Indoor grow box suggestions

Can anyone recommend a good grow box for under $1k? I need to know the best lighting, etc. I only plan to grow 2 “compact” plants at a time as per ILGM standards, 4 feet tall give or take. I will be installing the box in a 3x8x8 closet.
Thank you much!

I would look at tents instead of the solid cabinets. I haven’t used either but for price and ease of getting it where you want it that would be my choice.

Yeah you can get a tent for like 100$ and then you have plenty left over for lights and things. If you are starting from scratch that 1$K will go quick.

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I researched the tent option and found several tent “kits” and that sounds like the way to go. Now comes the question that’s gonna open a can of worms… For a 3x3x6 tent, is there a preferred lighting arrangement that will be suitable for both veggie and flower? I’ve seen LED, fluorescent, HPS, etc. I’m lost. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Lighting is a tough one. Many factors for each. @dbrn32 is resident light guru. Well I use t5 fluorescent to germinate and get the little seedlings going. The LED and HPS can burn seedlings if too close. Fluorescents you can get them real close with out burning. not much heat with them either. My first grow I did the whole grow with a T5 4 bulb 2ft light. I now use LED and still get a good amount of heat in the grow room but don’t use hps so I can’t compare heat wise. LED are tricky don’t believe the watts they advertise you want to know true watts from the wall.

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Well by saving money using the tent I would suggest the quantum boards from HLG. But I can’t keep track of which is which. @dbrn32 can tell you which one is right for that space. Everyone that has those are doing great with them.

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I’m a noob and am just now planning my first indoor grow, which is a few months away. But I have been looking into lighting very intently. From what I can tell so far, I would say stay away from Amazon lights and anything made in China. Even if you can see through the deceptive claims they make (if you’re a noob you can’t), you are going to get what you pay for. I got so excited over the 180 to 250 dollar led lights only to learn that they are basically pretty colored lights with a bit more power than a few screw in led bulbs from the Dollar Store. Quantum boards are awesome, from what I can tell. Im most likely going to build a few good lights for the 2x4xsomething im going to build. Ill try to tag you in a cool informative thread where i am learning a lot about this. Not sure if I have the correct permissions to tag yet, but I’ll try…

Thanks KJ, yea any help is greatly appreciated. And yes, I fell for the pretty light Amazon cheap prices. I bought a GM-AQM55B model 1500W LED and the plants laughed at it. Looking into a Sun System 315 LEC for a 3x3x60. I don’t know if this is the optimum or not… this stuff is confusing.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into that light right now.

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@KJ and @353 I’ll tag you both in on my startup. I built my lights with help from DBRN32 and Aeolon and there’s other DIY light threads here if that’s a way either of you are thinking about going.

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Thanks. I’m almost 100% sure I’m going to build an led system, so I need to learn everything I can.

Well the guys here are extremely knowledgeable in that department. I have a lot of experience in construction but nothing like what I did with the lights. So if not for them I’d have never tried it. In the end it came out awesome and I’ve learned a lot in the process. So this is a great place to be.

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For a closet grow you need to figure out your supply and exhaust first because most closets don’t have vents or register and air circulation is important I bought 8$ worth of Mylar blankets and only used 3

then I weatherstripped the door and no light leaks and the quantum boards are the best choice for lights

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Thanks sparky, I just now ordered a 3x3x5 Gorilla tent. Now I have to review the lighting recommendations. Getting there slowly… I’m not too concerned about the dollars, to a certain extent, just looking for whatever works the best for the growing area. Thanks guys!!!

BTW, thanks for the quantum board suggestion. Going to look for them now.

What model quantum would be recommended for my 3x3x5 tent?

The 315’s are nice in 3x3. If you go qb’s the xw 260 kit or hlg-300 are specifically designed for a 3x3.

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Thank you!! I’ll order the hlg-300. They offer a 3K or 4K spectrum, which would be better for both veg and flower? I guess the only other major purchase left is an exhaust fan/ducting. Thanks again, all of this help is greatly appreciated.

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Go with 3000k. Wanna say there will be a Black Friday sale on them too. If you look around you can maybe find a code.

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@Smokin_ernie, You mentioned using a T5 on your first grow and LED lights later. I am just curious, what difference did you see in terms of yield? Did one light make a huge difference than the other?