New Grower building and testing my first grow box

[greenjeans]

Hi everyone..

Newbie here, and I am almost finished building my first box to grow a plant or two in my garage.

I will be using a 3.5 gallon dwc bucket for my first grow. Humboldt 3-part nutrients, and my first strain will be Northern Lights Autofem from Crop King.

So here is my box, which is now being tested. So far, temps were in the mid to upper 80s in the box yesterday with outside temps in my garage of around 70 degrees. Today, the temp in the garage is around 40, and inside the box it is 75..

I will be increasing my passive intake to try and reduce box temps when it is warm. No can fan, at the moment the design is a pretty powerful 9 inch fan that I can face straight up to exhaust in warn weather, or face in and cover the hole in cold weather.

My dwc is recessed into the bottom of the box to allow more height inside. The box dimensions are: 4x3x2. For this first grow, I plan to use the Ona gel for odor control on or near the exhaust port. The box is made from OSB that has radiant barrier on one side.

What do you think of the setup I have going so far? Any wisdom to share that might help me with temp control in the warmer months without breaking the bank?

Here are some pics..

 

[elsamurai]

cab look's well thought out. the recessed DWC is genius. what are you using for light? overall a sweet set-up

 

[Dazed]

Really nice work and welcome to AFN! I learnt the hard way that carbon filtration is a must, ONA will help a little but can't be relied upon once plants are in full flower, even in veg the ONA won't kill it all. I guess it depends on how stealth you need to be. Apart from that it's looking really sweet, nice choice with the Northern Lights strain!

Would love to catch up on a journal once you get going!

Good luck,

 

[greenjeans]

I figured the recessed DWC would not only give me more room, but also keep the bucket shaded , with airflow around it hopefully helping to keep water temps lower than inside the box.
Lighting is 4 40(ish) true watt cfls(200w equivalent) 2 100w eq, and 2 150w eq. Mixed between 6400k and 2700k. Total lumen output is around 20,000 at the moment. I will be adding more 100w eq bulbs as the plant progresses, strategically hung around for more side coverage(depending on possible temperature issues).

 

[greenjeans]

Yeah, I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on the Ona gel. One or two plants, and NL is supposed to be relatively low odor, so I'm hopeful with it venting freely in the garage, that I can keep it in check with the ona. If it becomes an issue, I will be looking into a carbon filter down the road. I'm sure I probably will anyway. Just trying to keep costs down for the moment and get one under my belt before I spend any more than I have, which is too much. lol

 

[greenjeans]

I'm considering a journal, but I am concerned about privacy. I removed metadata from the images, and am using Tor, so hopefully that will be enough of a proverbial smoke-screen..

 

[Wienerwoods]

This looks really cool! Have you thought about supplementing with LEDs?

 

[greenjeans]

I have thought about a metric ton of stuff! lol. I am going to see what I can do with these cfls on this first one, though.. I am trying to keep my temperature workable, and they seem to be the coolest bulbs temperature-wise.

 

[greenjeans]

Well, cold weather test is a success! 33 degrees outside, and the box is 72. No worries with that. It is supposed to be in the 70s and 80s Friday and Saturday, respectively.. Hopefully I can keep it below 90 once I increase my passive intake size. I should have my beans by then, so I am pumped!

 

[briman]

Howdy greenjeans! Nice grow box! Keep your rez temps below 70*F and you will be good! I too would have to tell you that is full flower, you will need a carbon scrubber/filter. Dont skimp and get a cheapo off Amazon! Get a good name brand filter and it will last you a while. Height might be an issue in DWC, but we will see as your plant s gets going. Also side lighting may be problematic for the same reasons. Plants get big in dwc, even with a 3 gallon bucket! Grow on my good friend and karma to you, your grow box and your plant, when you get her going!:thumbs: