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My first growbox attempt

Hi all.
 
Just wanted to share my first experience of building the growbox and maybe receive some advice as well. 
I've only spent about 35$ on supplies so far including soil mix.
 
My colleague found some wooden box for me. It wasn't in a best condition, but after some nailing and cleaning, it became more or less what I needed and most importantly I didnt have to pay a cent.
 
As we don't have heat mats here, where I live, I decided to use old cheap holiday lights as a bottom heater. Yes, they seem small, but I was quite surprised what they can do when stacked tightly(Hope not to burn the house down though). One 60W incandescent bulb is heating whole box air. 
 
hAnRHi1.jpg

 
The temperature inside the box has reached 88F, while outside the box its 62F. Perfect for germination I suppose. 
I can even slightly control the bottom heating temps by switch the lights to different blinking modes
 
I am going to install 2x1050lm fluorescent tubes above the container whenever the seedlings shall appear. 
 
The only conditioning I have for now is this hole for cables
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and the defected door :)
CliAPTB.jpg

 
Whenever I'll see first seedlings I will probably install some active ventilation, that will suck out the air from the box, but I am not sure is it a proper way or not. should I install the vent from the beginning? still have to research this subject.
 
I will probably update this topic on major events, but before then any suggestions are welcome!
 
 
 
Nice work, I started with something very similar. 
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Then I stepped it up to this.
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And this season I built this.
20150820_192943.jpg

 
It is fully automatic, with temperature controlled via exhaust fans (3x 2ft x4 T4's per shelf make plenty of heat) and lights on a timer. Next season I will be installing a humidity controller so when the lights turn off the humidity doesn't get too high. It's a great way to get a head start and worked perfectly. Check out my previous posts on my grow box for more information. 
 
You could add a small fan to your setup which will strengthen the stems of your plants, and also help reduce chances of mold and high humidity issues.
 
 
SR.
 
All look like good set ups. I am currently trying to decide how to construct mine.  Been thinking about those big clear plastic containers, really like that idea of the Christmas lights instead of a heat pad. I wonder if that works with what is in my garage.  Was also wondering if my furnace closet would be a good place to keep the germinating seeds. Stays pretty warm in there as the water heater is in there as well.  
 
Turrbow said:
I can even slightly control the bottom heating temps by switch the lights to different blinking modes
(Edit: Oops-!... see post immediately below. I'm not sure where i erred posting this, but it's in 2 parts).
 
A rheostat should give you more precision and range in your temperature control.

The extent to which you have improvised and salvaged raw materials is impressive, and very resourceful. However, i too worry about this system causing your house to catch fire.

Regarding ventilation: muffin fans, salvaged from broken electronic equipment (computers, DVD players, etc.), are probably adequate for a grow box. A 12-volt 4" muffin fan, with 12, 9, 6, and 3-volt power supply options would be a very flexible and effective method of controlling ventilation. The air intake might be rigged with a vacuum-cleaner filter cartridge or coffe-maker mesh-basket or furnace-duct air filter, to keep insects, spores, and other undesirable things out.
 
Thanks for all the useful suggestions.
Really nice setups there SR. Hope some day I will go hi tech like you.
GP. Once you'll have fixed bottom temperature and enough moist, any box will be okay for germination.
mikeg, I was just found some small fans like you described at my local market. thinking to use it as air outtake. As for intake, I'm thinking to use passive ventilation. Thanks for filter suggestion, maybe I'll just cut a hole on side of the box and cover it with some mesh filter. If it will not be enoigh, I just put some cheap toy vent inside the box as well.
 
 
 
Unfortunately I couldn't find a way to update my first post, so here is the 2 week progress:
 
I have installed 2 FL bulbs as intended.
3ypxgsg.jpg

 
All seeds have sprouted so far except 2.
3TpaKbk.jpg

 
 
Maybe I did something wrong last year, but here is a little observation:
last year I used paper towel method for quicker germination. This year I just threw seeds into the soil.
I was pretty amazed, that the second method worked much better. First sprouts appeared in about 4-5 days, while I only saw root tips during same days last year. Definitely  I will keep it much simple from now.
 
Once again, dont hesitate to throw suggestions or inform me if you see anything wrong in those pics ;)
 
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