First ever grow in a PCBox

OK so I'm going to attempt my first grow in a PC box I'm making.

17"Height
19"Width
8.5"Depth

I have one fan currently bringing air in, and one bringing air out, the out-take is slightly stronger than the in-take creating a negative pressure.

I'm going to be using a dual spectrum 125W CFL lamp.
2700k RED
6400k BLUE

I have read about S.O.G and I understand it on a very basic level, any help will be greatful.

First question
How much soil will i need for growing 2 plants, start to finish? Do I Ever have to change the soil at all?

Another question
I'm going to be using auto-flower seeds, because I'm limited with space. If i change my lights to a 12/12 cycle at 2 weeks old, will this put it into flowering then, stopping further Veg growth?

One more question
If it gets too big (Starts filling the whole box and going completely out of hand). What is the best way to keep it low on height but keeping the bud growth high.

Last question
Do you have any preference of seed company's for auto-flowering seeds which have a good success rate?

I'm gonna answer what I know about, and let someone with more knowledge reply to the rest

smatz said:

Another question
I'm going to be using auto-flower seeds, because I'm limited with space. If i change my lights to a 12/12 cycle at 2 weeks old, will this put it into flowering then, stopping further Veg growth?

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The auto flowering strains do not care if you run 12/12 or 18/6 - they will flower at a specific time anyway. But less light = less energy for the plant.

smatz said:

Last question
Do you have any preference of seed company's for auto-flowering seeds which have a good success rate?

Click to expand...

www.royalqueenseeds.com - amazing customer service and very high quality seeds. They also ship very swiftly, and in a small discrete envelope.

I have a "5 euro off" coupon that you should be able to use, if you want (I don't think it's linked to my account).

Cheers JMD, If i switched the lights from 20/4 to 12/12 would it make any difference? If not then shouldn't I just start on 12/12? or continue with 20/4?

I genuinely have no idea about the light's and how long to have them on for, totally new to this.

JMD said:

I have a "5 euro off" coupon that you should be able to use, if you want (I don't think it's linked to my account).

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This is interesting, RoyalQueen was where iv'e been looking, probably at the Blue Cheese or Northern Lights look awesome, I'll send you a PM if I'm buying from there, see if it works with different accounts.

Hi mate, you'll make a good start but you should consider another strain maybe, Northern Lights (auto) is too tall for your space.. I have a Royal Dwarf which is a shorter one and with a little trimming and lst, I think I'm gonna be fine for a space similar to yours..
Your fans are ok!
You might just need a second cfl, you'll see that on the way, for start it's great, although your temperatures may be a lil bit high!
SOG is optimal for your space, that's my personal opinion, of course.. Not an expert here!!

1st: You shouldn't put 2 plants, 1 will perform better in there, and you'll have better quality in the end.. About 10-15 lt. I don't advice to start with a nutrient high soil, keep it simple until it has 3 sets of true leaves. Then, one and final transplant in high nutrient soil.. It worked for me..

2nd: I don't think it'll change anything, autos just flower when they want.. I'll try rushing the cycle a lil bit (don't know if it works, just read it!) by changing the lights to red/blue and switching the light to 18/6!! Hmmm..

3rd:Keep it the closest to the lights as possible BUT don't damage it, you'll find the optimal distance, I think for CFLs, 3'' might be nice! (Look for that, I'm still no expert!! )
Also tie it down and use the sides of the pot to, just imagine how YOU want it to grow, it's best to fill all your space!

I've got the rqs dwarf and I've seen some pretty things from other guys.. Also, classic Lowryder would be nice for your space! It's small!

are you U.S. getting seeds? .Because im thinking about starting my own grow and i want to keep.as stealth as possible. Oh, let me know if they come in with no problems when you get your seeds?

whoaomg said:

are you U.S. getting seeds? .Because im thinking about starting my own grow and i want to keep.as stealth as possible. Oh, let me know if they come in with no problems when you get your seeds?

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I live in the UK, I think royal queen seeds will be my choice, I have to wait until I move places first though.

Sent from my HTC One using Rollitup mobile app

• First question
  How much soil will i need for growing 2 plants, start to finish? Do I Ever have to change the soil at all?

  

  
  
  Another question
  I'm going to be using auto-flower seeds, because I'm limited with space. If i change my lights to a 12/12 cycle at 2 weeks old, will this put it into flowering then, stopping further Veg growth?

  

  
  
  One more question
  If it gets too big (Starts filling the whole box and going completely out of hand). What is the best way to keep it low on height but keeping the bud growth high.

  

  
  
  Last question
  Do you have any preference of seed company's for auto-flowering seeds which have a good success rate?

  
  
  
  
  

Click to expand...

one bag of soil should be MORE than enough. 12qt bag will be plenty.

autos don't care about light schedule. that's why they're called autos... run 20/4 and you'll get the most out of it.

LST LST LST LST. I can't stress that enough... bend and tie, bend and tie my friend.

no idea about seed companies... I just ordered from herbies and they're great. good stealth, quick delivery, good customer service.

What's the difference between SOG and LST?

Sent from my HTC One using Rollitup mobile app

SOG stands for "Sea of Green" and is a bunch of small plants grown in an even canopy. usually single cola or sometimes topped a few times.

LST stands for "Low Stress Training" and it is when you bend your plants tops down to meet the lower growth to create an even canopy.

both methods result in an evenly growing canopy which maximizes yield in smaller areas.

ii dP ii said:

SOG stands for "Sea of Green" and is a bunch of small plants grown in an even canopy. usually single cola or sometimes topped a few times.

LST stands for "Low Stress Training" and it is when you bend your plants tops down to meet the lower growth to create an even canopy.

both methods result in an evenly growing canopy which maximizes yield in smaller areas.

Click to expand...

Ah I see, Thanks, I'm probably gonna go with the LST method.


Another Question about Autoflowering plants, I understand they flower straight from germination. Does this mean they can be harvested at any point, I know it's better to leave them for longer for better THC Levels, but if something where to occur, would you be able to harvest the buds whenever you feel like? Or is there a point which you would have to wait until before harvest?

Started building the Box today, took the HDD racks out, and the Motherboard (stand?).

I rigged up a 12v power to one air out, which i used from an old Xbox360

I'm using 2 PC case fans for the Air in, It's all using 12v power. The other one is fixed to the door, so it's not shown in this photo.


Put foil on the sides to reflect the light, and a more even light distribution.

Again i'm new to this so please do tell me if I'm approaching anything in a silly way, I'm grateful for any help.

I read that foil can heat up kinda high temp. Mylar or autoshade does not absorb as much heat as foil does.

I am looking forward to seeing your grow progress.

whoaomg said:

I read that foil can heat up kinda high temp. Mylar or autoshade does not absorb as much heat as foil does.

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I Well, the fan i got from the Xbox is crazy, whines like an upset puppy though, so I was going to setup some speeds for the Fan, depending on the temps. I also live in quite a cold place.

I remember my old xbox before it died... how can a modern console have a fan in it that's so fucking awful... It was like a chopper taking off every time I booted it up... Still, she's a deadun now, goodbye Left 4 Dead, I'm ps3 all the way.

Back to the important stuff... I know nada about auto's, so that's none of my business... But yeh, bigtime agree with DP. LST is absolutely the way forward for a PC box. I was dabbling with the idea of a SCRoG (Screen of Green), but was talked out of it by more expereinced RIUppers. Now on my second PC grow, and yeah, LST has worked wonders for me.

Subbed, and along for the ride.

mewk69 said:

I remember my old xbox before it died... how can a modern console have a fan in it that's so fucking awful... It was like a chopper taking off every time I booted it up... Still, she's a deadun now, goodbye Left 4 Dead, I'm ps3 all the way.

Back to the important stuff... I know nada about auto's, so that's none of my business... But yeh, bigtime agree with DP. LST is absolutely the way forward for a PC box. I was dabbling with the idea of a SCRoG (Screen of Green), but was talked out of it by more expereinced RIUppers. Now on my second PC grow, and yeah, LST has worked wonders for me.

Subbed, and along for the ride.

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The only reason I'm thinkign Autos(not certain yet) is they seem to be smaller? They don't grow for as long so it's more stealthy idk, can i get non-autoflowing to flower without a male? I only really have space for one you see.

Subbed for this one as I am actually in the same exact place basically with my full pc tower box. The fans Im using in my pc are http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200048 (I got the ones with LEDs cause they were cheaper than the all black when on sale but tis the same fan otherwise). Close to silent and 75 cubic feet per minute is more than enough to create a negative exhaust in a pc box removing your need for a dedicated intake fan. Not to mention most pc cases are designed to mount one of these on the back side which just adds ease.

@Mewk Out of curiosity what made you not want to SCRoG?

smatz said:

The only reason I'm thinkign Autos(not certain yet) is they seem to be smaller? They don't grow for as long so it's more stealthy idk, can i get non-autoflowing to flower without a male? I only really have space for one you see.

Click to expand...

My advice to you smatz is ask ask ask... Any question that come to mind, ask it, we've all been there at some point, and it's easy to get confused with it all in the beginning. An auto-flower (from what i understand) is a plant that will go from veg to flower, without the need to change the light timings. Outside of that you have male plants and female plants... If you flower a female and a male in the same space, he'll seed her, and you'll end up with no juicy nugs at all, just a million and one seeds to start a million and one new plants.

Most people grow from regular seeds, which means growing two or more plants in the hope of finding at least one girl... All the males are then binned, and the best of the girls is picked to be the one they grow. If you were growing from bagseed (the seeds you find in every bag of gear my mate sells me lately), then that'd be the route you'd hafta take.

But... If you've got the pennies, to invest... You can save yourself a lotta trouble.. Get some 'Feminised' seeds... These are seeds that are (as far as I know) genetically engineered to turn out female... I've grown my last two grows by just popping one single fem'd seed into the dirt each time. So even tho my pack of seeds cost £60, I don't have to go chucking the whole lot in the ground in the hope of finding a girl.

My seeds came from a local head-shop (you know, the place that sells all the hippy shit, bongs, rolling trays and grinders), most sell seeds too, and'll be more than happy to help. If you wanna look into the genetics and find something that'll fit your space, be okay smell-wise, have the ideal growing time... Then go to one of the seedbank sites and have a ganders through their info. My local headshop stocks Sensi Seeds stuff, and this is what I'm growing: http://sensiseeds.com/en/feminized-seeds/sensi-seeds/shiva-skunk-feminised
It's worth noting tho, that the growing times can be pretty hit and miss, take nothing as gospel. Also, it's worth just asking, you'll get a million recommendations.

Kirkulese said:

@Mewk Out of curiosity what made you not want to SCRoG?

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What made me WANT to scrog was my Cab grow i did about 10years ago... It was amazing, but a lot bigger than the PC i'm in... I was adamant that I'd scrog this one... But then I had a bunch of RIUppers who really talked me through it, after a while I started listening to what they were saying and it made a bit of sense. The pc box is a little too tight to scrog in for me, plus it meant having the scrog as a permanent attachment to the tray, which woulda been more of a pain to build... I didn't fancy the idea of LST, but honestly, I feel like it's given me the best of both worlds... I see LST as more of a Scrog-as-you-go, than the traditional use of LST which would be to pull her over for what would still essentially be a vertical grow. My girl looks like a messy scrog, I think.

mewk69 said:

My advice to you smatz is .....

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I'm reading through your first PC Grow and it's really interesting, the yield was awesome too! What soil did you use for that grow? Couldn't find anywhere about it, might have skipped something by accident.

I'm pretty much ready to go once i get my light, gonna go for one large'ish(size) CFL across the top, 100W.

Also I figured your from the UK? Based on your price for your bud(£160~) how did you plug your bulbs in?

smatz said:

I'm reading through your first PC Grow and it's really interesting, the yield was awesome too! What soil did you use for that grow? Couldn't find anywhere about it, might have skipped something by accident.

I'm pretty much ready to go once i get my light, gonna go for one large'ish(size) CFL across the top, 100W.

Also I figured your from the UK? Based on your price for your bud(£160~) how did you plug your bulbs in?

Click to expand...

Thanks man, glad it's been helpful... I learnt a shitload in that grow.

Yeh, UK based... It's gettin frickin cold, eh... The soil was bogstandard B&Q stuff, just the cheapest bag I could grab that was good for seedlings and pot plants. I seem to remember it had some organic nutes in it, but it was certainly nothing special. Cost me about 3.99 for a giant bag of it.

The lights on the first grow were wired up to regular plastic ceiling fixtures... again, a couple quid each from bnq... but for the second grow I wanted to fix them in horizontal, to give me a bit more vertical space, so at the suggestion of another RIUpper, I picked up some ceramic light fixings offa ebay. They're not the greatest things in the world, as they're not brilliant at keeping the bulb fixed in, the one on the left turns off now and again as it's a bit loose in there. But they've got a much lower profile, and've let me fix my three cfl's in there horizontally giving me a ton more room to grow into.

I can't comment on how well the one 100w cfl would go, before my pc grow I was using a high powered 150w HPS bulb in a much bigger cab. But the three cfls were again sourced from that wonderful hardware store. Regular compact floros rated 23w each, and soft white, ideal for flowering.

The yeild for the first grow was good alright, tho I'm hoping for much better results this time around, as I generally screwed things up pretty massively on the first grow just due to my incessant tinkering and constantly trimming immature buds off to save me from buying in any smoke.

This time I've been good... No picking, no trimming... But man, I haven't had a fucking spliff in about a month now... Evenings are dull without weed, and blockbuster movies are a constant let down... roll on christmas harvest!!!!!