# 250w double-wide computer case DWC scrog



## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Apr 30, 2008)

Well... It's been quite awhile since I last visited this site. just thought I would post up what I've been working on recently.

This is my 250w mixed spectrum computer case growbox. I say mixed spectrum because I'm using a 150w HPS and a 100w CMH bulb. 

For those of you who don't know about Ceramic Metal Halides (CMH) I strongly suggest you look into them. They put out a much more balanced light spectrum (including UV-B) and run cooler than an HPS. They really are great bulbs and so far have blown the HPS out of the water. Vegetative growth explodes under these bulbs. The nodes are nice and tight and the plant throws tons of branches. Perfect bulb for veg or flower.

Anyway...

I basically took 2 identical computer cases, gutted them, and then bolted them together. Each computer case measures 22"H x 22"L x 8"W. Together that's 22 x 22 x 16. I bought pyrex baking tubes and used those as cooltubes. Each cooltube is hooked up to a 80mm fan at the back of the case which exhausts the hot air from the bulbs. Also conected to this system is the ballast box which I set up inline to be passively ventilated from the front of the case. So pretty much... Air comes in through the front of the case, through a piece of pvc pipe, through the ballast box, through the cooltube, and out the back of the box. 

Then I have 2 120CFM computer fans that exhaust the actual grow environment. Each of these computer fans has a homemade micro carbon scrubber connected to it that also serves as a muffler. All 4 exhaust fans are connected to a 4 fan speed controller. The speed controller also has 2 heat sensors I can position within the case to read my temperature. 

I am setting up this grow box to use 3 DWC (deep water culture) bins. I will have 2 plants per bin growing hydroponically. Above them is my SCROG screen that will help me increase my yields and control the plant height. 

Also hooked up to the case is my CO2 maker. It's made by nutrafin (fish company) and uses a simple chemical reaction to create a constant supply of co2 for about 3-4 weeks. Eventually I might get a small 2.5lb tank and a regulator to have a more professional co2 delivery system, but for now this works just fine.


as far as the 6 strains I'll be growing...

I'm thinking something along the lines of:

Bubba Kush S1
Legends Ultimate Indica
Trainwreck x Purple Urkle 
Banana OG Kush x Sour Larry OG Kush
Chemdog Double D
Hashberry


edit: here's a few pics.

The third picture... I'm trying decide which SCROG screen to go with. The 1" grid or the 3" grid. I know the 3" will probably give me bigger colas and be easier to work with. But I'm wondering if I'll get a bigger yield using the smaller 1" grid... Anyone have any thoughts?

and the green thing is the micro carbon scrubber made from a pencil holder, wire mesh, some clamps, activated carbon, and pantyhose. In total it cost me about $20 to make both of them.


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## Cole (Apr 30, 2008)

LaserKittensGoPewPew said:
			
		

> and apparently the server is too busy for me to upload the pics...


 

Yea that happened to me today.:hairpull:


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## GreenMan74 (May 1, 2008)

This is just entirely too cool.


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## G_48911 (May 2, 2008)

looks good man.i like the carbon scrubbers =) anyways,are you gonna be ordering seeds to grow them strains? and if so,where are you ordering from?
 Thanks


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 2, 2008)

I already have all of these strains in my seed collection. 

I buy almost all of my strains through seedbay. The purple wreck I bought off drchronic.


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## smokybear (May 2, 2008)

Looks like a great little scrog setup. Very creative. I like it my friend. Nice work. I can't wait to see your grow in a couple weeks. I would opt for the 3" net for the bigger colas. Just my thoughts. Keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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## v00k0n (May 2, 2008)

hey laserkitten. kick *** setup you got there. i've been reading up on those CHM, but didnt find anyone whos really used em on an actual grow. have you used them on previous grows? if so what were the results? awesome thread. bookmarked.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 2, 2008)

Thanks guys.

I know the mods don't like it when you post other forums, but over at icmag there are a bunch of people doing cmh grows. 

I'm thinking my buds will turn out well under the hps/cmh combo. The hps is proven and I know it'll give me dense dank buds. The cmh puts out even better light spectrum. How can you go wrong?


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## smokybear (May 2, 2008)

I can't wait to see some results. Keep us posted. Take care and be safe. MP is the best!


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 2, 2008)

I can't either smoky. Every day I just imagine this thing filled with big frosty colas... And I think I am going with the bigger 3" screen also. I don't think I could even fill up that other screen. The bigger one will be easier to work with anyway in terms of lst and all.


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## smokybear (May 2, 2008)

I agree with you on the screen. I think your yield would be around the same regardless of which screen you use. The micro dwc system is great. Can't wait to see it in operation. I want to start dwc when I am finished moving in to my new house. Keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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## G_48911 (May 2, 2008)

your doin a good job.i'm gonna look into one of them nets,they're a good way to train your branches.i've always just used the twine to tie down my branches.I'll bet you get some massive top buds using that net.nice thread man.
I think anybody that checks this thread out will be curious to know what your results are. -Peace


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for the all the nice remarks guys!

I actually think I'll be using the screen with the smaller 1" squares. I think I'll be able to control the canopy better that way and I should still get a decent yield. Especially with the co2 maker.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 6, 2008)

Well... Ran into major heat problems. The 250w is way too hot. I'm trying not to downsize the bulbs to 70w CMH right now. I want to try my best to make the 250w work because... 106w/p/sf is awesome. 

I'll be looking for stronger 80mm fans to exhaust the cool tubes. Each fan I have now is only 35cfm. I'm going to try and find the strongest possible.

I'm also going to build another smaller box on top of the case. I'll install another 120mm 120cfm fan onto the top of each case. Each fan will connect to a pipe which then connects to one large carbon scrubber that both fans will ventilate through. I'm hoping this will have a muffling affect also. 

This smaller box on top also allows me to cleanly install my fan speed controllers. I think I'll be getting another one to control these two top exhaust fans and also the two smaller 80mm fans I plan to hang inside the case to move air around. I'm hoping this will help me bring these temperatures under control. 

Whew! So that's the game plan I guess...


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## CasualGrower (May 6, 2008)

I love these Computer case grows.... so much ingenuity involved in them getting the conditions just right.  

That first try was a {insert colorful language here} load of light.  VERY ambitious LOL..... I am thinking you might have the same problems with your step down so far, but i do not have any experience with using cooltubes so it might vent enough.../shrug.

Looks VERY cool though.  I might try one of these some time.

G'Luck


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## DaveTheDingo (May 13, 2008)

I love the idea of pc case grows. Got a cabinet with about the same area being built myself. A HPS/MH combo is the best option IMO, most people say approximately 60% HPS 40% MH is the best ratio for density of buds,yield, and quality. I like your cooltube idea, might use that meself.

Did you take pics during the construction of your micro filters? I'd like to see those, most DIY ones i've seen are big affairs made out of biscuit tins.

As for your fans, try to get a couple of 120>80mm adaptors to use 120mm fans on the cooltubes, OR if you have a few 80's lying around, cut the middle out of two dead/crap ones, and then mount them as a spacer on top of your existing 80s, then add two identical 80s on top of those. Job done.

You may want to try and dish your scrog net slightly, to make a bowl profile on the plant. this will help make the most of your light.

Me in my cab i'm probably going to go for 100w HPS and 70w MH- 250w is rather too much for such a small space - mine is 3 sq. feet.

Looking good though matey. Keep up the good work, look forward to seeing those big frosty buds in a couple of months 

EDIT: just remembered this one.. Do you drink alcohol? When yeast and sugar work to ferment a fruit, co2 and alcohol are produced. I'm going to brew some beer or mixed fruit booze next to my cabinet and pipe the co2 directly in. I suggest looking into this. Home grown budula and home brewed booze, can't beat it... even with a big stick


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 14, 2008)

I actually bought 2 new 80mm fans for my cool tube exhausts. These new ones will draw 53cfm each as opposed to the current 35cfm fans I have. I'm also going to be installing 80mm active intakes in the front of the case to help bring in cooler air faster. I don't think my passive intake is cutting it even with my 120mm fans drawing that much air. If that still doesn't help the temperatures then I'll be installing the two 120mm fans in the top of each case for further ventilation.

I have 250w over 2.43sq ft. If I hadn't already bought all this stuff I would use two 70w bulbs instead. I would suggest using ceramic metal halides for your MH. They put out a much more balanced spectrum than the HPS lights. I would say get the 70w HPS and the 100w CMH. The CMH will run cooler than the HPS so I would make the bigger bulb the CMH and the smaller the HPS. I think in combo the CMH and HPS will give you excellent results. 

I don't really drink much alcohol. I bought a nutrafin co2 maker for plants in fish tanks. It uses a similar chemical reaction to create co2. There's a nice little canister with a tube to pump the co2 in. Lasts for about 3-4 weeks before needing to be changed out with a fresh mixture.


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## stunzeed (May 15, 2008)

Pew Pew What up?   Its been a while since I hollered at you. We need to chat soon so I can run some ventilation issues by you if you are experienced in that area. Thanks bro


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## JohninWI (May 15, 2008)

that setup is tight!


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## smokybear (May 15, 2008)

Sounds good so far. I figured there would be problems with heat. Hopefully you can get it cooled down. Maybe a piece of tempered glass cut to size would help to further keep temps down. Anyways, keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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## fattytop (May 15, 2008)

Ahh.. i love pc grows, ive never heard of one so bad ***! Good luck. Subscribed. 

Any yeild guesses?


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## fattytop (May 15, 2008)

wait i cant swear? hahahah for reall? so i cant say i like ******* fat **** shitless?

You can illegall grow large quantities of marijuana on this thread, but you cant say swear? LOL that cracks me up.


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## wedginfool (May 17, 2008)

nice gro pew pew 
i could have told you right from the start that was too much bulb for that small of a space i'm going to put 2 250's conversion bulbs into a 3x6x4 foot grow tent and i'm still worried about temps being too high.........where can i get those pyrex baking tubes and what diameter are they??..............they would work perfectly for me i also might be able to add 1 more 250 watt too which would be awesome...and i've got an airconditioner right beside my tent that i plan on piping directly into the tent if i still can't control temps

keep up the good work 

peace out


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 21, 2008)

I got the baking tubes off ebay. Just search pyrex baking tube and they come up. They're 14" long x about 3 1/2" diameter.


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## smokybear (May 21, 2008)

That's cool. I will definitely be looking those up. I will probably end up making a DIY cooltube for my 400 watt hps. Any updates on the cab? Keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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## wedginfool (May 21, 2008)

they would work for my 250's but the bulb i have now for a 400 halide is 4 1/2 wide...........i just ordered a conversion bulb that doesn't look as wide but still the bulbous style i might only be able to only exhaust the 2 250's 

do they make a 400 watt halide to sodium conversion that isn't the bulbous kind?? anyone know........I couldn't find one.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 23, 2008)

Eh, I've actually been getting way lazy with this project. It's been sitting in my closet for awhile. I took it out yesterday to start work again so hopefully now that it's right there in the middle of my room I'll get motivated to finish it. 

I'll get it done though! Everyone's grow pictures are starting to inspire me again. 

wedgin- not sure on the conversion bulb man. I've never used one myself.


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## smokybear (May 23, 2008)

We are definitely interested. I acually have an old computer that I've been thinking about converting into a micro grow to play around with. I'm trying to inspire myself by watching yours. Keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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## MJ20 (May 23, 2008)

Nice


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (May 28, 2008)

thanks everyone for the kind words.

Alright... So I finally got off my *** and started working on this thing again. 

The new 53cfm cooltube fans are in place. I'm hoping the added power will only further help to bring down temperatures. 

Right now I'm in the process of installing my 2 80mm intake fans in the front of the case. With these I'm hoping I can bring in more fresh air faster. I think the passive intake I had was too obstructed and wasn't allowing adequate air flow into the cab to bring down the temps. Hopefully this helps in dropping them.

If not(I'm already assuming it'll still be too hot) I'll have to install 2 more 120mm exhaust fans in the top of each case. Hopefully with 4 120cfm exhaust fans and 2 80mm intakes I'll be able to lower the temperature inside.

so yeah... more pics to come soon.


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## smokybear (May 28, 2008)

Sounds like a good plan. Hopefully the added fans will lower the temps to an acceptable level. Keep us posted. Take care and be safe.


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