Pick out a bucket that will hold the plants, and wrap it entirely in black duct tape. If you can find white 5gal buckets and got a different color, line the inside of the bucket with tin foil so the inside light will be reflected and not absorbed by the bucket walls. White buckets reflect the light just fine without the lining, but you can line white buckets if you really want to. For the remaining buckets, cut the lids off, leaving about 2'-3' of plastic to it doesn't slip off somehow. I left 4'-5' because I was lazy and this is only crucial if the extra plastic will hit a fan or whatever else you have installed in the sides of the bucket. You can always cut more off, too. I added a watering apparatus to the side of my bucket, but this is completely optional... I'm just a dork. It consists of numerous PVC parts and feed water into the bucket through a plastic tube with holes in it. Decently effective, more for show than anything. I also mounted my humidity sensor in the side of the bucket, display facing out and the back entirely covered save for the actual sensor that needs access to air. I don't worry about accidentally watering it and I don't have to open my bucket for a reading.
Hello everyone! So I just moved to Oregon and am marking my new life here by growing my first plant,
and I'm using a Space Bucket because of low cost and mobility.
More info about my build here.
LIGHTING
I was originally plugging the lights directly into the 1-way socket adapters, so they were sticking straight out from the power strip. This isn't the most efficient and I've since adopted an updated design to spread light more evenly. Plug the three 1-way adapters into the power strip, skipping a socket between each. Get the bucket lid and turn the power strip over so it's standing on those 1-way adapters, position the strip on the lid so the lights will be centered, and trace and cut out the area for each adapter on the lid. Push the adapters through and see if everything lines up and stays in place, adjusting where necessary. Once you're happy with the power strip's position, screw the two 2-way bulb-to-light-socket adapters into the 1-way adapters at each end of the strip, making sure the 'Y' shape is perpendicular to the length of the power strip (sticks out to the sides). Screw the light bulbs to make sure the socket positioning is good and place the lid on your bucket, then plug in the power strip. If the bulbs are spaced evenly and everything looks good to you, set it aside.
AIRFLOWING
As you add spacers to keep the lights from burning the plant, more and more hot air will stay up towards where the lights are, and the 80mm fans towards the bottom of the bucket may not be able to get that air out. I added a 120mm PC fan up next to the lights as a dedicated exhaust, and my temps are just fine. This also helps lower humidity, which can lead to powdery mildew, which is no bueno. Find where on the sides of the bucket you want your fans to go, ensuring the wires from each fan meet at some point on the outside of the bucket with a bit of slack, which is where the plug for power will be. I placed my fans about 6'-8' up from the bottom of the bucket on either side - one for intake, one for exhaust. If you only have one fan available to you, use it for exhaust. Trace the fans on the bucket and cut out the plastic, then insert the fans making sure the direction of air flow is pointing the correct way. I didn't need to tape them in place because I was able to squeeze them through the hole, which was just a shade too small, so they're held in place pretty well. Take the fan wires, strip about 1/2' of plastic off the end, then join the two red ends together, and the black ends together. Do not connect red to black, or vice versa. Twist the metal wires together to form two wire ends, then get the adapter and put the red ends into the positive (+) slot and the black ends into the negative (-) slot. Use a screwdriver to fasten the ends into place...you may need to re-adjust if the ends slip out easily. I like to hold everything by the adapter so the fans dangle... if the wire ends slip out, re-adjust/re-tighten. Test the fans with the 1A power supply, and if both fans turn on and move a good amount of air, go ahead and mount them in the sides of the bucket, again making sure one is for intake and the other is for exhaust.
