My Simple Grow Room

[Auburn1985]

I'd like to show and explain my simple grow room design, with the intent of helping one of our new members. He and I have been conversing via PMs about how to set up his 2 x 6 x 8 closet, and I know he would appreciate seeing pictures instead of just reading my PMs. Plus, this gives you all a chance to chime in with suggestions of your own.

Keep in mind that the new member (I'll let him identify himself here if he chooses) has a 2 x 6 x 8 closet to start with. That may necessitate some departures from my grow room design, since my grow room is completely square.

Well, here goes.

My grow room is an upstairs bedroom closet, measuring 3.5 x 3.5 x 8. I painted the walls and ceiling flat white.

It has a lock on the door and 2 (redundant) smoke alarms inside, with a fire extinguisher just outside the door. There's also a smoke alarm outside the closet in the bedroom. I had an electrician run a dedicated circuit to the inside of the closet, under the guise that I was going to create an air-conditioned humidity-controlled walk-in gun safe for some vintage shotguns. I installed 3 passive intake vents on the side of the closet, and I covered them with black panty hose (inside the closet) to keep bugs out.



My light hood is an air-cooled Luxor vertical-bulb fixture with 8" flanges. It is suspended from the ceiling by 2 independent pulley systems on each side, for redundancy. That hood is HUGE and weighs a TON, but it throws a great light pattern. My ballast is a Lumatek 600-watt that is both switchable and dimmable, hung from the ceiling. I run a 400-watt MH bulb for vegging, and a 600-watt HPS for flowering (although now I have a separate veg tent in which I use T5 lighting, so I never use an MH bulb any more). I believe Hortilux makes the best bulbs and are worth the price, so I use them. But that's just my opinion.

I have a 636 CFM Elicent inline fan mounted to the ceiling of the closet. The right flange of the light hood fixture is attached to the fan via flexible ducting that I reinforced with metal (foil) tape. The fan both cools the light and exhausts the room. It blows directly into the attic, which is not normally a good idea. But the attic itself is vented thoroughly with fans, and no problems have arisen after 3 years of use. And since I vent into my attic (which is basically a small third story of my house), I don't have to use a carbon filter. Not even for notoriously strong-odored plants like AK47. My house never smells of skunk. Not even outside on the 2nd story deck.

I have several 1x1 boards nailed to the wall on which I mount clip-on fans (non-oscillating). I would love to mount a single oscillating fan to the wall to replace all the clip-on fans, but that huge Luxor light hood leaves no room to do so. I keep all the clip-on fans on low setting, and never have them pointed directly at the plants. Their air patterns just sort of intermingle, causing a constant swirling wind that keeps all the leaves rustling.

I use a simple Brinks timer for the lights. I keep the exhaust fan and all clip-on fans running 24/0.



And here are 3 nice Sensi Seeds AK47 plants currently on day 11 of flowering. You'll notice some of the leaves are cut from a mistake I made during FIMing.

 

[ozzydiodude]

Looks to be a great set up. I see many happy plants growing in there in the future

 

[Auburn1985]

Looks to be a great set up. I see many happy plants growing in there in the future

Thanks Ozzie...I hope so...I really hope so...

 

[MoNoXiDe]

that member would be me. Auburn this is a great thread on your setup, I don't want to hi jack your thread about my build, unless that is your intension? Should I start another thread so it doesn't combine yours with mine?

 

[Auburn1985]

that member would be me. Auburn this is a great thread on your setup, I don't want to hi jack your thread about my build, unless that is your intension? Should I start another thread so it doesn't combine yours with mine?

Please, ask all the questions you want. I intended this as a starter thread for you to get help on your grow new room.

You have a 2 x 6 x 8 grow closet that could be either:

1. A simultaneous veg/flower area (veg and flower at the same time)

OR

2. A dual-purpose veg-then-flower area.

If you intend to use the whole 2 x 6 area for flowering, I think you'll need 2 smaller HPS lights side-by-side, since you have extended rectangular space.

However, if you intend to split the area into 2 x 2 for veg, and 2 x 4 for flower, then I would use T5 lighting in the veg area and you could probably use just one HPS light in the flower area.

Ventilation needs may vary depending upon your decision, and other factors may vary as well.

So, ask all the questions you want, and we'll all try to help.

But on second thought, you might want to start another thread entitled something like "Help Me Design My First Grow Room". That might get your questions more exposure. Whatever you think is best.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Regular long closets like a 2 x 6 with either bypass doors or bi-fold doors pose problems that walk-in closets with regular doors do not-- they will not keep the light in. You will need to do something that will contain the light. I use a 2 x 4' closet to veg in that I built a box inside of. The 3 x 6.5' closet that I flower in has a regular door that is able to be made light tight.

Like Auburn said, I think the first thing you need to decide is whether you want separate veg and flowering spaces. I think a new thread would probably be most helpful, too.

 

[MoNoXiDe]

I just posted a new thread with pics of the closet.