Server case stealth grow - got a few questions

Hello ladies and gents, I'm relatively new to RIU (so go easy on me) but have been enjoying the vast amounts of knowledge on this site.

My setup:
-gutted dell poweredge 2300 server case (10.3 in wide, 23.3 in deep and 17.3 inches tall.) lined with mylar and a hard plastic on all walls.

-I have four 42 watt cfls, two are 2700k and the other are 4100k and they are hung from hooks on the ceiling of the case for easy moving around.

- 1000rpm silent 120mm fan for intake at the front and a 120mm and 80mm(fake power supply) at the rear for exhaust


The only light leaks i have are from the fans of course, smell is also going to be an issue soon enough.
- My most immediate problem is the light coming from the case - this thing was intended to sit right next to my pc as a "server" and with 10800 lumens shining out the intake and exhaust its not exactly stealth.

How do you Pc case guys get around the light problem? is there something that i can use to cut the light out without cutting down too much airflow? im prepared for more fans if need be but this thing has to look completely inconspicuous.

sorry I dont have pictures (no camera) but im pretty proud of my work so far and its almost worth buying one just so i can share it!

please keep the "your not going to get any yeild" comments to yourself, everything is going to go 12/12 from rooted clone and lst to fit. I can buy incredible stuff around here and am just doing this as a hobby so i dont mind only a couple little buds from each plant.

thanks in advance guys, nice site and nice community
cheers!

*bump - could really use some ideas asap

haha dude... I'm in IT and as I read your thread title I thought "a Poweredge 2300 would kick ass for that." Props to you!

Let me first say I've never done anything on the PC grow side so I am by no means an authority. One thing you could try is some simple pvc tubes for plumbing and use them as "light traps". I'm not really familiar with them but i understand the concept. I think that would work well for exhaust but it'd be cool if you could get some cotton mesh or something and line the inside of the bezel with it for the intake. I think it would still allow airflow and dampen the light pretty good depending on thickness.

Probably not a great idea but I hope it helps.

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get some sort of black cloth that doesn't slow down the air too much or get some LEDs to make the light colored coming out of the case like neon.

thanks for the ideas guys, I had thought of designing a light trap but i cant imagine how i could make one without taking up too much precious space. I've heard of people using black nylons to help block light. anyone ever try this? no matter what im going to do its going to seriously slow down the effeciency of the airflow but it needs to be light tight. I also like the idea of masking the light by using leds but 10 000 lumens is no match for leds without crazy unrealistic quantities of them.
Keep em coming homies, lots of love.

You can get activated carbon in sheet form from electrical shops. They sell it as a replacement filter for cooker extractor hoods. It's only 70% carbon but it helps a lot with odour and light leaks. It will impact a 1000rpm fan though.
If you need more then consider running your 12 hour lights on during the night and have a look at gravity louvres in the local hardware store. They are usually kept with the bathroom fans. They would only open up when there is an airflow behind them and only as much as is needed to let the flow through.
For any seams, screw holes or corners that are leaking, line the inside with playdoh or bluetac.

I've been using 160 watts and 10,000 lumens for the last few weeks after upgrading and I'm getting some bleaching on the top half of the plants. Keep them as low as possible, especially in their early days.

You know ill bet those louvres(the are only about an inch thick right?) would work great with the carbon sheets... it would certainly change the velocity and direction of the air flow but nothing an extra fan inside to stir things up couldnt fix.
I had a buddy over last night (who doesnt know) and he mentioned that he could smell plants (i grow lots of different plants for sport) but i knew what he was smelling cause you can smell it the second you walk in the door. all from tiny little rooted clones!!

anyone ever use a t5 bulb setup in a pc case?

Better than a louvre (no offense) would be something like this aka a dryer vent style:


Point it down. This way it covers the light from getting in.

Building on that, I made one for my 80mm PC fans using cardboard and lots of duct tape for strength/bracing. It was hella easy and took 5 minutes to make for free. You can make them long or short to fit any space. Then I had a hole instead of a rectangle opening, and that hole matched to a hose on one side and a hose on the exhaust port hole in my box wall. This way no light escapes from either side just in case, and actually my fan was one of those LED light-up kinds (only spare one I had LOL!) and it still doesn't shed any light. The end result looked like a parallelogram with the fan inside making two halves basically.

I hope this helps!

awesome idea, thanks smokedoggy... im definitely going to make something like that. I picked up some carbon hood extractor filters this weekend that im going to cut up and try out for the smell factor