New Grower first grow need some help

[Swinophobe]

hi, this is my first grow and my first post in afn, after seeing this forum and the information in it i had to join. anyway, the plan is to convert a fridge (pictured below) in a grow box. the box will have intake and extractor fans with filters attached to them and it was decided to go with cfls due to heat problems. my question is will 3 indica lst'd plants in 3 gallon pots fit in the growbox if the below box(pictured in diagram) is covered to make more area for the pots? also how many cfls are needed? are 20 23w bulbs enough? the last question is about reflecting material, can a mirror be used instead of mylar? thankyou in advance for any help

 

[Dazed]

Welcome to AFN Swinophobe! You're in a great place for everything Autoflower and beyond lol!
I like your design there man, looks cool. I'm not sure about 3 x 3gal pots in that space, but you could try, could get a little crowded but sometimes that isn't a bad thing, I would buy some pots and measure up for sure. With regards to lighting, 20x23w CFLS could get hot in there in my opinion.Have you considered LED, much more efficient with heat/power and you will get much better results, we have a great LED section here including GrowNorthern and Mars Hydro sections where you can ask questions and gain info. You would also be better with mylar rather than mirrors imho.

Once again welcome to AFN, why not head over to the introduction section say hello, star a journal up and get all the help you need along the way!

Good luck!:styles rasta:

 

[A-Train]

I concure with everything my man dazed has stated above....my grow space is much bigger than a fridge and I had 3 in there last run and until the first plant was cut down it got very very crowded.. and in that fridge im assuming side lighting with 3 plants without all the leaves touching the bulbs would be impossible.

I grow with t5 and cfl... the cfl does a fairly good job but as stated by dazed when you get that many they tend to get hot too im sure the led he suggested would be the best route...

And I found a chart onetime on reflective materials and there effectiveness.... mylar is about 97 percent reflective and mirrors are only around 50... trust me im down with budget builds but for 3 or 4 dollars you could get a mylar blanket

Good luck with your future design bro

 

[Swinophobe]

thankyou for the fast reply dazedandsuperconfuzed . leds are a bit over budget. you are right 20cfls are a little over kill. if the setup was with 15 cfls well distributed and an interior fan aswell do you thing they would get enough light? and will follow your advise will start a grow log ones the seeds are sowed

 

[Swinophobe]

thankyou atrain, might go with only 2 plants and scrog them its better to have less plants than alot of plants and less yield. if myler is better than i will go with myler. thankyou again for the help guys

 

[dingo]

I have a fridge grow and 4 x 20w cfl raises the temp by 10c. I use cool white for seedlings and warm cfl in winter. However I now use a 300w LED(Mars Hydro). I get 2 x 5 gallon buckets to fit in the fridge.
I am very happy with my grow room. It does not allow alot of plants but suits my needs well.

 

[Dazed]

thankyou for the fast reply dazedandsuperconfuzed . leds are a bit over budget. you are right 20cfls are a little over kill. if the setup was with 15 cfls well distributed and an interior fan aswell do you thing they would get enough light? and will follow your advise will start a grow log ones the seeds are sowed

Hey buddy, I just did a quick search on ebay and 20 x 23w CFL will cost around £65 GBP (you then have to double that because as Dingo stated, you need different spectrums for veg and flower), a Vipar 300w LED is £53, also on eBay, I think you would get much better results with the LED. Just my opinion, I started with a grow cab and CFL, once I upgraded to LED I saw a massive difference.

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

 

[A-Train]

I agree with dingy.... 2 plants 5 gal pots

 

[Swinophobe]

considering the led. found one at 90 euro with free shipping to my country. will update you on what i decide, hopefully the grow will start in 3 weeks

 

[Swinophobe]

made our mind up guys, if you would like to see the new plan here is the link https://www.autoflower.org/f44/our-first-grow-41281.html