My Box Set Up

[phrank]

hola...

hola...

Thanks for the info. Went to Lowe's the other day, and couldn't find any vanity fixtures. I'll have to check out Home Depot. I am going to go with a Can 705 Filter and 39 cfm fan for ventilation and odor control. Will keep y'all posted, although it may take a week or two to get this built, as I work many hours per week.

phrank

 

[purpbythepound]

yea phrank..keep us posted on how that goes because ill be needing an idea for my rubbermaids as well for ventilation/odor control

 

[sway]

Awesome thread, I just built myself a "LifeLess Grow Box(tm)" and have three Satori seedlings in there. Had a few dumb questions:

1) How do you keep the plants close to the lights throughout the veg phase? Do you just stack some boxes in the bottom Rubbermaid to lift them closer to the lights, and then gradually lower them as they get taller?

2) Since it seems pretty impossible to look into the grow box when the top Rubbermaid is in place, how do you check to see if the plants are close enough to the lights and determine which branches need to be tied back? Do you just wait until some leaves get burned, then pull those branches back?

Thanks again, and great thread!

 

[phrank]

hey now...

hey now...

Sway, those are some great questions! The Lifeless Lab is awesome in its simplicity, but I think it ultimately represents a beta model begging for refinement. I am going to the hydro store on Monday to order a Can 700 Series carbon filter, and of course the appropriate fan to go with it. Here's the specs on the filter:

Max cfm: 13/22m³h @ 0.1 sec contact time.
Prefilter: Optional
Mounting: Screw on or Snap on
Dimensions:
·Outside Diameter: 110mm/4.32"
·Height: 290mm/11.4"
·Total Weight: .82kg/1.80lbs.
·Carbon Weight: .5kg/1.1lbs.


I am prettys sure that I will go with a 50 gallon Rubbermaid bin set-up. My buddy paints cars for a living, so he's going to primer and paint the bins for me. Not sure how many CFLs I am going to go with, but probably 6 to 8 55 watters. Not sure if I will go SOG ala Dr, Bud Greengenes, or Bush Style like Lifeless. Honestly though, I wish my carpentry skills were better so that I could build my dream micro system. I would love to buy a huge ass aquarium, and house the grow underneath it. The noise from the aquarium would be the perfect way to hide the noise generated by the odor control system. I also think that a system like this would help with the access and maintenance issues that Sway brought up. Just thinking, and not in any way meant as an insult to Lifeless!

2 cents worth,

phrank

PS - Check out the following link to get an idea of the sort of aquarium stand I am speaking of. Man, if it would only house a 4' 8 bulb Tek Light....

http://www.petco.com/product/101397/Aquatic-Fundamentals-75-or-90-Gallon-Upright-Aquarium-Stand.aspx

 

[LifeLess]

Welcome Sway. I use a rubber coated rack to raise the plants to the lights. Ill get a pic later. They should have then in the isle with the closet organizing shelving. And yes if the leaves are getting alittle burnt then the brances are close enough. I use rubber coated paperclips to snag the branch a gently pull it back. You can hook the other end of the clip to the outter lip of the box. With the pop rivits in the back corners of the box you can tip the top cover box back far enough to see all the plant tops.

Phrank i thought of growing under and aquarium also. You could use the fish waste to feed to plants. Circulate the tank water down threw the plants. Ive never had a need for a carbon filter yet but im interested to see how one would work. Shouldnt take a very big one. Ill have to pull out the carbon scrubber i was working on a whlie back. Its made of pvc and is hidden around the upper inside of the top box. Ill get on that asap peace LL

 

[purpbythepound]

lifeless

lifeless

i've started constructin a growbox like yours and i've ran into a problem..which is..i dont understand how you fabricated the square pc fan to fit inside the circular pvc tube??
thanks
~pbtp~
ps....im very interested to see your carbon scrubber your working on when its finished as i will also be needing an idea for that when the time comes for odor control!!

 

[sway]

Welcome Sway. I use a rubber coated rack to raise the plants to the lights. Ill get a pic later. They should have then in the isle with the closet organizing shelving. And yes if the leaves are getting alittle burnt then the brances are close enough. I use rubber coated paperclips to snag the branch a gently pull it back. You can hook the other end of the clip to the outter lip of the box. With the pop rivits in the back corners of the box you can tip the top cover box back far enough to see all the plant tops.

Thanks Lifeless! I'll have to look into the pop rivets to allow me to tip the top box to open. Right now, I have to lift the entire top box off. Although I do like the convenience of being able to pop the entire top off.

BTW: Are you running 18/6 or 24/0 for veg?

 

[LifeLess]

Im running 18/6 in veg. Saves some power and the plants do the same. How do you have the top box attached to the bottom box?

pbtp I attached the fan using electrical tape. Just have to keep going around and around.

 

[sway]

Im running 18/6 in veg. Saves some power and the plants do the same. How do you have the top box attached to the bottom box?

pbtp I attached the fan using electrical tape. Just have to keep going around and around.

OK, thanks. My two boxes aren't attached... I just put weather stripping around the rim of each box and place one on top of the other. Seems to work pretty well.

BTW: How do you circulate the air in your grow box? Just from that one exhaust fan? Or do you have another fan blowing around in there? Oh, and also, just making sure I remember correctly -- you're using 1 gallon pots, right?

 

[LifeLess]

If you use pop rivits only in the back corners they work great to keep the top from slipping off and killing yer plants. The way i put them in is put the top on and drill both boxes at the same time. Make sure to use the right size drill bit. I put the pop rivit in the lower box. slowly put preasure on the pop rivit gun and take it to the point its gonna pop out and stop. Put the posts threw the holes in the top box and there ya go.
I have a small desk fan that i put in the bottom of the box and just points up.
I used 1 gallon pots in my last grow. I normally use 2 gallon pots. It all depends on how many plants you wanna fit in there. I do 4 plants in 2 gallon pots. I think doing less plants in larger pots works better. If you over stuff the box things get tight and light penatration isnt that good. I flip my lights when the plants reach the lip of the lower box. I found any larger and they get way to big. GL LL

 

[justanotherbozo]

hey sway, what LifeLess says makes sense, you don't want the top sliding off and damaging your plants.

heres a pic of a way you can do it that it easier than rivets and it is easy to remove too. (obviously you want to do both sides)

 

[Thundurkel]

WOW!!!!!! I have to say that this is the best CFL grow I've seen! I just started growing with them and think they are the future and you sure make it look that way... I'm shocked you haven't gotten a bigger following, very impressive bro come check out my Dr.Bud method test. I think I'll be doing a grow like yours next tho!

 

[dude06version]

TOLD YOU .lol. we need to make sure ppl dont forget this.. its amazing how much information is learned and how quickly its forgotten.alot of new members should know about this...like dude imagine putting two of these in a stealth dresser and just adding a carbon filter to the dresser, bam. quiet ass stealth cab run off pc fans ,7-8 zips.maybe the filter fan might need to be stronger.

 

[Siddartha]

Good catch! I forgot about this thread!!! Man, another inspiring grow!

 

[Thundurkel]

Yea you were right Dude06 thanks for telling me about this it's made me that much more cocky about CFL growing...hahaha I give credit when it's due and thats why I posted in here last night cuz I felt peeps needed to look through this since the Dr.Bud method so hard to believe.... Go Lifeless.... my new best friend lol

 

[LifeLess]

Whats up . Thnx for all the kind words. Thundurkel I veg my plants for about 2 weeks now before the switch. I found if i xplant and only veg a few days then switch my bud size isnt as good. Xplant veg for 1 week top the fast growing branchs back veg 1 more week then switch. At the switch the plant height shouldnt be higher then the lip of the bottom box. Any branchs that take off get LST. Pinch the stem and bendem back. If the leaves are getting alittle burnt there close enough. GL peace LL

 

[tejashidrow]

Hey Lifeless..
I have had a rubbermaid VEG box for years..
I have been useing STERELITE CD crates (there like mini milk crates for $1 in the sterelite isle of wally world..) to raise my plants closer to the lamps.
Now, i am Going to make a LIFELESS LAB for a sick friend...
I have read this thread, got stoned and re read the thread...I think i BASICALLY got it...
..............HOW EVER.......

In your first post, there are pics of PVC pipes with a power cord in them... WHAT are they for??? I have looked and can't seem to find any more pics of what they do.....

And what Nutes/watering cycle do you use??
Heres a link to a diy scrubber that some may find useful:
Micro Carbon Scrubber

If i had of thought of your flower box myself I would have WAY over thunk it...
LOVE the simplicity!!! PAX

Edit: Found your nutes Pure Blend Pro Bloom Soil

 

[dude06version]

hey lifeless you said earlier n the thread you would post a picture of the coat rack you use to raise and lower the plants.but i dont see one?..

 

[LifeLess]

tejashidrow hello that pic with the cord threw the pvc was just a pic of the supplys i was using. pvc was for the intakes and the cord was for the lights. Im using fox farm nutes right now. I go between pbp and fox farm. Both work well. I dont really have a watering cycle. Water as needed and the nutes go by whats up with the plants. For the most part its 2 tsp grow big per gallon of water every watering threw the first 2 weeks bloom. 2 TBL big bloom per gallon threw to about week 6 bloom. Clean water the rest of the way. I try not to post after a good toke. I dont have to edit that way. Hope the box helps yer friend. Peace

dude06version if i said coat rack sorry. I ment to say rubber coated rack. They sell them in the shelving isle. Heres a pic Peace LL

 

[dude06version]

ohhh i got it.. thx..