Micro grow cab design

Growroom Design
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I am in the middle of designing my micro grow cab, i live in a country where growing gets me locked in for 7 years, so stealth is the most important factor in the design. I will break it down;

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The cab 90 cm wide, which i will use 60cm of it to grow 4 plants in 2 gallon pots, and 30cm to put two 4 inch air intakes on the floor so nothing shows from outside the cab if you look at it, and a fan and light drivers and whatever else i might need during my grow (humidifier, dehumidifier, heater etc.) also on top on this department i will hang an inline fan and a carbon filter, that way they wont take headroom from the grow arwa, the lights will sit next to the fan and filtee covering the 60cmx60cm plant area. For the lights i will build a bridgelux eb3 panel consisting of 8 or 10 strips, and a 150-200w hlg driver, giving me 50w/sq feet at max. Still havent decided on this in details yet because can design is the most important now.

Questions:

1- is my ventilation setup effective? The intakes are right below the fan and filter, the incoming air wont travel the whole cab as you can see in most designs they are located on opposite sides, I cant do that because i dont want the intakes to take floor space from the growing area, and cant place them on the back of the cab for stealth issues.

2- how close will i be able to get the lights to the plants at the end of flowering? My goal if is to grow around 60cm plants, so if the pots take 20cm, lights take 5cm up top, and distance between lights and plants is 15cm?? That way i can achieve 60cm plants. If i stick to the 45cm diatance rule with quantum boards, i will not be able to grow at all.

3-my goal is to produce 200-300grams of bud minimum each grow, strain is a local landrace, which is very heavy producing, but will my grow area be abel to hold such a harvest? Given all environmental factors are dialed in.

4- quality, i browsed many micro grows here on on other forums and ive seen so much success but there is one thing i noticed, buds from a micro grow always looked different to my eyes than buds grown in a full sized 4x4 tent for example, they are not as packed and as dense. I dont know if im mistaken or not but if i am, i think should stop giving a fuck and build a 120cmx60cmx200cm wardrobe, power it with two qb96 v2, make it as stealthy as possible and grow the kind of buds im looking after.

Ive been thinking about this for so long its time stop thinking and start implementing, but my perfectionism doesnt let me until i get all the answers i want.

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As it is, no, not really you might be able to make it work with an oscillating fan blowing the intake air towards the plants, but opposite sides are ideal.

At the end of stretch, flowers can get fairly close to the strips (about 5-10cm) Flowers can also get closer to LEDs because they lack IR.

I suggest you get a dimmer on that driver, 50-watts / sq foot is way too much light, perhaps if you added CO2 you could push them that much. I would stick to 25-35 w/sq ft.

200 grams is doable in that space, but you have to have everything dialed. I think I managed to hit that number once or twice with my 75 cm cubed workbench.

Most often this is because they are flowered early and kept small. Outdoor buds make the 4x4 buds look tiny in comparison too.

I would go bigger. I’ve rebuilt several times. Each time growing bigger. This time I’m building a 4’ x 6’ room. :+1::seedling:

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Going bigger always has its risks, i thought about every detail even shipping carbon filters for example, i think shipping a 4"x8" filter looks less sketchier than shipping a 6"x16" carbon filter, which will also cost 300$ shipped to my country lol.

For the intakes yes i will have a fan between the intakes blowing air towards the plants, but im aftee what is effective instead of “trying something that might work”. If i locate them on opposite sides i will lose valuable floor space. Do have any idea how can i put intakes on the back of the cabinet while still making it light proof and stealth? The cab wil be very close to a wall.

You have grown in small and big places i assume, have you noticed any difference in the potency of your buds?

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They all press the same.

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There are simple options for light traps and certain designs thats aid and allow better airflow, but being able to pull from an alternate side than your exhaust is ideal

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Cant get good weed here, thats why i decided to grow my own. Hash is bomb here though

I browsed your thread you were talking about darkroom louvers, have you ever tried the secretjardin light baffles? Im thinking about buying two, they are 6 inch both and cost less than quarter the price of photography louvers. To be honest whats working my head now is ventilation, as i have to make it stealth, light tight, while positioning it effectively in my grow room.

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I read your 2018 journal throughout, youve got amazing results. I was going to pm you anyways to ask about ventilation in your ikea besta cabinets, how did you manage that?

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You can always just make a light baffle similar to this. It was designed for 4" holes, and is about 5cm thick. This was the piece between my flower and veg side in my storage cabinet.

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just slots in the side no different than my current closet cabs which have slots int he back, the air is just drawn front he from runs along the floor then into the cab at the back, and i use black aquarium filter foam to aid with light trapping

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My plan to build something that a 4 inch fan and carbon filter will be able to handle especially during the hot summer days, because i cannot afford anything that is 6 inch.

Based on my research the maximum air exchange i need is 5 times per minute, 4inch fans come in max of 200cfm, so i will need a space that requires 40cfm. I have to stay small while providing my plants 100% what they need. I know its hard to achieve that while being stealthy thats why imhere to discuss ideas and designs.

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Its simple to build a false floor and direct the whole airflow to the other side of the cab.
Just be sure that the area of inlet, false floor channel and opposite side opening are all the same.
I’d use black polypropylene sheeting 1/4" thick and either tubing, equal height disks cut from pvc tubing for spacing the air channel allowing for spacer material blockage.

Polypropylene is pretty tough, should make a long, serviceable floor.
Don’t mount it permanently, you’ll need to clean that area often.

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I already have 100 cm of height i dont think i can sacrifice any more. I was thinking of 90 degree pvc pipes but they will have to be right under the exhaust fan on the floor but thats not optimal so i have to think of something else

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Wow you are n good hands mate with @Mr.Sparkle and @reikox giving you their advice. :grin:

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