1st Grow - PC Stealth Case (bagseed)

OK, so I've been prepping to do my first grow for about two weeks now, and I'm about ready to start. I saved a few PC cases from the recycling pile at our school (some still had components, pulled out about 3 gigs of ram, 2 HDDs, cuple of old Radeon 7000s (like 32mb). So overall, pretty nice score, in addition to what I actually wanted.

So anyway, I've got the case gutted, and it's pretty spacious (20" tall, 17" long, 8" wide). Got 2 fans for outtakes, and concealed passive intake on the front. Those fans will be hooked up to a 12v AC adapter (which I have yet to obtain). Lighting will be four CFLS (whatever the highest wattage I can find in HD, prolly 23.) 2 of the CFLs will be 2500-2700k, 2 will be 5500-6000k, so both necessary spectra will be covered.) A mylar car windshield reflector will be cut up and used to "reflectify" the inside of the case.

So as you can see, I've got this pretty well planned out. This is a grow for personal use, (I might sell a bit to my friends if yield turns out good, but this is a pretty small grow.)

However, I have a few questions. I'm planning on doing this grow in soil. So I need a recommendation on a soil I can buy in a store. (i.e. don't tell me some exotic soil I have to order online. It's not an option.)
I'm also not sure about pots. I could do two 7 inch pots or I could do 3 5 inch pots. Which setup would maximize yield? Remember, these plants are only going to grow about 16-18 inches tall, so I'm thinking they might not need 7 inches to spread their roots.

Another big problem is going to be odor control. A big carbon filter stuck to the back of the computer is going to raise suspicion, so it would be ideal if I could have a filter that is confined to the inside of the case. Any ideas on that would be helpful. The other problem is the light that's going to inevitably leak out of the holes where the fans are. Again, any ideas on minimizing (preferably eliminating) that light will be much appreciated. Also, would LST be optimal for this situation?

tl;dr version:
Growing in a PC case, using CFLs. Need recommendation on soil (can't order online), need to know whether to use 3 5 inch pots or 2 7 inch, need ideas on odor control, ideas on light leak prevention, and need opinions on LST idea.

bumping this up

hey dude i get started my pc case grow journal. overall your set up sounds quite like mine check the link in my sig. as for the pots go with the 7" because you wont want 3 plants in there before it becomes too much and if you manage to get two plants all the way to harvest youd be looking at probly about an oz.

Hi man. Glad to see another pc set up. My set up is all ghetto but for soil I just grabbed some MiracleGrow organic potting soil. And it's been doing the job so far.

Alright. The Miracle Gro is what I was initially planning on, so it's good to get another confirmation on that. I figured that three plants would be a bit much, so I'll do the 7" pots. That'll leave more LST room anyways. I'll be running two identical PC cases, so if I pull an ounce off each I should have plenty of weed to smoke while I grow the next batch, and maybe sell some on the side to a friend.

I've tried growing in a pc case too, in my experience they get very hot inside and the soil can dry out quickly, but that's just my opinion. I've heard using silicone around the bits where the panels touch stops most of the light escaping. Paint the inside with white paint, if you're in the UK you can get tester tubes of paint at most home deco shops and there's more than enough paint in there to cover the inside of the case.
I've also heard that stretching a black stocking over the fan inflow and outflow will stop most of the light escaping from where the fans are.
What lights will you be using? Sorry but I read the tl;dr version.
CFL's will be your best bet, HID's will get waaaay too hot in such an enclosed area.
LST it, there simply isn't enough space inside to let it grow to it's full potential. Invest in a timer switch and 12/12 it from when the plants get their first 3 nodes.
Use MG if you cba to order exotic soils, it does the job but obviously the plants won't grow to their full potential.
Tie the top of the plant to the side of the pot with string, you'll get more colas that way.
Put the carbon filter on the inside of the case between the case and the fan, imagine it like the case, then the carbon filter, then the fan, then the stocking.

tl;dr version:
- Silicone over all the cracks to stop light escaping
- Paint inside white
- Stretch black stocking over fans to stop light escaping
- Use CFL's
- LST it
- 12/12 it from first 3 nodes

Good luck.

hey agent anything new going on?

dopewear said:

hey agent anything new going on?

Click to expand...

Still wanna do the grow, just don't have any money now - had to renew XBL subscription and need a new phone. After I get my new phone, I'll be saving for this. Until then, trying to find a dealer around me but I don't really have any pot smoking friends around where I live, so I don't know who to ask to find me some bud.

XBL comes first true that!

I am setting up a PC box right now. Its looking really good, and any advice on what should be done would be nice. A list of NEEDS would be nice!
Oh and I have no Idea what LST means..... well I have one.. Is it bending the plant? Or "code" for topping it?