My First PC Case Grow

Discussion in 'Micro Grows' started by slewcid, Sep 23, 2015.

  1. Day One - Construction Begins


    Hello Everyone!


    I've got a little plant growing outside that appears to have hermied. I don't think there is enough time left in the season for it to finish doing whatever it is it will do, and while that's sad, it is what it is.
    A good friend on these forums, Mona, mentioned it was possible to grow inside a PC case. I immediately remembered an old server I had in the garage. This was a Pentium 4 server with a combined 500gb RAID, 2gb of ram and a floppy drive. It's made of pure steel and about 3 feet tall. Here's a shot after I pulled the drives out.


    before.jpeg </span>


    This thing was sitting in the same spot in the back of the garage for about 3 years. It was incredibly filthy. I went to the Dollar Tree store and spent about $8.00 on aluminum foil, a decent cleaner, some salted nut candies, a roll of duct tape and <span class="skimwords-potential"><span class="skimwords-potential"><span class="skimwords-potential">masking tape</span></span></span>, and some paper plates since we were out. I put a towel on the floor and cleaned every last inch inside and out of the case with an antibacterial cleaner. I read in a forum here or somewhere that said to clean your grow space thoroughly to circumvent any chance for mold. So that took a while.


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    Once everything was cleaned and dried I put newspaper against the inside of the case, taped down with duct tape. I figured I could just line the inside case door with foil but since this will likely be kept out in the garage I wanted to insulate it as best as possible. I'm not sure if this is a bad move or not, but it seemed like it couldn't hurt to try to keep the temperature consistent. If it didn't do that, at least it would keep out any extrernal light.


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    Once I got the sides done I moved on to the front:


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    There is still the back and bottom left to do tomorrow but it looks like I'm off to a good start. This case has a shelf near the top which I thought was pretty handy. I have plenty of room for lights and perhaps two or three plants growing on each tier. What do you guys think so far?


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    To keep things fair, you'll need to know that I'm married with a kid. They don't know I'm doing this, so it will take a while to get all the supplies I need. I can't just go out and spend money, I have to sneak it from here and there. This is where research will be crucial. That said, is there a preferred light bulb combination that would work best with this kind of set up? I'm planning on only doing one plant to start. I'm really kicking around buying either a feminized seed or an autoflowering one. Thoughts?


    For soil I'll probably go with the Fox Farms I've seen mentioned everywhere. I'll likely use a terra cotta pot, but am open to suggestions of things that will fit in the space, about 5 inches wide.


    I know I'll need a thermometer and a humidity monitor, lights, timer, some fans and a soil pH monitor. Maybe a tiny webcam so I can always be looking at the plant and its monitors. Anything else? Can you guys list a preferred brand for any of these?


    Thanks so much for taking a look and helping a str8 gno0b with my new found dream of growing a plant inside a server case!


     
  2. Prolly auto. But you might get more from a fem 12/12 from seed or a little while after. Lights you can but 100w or 50w real lights. I have an old one that's 75 real watts and 120 equivalent. One or 2 of these might work. Try a blue spectrum and you can supplement with red. About 20 dollars each that's if you go cfl. If you go led you're looking at more cash. Soils fine but if your on a budget you could innovate. Look on eBay for a humidity monitor and then a thermometer. Get them separately. You don't need a camera lol unless you can't regularly check the plants.
     
  3. Thanks guys! I'll be posting more pictures of the case progress soon. Since I don't have all of the supplies I need to start growing in the case, and the outside plant is nearly ready to be trimmed, I'm going to use the case to dry and cure the outside plant. Seems like a good way to start the growing process.


    Micro I actually looked at your post once I decided to grow in a case. Thanks for the inspiration! I'll probably be asking a lot of questions soon!




     
  4. Here are photos of my finished case.


    I've got about 13" from bottom to the middle shelf, and the bottom is 7" wide so I might can get two plants going at once. I've been thinking of using super skunk auto to start. Thoughts?


    Thanks!
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  5. The only thing I can think of is heat build up is your garage a cool area? All that could generate a lot of unwanted heat.
     
  6. Be careful about drying your bud in the case man might stink up the house something bad
     
  7. Thanks, but the case will be outside during the drying. I installed some drying lines today.


    IMAG1481.jpg




    It stays pretty cool. I'm *hoping* to be growing in a few weeks, when it gets fairly cold. I think the extra insulation will help keep the inside warm during the cold months. When it gets warm again I can always pull off the insulation on the sides.
    I'm planning on getting a thermometer in the case before I'm ready to grow. I'd want to know the temperatures throughout the day before I put a plant in there.


    Thanks again for your advice!

     
  8. Pretty cool man I just fnished my PC dry case today. Posted a pic in my thread. Always good to test before hand to sort out any issues.
     
  9. #10 Mona, Sep 27, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 27, 2015
    Looking really good Slew!! Sorry it took so long for me to get here. I don't know anything about pc grows but I'd sure like to watch.

    I think you'll do well with the auto. If you find the foil burns the plants or is too hot, the sun reflectors work well (dollar tree & dollar store for a buck each). As far as lights, you could do well with household cfls. Another option is Philips white led 11w (?) - not sure about heat from those. Tenshuu has used them and, I'm sure, would gladly help. I'll post the link next.

    Don't forget a diy carbon filter.

    I'm so glad you got a journal going.
    *The things people put over car dash is what I'm calling Sun reflector
     
  10. #11 Mona, Sep 27, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 27, 2015
  11. Awesome! Thanks for all the info Mona!
     
  12. I left a cheapish thermometer in my case in the garage overnight and when I checked it this morning it was 69 degrees. I closed it back up and checked it again 6 hours later. Still 69 degrees. I've no idea about the humidity. I decided to leave the case open to air out the duct tape smell [which helped] and the thermometer still read 69. I put it in the freezer for a few minutes just to test and it is working. I left the thermometer in the closed case and will check it again tomorrow. It should be a little colder tonight so hopefully the insulation in the case will work and keep the temperature around 69-70 degrees.


    Which CFL light(s) should I use? SOMEHOW some of the light bulbs around here burned out and I'll need to be getting more. ;) Might as well buy what I'll need for the case, right?


    Thanks for stopping by!

     
  13. i havent used CFL before but I know you need to keep them close to the plant becuase penetration isnt the best. That said, you want 5000k+ lummens cool white CFL for Veg and warm 2500k for Flower. Get as many as you can in there like 3-5 CFLs 23w+ each works. Im sure somone with experience could give you more info. looking forward to your progress :)

     
  14. Awesome! Thanks! I looked at your journal to see what you used. I can't spend $100+ on a lightbulb so I'll figure a lighting array for the case. Are there any other budget lighting options available?


    I checked the case thermometer and it's at 63 degrees. It's 60 degrees outside now with a low of 53 predicted. I'll check it in the morning. Once I get the lights and fans I'll have to experiment to try to keep it at around 70 for drying.


    Thanks again to everyone stopping by! I can't wait to get started!
     
  15. for cost CFL is the best option 15 bucks can get you goin. undder 60 degrees will start to slow down growth.
     
  16. Yo man. You can use cfl. For about 50 on eBay you can buy a 150-250 real watt lights. Or go to Safeway maybe Walmart and you can buy 120w equivalent bulbs 75 real watts. I believe it's either $10 for 1 or $20 for 1. You'll have to then get a hood or at least a socket and plug you can get thees at ace for a few bucks. The eBay one I suggested has a power cord btw I'll find a link and post it.
    You want cfl 1-3 inches from the plant so a big light and then 2 small ones would be perfect or just the big one
     
  17. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=121674998379
    This ones 53 with a reflector and 250w light. You can choose warmth too. The cooler the light so blue the better chances of females and blue is good for veg and suitable for flower. If you need anything cheaper I can prolly find one too. Or if you can do diy led I can show you what leds and psu's you need
     
  18. Thanks for the link. Thats a pretty good deal for that bulb. What would it take for diy led? I'd like to see the process for that.


    Now that I know what I'm looking for, I'll go to a grow shop nearby and see what their prices are. Might be able to get a decent deal, who knows. I've got the sockets from some old lamps laying around. Tomorrow I'll start getting the


    What kind of fans should I get? I took two out of the case when I gutted it. I put them into this computer but I don't mind taking them out. I'm just not sure how I'd power them.


    Thanks to everyone for putting up with my no0b questions! I can spend hours searching for this info and get 7 different answers. You guys really know your stuff and are very quick to help out a greenie.

     
  19. For diy led youll need, leds, a power supply, soldering experience with tools, something to build all the leds on like a panel with holes drilled. Cheaper that buying a premade led panel but takes time to build. Iv made a few one being a 300w panel it costed about 75.

    Maybe a grow shop will have lights like that maybe even one with a reflector. But know your measurements of the case cause those lights are pretty big.

    Pc fans will do like the one out of the case. You'll then have to light proof them. Also on eBay you can find cheap (8-$15) high cfm pc fans. A normal one you can use to blow on your light ( so you can put plants closer), one as an exhaust and an open hole at the bottom for a passive intake.
    To power them look on the fans should be on the back of the fan where the cage is. There's s sticker and it'll tell you it power ratings. 9 or 12v. If it's a 12v most are you can run it at 9v to be quieter. Look around the house for old chargers and stuff like that. On the part that plugs into the wall it will tell you it's output voltage. Find one that's 12 or 9volts. Id suggest new fans though. And they come with psu's
     

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