DIY quick and cheap grow box for a first time, what do you think?

[uneducated1]

Sorry, but I see a couple of major issues with your setup. First, I think you need to make it taller. By the time you add up the height of the pot, the plant, space between the plant and the light, then the light itself, you're going to run out of room pretty fast. Second is the light. That looks like an industrial type fixture. Even though it's HPS, I doubt the bulb itself was designed to provide the proper light spectrum for growing. Also, 70 watts is only enough for 1 plant. The general rule of thumb with HPS lights is a minimum of 50 watts per square foot, so for that space you would need at least 200 watts. If you upped to a 250 watt HPS, you'll likely have trouble keeping the heat down in that small space. You would probably be better off using CFLs or LEDs, less heat and you can have the plants closer to them than you can with HPS. You're also going to need a carbon filter to control the smell from the plants. Without one the smell will be very noticeable.

I totally understand what you are getting at, but first off i want to say that I am only planning on doing one plant to start off. Kind of a test run. I have talked to a few people and they said that the single 70w hps bulb is enough for a single plant. Also on that note, i got the same light that a few people i know have, and it had no problems producing the correct light for the plant to grow. I dont know if it was the exact spectrum, but it worked and thats all im going for. I am not looking for perfection on my first go. I was debating on using CFL's but i was talked out of it by multiple people, only because the amount of bulbs i would need would be crazy to build fixtures and the electric bill would go way up. I would love to get a carbon filter but i dont have the cash. I live in an apartment and my landlord has not been here once since i moved in, so i am not worried. He seems pretty cool anyway. But, do you think this will work? Like i said, no perfection, i just want it to grow decently.

 

[agito]

150w hps bear min or maybes a nice 180w blackstar/large bank of t5's but you main issue is height

you can work out ventilation with the cfm rating to be fair computer fans are cheap so why dont you just install a 3-4" fans to be safe

over 30c growth will slow to a stop

 

[Muddy]

You're still going to have height issues, especially with that big light fixture. Only 15% of the output from HPS is usable light, the remainder is heat. So you're going to need space between the plant and the light in order to avoid burning your plant. CFLs would be a much better option. Don't know who you've been talking to but for one plant you would only need about four 23 watt bulbs and they would cost you less to run than that HPS. They can also be placed closer to the plant as they generate a lot less heat.

While your landlord may be cool, what about your neighbors? Depending on the strain, even one plant can generate a good stink. At the very least you need to look at getting something like ONA to mast the smell.

I totally understand what you are getting at, but first off i want to say that I am only planning on doing one plant to start off. Kind of a test run. I have talked to a few people and they said that the single 70w hps bulb is enough for a single plant. Also on that note, i got the same light that a few people i know have, and it had no problems producing the correct light for the plant to grow. I dont know if it was the exact spectrum, but it worked and thats all im going for. I am not looking for perfection on my first go. I was debating on using CFL's but i was talked out of it by multiple people, only because the amount of bulbs i would need would be crazy to build fixtures and the electric bill would go way up. I would love to get a carbon filter but i dont have the cash. I live in an apartment and my landlord has not been here once since i moved in, so i am not worried. He seems pretty cool anyway. But, do you think this will work? Like i said, no perfection, i just want it to grow decently.