First timer PC grow

Hello all,

As you can see I am brand new here, I have decided to start growing and I have 90% completed my PC grow box. I am looking forward to ordering my seeds today and start my grow very soon!

I'll be posting some photos when I get home from work, and I will use this thread as my journal. I am more then welcome to comments and criticism as I said, I am a first time grower!

Some of you may be familiar with Ryan Riley, I started off most of my research with his guide and then turned to google which brought me here. I love seeing everyone's great setups and I hope I can learn lots from everyone here.

I'll start off with a picture of the case prior to any gutting, I neglected to take step by step pics though, so all you'll get to see is before and after.. sorry!


Original Case


After the initial build is finished


Front - 80mm Exhaust


Back - 2x 80mm Intake (One fan is sightly bigger)


Back Exterior needs some loving


Front Exterior also needs TLC

Edited by BlackWeeds, 09 June 2012 - 07:05 PM.

Will be fun to follow another PC grow. I like checking them out, and i am sure one day in the future i will do one myself, but i have yet to do one.

What are the dimensions of the cabinet?

It's a ATX case, so it's roughly 17x17x7 these are approximate measurements as I can't give you exact at this time. I will update within a few hours with more pics and exact measurements.

I have a feeling this will be tight, so I am already looking into getting an XL-ATX case which go for about 100$ on the popular online PC stores.

Updated with more pics, I bought some of those 3 socket extenders so I'll be able to use up to 5 CFLs in it at once if needed. I have a feeling that may be too much though, I am also worried about temps, I don't have a thermometer to put in it yet for testing though. I have one plugin wired to all three fans and then the power bar cable both coming out the same end. I think my kitty is just as excited for the grow as I am..

I still need to add mylar to the top of the inside, and the back of the door (not shown)

The dimensions are 16.5"x17"x7" the issue with that is I only have about 1ft from the bottom of the case to the lights, I know this is going to be a problem.. suggestions welcomed!

Edited by BlackWeeds, 09 June 2012 - 07:12 PM.

The reflective material looks nice and tight. First off i would like to say that i myself have not built or done a PC grow myself. I have however done some research on the subject. I recently wrote some of the information i have gathered in Ms.NatureFaerie thread. Another pc grower, kronicNZ, with a very nice looking setup i would recommend checking out also posted there.
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With the setup you got right now i would imagine it might get a bit hot with 5 bulbs.

Things i would look into at this stage is ventilation placement and light proofing.

First off it is wise to have exhaust up high and intake down low. This is because hot air rises, and with a low exhaust all you will do is suck out the cold air.
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I would recommend placing exhaust up high, even higher then the current intakes, and the intakes down low as low as you can get them. If heat is still a issue you can simply cut some picture frame glass, or if that is to much of a challenge just get some plexi glass, heat it where you want to cut with a lighter and just run a cardboard knife over it. trying to keep the width of the square just the same size as the cabinet width. This should more or less become air tight edges when pressed against the isolating reflective material you are using. Then the length of the glass/plexi square as the length of the cabinet minus maybe 1 inch. Then hard mount it maybe 1/2 inch under the bulbs and leaving the 1 inch gap on the opposite side of exhaust fan. I recon you can move the light a bit higher as well. Just think of the roof as a reflector and move them up really high.



I do not know if stealth is a issue for you. If you do not light proof the fans, you must keep your computer inside a cabinet or dark place, and not open the door or let light to the computer during night time. If the plant do not get 12 hours of darkness it will not start to flower.

I do not know how much stealth is a issue for you. But i can tell you that weed smells very strongly. If you want to get rid of it i would suggest carbon scrubber, this will also light proof the exhaust, but it requires a powerful fan.

For light traps there are many different designs out there, i would suggest ninjascrubber DIY. It is the one with several angles glues on top of each other with small dividers. You can get cheap plastic corners instead of expensive aluminum.
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Stick another bulb in there, otherwise good job so far

For the height issue i would recommend getting a very shallow bubble tub(swc/dwc/bubble bucket etc.). Basically look for a tupperware box that fits the 17"x7" dimensions as close as possible. They height as low as possible. Get some small 2x2 inches net pots and some lava rocks or similar if you are doing clones, or just rock wool or similar if you are doing from seed. make 1-2 pots if you are doing seeds and train them in veg, or as many as you can fit if you are doing clones and sog small scale. Place some air stones at the bottom of the tub, use a suction cup from a pet store or weigh them down with something, so they do not float. Fill with water and nutes and start up the pump. Make sure the net pots are dipping in the water early seed/clone stage, and let the water rest maybe 1-1/2 inch below the net pot once the roots are coming out of the net pot bottom.

If you are smart you can buy two of the same tupperware, leaving you one free bottom to mix new nutrients in if you ever have to flush. Attach scrog to lid so that you can move the lid with pots, plants and scrog between bottoms when changing.

Alot of people say dwc is hard, but i have had no problems so far, and i really have not done everything by the book i am a bit lazy when it comes to actually doing things opposed to researching.

The reflective material looks nice and tight. First off i would like to say that i myself have not built or done a PC grow myself. I have however done some research on the subject. I recently wrote some of the information i have gathered in Ms.NatureFaerie thread. Another pc grower, kronicNZ, with a very nice looking setup i would recommend checking out also posted there.
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With the setup you got right now i would imagine it might get a bit hot with 5 bulbs.

Things i would look into at this stage is ventilation placement and light proofing.

First off it is wise to have exhaust up high and intake down low. This is because hot air rises, and with a low exhaust all you will do is suck out the cold air.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would recommend placing exhaust up high, even higher then the current intakes, and the intakes down low as low as you can get them. If heat is still a issue you can simply cut some picture frame glass, or if that is to much of a challenge just get some plexi glass, heat it where you want to cut with a lighter and just run a cardboard knife over it. trying to keep the width of the square just the same size as the cabinet width. This should more or less become air tight edges when pressed against the isolating reflective material you are using. Then the length of the glass/plexi square as the length of the cabinet minus maybe 1 inch. Then hard mount it maybe 1/2 inch under the bulbs and leaving the 1 inch gap on the opposite side of exhaust fan. I recon you can move the light a bit higher as well. Just think of the roof as a reflector and move them up really high.

I do not know if stealth is a issue for you. If you do not light proof the fans, you must keep your computer inside a cabinet or dark place, and not open the door or let light to the computer during night time. If the plant do not get 12 hours of darkness it will not start to flower.

I do not know how much stealth is a issue for you. But i can tell you that weed smells very strongly. If you want to get rid of it i would suggest carbon scrubber, this will also light proof the exhaust, but it requires a powerful fan.

For light traps there are many different designs out there, i would suggest ninjascrubber DIY. It is the one with several angles glues on top of each other with small dividers. You can get cheap plastic corners instead of expensive aluminum.
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I can't believe I overlooked such a simple thing.. I'll definitely be working on the airflow issue, stealth isn't an issue at all really, I just like the idea of a micro-grow. Mine will be stored in my furnace room so it's always pitch black in there so dark cycle will be completely black. I was actually going to do a soil grow since it's my first time. As far as the smell goes, I was planning on getting the Ona Pro Block, everything I've read about them on GC has been nothing short of amazing!
Thanks for the feedback!

Stick another bulb in there, otherwise good job so far!

Not sure if you noticed the two lying inside the case or not, with the current setup I can fit about 5 bulbs in there. They are 2700k 26W "Blue-planet" CFL's

Edited by BlackWeeds, 10 June 2012 - 01:31 AM.

get a wide tub for soil as well i recon. Browse a couple of pc grows and see what kind of pots/tubs they use and copy

get a wide tub for soil as well i recon. Browse a couple of pc grows and see what kind of pots/tubs they use and copy

Even with multiple plants?

I'll probably use 2 2Gal pots.

well, if they are clones you should be fine seeing they will grow and act somewhat alike. But safest off using multiple pots for multiple plants yeah.

No clones, going to go straight from fem seeds.

So far heres my list of supplies to be ordered:

- Big Bang Auto seeds
- Technaflora Starter Kit
- Soil medium (Probably perlite + Vermiculite)

If there's anything I might've missed, or something that could be useful to me please let me know

Edit: I picked up a temp/humidity gauge and I've been running some tests on temperature,
seems like it's levelled out around 38ºC (100ºF) with all 5 CFLs
Once I rearrange the fans and possibly add one I think it should be much better. From what I've read those temps are much too high..

Edited by BlackWeeds, 12 June 2012 - 05:32 PM.

Add another outtake fan, actually what you should've done is put the outtake at the top on one end of it and the two intakes on the other side, all at the light height. The purpose is to keep the lights cool anyways, but that's just what I wouldve done, and my temps stay in between 78-80 fahrenheit. That's about 28-30 celsius.

Add another outtake fan, actually what you should've done is put the outtake at the top on one end of it and the two intakes on the other side, all at the light height. The purpose is to keep the lights cool anyways, but that's just what I wouldve done, and my temps stay in between 78-80 fahrenheit. That's about 28-30 celsius.

I am planning on changing the fans out entirely, like you said I am going to do a 120mm exhaust at the top then 2 80mm intakes on either side (or together).

Do you think this will be sufficient?

Looking at 2 80mm fans @ 28CFM = 56CFM Intake and 74CFM Exhaust, I know theres a formula somewhere around here but I can't find it..

wow nice and yeah it looks like a tight fit but i love the pc grow box! also since its going to be a tight fit have you looked into screen of green that is what i am probably going to implement into my micro grow still reading on it though seems awesome

looks good so far!


Good luck with your grow !

wow nice and yeah it looks like a tight fit but i love the pc grow box! also since its going to be a tight fit have you looked into screen of green that is what i am probably going to implement into my micro grow still reading on it though seems awesome

I was actually thinking about that, not many people have done it in a PC so I think I'd be pretty cool. I may wait until my 2nd grow and just do LST on this one. not too sure yet.

looks good so far!


Good luck with your grow !

Thank you, I'll probably need it!

yeah i am going to implement my micro grow in a small space a bit bigger but my friend did it in a small pc box with just chicken wire and a wodden frame it worked pretty freaking great i loved how the buds looked coming up the wire