My first PC micro grow! xD

Discussion in 'Micro Grows' started by AntwonBOT, Jan 20, 2020.

  1. Hi guys and gals!

    I'm sooo excited to work through this project! I grew a white widow in an old converted filing cabinet around 6 years ago so I've been itching terribly for another grow! For me now, the yield is not a priority so I'm happily taking up the challenge of fitting out a pc tower for an ultimate stealth grow.

    I have an understanding of what I need to do but I'm out of practice so any new ideas will be much appreciated! And I'm hoping you can enjoy this journey with me!!

    I've made a start with the gutting of my pc tower already which I'll try and add video/ photos to now... And I've got a couple weeks wait on my lights so it's going to take my a little while to set everything up. 20200120_100133.jpg
     
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  2. Soo I had a really good video explaining what I wanted to do but the file is too large... So I'll do my best with the photo's that I have... Or maybe I can figure out how to split the video in parts? If anyone can advise on that?

    Anyway so what I have done so far.... I have bout my pc tower for 10 bucks from a computer repair and parts shop. It's the largest one they had but if you could get hold of an old server box I'd suggest that just for the extra space. They removed the motherboard and power supply. I asked to keep the dvd drive, with this I cut off the face and I'll glue it back in so there isn't a gap in the front of the box, and it still looks like a legit computer. 20200120_181351.jpg
     
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  3. I've removed the extra racking inside the unit to fully open up the space. This involved using an electric drill to break through numerous rivets.

    Until I get my LED lights there isn't a whole lot more I want to so I can figure out how I'm going to attach my lights. They have been ordered from America... Sooo I might be waiting a few weeks...

    The next few steps though will be sorting out my fans and electrics. My power supply will be a 2 socket extension lead coming into the back of the pc box, one to supply my fans and the second for the light. I could have rewired the actual power supply from the pc into an extension lead but I don't fancy messing with the higher voltage cable.... The fans however I will wire together to a 12v charger.

    There is already a 90mm fan attached to the back of the case and I'll be getting hold of a power supply box to fill the void at the top. This will have a 80mm pc fan attached so I will use both of these as exhaust fans. Just I'll be slicing and dicing the power box to keep it near flush with the below fan as I don't need the rest of the electrical parts. The intake I'll keep passive, the slight vacume inside the box should then keep smells escaping through any gaps.

    I'll be attempting to make my own carbon filters to keep them to my requirements and save some dollar! So what I'm thinking for those is to strip out another 80mm and 90mm pc fan. Using the casing as a frame I can fill them with activated carbon and rap with some tights. These can then be screwed straight onto my exaust fans. I have a 120 fan also which I can use for direct ventilation onto my plants.

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  4. Hey mate sounds like you've got a decent amount sorted. I built my PC grow case a while ago and ordered everything without knowing how I'd get it all together lmao

    Make sure you have at least 30 actual watts of LEDs, they usually tell you the maximum wattage and market them as that, I got a cheap Chinese board that I thought was 25w but apparently only pulls 8w from the wall so be careful from that, had to add 2x 10w bulbs

    I got really excited about your carbon filter because that's literally what my idea was lol it does work but I'm unsure how well because I'm not up to the super smelly part of flower

    You'll want to hook up a fan to blow on your pant/s

    Be careful not to veg for too long, I have 3 plants purely to get seeds currently and vegging for 3 weeks (and topping at 2 weeks) was too long, might be okay for a single plant tho but multiple plants I'd flip to flower after 2 weeks

    Here are some pics of my setup and while I was building it for you to check out, sorry I thought I documented more of it but you can see a decent amount from the few pictures, also if you want a treasure grove of information check out intelligent stoner on YouTube, he is one of the best sources online for PC case growing 20200108_110908.jpg 20191129_125941.jpg 20191021_155953.jpg 20191025_105455.jpg 20200110_082835.jpg
     
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  5. Cheers Daxxy!
    It's exiting to see how similar your set up is compared to what I'm imagining mines gonna be! So definitely keep me updated with how yours is going

    The filters should be sufficient, but then I'm pretty arrogant and I'm winging a lot of this myself! But yes, I've got a 120mm fan spare that I can use just for internal ventilation. Lights I'm a little unsure about though.

    I'll be getting a clone from a friend so I'll have to see how big it is when I'm ready for it, but I'll top and set it up with a scrog screen. I'll flip it and continue to scrog for two weeks before I leave it to finisb. Should be about right

    As my lights... I think mine might be a tad too powerful?! But it looks like I can turn it down
    Screenshot_20200121-204919_Samsung Internet.jpg Screenshot_20200121-202329_Samsung Internet.jpg
     
  6. Awesome glad my post was useful! I'll definitely keep you updated but I'm unsure when I'll do that lol for sure if the filter stops working I'll let you know

    That 120mm fan might be a bit bulky (mine is 80mm) but you'll definitely be able to make it work

    Glad you know what you want to do with your training, you should be sweet and because you'll only have one plant it should be fine

    That light tho lol wow it's definitely too powerful xD you want about 30 real watts of LEDs per square foot, my PC case has around half a square foot but I figured just round it up to one foot because it's on the small side, and that light seems to be a 400w or so? Which would theoretically be fine for a typical size tent (I haven't researched this tho I'm just going on the 30w per square foot)

    I found out that the HLG QB288 fits perfectly in my case and doesnt need a heatsink running under 60w so running it at around 50w would be fine, maybe look into that?
     
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  7. Hey, I've been looking a lot into my lighting situation... I think I over estimated the power of these leds just because they were small enough to fit in

    But lucky for me my dimmer switch ranges from 0-100%. So if I get a lux meter and adjust, I can be sure that my plants will receive between 35 and 85k lumins for their full cycle... and at least I'm set for when I decide to up scale! Haha.
    And the HLG looks ideal tbh, but I think I'm going to try and wing it with this if I can get the brightness set right. Just an anxious wait for the lights....

    I'll get onto my filters and then light proofing the bottom and sides in the next couple of days
     
  8. Awesome give me an update when you've made progress!

    I was worried about it not fitting but I'm glad it does that's the important thing. I've never dealt with big LEDs so didn't know if the dimmer had a minimum or just went down to 0% you'll be able to make that work for sure. Definitely agree that if you decide to go bigger you can still use that same light so assuming it does the job well I think you've potentially made a good purchase

    I just got home after 4 days and thought I'd show you some pictures, my male grew into the light for the second time and grew so much that he snapped himself lmao RIP

    This is 13 days since she showed sex, and 24 days since the flip (shes small because shes a runt) 20200119_080727.jpg 20200122_173425.jpg 20200123_073520.jpg 20200122_184845.jpg
     
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  10. I don't know whether to find it really funny or really gutted for you lol. But better him than your main crop I suppose! LEDs... I'll literally have to wait and see what I can adjust them to with a light meter... But definitely a good purchase for the future I think
     
  11. Carbon filter update!!!

    So after some trial and error, here is how I constructed me carbon filter. I wired up the fan and filter in the pictures and turned out so much better than I thought! A very strong air flow coming through so I might actually just stick with the one exhaust system...
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  12. Definitely go for the funny lol he's only alive so I can keep collecting pollen so it's not a bad thing at all

    Your filter is the exact same concept as mine only I've got 2 gutted fans full of charcoal and I'm using an actual dust filter for PC fans

    Keep in mind that you'll need to replace the charcoal at some point, my finger guards are just screwed on for easy access

    But these kinda things are why I think the PC grow box is insanely genius, a side from the obvious downfall of the small space everything fits seamlessly into the disguise. When you're next to it and hear fans, oh that's just a PC turned on, also the fan mounts are designed for removing hot air anyway so they're good to use. Even if you've got some light leak, it isn't bonkers to have LEDs in a computer case. If you wanted it to still work as a PC you can hook up a single board computer like raspberry pi that doesnt take up much space and that can double as a monitoring system for your grow. Little side tracked lol, that design of filter is amazing because it's literally made out of fans which already have dust filters and finger guards, dont need to jury rig anything like with other homemade filters, well theres the option at least.

    You're doing good so far dude good job
     
  13. Yes my filter looks a little more effort to swap over lol. But if I only use it during flowering, u shouldn't need to change it during grow cycles.

    I've ordered a new light, which looks much more appropriate for my grow!! 60w, dimmable, built in and adjustable timer and takes up a heap less space!

    I have also fixed myself up a scrog screen thanks to an abandoned shopping trolley!! Screenshot_20200125-132150_Samsung Internet.jpg 20200125_121534.jpg
     
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  14. I love the trolley idea lol perfect for keeping costs down xD

    Glad you decided on a smaller light, I've looked at those but I cant get them cheap enough where I am, hopefully they do good!
     
  15. I think I've seen somewhere that you can freeze pollen so you might not even have to keep him
     
  16. Ya that's what I'm doing, just want as much as possible lol was planning on chopping him down a few days ago I dunno why I haven't yet

    I dont think he will make more anyway because of how late through flower it is (I've been chopping off branches to get the pollen)
     
  17. Hey dude have you made any progress so far?

    I just got a bigger case and really wanna show someone so I guess you get to be the lucky one lmao

    I have my old PC case in the front, mATX
    I have my current grow box to the left, full tower
    And the upgrade to the right, probably just gonna build a whole new box and put a qb288 in there 20200130_104153.jpg
     
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  18. Hey! Yeah it's been a bit slow as I've just moved house and a bunch of other stuff needed sorting out.

    But I've light proofed my pc with a car screen protector. Also made a light trap and hooked up an intake fan as well as my exhaust to the 12v charger port. My extension lead is in as well!

    So all I need is my light which should get here in around 10 days! Need to sort out soil and nutrients too. I might need to trim down my planting tub or just keep the soil height lower. I really want to borrow a friend's light so I can get it properly started by the end of this week

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  19. It's looking real good dude, better than 90% of the PC grow boxes I've seen and I've seen a fuck load because I was obsessed when I was building mine lmao

    Love the light trap btw I'll have to use it in my designs!

    Only thing is you'll need to cover that tub in something other than white, preferably some of that car shade if you have some? The white lets light in which is bad for roots

    Also I love that we have the same wall plugs ;)
     
  20. But good to see you starting on another pc! That new one looks much better so you're going to have so much more space for everything keep my posted on your build for that one too

    And thanks! I'm a bit of a perfectionist haha. Mmh good point, I was hoping to have some mylar spare which I do not so I was gonna cover it... But maybe now I'll go buy another one.

    Awh yeah, NZ or Australia?
     

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