PC LED DWC Grow

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Hey guys! First post here and am starting this grow off with a different idea, using an old PC case to grow. Being a long time user I have discovered CBD strains over the years which led me to getting a prescription for it to help with anxiety symptoms. Growing was something I decided to pick up after realizing how much cheaper it was and how nice it was to always have that 'one' strain you like in stock.

Lets jump right into the build!

Enclosure
I started with an old Antec computer case and gutted the insides. I then taped all the insides and holes to try and make it completely sealed. I glued and used tape to hold a windshield reflector inside on the walls to reflect light. The side of the case pops off and we are able to get inside!


Lights
I used some LED strips that I had sitting around that were 12" long. Each strip is driven on board already so I just had to solder them together and connect to a 24VDC power supply. I used 15 strips total, 8 on the top mounted to a metal plate to disperse heat and the rest on the back wall.

Total Watts: 110W
Colour: 6500K + 4000K + 625nm
CRI: 85
Lumens: 810/ft

Some of these are dual colour, white or red but only one colour can be on at once. In the future I may re-wire it so I can use a relay to switch from veg colours to flower (more reds).

Fans
I am using two 80mm fans on the front of the case to intake air, one 120mm fan above the light on the top of the case to exhaust light heat and one more exhaust fan on the back. The one on the back is a 120mm 120V fan, a lot stronger than the PC fans as these LED's warm this thing up pretty good.

DWC
I started with the DIY method and took two old coffee tins and cut a hole in the top to create a reservoir. I had already started two seedlings in coco so I decided to use solo cups with coco as a net pot and let the roots come out the bottom and grow.

Each container has its own little 5gal aquarium pump with an air stone inside the res. I am monitoring the res temps in one bucket with a temperature sensor to ensure it doesn't get too hot.

Other Features
I have decided to use an Arduino to control the PC grow case. I have relays wired up to control the fans and monitor the temperature and humidity. I am using an Arduino Mega with a DHT11 temp/humidity sensor.

FRAGRANCE: earthy, fruity, mango, pungent
FLAVORS: earthy, woody, spicy, herbalmango, sweet, tropical, fruity, pine
FLOWERING TIME INDOORS: 8-9 weeks
PLANT HEIGHT: Short
THC CONTENT %: 11%-20%
CBD %: 0.30%
INDICA / SATIVA %: 65% / 35%
INDOOR YIELD: 14oz/ m2
GROWTH LEVEL: easy
RESISTANCE TO DISEASE: high

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 1 Veg

I started this grow in coco and with all the rain we were having I found myself bored making this pc grow case at first, then decided to make it dwc a week later. In the first week I had one seedling die, I had another just started so I put replaced it with that.

Temperature: 27°C
Humidity: 45%
pH: 5.8
Height: 1.5”

Nutrients:
Calnesium - 50 ppm
pH Perfect Micro - 100 ppm
pH Perfect Grow - 50 ppm
pH Perfect Bloom - 50 ppm
Total: 250 ppm

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 2 Veg

The roots and plants have really started to take off this week! Starting to pick up growth very quickly, hoping for some females here. These seeds were just bag seeds, I don’t know why I didn’t take cuts from my outdoor plants hahah. I need to resecure the strips I couldn’t glue as I had lost it.

Temperature: 27°C
Res Temperature: 21.6°C
Humidity: 45%
pH: 5.8

Nutrients:
Calnesium - 100 ppm
pH Perfect Micro - 150 ppm
pH Perfect Grow - 50 ppm
pH Perfect Bloom - 50 ppm
Total: 350 ppm

Plant 1

Plant 2

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 3 Veg

Man root growth is just explosive with hydro... I have learned it is very delicate to it's environment as well, I started to get some rotting roots yesterday and I believe it was due to warmer temps for a couple days. I am now keeping a closer eye on the water temp and add ice when needed. I changed out the water and added a little hydrogen peroxide, roots are looking a lot better today. I think that is what has caused some of the droopiness and symptoms on the leaves.

I added a switch for the lights on the walls, I will just turn these on for flower as it creates a lot more heat which will be nice for flower to bring RH down. Right now it seems to work a lot better running the top LED's to keep heat down and RH up for veg.

Temperature: 22°C
Res Temperature: 20°C
Humidity: 73%
pH: 5.8

Nutrients:
Calnesium - 100 ppm
pH Perfect Micro - 150 ppm
pH Perfect Grow - 50 ppm
pH Perfect Bloom - 50 ppm
Total: 350 ppm

 

[HunterHunt]

Awesome creativity, cool micro grow. Any room for you to get a small tent?

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Heya! Thanks for checking it out. Not at the moment, just moved and will be moving in the future so just have this and a bunch of small outdoor plants 12-12 from clone. At my old house I ran a 3x3 veg tent and 4x4 flower tent with a clone/mother table. Will be looking to set up something custom that size again sometime in the future, whether it be indoors or an outdoor winterized shed/greenhouse.

 

[Stormblessed]

Awesome, looking good

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Awesome, looking good

Thanks for checking it out!

 

[HunterHunt]

Oh ok cool! Pretty cool you did little DWC grows. What beanies are you running?

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

These are just Mango Kush bag seeds, hoping for a female...I don't know why I didn't take any cuttings from outside. My next grow if this is successful will be Gorilla CBD from Dinafem, grown it a few times and am obsessed with it, favourite strain by far. For a CBD dominant strain it gets super frosty and is sooooo adaptable to nutes and environment.

Here is some pics from past grows:

 

[Stormblessed]

I’m curious, does CBD taste and smell good/similar to THC bud? I always see these delicious sounding names that r CBD but I’ve never tried any

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

I’m curious, does CBD taste and smell good/similar to THC bud? I always see these delicious sounding names that r CBD but I’ve never tried any

Aroma-wise, taste and physically you would never know the difference. The CBD strains typically have less trichromes present, however some such as the Gorilla CBD gets super frosty from the gorilla genetics at 14% CBD and 7% THC.It is the only CBD strain I have grown an honestly danks of an OG Kush.

Some people say they feel effects from CBD and some others say they don't notice a thing. Myself personally, I feel a huge relief from anxiety with CBD dominant strains. I know a lot of people try it out for pain, inflammation, depression and just mellowing out.

Some of my favourite strains are a 1:1 THC:CBD ratio, making you feel relaxed with a slight mellow high. The one thing I do notice between CBD and THC strains is the CBD is a lotttt easier on the lungs. I always find after using CBD bud for awhile, I really get a harshness in my throat with my first couple thc uses again.

Worth trying some out sometime!

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Decided to clean the PC box up a little by re securing the LED strips on the wall and adding ducting with the fan in between the duct and carbon filter to create less noise than when it was in the PC case. I won't have to worry about protecting buds now either near the spinning blades.

I was also having issues with bacteria building up in the one res so I painted a new tuber-ware for a reservoir. I had to put one plant in soil as the res was blocking to much air flow from the intake fans...it is what it is. I am only planning to flower one anyways.

And..... a picture of roots for fun. Been keeping the res lower at 18-20 deg C

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 4 Veg

Growth seems to be going good so far, seem to like the lower res temps much more. Temps have been a little warmer the past week, bringing RH down and temps up a little. Curious if I will see any pre-flowers or balls over the next couple of weeks or if I will have to flip. Last time I grew these reg seeds all the males showed sex within the first 4-5 weeks of veg.

Temperature: 24°C
Res Temperature: 20°C
Humidity: 53%
pH: 5.8

NUTRIENTS
Calnesium - 100 ppm
pH Perfect Micro - 200 ppm
pH Perfect Grow - 100 ppm
pH Perfect Bloom - 100 ppm
Total: 550 ppm pH - 5.8

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 5 Veg

Seems to be going okay so far, snapped out of the def once I stepped the feed up. I found out most of the light strips were 3000k so I wired all the reds except one strip to the 3000k colour. This should help with better veg growth compared to the 625nm and I think will be more beneficial in flower. Thinking of how I am going to train these....there is not much space with the lights on the side wall and don't want to risk burning.

We have had some warmer nights lately, keeping temps up a little more throughout the week. Plant started getting a tad yellow so I checked to res to see she was thirsty, ppm was brought down to 400ppm/0.8EC


Temperature: 25°C
Res Temperature: 20°C
Humidity: 60%
pH: 5.8

NUTRIENTS
Calnesium - 100 ppm
pH Perfect Micro - 200 ppm
pH Perfect Grow - 150 ppm
pH Perfect Bloom - 150ppm
Total: 600 ppm pH - 5.8

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 1 Flower

Today we will mark day 1 flower, plants are showing pistils and stretched this week after changing to 12/12. Both reg seeds turned out to be females...lucky me! Gals are getting thirsty having to fill up the res every two days.

Both seem to be growing a little more healthy than their past as well. Growth seems to be going good so far.

Before Defol After Defol

Temperature: 25°C
Res Temperature: 20°C
Humidity: 50%
pH: 5.8

Changed the water today and upped bloom nutes. 1200ppm/2.4EC total 5.8pH

 

[Cgbw]

Awesome grow! Will be following

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Awesome grow! Will be following

Thanks for checking it out! Excited to see what is to come.

 

[CheckThoseTrichs]

Week 2 Flower

Explosive growth this week, I need them to stop stretching! I am thinking if they do I will have to come up with a more shallow res. Gals are getting thirsty having to fill up now every second day. The one thing I have noticed is that the original plant these seeds came from was probably pollinated. Mango Kush is an Indica-dominant hybrid, while both of these plants have crazy thin leaves. I have never grown a pheno leaning this far towards the sativa side as I have always enjoyed indica's more. Expecting a long flower process!

Need to pick up more bloom nutes this week, was a little low on the bloom feed this week and started to slightlyyyy show a Phos def.

Temperature: 23.5°C
Res Temperature: 20°C
Humidity: 53%
pH: 5.8
PPM: 1250

 

[TorturedSoul]

The one thing I have noticed is that the original plant these seeds came from was probably pollinated.

If it hadn't been, you wouldn't have gotten the seeds.