small section then a 400-600W may be enough. If you want to use most or all of it then you are going to need a minimum of 1000W. 2 600W fixtures would give you more efficiency and the best coverage though. Depending on budget and how much of the room you want to utilize will determine how much light you need.

Right now you have about 30 Sq. feet... which ideally would call for ~1500W of light. You could shave a bit off by not using the entire space. Maybe use 4x4 for 16 sq feet and use at least 2x400W, if not 2x600W or a single 1000W.

Oh wow - I had no idea that I would need that much. I was thinking that a 600w might even be overkill haha! Boy have I got a lot of research left to go : ) Thank you for pointing me in the right direction - I might need to work on this intake/exhaust issue a bit more.

One concern I have is that I am wasting my vertical space - There are a few shelves ( one about half way from the bottom and another about 2 foot from the top ) and I was thinking about growing vegetables or once I get the swing of things to start staging on them - would that mess anything up when setting up my lighting?

The more vertical space you have the better you can deal with temperatures,

I recently redesigned a closet 3.5x7x8 using a 600w lumatek but i dont use the whole space only 3.5x3.5.


Link to my closet.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/441212-my-new-closet-re-design.html


My current journal is in my signature .


I like having a little space for working .




J

idk which way is better for co2, if you want to save money go the way you read about in the monster garden thing, but lighting is never overkill....you can never have to much light because more light=more yield (as in light i mean lumens)and better buds, since you said money isnt to much of a problem id say seriously check into LEDs, you can get the red and blue spectrum's of light which are the 2 main ones you want for veg and then for flower, but either way you do it if you want more plants in there i would set up an automatic watering system so you dont have to worry about yourself trying to get water to the plants way in the back by hand

So - things are moving but slowly!! Best things in life take time, patience and a lot of research! Thank you again to everyone who has helped me with some much valuable information.

Mylar ordered, rubbed padding for floor ordered, temp and humidity gauges ordered, 5 and 2.5 gal smart pots ordered.

Trying to get all the essentials out of the way - but as always, here comes more questions. I am worried that I am wasting too much of my vertical space. I am wanting to set up 1 or two shelves and run a T5 to each shelf for my vegetables and veg grow until they are big enough for the 600w. Below that have the larger plants growing under the HPS ( MHL then 630W w blue ). I figure the 600w wont shine up too much to effect the veggies and the t5's wont be powerful enough to effect the girls and i'd be able to use more of my available space.

Any thoughts/critiques/Idiot bashing is welcome : )

Thanks agian,
Hornchen
Semper Fi

Look into 'coliseum' style grows. Done right you can double or triple your growing area without losing much lux at all. Vertical bulbs are best for that sort of grow. A little harder to cool than a cooltube or two though.

Hornchen said:

Hello everyone! As the title says, wife has approved me to convert the closet! Main thing she said - if your going to build it don't build it half @ss - Yes ma'am! It is going to be in the basement, in a closet. Exhaust through wall into clothes dryer duct via y connect with one way valve. Intake - still in design but thinking from AC vents or from adjoining room ( wash room ). Electricity already ran in center ( currently CFL light for closet ) with more electricity available to hard wire if needed.

The room is 6 1/2 foot wide x 4 1/2 foot deep x 7 foot tall. I would prefer a single bulb that would be sufficient for veg and flowering - but if you all have better advice, please let me know! Some have said a 600w HPS, others say a 2 foot T-5 and CFL's.

I do have financial limitations but I would rather get the proper equipment and spend a few extra months saving. My optimal goal is quality over quantity if that is a factor.

Another question - in a room this size, roughly how many plants would I be able to fit in there?

Thank you everyone in advance!
Hornchen
Semper Fi

Click to expand...

love seeing folks build there own first setup..growroom design is a specialty of mine.
your intake and exhaust ideas are fine but add a carbon scrubber, and a 6" blower to that exhaust..dont need those sweet odors leaking out into your hood..
i would personaly use two 400 watt hps lamps..
low heat compaired to most hps, low amps/power, just very efficient , easy to find and all the magnetic ballast 400's ive ever owned(some for over 8 years) have never failed.
the two light sources gives you great penetration through the canopy, being cooler than 600 or 1000 watters, it allows you to bring them closer.
with a/c air intake comming in 24/7..you can get away with econo wing reflectors and get great results..save a ton of cash to boot.
t5's..well i have a very large 4 foot x 2 foot wide..6 bulb hydrofarm with dual switching.
there nice..but that thing pushes 320 apx watts..(almost as much as a 400 hid)
they run cooler, but have no were near the pen of hid bulbs and ballast..the end..lol
i use my t5 setup for mothers and clones , veg etc..
for that, there perfect.

have you decided soil or dro yet?
bubble buckets or rockwool and 8x 4 flood table will give you huge yields of premium herb.
soil, great smoke but less yields.
there are hydro organic nutrients these dayz that easily compair to running a plant in soil.
i was a soil soilder for 20 years..the results between yields from hydroponics vs soil are pretty dramatic.
the quality..well..in my opinion, done right, its equal between the two.

Glad I didn't get the honorary 'your a moron' stick thrown at me! I am still debating on the 600w HPS, and your comment on two 400w's sound like that might be the way to go but I'm worried my closet wont be wide enough to handle them ( 6 1/2 foot wide, 4 1/2 foot deep ).

I have seen these half circle type hoods, looks kinda like the ones used on movie sets - would a 600w and that hood give me a better 'light coverage area' or is it the same thing just a different shape?

Totally forgot about the carbon - I can add that in without any issues, perfect spot for it.

I am looking at going with soil - I am mainly growing vegetables and only 1 or 2 plants until I get the swing of things and don't want to invest in a 2 plant hydro setup haha. My main thing is I'd rather have some killer, knock down, drag out quality vs higher production. Once I figure out what I am doing with quality, I can always move that over and work on quantity.

Got my measurements and graph paper ready, going to start sketching out a few ideas and I will post them up once I'm happy with a few different options. Pictures and sketches to come soon!

Thanks,
Hornchen
Semper Fi

Hornchen said:

Glad I didn't get the honorary 'your a moron' stick thrown at me! I am still debating on the 600w HPS, and your comment on two 400w's sound like that might be the way to go but I'm worried my closet wont be wide enough to handle them ( 6 1/2 foot wide, 4 1/2 foot deep ).

I have seen these half circle type hoods, looks kinda like the ones used on movie sets - would a 600w and that hood give me a better 'light coverage area' or is it the same thing just a different shape?

Totally forgot about the carbon - I can add that in without any issues, perfect spot for it.

I am looking at going with soil - I am mainly growing vegetables and only 1 or 2 plants until I get the swing of things and don't want to invest in a 2 plant hydro setup haha. My main thing is I'd rather have some killer, knock down, drag out quality vs higher production. Once I figure out what I am doing with quality, I can always move that over and work on quantity.

Got my measurements and graph paper ready, going to start sketching out a few ideas and I will post them up once I'm happy with a few different options. Pictures and sketches to come soon!

Thanks,
Hornchen
Semper Fi

Click to expand...

with hydro, your turbo charging your garden..some of the highest quality herb comes from hydro.
i would look into 5 gal bubble buckets..fill em with water..add nutes and an airstone , thats it..dwc is very effective and literaly cheaper than dirt! yes pun intended..think of what soil your going to use..and how much.. Fox farm etc..over 20$ bag.. or use a 5 gal bubble bucket..20$ one time and done! see where i'm going..over time soil costs you time, effort and money..not to mention fungus gnats, spidermites, root aphids etc etc etc..wich thrive indoors better than outdoors! believe it or not-

but soil is great to..i switched to hydro indoor years ago and strickly soil outdoors
do you want more of that quality bud each turn or not?
thats really the only difference..
you can push hydro harder than soil btw,,wich in turn gets you a more potent product.

people who support mj should help others..i hate going to a forum and seeing bashing from any angle..no worries and much luck on your grow!

that room is perfect for two 400's man.
plain and simple..
two hoods will fit great in there..

you want a decent reflector..something rectangular..
i like HTG ballast and there hoods..
there 400 watt systems are some of the cheapest on the web, they even ship stealthy.
high tech garden supply..look em up online.
for complete 400's with bulbs. cheapest on the net
there only about a foot or so wide and 2 feet long apx..
that would really jam your setup and only pull about 3.6 amps total..cost ya maybe 20-30 bucks a month on your electric bill..
were as a 600 alone does over 4 amps by itself and almost as hot as a twin set of 400's is..
then you have to keep it further away from the garden, wich causes stretching and other ill stuff.
get two 4's and your golden..
ive had two 400s in a 3x4 before..
your space is almost made for it
any strain ideas for the first run?

hmmm - Now you have really got my gears turning. Had gunny only realized when he said 'Grow a garden, its good for PTSD' what I was getting into haha!

I've been reading up a bit on hydro and not going to lie - it seems pretty damn intimidating. I used to help my moms do the gardening around the house so I'm 'comfortable' with soil, but again I'm going after quality so I might have to change my approach. So many decisions!

With the two 400's - I will need to save up for them BUT I think that is the way to go. Here is my next concern, originally I was going to have my inline fan at the top, center of the room and my intake port near the floor ( pull cool air in and moving warm air out ) using the vacuum effect to pull air in. Would it be better to get an intake fan to pull air in, across the two lights and out? Also, how many CFM should I be looking for? Found a nice 80 CFM thats super cheap and a 480 CFM thats ungodly expensive.

Here is my major problem - when looking into the closet only the right side wall can be modified - the left and forward walls are drywall, insulation and then foundation of the house.

I had no idea so much thought and work went into just the design phase! It could also be that I'm trying my best not to ghetto rig this - meh.

Thank you,
Hornchen
Semper Fi

Whoops - strains - no clue.

I like the way White Rhino looks but I hear it isn't as powerful as it looks LOL. I hear any of the kush strains are stellar. I'm really open to ideas, although if there are any dwarf or 'low rise' type strains that might be pretty fun too!

Hornchen said:

Whoops - strains - no clue.

I like the way White Rhino looks but I hear it isn't as powerful as it looks LOL. I hear any of the kush strains are stellar. I'm really open to ideas, although if there are any dwarf or 'low rise' type strains that might be pretty fun too!

Click to expand...

yeah its shit..after the 90's WW, WR , AK 47 and poor bluberry ...a lot of other legends have went drasticly down in quality..every seed bank in the world seems to have a white rino or white widow am i right? they have been bread and "watered down" in these dayz and times.
the same thing is now happening to diesel as we speak.
well to get started i'd just get some fems..
make it easy on yourself to get used to growing etc..
save you some time etc..
i like auto's as a matter of fact! but mostly a breeder of reg stock, classics to new skool hybrids.
delicious seeds has some good auto's..there il diavolo is one of my all time favorite auto's to work with.
its taste is amazing dood! like a cherry explosion in your mouch! woo! and creeper..shit its been years! since i had true creeper, that il diavolo auto is just that..it gets you baked straight away..then creeps up till you start droolin on yourself.
mouth watering auto..
ive tried a ton and it still is one of my favorites.

as for a non auto strain/strains.
cali connections sour og is killer and the larry og, tahoe og
they really have a good strain list across the board..good breeding

ive had great results from big buddah blue cheese and there chiesel...
there awesome buds..that blue cheese can be ruthless.
i would get indica dom, fast flowering (6-9 week) strains..
lemon skunk and super lemon haze are awesome herbs to smoke and always hit great with the crowd.
red dragon..theres some really good phenos to get of that..

Can't figure out how to flip the picture sideways - but - this is a rough idea of what I am thinking so far.



Some of the measurements might be off by a 1/4 in or so, my error, guesstimated on some haha.

Ha - yeah drew that after work and some relaxation - forgot to explain things a bit!

Left side - top looking down. Top left, potential grow locations - left and right side in this picture are shelves about eye level, osculating fans on each of those.

Top right - looking 'into' the closet. 2 shelves across back wall with 1 4 foot or 6 foot T5 ( cool white and cool blue ) on each row.

Bottom left - top looking down onto 600w system with how I 'imagine' the airflow to work ( I know we talked the two 400's, have not drawn that up yet, confused on airflow w them )

Bottom right - looking 'into' closet - 600w system in middle with intake at bottom right and exhaust through carbon filter top right.

Here's a video of something that may help you come up with an idea.

[video=youtube;KhLA6ySCdBM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhLA6ySCdBM&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Have you considered using a carbon filter on the intake instead? If you have an open cooltube end exhausting the room then it's a good situation to scrub the intake then pass through the tube and exhaust.