A few questions about getting started.

[silentshankr]

This is my first time growing anything, much less in doors. I am trying to set up something hidden in a dresser that I bought. It will be quite small. The dresser is about 4ft tall, 2.5 ft wide, and about 1.5 ft thick. My "Goal" is to have 2 plants growing at diff stages at a time. Currently my idea is to split the dresser in half (correct me if I am wrong with my terminology here plz) and have one side for veg and one side for flowering. I was going to use the "Bubbler" method for each side. So to get to the point. I have the dresser set up with a door with hinges etc etc. Where I am lost at is 3 parts.

Part 1: Water Levels. I understand that you need a bucket with a air stone in it, the more air the better, and that the plant is in the mesh pot with whatever filler you chose. What I dont understand is at what level does the water need to be, and when do you lower or raise the water levels. I have looked EVERYWHERE and maybe I just looked over it or have bad luck with finding info.

Part 2: Lighting. I understand that the plants need diff lighting at different stages. What I don't understand is what lights to use for a "Stealth Grow". Do they need heat lamps? I Will only have one plant per room and I am going to try to go with a dwarf plant.

Part 3: Air Flow. How much airflow is needed. I am making home made carbon filters for smell using computer fans for intake/outake. How many intakes and out takes should I use per side?

Any feedback or criticism is welcome. So new to all this and its overwhelming. Thanks in advance!

 

[SWvoodoo]

ok here we go.
1 water levels, I leave my water level set about an inch below the net pot throughout the grow you will need to hand water until the roots reach the water, some people let the res fluctuate some slowly drop it over the entire grow etc but basically it is all to encourage root growth, the idea being if the water level drops the roots will stretch to find it thus more roots which equals bigger yield. I avent played with the water levels much yet but an inch or so below the pots is pretty much the starting point of most dwcs

2 In such a small space I would suggest compact fluroeescent lighting or the more expensive option leds. Both put out a low amount of heat I think leds are the cooler by far. Generally leds come in a dual spectrum so can be used for both veg and flower where as the cfls you will need to change out for flowering. I use what is sold here as a cool white household cfl for veg and a warm white for flower. cfl seems to be reasonably efficient at vegging plants but the flowers under cfl tend to be fluffier with less weight but none the less equally potent.

3 generally you would only need enough air turnover to create a negative pressure within your cupboard (air sucking in) to keep fresh co2 cycling within your cupboard but seeing as you are talking such a small area you will be battling some heat issues so you will need more than your average breeze and you will have the added drag of the carbon filters. I would suggest something like a 4 inch pc extractor fan for each side. if possible try to duct fresh air into your box from out side and duct the warm air away from your grow area. You will need a larger inlet than outlet. Once your fans are running you can adjust the size of the inlets to increase/decrease negative pressure. I test this by lighting a lighter and seeing if the flame sucks towards the inlet. I would suggest one outlet each side at the top of box and either one large ducted vent in each side or if not ducted smaller ones in each side of each half for even air flow.

DWC or bubblers are very tempermental when it comes to water temperature it has to stay below 70 or so or you will run into dramas with root rot
The space you are talking about is very limited even more so if you are thinking of splitting it in two. I would keep that box you have now as a flwer room and find another for your veg. That being said it is not impossible, we got a man on the moon after all, but it may just be difficult. I suggest you research DWC a little more, check out some SCROGs, and have a ook at some journals the link to mine is in my signature. 4 plant dwc scrog.
BEST OF LUCK!

 

[danklover79]

While DWC is faster than soil, it is also very unforgiving, especially with the rot, as voodoo mentioned. Root rot can set in overnight in hydro, if res temperature is not kept in check, I use a 2 liter bottle, and I wrap it with a gel type ice pack. Click on my current grow in my signature, and there is a kind of tutorial on the 2 liter DWC setup. I would suggest however, that you do a soil grow, or two, then make the transition to hydro, after you have learned some fundamentals of this game. As voodoo said, browse the journals in progress, subscribe to some threads, and absorb as much knowledge as you can, never stop searching!

 

[silentshankr]

Hey guys, first off, thanks so much for the information you two provided. After doing some consideration I am going to take your advice and start with dirt. However I am in a bit of a dilemma. Same ole song for everyone. $$$$. I have what I have and I am just going to do what I can. I have 2 (side by side) 14 inch x 14 inch x 40 inch rooms to work with. So I have 2 multi part questions for you.

1. Lighting. After some reading I believe I have come to the conclusion that you need 100w per plant or 3000 lumins per sq ft. ( I have 5 cubic ft) So that would mean that I need 4 6700k CFL bulbs on the veg side? Also, I am getting conflicting reports about whether to use CFL or HID lights for flowering. Is it possible to set up an HID in the amount of room that I have? or What bulb would I use for CFL for flowering. The last part of this is spacing. Do I need to move my plants up closer to the lights when they are smaller and move the back down as they grow, or with them being in-closed in a mylar box the light will be fine up top?

2. Air Flow. I read this thread.
How Much Ventilation Do I Need in My Grow Room?
So let me lay out my math, and could you tell me if I am wrong.

Fan 1 has 150 CFM
Box has 5 cubic feet.
Circulate air 3-5 times per minute would mean I need 25 cubic feet of air moved through my box per minute. (5cf x 5(times a min))
I have a filter as well so even If I cut my CFM to 1/3 of its original value it would be moving 50 Cfm which would be double what I need? Also I have a spare fan controller that I can use. If I am correct above can I use it to adjust the amount of air being pushed/pulled out to help regulate temps?

Part 2 of 3. Intake. I cant find anything on the intake portion of the air flow. How do you keep it from just letting all the smells out? Just make a hole and place a filter on it similar to the out take but minus the fan?

Part 3 of 3. Do I need a small fan to circulate the air that is being sucked in around?

 

[danklover79]

Hey guys, first off, thanks so much for the information you two provided. After doing some consideration I am going to take your advice and start with dirt. However I am in a bit of a dilemma. Same ole song for everyone. $$$$. I have what I have and I am just going to do what I can. I have 2 (side by side) 14 inch x 14 inch x 40 inch rooms to work with. So I have 2 multi part questions for you.

1. Lighting. After some reading I believe I have come to the conclusion that you need 100w per plant or 3000 lumins per sq ft. ( I have 5 cubic ft) So that would mean that I need 4 6700k CFL bulbs on the veg side? Also, I am getting conflicting reports about whether to use CFL or HID lights for flowering. Is it possible to set up an HID in the amount of room that I have? or What bulb would I use for CFL for flowering. The last part of this is spacing. Do I need to move my plants up closer to the lights when they are smaller and move the back down as they grow, or with them being in-closed in a mylar box the light will be fine up top?

2. Air Flow. I read this thread.
How Much Ventilation Do I Need in My Grow Room?
So let me lay out my math, and could you tell me if I am wrong.

Fan 1 has 150 CFM
Box has 5 cubic feet.
Circulate air 3-5 times per minute would mean I need 25 cubic feet of air moved through my box per minute. (5cf x 5(times a min))
I have a filter as well so even If I cut my CFM to 1/3 of its original value it would be moving 50 Cfm which would be double what I need? Also I have a spare fan controller that I can use. If I am correct above can I use it to adjust the amount of air being pushed/pulled out to help regulate temps?

Part 2 of 3. Intake. I cant find anything on the intake portion of the air flow. How do you keep it from just letting all the smells out? Just make a hole and place a filter on it similar to the out take but minus the fan?

Part 3 of 3. Do I need a small fan to circulate the air that is being sucked in around?

As for the lighting question, you can veg a plant under a single 32 watt cfl, so one per plant is about right. I use cfls exclusively, but HID is always the best option for flower, if you can vent the heat. Even a small hps system would be better than cfls for flower, like a 150, or 250 watt. These lamps get very hot, so you will have to have an extraction fan for the hood to keep the heat down.
Now for airflow, you seem to have the right idea on this issue, just have to factor in the HID lighting, if you go that route. I would use a small fan for circulation, to kind of disturb the air around the canopy.