i got a pc box in my basement, im thinking about gutting it out, putting in carbon filters and fans, hooking up some CFL lights, but ive got some questions,
1- What strain should i use, highest yield and pretty good quality that i can actually grow inside such a small confined space?
I've never grown in a PC box per se, but the main thing when growing in such a small space is to control VERTICAL height. So ideally you'll start with some short squat indica dominant plant that doesn't stretch too much during flowering or get too tall. Look into the autoflowers, because many of those are "dwarf" plants designed to stay small.
Obviously, you're not going to get a lot of yield from such a small confined space. So if you start off with that expectation, you won't be disappointed. Also, the first time you're growing, you're going to be in the shallow part of the learning curve. I'd focus on learning about how to build the box, grow the plant, sex it, train it, keep it fed and watered, recognize when to harvest, do the harvest, and drying. Each one of these things takes experience. After you've done all of them 1-2 times and get used to your system you can try to maximize yield.
2- What kind of CFL lights? I was thinking about doing 3 or 4 50watters, possibly smaller
If you're talking about the actual draw of those bulbs, 200 watts will put out WAY too much light/heat for a box that small. Figure you want around 100 watts actual draw of CFL light for what's going to amount to a 1.5 square foot grow area. If you're only growing one plant, you can even get away with less, though obviously yield may be lower.
If you wanted to go "tech" you could probably squeeze in a 70W HPS setup, for better results, but that's going to depend on your wallet thickness, as well as wiring/building skills.
The conventional wisdom is to use "blue" 2700 or 3000K bulbs for veg growth and "warm"/"daylight" 6500k bulbs for flowering, though you could use 6500s all the way through if you had to.
If you're using bulbs with actual 50 watt (or close) draws, try two of them. 4 26 watt draw CFLs will probably be cheaper and will give you a little more flexibility in both arranging them, and using different spectra, and I think in practice, that's how most of these PC grows are done.
3- What kind of tips do you got for a first time grower? That you have learned from first hand experience
-Don't overfertilize.
-Limiting factor, again, is going to be vertical height. Make sure you read up on "LST" (low stress training) and "SCROG" (screen of green) methods to help control vertical height.
-Try to keep temps inside your box under 85F when the lights are running. Good ventilation is not optional here, its mandatory.
-Be cautious about smell and light leaks.
one for that.