I’ll start by introducing myself. I’m Baapie a beginning grower who’s done one small grow to learn the basics. Now, a few years later, I want to do it again only a little better and bigger. The last few days I’ve been figuring out how to make the best grow room for my situation for as few bucks as possible. The concept is finally finished and I figured why not post the full detail DIY-guide here for people who want to do the same and so that people can help me and maybe even add things. So lets start!
Remember: This is not THE way to do it, things can change depending on your own situation.
For my situation I’m choosing for a 61x61x122 cm MDF-plate growroom, this is because my local store has these sizes so its easy to work with. If you want you could always use different sizes. I’m planning to build a wooden frame first of 5x5 cm beams using metal connectors, then I’ll attach the 4mm thick MDF-plates to the sides (remember to take the plate thickness into account when measuring the frame size!).
For the door I’m cutting 1/4 of a 8mm thick plate and attach it to the front at the bottom. The other 3/4 I will use as a door using two hinges on the outside. This way there’s less weight on the hinges and the door doesn’t drag over the floor. To keep the door shut I will use door magnets.
On the inside I will put radiator foil on the sides for reflection. On the bottom I’ll put pond foil so the wood doesn’t rot when it gets wet. On the bottom left there will be 3 80mm pc-fans for air intake and on the top right there will be one 120mm fan for exhaust, I’ll wire them all together using welding clamps so that I only need one power plug. For the intake I will put air filters on the outside to prevent dust and unwanted stuff from coming into the room. I’m also using a minifan to get some air circulation in the room.
Now for the lamp structure I’m using a 40x40 board on which I first apply radiator foil and then 8 E27 lamp sockets. I’m thinking of using 23W Philips Tornado bulbs because they’re cheap, easy to use, don’t get to hot and seem to work as long as they are close to our precious ladies. All cables will be connected using welding clamps and they go in a junction box, this way there’s not 8 cables hanging around in the room and again I only need 1 power plug. This lamp structure will hang in the room on 4 one meter long metal cables using screw hooks.
I also ordered a cheap hygro-thermometer and a smoke detector on AliExpress which I’ll put on the sides.
I made a 3D model of the growroom to get an idea of how its going to look (and because I was bored hehe). Here’s some renderings:
Sweet! Always dig the micro grows for sure. Being a diy guy myself, this stuff really gets me going. I have a couple of sheets of 1/2” birch plywood in the garage I was going to make some cabinets out of. Since it’s looking like we’ll be trying to move soon as possible, maybe I’ll make a box out of them instead.
Okay change of plans: I realized that buying a LED light is the better way to go then those Philips bulbs. If I put in some extra bucks I’ll be able to buy a 300W led growlight for max $100. But then comes the big problem: which one? Being someone who does a lot of research before buying and always wants the best of the best its really hard for me to decide because there’s so much options. I’m currently looking at this one:
You’re right, I was also thinking it doesn’t really fit in but in the end its as expensive and better than the DIY option, i’ll leave the DIY-option here but I think I’ll end up buying a LED anyway. I can do same basic wiring yes
I meant doing a diy led, but if you’re content just buying something that’s definitely fine too.
Under $100, meizhi, viparspectra, mars, and roleadro seem to be most popular here. Of the top of my head, meizhi and mars have the best light spectrum for full cycle growing. But I’d have to dig through them all before I could be sure of that statement.
All though these produce little heat you may want to invest a little more in exhaust fan imo it really pays off when she’s in flower helping regulate temp aND will help get unwanted moisture out and just keep good airflow from bottom to top of box I actually used about this same design when I built my first one
So it took a while but we finally started building. So far we’ve built the main frame and attached all sides except the door. I’m still waiting for some stuff to be delivered like the mini-fans for air intake and stuff like PH-meter, hygrometer, dust caps etc. Next up is attaching the door nicely so no light leaks trough (this is going to be harder than we thought) and then fixing all the electrics. I’m thinking about mounting one ip44 power socket to the wall instead of letting all cables trough one hole out of the box (any thoughts on this? safety etc) . First plant is going to be a crippled autoflower that has just started flowering just to test the room for a bit.
From the model above it appeared your door was going to be recessed within the sides and bottom sill. That definitely would’ve helped with the light leak potential. You can try weather strip, but you may be better off putting a lip on the inside of door that overlays the box frame when door is closed. Light would have to pass two corners that way.
Also, do you plan on putting false floor in? Or how do you plan on making intake holes light proof?
A lip on the inside of the door isn’t such a bad idea actually. The only problem is that its really hard to place it in the right spot since I cant draw from the inside because all sides are already attached.
I bought dust fans to put on the outside of the box were the intake and exhaust holes are. Not only will these keep dust from coming in but I think they’ll also prevent most light from going trough.
I’d probably try to remove back and fit that way with door closed. Or, are panels glued in place?
I wouldn’t be too confident that fans and filter will block light. If you plan on growing photo plants you’ll pretty much need the box to be light tight. Light leaks will most likely keep the plant from flowering or cause it to herm. You’ll definitely want to look at that before you get much deeper into the project in my opinion.
Please don’t think I’m ragging on your box or anything whatsoever. I think it’s really cool and want you to be successful. If you run into a light leak issue mid grow it’s absolutely miserable! Definitely better to go beyond bare minimum and hoping for the best right now, than to have a mature plant and have to mess with it.
Yes its probably best to do it right and remove the back to install the door properly. The panels are just screwed in place. I’m not thinking you’re ragging on my project at all , in fact I like it when people give me advise on how to do things better, I’m a beginner myself, so keep it coming! I’ve looked into the problem and found these grills that might work better. What do you think?
If it’s just a standard vent will probably not block light either. Are you planning on using pc fans there for intake?
I think what you’ll need to do is build some sort of a light trap. I don’t think it matters if whether it’s a stand alone type unit or built into your box. Like I said earlier, I’ve seen holes drilled in box and then like a shelf over the top with opening on other side. I’ve also seen a series of pvc fittings painted black on the inside. And I believe they make ready to mount type vents designed for photography dark rooms as well. Not sure what’s best for your application though.
I will be using fans for intake yes. I’m not really sure about building a light trap because I’m tight on space and budget. I’ll probably visit the depot store today to see what kind of pvc pipes they have. I’ll probable keep the plants in 18-6 stage with lights of during nighttime since I’ll only be growing auto’s so in the room where the box is standing in it should be almost completely dark.
, in fact I like it when people give me advise on how to do things better, I’m a beginner myself, so keep it coming! I’ve looked into the problem and found these grills that might work better. What do you think?