New PC Grow Build - Need Advice!!

[Ogonzo]

Hey all ..
I think I'm done building my very first pc grow, and I'm excited!
I wanted to set it up and run it a few days to get a temp and humidity reading (right now I plan on putting it in my basement where the temp was around 66 and I believe the humidity was around 43%)

The pc box itself is standard size. Here are the details:

• Lined with mylar (sunshade form my local dollar store)
• one intake fan @ 12V and .25A. The power supply for this is 6V and 800mA (I think I may be in trouble here).
• two outtake fans @ 12V and .25A each. The power supply for this one is 12V and 1A (I'm pretty sure I'm good here)
• all the seems are sealed with aluminum tape
• I have three 23W (100W equivalent, 1400 Lumens, 6500K) Daytime bulbs

I've got some pics, but before I start veging, I'm hoping I can get some sound advice on my build by some of the experts.

The seeds I'm planning on growing is Arjan #3 that I got from Greenhouse Seeds.

Here's some pics:



My big concern is where the exhaust fans are located, I have one on the back and one on the side. The one on the side is impacting where my lights go, and where is it right now, I'm afraid that it's way too high in the cabinet.
I want to be sure that I have good ventilation, and I'm afraid I overdid it.

Don't be afraid guys, shoot from the hip! I can take it.

 

[Ogonzo]

Bump - hey guys .... Any advice?

 

[MrCopyZ]

Pictures aren't working.

 

[Ogonzo]

Shit, the were working yesterday - is thre a time bomb on how long pics are posted for? Illnhave to try it again.

 

[Ogonzo]

Uploaded Pic

Uploaded Pic

Ok, re-uploaded pics. Suggestions please!



This is the organic soil I bought and the fox farm nutes to start off with:

 

[Mobb2Deep]

I've never done a pc grow but as far as they go yours seems just fine. I wouldn't worry to much about heat issues considering your not using an hid light. But I would advise you not to veg for too long because i have seen plants Ina grow box that have been strained and tied down so their not touching the lights considering the pot you'll use a 6 in plant is brimming your grow space. Ultimately I would advise something you'll probably learn throughout your experience: go big or go home. this setup will provide the most minimal bud possible. you have enough soil to grow a small room but you get out
of it what you put in and I'm sure this setup was less than 100$ but that's about the same you'll get from this setup. Good learning experience tho I'm sure you'll learn and have fun.

 

[Ogonzo]

I've never done a pc grow but as far as they go yours seems just fine. I wouldn't worry to much about heat issues considering your not using an hid light. But I would advise you not to veg for too long because i have seen plants Ina grow box that have been strained and tied down so their not touching the lights considering the pot you'll use a 6 in plant is brimming your grow space. Ultimately I would advise something you'll probably learn throughout your experience: go big or go home. this setup will provide the most minimal bud possible. you have enough soil to grow a small room but you get out
of it what you put in and I'm sure this setup was less than 100$ but that's about the same you'll get from this setup. Good learning experience tho I'm sure you'll learn and have fun.

Thanks man. I've never grown before so this will be a learning experience for sure.
I'm thinking of moving the fan to the back and either put it either under the the first fan or stacked on top of the outtake fan.

Anyone else?

 

[rasta]

looks good to me, just remember since u cant move ur lights and u have a fairly low amount to keep the plant as close to the bulbs as possible for the most use of ur lumens.

 

[trem0lo]

Hi Ogonzo,

Everything looks good so far. Heat is a big issue in any PC grow, but in a 66 degree basement not so much.

This is your first time so you may kill a few plants before you get the hang of it. That's ok. Getting past the germination/seedling/sexing phase is the hardest part. Once they are in 12/12 you can simply sit back, water, and watch them get fat.

Eventually you will need odor control, unless you are living in a very isolated area, or your neighbors don't care if your house smells like a dead skunk. Even small plants can smell strongly and it will be fairly obvious to visitors what you are up to. Carbon filters reduce airflow by a lot, which will raise your temps, so keep that in mind. Be prepared and be safe.

 

[Ogonzo]

Hi trem0lo,
Thanks for the encouragement. I moved my exhaust fan on top of my other exhaust fan, pushing out some nice heat. I've just turned it on today and will run for a couple of days and check out the heat.
The one thing that I didn't think of is opening and closing the pc grow. Since this is a cheap pc (like $29 case) the sides don't slide on nicely. I think I'll run to Walmart or Michael's and by some hinges and a latch just so it's easy to access and maintain my precious girls.
I think by Wednesday I'll be able to germinate.
As far as odor, I was going to make a carbon filter out of a plastic sandwich container and some replacement carbon cloths, and then I was also going to pick up some Ona Gel. I was hoping that would wait a few weeks.
I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl!

 

[trem0lo]

Hi trem0lo,
Thanks for the encouragement. I moved my exhaust fan on top of my other exhaust fan, pushing out some nice heat. I've just turned it on today and will run for a couple of days and check out the heat.
The one thing that I didn't think of is opening and closing the pc grow. Since this is a cheap pc (like $29 case) the sides don't slide on nicely. I think I'll run to Walmart or Michael's and by some hinges and a latch just so it's easy to access and maintain my precious girls.
I think by Wednesday I'll be able to germinate.
As far as odor, I was going to make a carbon filter out of a plastic sandwich container and some replacement carbon cloths, and then I was also going to pick up some Ona Gel. I was hoping that would wait a few weeks.
I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl!

It's a pain in the ass to seal a PC case for light leaks, so watch for those too. The hinge is a cool idea.

I hear the Ona gel is good stuff, and combined with a small filter (like you're describing) it might work. The carbon pads, unfortunately, don't do a whole lot past veg. I'd suggest designing something with actual carbon, for when you're 30 days into flowering and suddenly thinking "oh shit, my carbon pads stopped working yesterday, and now my house smells like a skunk".

 

[Killkingkong]

The carbon pads, unfortunately, don't do a whole lot past veg.

We've talked about this before, but I still disagree. I completed a grow with just carbon pads as my filters and there was no odor what so ever. What I will say makes a difference is the quality of the carbon pads use.

I remember in one of your past threads you went into detail about your problems finding the right carbon size chunks to work with your case, and I'd compare carbon pads to that. I went threw a few carbon pads that I found in big box stores like the home depot and those definitely weren't made to filter weed smells lol. Eventually I found a very highly rated carbon pad being sold on amazon and that has worked perfectly for my last grow and my current 2 grows going on simultaneously.

I've never tried a single layer of the carbon pads, but I used 3 layers of the padding my first grow and currently I'm only using 2 to figure out the correct thickness that i need.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U204W2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JWXPHBTYQL1K

 

[trem0lo]

We've talked about this before, but I still disagree. I completed a grow with just carbon pads as my filters and there was no odor what so ever. What I will say makes a difference is the quality of the carbon pads use.

I remember in one of your past threads you went into detail about your problems finding the right carbon size chunks to work with your case, and I'd compare carbon pads to that. I went threw a few carbon pads that I found in big box stores like the home depot and those definitely weren't made to filter weed smells lol. Eventually I found a very highly rated carbon pad being sold on amazon and that has worked perfectly for my last grow and my current 2 grows going on simultaneously.

I've never tried a single layer of the carbon pads, but I used 3 layers of the padding my first grow and currently I'm only using 2 to figure out the correct thickness that i need.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U204W2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JWXPHBTYQL1K

Fair enough, fair enough. I do use carbon pads from Amazon in my veg/clone chamber, but when I tried drying fresh weed in there, it was instantly apparent it was not going to work They are nice and thick, and leave a good carbon residue on my hands, but are not enough in my setup.

I think it is strain dependent also. My sour diesel pheno is a real stinker, with an acrid petrol-skunky stench. My power went out about a week ago for 20 minutes, and the stink traveled quickly throughout the house. Lucky it was temporary... gave me a real scare.

 

[Ogonzo]

Thanks guys .. I think I found the perfect solution .. put the cat litter in the opposite side of the room and blame it on my kids for not cleaning it .. you think in about 8 weeks it will be ripe enough to cover the smell?
If I'm at the stage of worrying about the smell of growing weed in my house .. I'll be very, very ... VERY happy .. lol.

I just germinated yesterday, 12 hours will be done in a couple of hours. I see the shell cracking but no tail yet. If I don't see any tails by then, I'm guessing I should take them out of the water and put them in paper towel ..

I hope I'm not hoping for too much.

 

[Ogonzo]

So I planted my seeds yesterday on a 18/6 cycle, went to check up on them only to realize that my lights have been off for what I think is longer than 6hrs, the temp dropped to 66 and the humidity was mid 50's. I'm not sure if this is good or bad - any ideas?

 

[rasta]

ur fine hehe. they arnt even plants yet

 

[Ogonzo]

Thanks rasta!
I'm really nervous ... I'm thinking of moving my box to a closet in my bathroom, the only thing is that we shower in there so it will get quite humid for short periods of time. Light isn't an issue but order on my suits might be .. should that stank be really bad with one plant?

Another thought I had was to put the pc inside a well ventilated Rubbermaid bin on an upper shelf in my garage. Located in Southern Ontario (Canada), the garage gets quite warm ... is this a bad idea? Good idea? A mueh idea?

 

[rasta]

yea neither of those spots is ideal really. but if u gotta pick one id go with bathroom. u want it somewhere u can easily access it and a high shelf screams trouble. stank will deff be pretty big even with one plant. i agree not something u want on suits ur wearing to work hehe. in the bathroom tho id get a dehumidifier for later flowering if it gets to high just keep an eye on it.

 

[Killkingkong]

You should really look into a odor solution, even if it's a cheap one. Like rasta said, even 1 flowering plant is enough to stink of an entire apartment/room. If you live somewhere in the woods where neighbors aren't a concern then go for it, but if you have neighbors and live in a place where weed is still illegal it would be very irresponsible for you not to find a odor solution. You wouldn't want cops kicking in your door one day because they think you have a weed farm going on.

 

[GloNt]

Hi man ,the box looks good !
Cheers