1st Grow: PC Case

[Trent1080]

Well part of being a noob is all about learning, especially when you finish your first grow log, preview it, and accidentally close the page. FML Second draft....

This is my first grow and first journal to accompany it. I wanted to start small, learn the ropes, and then move on to bigger and better things.

SETUP:

Dell Latitude Case FREE!


Let the fun begin! Not really....


2 Daylight CFLs 1.98
2 Daylight CFL 1.98
3 Cool Veg CFLs 2.98
Carbon Filter 10.94
Digital Timer 15.47
Mylar reflective car shade 8.37
Power Supply 12V 2A 4.99
Outlet-to-Socket Light Plug 13.74
Cutting Cost 10
Unistrut with connectors FREE
Power Strip FREE

Total 70.45

Here is my setup put together (mostly)


I know the lights are ghetto rigged. I didn't account for clearance issues. I planned on mounting the power strip to the board with socket to plug adapters and lights. Sadly the adapters won't stay in the power strip, and when I put it together the lights stuck outside of the case. I had to pitch the strip so the lights would fit inside without hitting the case. Best solution at the time was electrical tape and duct tape. I know *facepalm* What can you do?

PLANTS:

I started off with bag seed and germinated them using the paper towel method. This took 1 week due to the fact that they were not put in a warm enough location. When I planted the seedlings they were about 2 inches in length. Right now my plants are 2 weeks and 3 days old. They are planted in miracle grow potting soil mixed with perlite 50/50. They are on a 18/6 light cycle. I plan on growing them big enough to make cuttings, and clone them. From there I will determine which plants will be my mothers. I plan on using the ScrOG growing method to maximize my yields.

Here are my babies!


I have a few things I need to work out. First off I need to get odor under control. Right now I'm living with 6 other guys in a house and it would be best if they were not to know. Currently my room smells like "skunky-ass tangy beer" according to the ignorant, even with my Ionic Breeze running. I have a good amount of airflow through my case that minimizes the odor. I need to rig up a carbon filter setup that will work and flow enough air. I tried putting a piece of filter right behind my fan and it stopped all air flow. Also I would like some opinions on my plants. I attached a section of unistrut to my case so I could adjust the elevation of my lights. I wanted to make sure that I could keep the lights within inches of my plants because I know the limitations of CFL's. Due to space limitations i didn't want the plants to stretch either. They seem extremely bushy! Any comments or suggestions are appreciated and encouraged! If I'm doing something wrong harp on my ass! It just seems they are a little small at this point. Thanks for reading!

 

[Shadydude]

Whats good Trent? I see you are growing in a PC Case like myself.
For oder, I found some air freshener filters for furnaces, I found them at Walmart and they work Great.
Did you make that PC Case yourself?

 

[Trent1080]

Whats good Trent? I see you are growing in a PC Case like myself.
For oder, I found some air freshener filters for furnaces, I found them at Walmart and they work Great.
Did you make that PC Case yourself?

Yeah I made the case myself. Took probably about 7 hrs total. Cutting all the mylar to fit snugly and pulling all the crap out of the case was what really took forever. That and dealing with my light issue! lol Was the brand of the furnace filter "Filter Fresh"? Where did you mount it on your case? Outside of the case after the exhaust fan? Can't seem to find it on those pics. I was actually looking at your grow after I posted up my thread. Subscribed! Thanks.

 

[Trent1080]

Alright my plants are now a whopping 5 weeks old and since my last post it has been all down hill.

Here's what they look like now:


They look alot better than they did. They all had purple tips on the ends of the leaves. I will prune off the dead as soon as I'm done. I located the lights higher to get them to stretch, because they halted growth upward. I don't know what the fuck happened. They just got pissed; It was like night and day. Opened it up and they just looked like they got hit with RoundUp. I don't have a PH meter, so I assumed the water might be a bit basic. I ran it through a Brita and let it sit a day, I'd say it helped. I've always had trouble growing anything in soil; I'd be lucky to grow bacteria in dirt. Hydroponics all the way! Fuck dirt! That and I've realized how shitty CFL's are. Really?! It's been FIVE weeks! Left the plants to do their thing, been easy on the water, I haven't been like some people and killed them by giving them too much attention. Idk what the shit is going on, but I will say that my new setup will address these problems I have run into. I no longer promote PC cases to grow, that is for sure. Eventually I will have up plans for my new grow setup that will be linked to this thread. Thanks. Advice would be appreciated! Peace

 

[Trent1080]

Basically I'm done with soil; however I figured out what was wrong in my previous post. My plants needed to be repotted; without space to further expand the root system they halted all growth. Either way I crafted up a mini hydro setup using tupperware and an aquarium pump. My plants are now 47 days old to the date. I moved them to a hydro setup about 10 days ago. They did nothing for about 7 days after I transplated them. 3 days ago this happened:



I want to change the water and flush the perlite. It is only green on top of the perlite. I have no idea of th ph and I am using a grow solution that is made by a hydroponic store (their own blend). For some reason since this has happened there has been noticeable growth, which is the only reason I have hesitated to do anything. I'll wait until I get a few replies. Thanks for reading!

 

[Banditt]

looks like you have a shit ton of algae. Which I am sure is fucking up your PH. Honestly, not to be a downer but that is not looking good.

1. you should paint that little tupperware tote or wrap it in something lightproof so no light gets at the roots/water. This will stop your algae.

2. Environment is the most important factor in growing. You need to be keeping your temps between 75-80 degrees and your humidity around 50%. You won't beleive what a difference just doing this makes.

3. Get some proper PH and PPM testing devices and start taking readings. If your PH is out of wack your plants won't be able to feed properly and will continue to look like shit.

I'd start out with trying to correct those things and see what happens from there.

 

[Trent1080]

looks like you have a shit ton of algae. Which I am sure is fucking up your PH. Honestly, not to be a downer but that is not looking good.

1. you should paint that little tupperware tote or wrap it in something lightproof so no light gets at the roots/water. This will stop your algae.

2. Environment is the most important factor in growing. You need to be keeping your temps between 75-80 degrees and your humidity around 50%. You won't beleive what a difference just doing this makes.

3. Get some proper PH and PPM testing devices and start taking readings. If your PH is out of wack your plants won't be able to feed properly and will continue to look like shit.

I'd start out with trying to correct those things and see what happens from there.

Hey thanks alot Banditt. Appreciate the advice; +rep for you. I just need to keep these babies alive until I get my bigger setup and some time. Screw finals! I definitely plan on doing it right with my bigger setup. I've grown numerous things in hydro with no problems; but trying to do everything so small in a PC your bound to fail (especially with subpar materials to work with) Keeping it stealth is also a bitch as well; but don't worry I wouldn't dream of slacking there! I'll probably post up design plans and link it to this thread at some point. Thanks again!

 

[Trent1080]

Update: I changed the water and lined the outside completely with tinfoil only leaving enough space for the stems and air hose to come out. I removed as much algae covered perlite as possible and washed all the surfaces. I just put in tap water not letting the chlorine evaporate out in the hopes it will kill the residual algae. 10hrs later my plants are MUCH happier, I am seeing new growth on the stems. The plants are reorienting toward the light, new growth on top is occurring, and the leaves look healthier. I'm going to change the water again tonight because it looks murky due to the fact the rest of the algae came out of the perlite. Thanks again guys.

 

[LetsRollABlunt]

LOL, in your post that says "3 days later this happened" your plants look like mini palm trees! Sorry, just thought that was funny

PS. Your reservoir should be sealed off from all light to reduce the chance of new algae growth

 

[Trent1080]

LOL, in your post that says "3 days later this happened" your plants look like mini palm trees! Sorry, just thought that was funny

PS. Your reservoir should be sealed off from all light to reduce the chance of new algae growth

Lol, yeah I thought the same when I took the pics. I had to keep taking off the lower branches because they were dieing. Thankfully there is visible growth beneath the palm frons now!