All is well, now :]. I have my hood set up like a cool tube. I have my vortex blower pulling air through my filter, pumping it through the hood, out the other end, and then through my panda. And a passive intake. As for the holes, no, not in the wall. In the panda I stapled to the inside of the closet door frame. I was still a little worried about all the noise I was making during the construction period, as all the apartments are setup the same.. but that was a few weeks ago, so I'm assuming all is well. I ditched my extra inline fan(at least until summer) and am still operating in the same temp range. Peace