Stealth Grow Box Grow

[Agent0fChaos]

I am gearing up to buy a PC grow box or a cabinet grow box and I was curious if anyone here successfully, or has successfully, grown using one of them. I am debating between hydroponic or soil, main concern being smell (I live in a small studio apt.) If anyone has any info they can share, I would be really grateful. Also if there are any Chicago growers who could show me hands on, that would be even better.

 

[Chainer]

it's going to smell in that PC grow box unless you're going with the hyper expensive ones.

this has been covered before but I'm to lazy to search and find it for you

 

[His Name Is Frank]

A good ion generator would take care of most of the smell.

 

[thujone]

smell will REALLY fuck your shit up. if you can't afford to build a box with a fan that builds good enough vacuum to keep air from escaping from anywhere else than through a good carbon filter then try to build your box next to a window so you can vent straight outside. in a studio apartment, pretty much all fans that can actually support a vacuum to successfully scrub more than a single plant will drive you NUTS with the noise.

 

[dankstersauce]

I've grown with grow cabinets similar to the PC grow boxes. Honestly in my opinion you'll save money by just buying some of the following:

-white cabinet from walmart -$20 (white reflects light good)
-air pump, tubing and bubble stone from pet store-$10
-125 watt CFL (less heat than HID) with ballast and hanger from hydro shop-$100?? (I don't remember the exact price).
-dark colored tupperware rectangular bin.
-net pots.
-hydrotron (clay balls, use the small ones).
-rock wool.
-autoflowering seeds buy feminized seeds from a seed bank to make the most of limited grow space.
-pH up/pH down
-eventually you'll need nutrients but autoflowering strains are good for the first 2-3 weeks w/o nutes.
-buy a small clip on desk fan
-pH meter

Basically cut a hole the size of a net pot in the top of the bin. Drill a hole in the side of the bin. Run tubing through the drilled hole. Connect the airstone. Fill with water. Drill holes in the cabinet to hang the light. Cut a hole in the back of the cabinet with a razor blade to make room for the fan or extra lights. And that's about it.

You can spend $500-600 on a PC grow box that is smaller than this plus another $120 for seeds, plus all the odds and ends that they don't include. The only downside to my set up is that it isn't as stealth but seriously you can get the entire set up (and a 10 pack of feminized seeds) for about 1/2 the price. And you have almost 2x the space for bigger harvests.

The main reason I'm posting this is because I paid nearly $400 for a grow box on eBay and as soon as I opened the box I was SUPER disappointed. It was a complete waste of cash. I'm still kinda bummed I paid that much for such a piece of junk. I know it seems like it's easier to just buy a complete kit but I'm telling you it's really worth it to lose a small amount of stealth for a bigger harvest. AND it's fun to put all the pieces together and watch the grass grow.

As far as specific autoflowering strains, I like
-Lowlife's auto ak/hindu kush
-Joint Doctor's easy ryder (ak/lowryder 2)
-Joint Doctor's diesel ryder (ak/nyc diesel)
and I forget the company but the strain 'Top 69' was my first grow and put up with a ton of abuse and left me with an OZ of frosty budz off one 12 inch plant.

Of course I'm not currently growing though. And even one plant will stink, try an Ona block and an air filter (you shouldn't need anything super expensive for 1 plant).