Aeroponic PC case scrog

Aerohead · Apr 5, 2009

I have always wanted to try a PC case grow, This great forum inspired me to get off my butt and actually try it. There is a lot of knowledge here and I am open to suggestions regarding my setup.

The all aluminum case is 24X24X8.5 for a total of 1.4 sq feet. The aero unit has a 2.5 gallon plexi res and is aerated by a whisper 700 air pump. A Beckett 200gph pump feeds 12 jet sprayers in between the 2" net pots.
The lighting will be 3X 55w PL-L T5 biax tubes 2 3000k and 1 6400k for a total of 160 watts putting out over 14000 full spectrum lumens. The tubes will be sealed from the bloom area by plexi and silicon kinda like a flat cool tube. Two 60cfm blower fans on a speed control will pull air from the bloom area and force it through the lights and out the back. The intake will be passive and a single 120mm fan will keep the leaves dancing.

Here is a picture of the mock up before the plumbing

Here it is all plumbed with some clones rooting under a temporary 36w T5 fixture

Here is a pic of the sprayer and drain back to the very bubbly sump

I made an aluminum panel for the back of the case to cover the slots and will install it after it's painted. I also have the scrog screen, fans, and lights to install and will follow up with pics soon (hopefully by the time those clones are ready to veg). Pull up a chair if this concept interests you, I plan to post through the whole grow.

green_thumb... · Apr 5, 2009

looks good man,i think your inspiring me to get off my butt and making one, one thing though why doesnt anybody that do these little micro grows use a computer power supply to power just fans every lead is a 12v source and i bet i could find 12v pumps that could be powered from it too that way you can only have one plug to plug in?

weedster · Apr 5, 2009

nice

Aerohead · Apr 5, 2009

That's not a bad idea Green thumb, I just don't have room for a power supply in this one. This is more of a semi stealth build, I am not going to make it look like a PC because it will be sitting between 2 real pc's in a room company doesn't frequent. There are probably several 12v pumps for motor home applications that would work.

Thanks Weedster :joint:

penis · Apr 5, 2009

awesome thats the pc case i use!

Aerohead · Apr 5, 2009

Yes, the Rocketfish? Huge case indeed. Do you use it for MJ or is it actually a PC?

Aerohead · Apr 5, 2009

How's this for a lucky score on a screen? Yay Target!!!

green_thumb... · Apr 5, 2009

fuckin A Aerohead score indeed.

Aerohead · Apr 10, 2009

Clones have rooted so I removed the aero unit and clones to another location so I could install the lighting. Here is a pic of the 2 3000k's light up (not warmed up yet) without the glass.

Here is a pic with the glass on, I need to go get another socket for the third bulb tomorrow, I will also get some rubber trim for the rough edges on the exhaust duct, and install the blower fans.

I did run the case for 1 hour with the 2 lights on, only a single 120mm fan, and I was very suprised that it only rose 3 degrees above ambient temps. I may be able to run without the glass with the dual 60cfm blowers we will see...

MarquisBlack · Apr 10, 2009

Man I don't usually hang around the micro forum, but I'm along for this one for sure.

Brings me back to my computer modding days. Beautiful. :joint:

Aerohead · Apr 10, 2009

Yes, the computer modding days, I was overclocking celerons back when everything was DIY including jumper wires on the CPU's. Remember pencil lead on Athlons? I also ran PVC sealed with silicon water coolers directly on the die on dual PIII 750's @ 1.01GHZ... Those were the days, now off the shelf is so far ahead of software, overclocking isn't as advantageous. I did recently overclock my Sager laptop with good results...

THiCk · Apr 10, 2009

How did you wire those 55w 3000k's? Did you use a Fulham or another type of ballast?

Aerohead · Apr 10, 2009

I already had a workhorse 2 (only runs 1 bulb) left over from a fish tank light so I bought a fixture from HTG and gutted it. It worked out cheaper this way because I needed a reflector and nobody had a reasonable price on single stand alone reflectors. Was only $100 for ballast, 4 bulbs, and a reflector. If I was starting from scratch and wanted to run more than 2 tubes, I would get the Fulham workhorse 8.

Mr_Micro · Apr 11, 2009

Aeroponics and PL-L's in a PC case? I'm starting to feel behind times now! :biglaugh:

Wonderful proof of concept though, I'll be very interested in seeing how this grow turns out. I'll be watching every step of the way :lurk:

grimweeder · Apr 11, 2009

wow wicked lil grow man, good luck with it.
makes me wanna try one jus for the fun of it.

Aerohead · Apr 12, 2009

Mr Micro! Thanks for stopping by :bow:

I have followed your fine work with PC cases while lurking this forum. You are one of the members that inspired me to build this machine, Thank You!

I thought PC case grows were a joke until the PC case growers thread and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. I haven't been able to grow for a few years now because I'm not living somewhere I am comfortable firing up HID's and stinking up the place. PC grow seems to be the way to go, wish I stumbled on this concept years ago. This is going to be interesting, who knows what is going to happen? I am no stranger to Aeroponics but never tried it on this small of a scale. Hoping I can manage a 2.5 gallon sump without any tragedy. I have never tried a scrog and never grown with fluoros so I will be learning on this one. Ofcourse I am hoping for a giant rectangular clump of bud but it might just end up 10 grams of fluff as well. Either way, it will be more smoke than I have now and nobody else in town will have the same smoke as me :joint:

Grimweeder thanks, That's what it's all about, for the fun of it.

Aerohead · Apr 12, 2009

Spent the last couple days sealing the case and testing different fans. These bulbs are alot easier to cool than expected, Looks like I am going to be able to run all three 55's in there without the glass! :woohoo:

I am now sealing up the case with metal work to replace the duct tape used for testing airflow, installing fans and eliminating light leaks. I am expecting the clones to have enough root structure to begin veg phase this week so the case has to be complete.

I have a scrog question with regards to how many clones I should use. I know this will be very difficult to answer so we will exclude strain, growing conditions, ect and try to keep it basic. Will using more plants in a scrog fill the screen faster and cut down on veg time? Has anyone ever really over crowded a screen? I originally intended to use 4 clones but I could run up to 8 in this system without too much worry about clogging up the gutters with roots.

Aerohead · Apr 15, 2009

OK progress, temps are only 5 degreed F above ambient, been monitoring it for 24hrs now with all 3 55's light up. I settled with 2X 120mm fans blowing across the case and 1 X 80cfm blower by the base of the lamp sockets. Wow this thing is bright, the pics don't really show it though, Lights up the entire room when I take the side panel off. I still have some rough edges to trim and painting to do. I estimate 5 days before I select the 6 strongest and begin veg. For now, I am still just using the center bulb 6400k until the roots get stronger.

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Here is the lamps with the 80cfm blower sucking air at the base of the sockets.

#1cheesebuds · Apr 15, 2009

this is a verry verry nice setup.

GreenThumbBumb · Apr 16, 2009

WOW thats a nice PC setup, i dont even need one but this makes me want to mess around with it.

Aeroponic PC case scrog

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