need grow room knowledge - from experience

[802HQ]

Hey gang, I'm new to this forum, and newish to the indoor grow world. Before I waste anymore $, I'm asking for your help. Google isn't cutting it this time. Feels like friends of friends that "know it all" are giving me advice all over the spectrum.

Here are some of my factors-

I live in New England, and the indoor grow room is in the 2nd floor spare room (i don't have a basement) that has radiant heat that keeps the room at a consistent 70 degrees.

The way i've framed and built my room(s) is the following: walk in the veg room that is aproxx 4'deep X 7' long 6' ceilings. It has an exterior window that is right above my entry way (hoping to keep this window as discrete as possible)

VEG ROOM - I have aproxx 4 younger plants that are in soil. Sometimes more if I've got clones going. This room operates fine. Temp is easy to control, plants thrive, humidity is ok. I have a couple low end UFO full spectrum LED's for lighting. An oscillating wall mount fan.

So you walk THRU the VEG room to get to the FLOWER ROOM.

FLOWER ROOM - (Where I need the most help) this room is 6' deep X 5' wide, 6' ceilings. I have a door separating the 2 rooms so no light gets thru. This room also has an exterior window. I use a 600W HPS light with 600W ballast. Again, typically 4 mature pants in this room at any given time. I have a ceiling vent into the attic space.

I have a 6'' vent hole that can be open or closed between the 2 rooms (it's located at the top of the wall with black out material to avoid light transfer.)

My issue is setting up my fans, duct work, filter etc. and mostly keeping the temperature under 90. I had all used fans and equipment so I thought that was the issue, they weren't powerful enough so I went out and bought all brand new stuff. And I don't know what to put where, or how the "flow" should be. I like to think of myself as a half smart young women, but this has me frustrated to the max- I can't seem to wrap my head around how to set this up!

I have a 6'' inline fan from ipower, with carbon filter, the 6'' duct to go with it. I also have a new 6'' AC In Infinity CLOUDLINE fan with thermostat and cooling/heating ability. I haven't even taken this out of the box yet as I want a plan before I start thinking I can figure this out again.

Before I created 2 rooms in my house, I had a 4X4 grow tent, and I was able to manage that with no issues. I had a small veg box that worked like a charm. The smell was a little out of control, and I found myself wanting to have higher yield, that's why I went bigger.

Please, don't publicly shame me for what I've done wrong- I'd just like some insight on how to do it right. I know fresh air is important, but safety is even more important and when I came home the other night and my grow room was 120 i unplugged everything and I'm hoping now I have the right stuff I can get a better understanding how this needs to work. I also have a bunch of other inline fans, 6'' mostly.

thank you for your help!

 

[GroErr]

Sounds like you will need to look at a couple of options. Cooling is a mix between bringing in cooler air and exhausting. Exhausting alone doesn't cut it in small spaces, specially using hps.

Since you go through your veg space to get to the flower space which is where your heat problems are. I'm thinking you don't have much cooler air from outside the room(s) coming into that flower space. If you can bring in cooler air, plus exhaust you should be able to bring the temps down to a more reasonable level. Also, not sure if you're using a cool hood, doesn't sound like it, that would help also.

Another option would be a window AC unit in that window you mention, not the most stealth option though, running an AC in the winter could attract unwanted attention from nosy neighbours. The window could also be a source of cooler air coming in but I wouldn't recommend that unless you fit a filter on it to keep mould/PM spores out.

 

[802HQ]

Thank you, GroErr. Each room has an exterior window. If possible I'd like to only use the one in the flower room. Where would you suggest I put the filter in all of this? And would I want to push air into the filter, or pull it off? In your opinion do I want to treat each room as it's own space? As far as airflow, do you suggest any fans on timers? or 24/7 moving? I wish i had asked months ago.

I think the cooling fan i just got will help with the temperature, but id like to not depend on that and have a basic understanding of what needs to happen with air.

 

[chiqifella]

I sealed up my room and never looked back. Cost me a little for ac and c02 but the payback is ten fold. I hate outside air now

 

[802HQ]

I sealed up my room and never looked back. Cost me a little for ac and c02 but the payback is ten fold. I hate outside air now

I have a portable AC that rolls around. I tried to use that, but my humidity was over 90%, so then I put in a dehumidifier and couldn't keep up with emptying it. It's not a huge space, but you add an AC and duct work, and a dehumidifier, and then you have 1/2 the room for plants. yet a much higher powerbill. I just feel like i'm missing one necessary step in all this.

 

[chiqifella]

I have a portable AC that rolls around. I tried to use that, but my humidity was over 90%, so then I put in a dehumidifier and couldn't keep up with emptying it. It's not a huge space, but you add an AC and duct work, and a dehumidifier, and then you have 1/2 the room for plants. yet a much higher powerbill. I just feel like i'm missing one necessary step in all this.

portables are junk, exhausting into the room you're growing in wont work. When those are exhausted outside of the room they carry odors out. A window unit or split air will not. I use a 12k window shaker and a small dehuey in a 400sf space including a flowering room and a smaller veg room with a curtain in between. I circ the air between the rooms full time. rh never rises over 50% and temps stay under 81 setting year round.

 

[802HQ]

portables are junk, exhausting into the room you're growing in wont work. When those are exhausted outside of the room they carry odors out. A window unit or split air will not. I use a 12k window shaker and a small dehuey in a 400sf space including a flowering room and a smaller veg room with a curtain in between. I circ the air between the rooms full time. rh never rises over 50% and temps stay under 81 setting year round.

I had it exhausting out the window. Well have it, I haven't unhooked it yet. My powerbill went up $120 in the 1 month i had the DH and AC going. and i had to eliminate 1 plant. There is a real market for this knowledge... I would have paid someome months ago. Trial and error is expensive. and discouraging.

 

[chiqifella]

I had it exhausting out the window. Well have it, I haven't unhooked it yet. My powerbill went up $120 in the 1 month i had the DH and AC going. and i had to eliminate 1 plant. There is a real market for this knowledge... I would have paid someome months ago. Trial and error is expensive. and discouraging.

I hear you, seems often the reason I have ac running is to cool the dehuey, it sucks.
I can run 72 plants full time in my perpetual cycle for less than 300 bucks electricity monthly year round.
My rooms are in an unheated outdoor building. I have two 220 baseboard heaters one in veg one in flower set to 65 and
really good insulation. My ac exhausts into the building through the wall and its heat/humidity is removed with a solar gable fan running off my veg lights. I'm impressed by my own electric bill. I use light movers and keep plants under 3 feet tall in
2 gallon containers of hand watered dirt if curious.

 

[GroErr]

Thank you, GroErr. Each room has an exterior window. If possible I'd like to only use the one in the flower room. Where would you suggest I put the filter in all of this? And would I want to push air into the filter, or pull it off? In your opinion do I want to treat each room as it's own space? As far as airflow, do you suggest any fans on timers? or 24/7 moving? I wish i had asked months ago.

I think the cooling fan i just got will help with the temperature, but id like to not depend on that and have a basic understanding of what needs to happen with air.

Yeah if each room can be treated as it's own then you can control airflow better. Since the veg area doesn't seem to be an issue the focus should be on the flower room airflow & cooling.

Filters are better/more efficient if you're pulling air through them. Where they go depends on what you're using them for. Typically they're used to control odour and on the exhaust so you have filter-->inline fan-->exhaust port outside or to the attic. If you're pulling air in from outside it would go exhaust port-->inline fan-->filter and pulling the air into the room.

The issue with using your outside air for cooling is it'll only work through winter/spring/fall, summer you're screwed which is fine if you don't grow through summer. For year round use you're probably better to use a window AC and seal the room, but then you'll need to also run CO2.

For non-sealed rooms I'd recommend constant airflow 24/7, inline fans don't use a lot of power.

For non-sealed airflow ideally you want incoming air low as you can go (cooler air) and exhaust as high as you can (warmer air rises). Both would have an inline fan with variable controller to adjust your airflow.

In your case I'd go with a window AC unit (incoming air) and exhaust to the attic if you can to allow for year round growing.

The portable AC units suck, they typically heat the room more than cool it, even exhausted outdoor. A small efficient dehumidifier with a drain hose option (so you don't need to drain it daily if you can run a hose to drip somewhere) will work but you'll still see temperature spikes when it's on. I use a small efficient DH with the drain option, but only use it during lights out on a timer. That's when RH spikes and you need it, during light on there's typically no need for it as the lights will burn off RH and drop it. During summer this keeps my temps more or less the same whether lights are on or off, sometimes slightly higher during lights out. Not a bad thing, it's called negative DIF when your temps are same or higher during lights out and I've had some of my best crops in that environment.

 

[802HQ]

Yeah if each room can be treated as it's own then you can control airflow better. Since the veg area doesn't seem to be an issue the focus should be on the flower room airflow & cooling.

Filters are better/more efficient if you're pulling air through them. Where they go depends on what you're using them for. Typically they're used to control odour and on the exhaust so you have filter-->inline fan-->exhaust port outside or to the attic. If you're pulling air in from outside it would go exhaust port-->inline fan-->filter and pulling the air into the room.

The issue with using your outside air for cooling is it'll only work through winter/spring/fall, summer you're screwed which is fine if you don't grow through summer. For year round use you're probably better to use a window AC and seal the room, but then you'll need to also run CO2.

For non-sealed rooms I'd recommend constant airflow 24/7, inline fans don't use a lot of power.

For non-sealed airflow ideally you want incoming air low as you can go (cooler air) and exhaust as high as you can (warmer air rises). Both would have an inline fan with variable controller to adjust your airflow.

In your case I'd go with a window AC unit (incoming air) and exhaust to the attic if you can to allow for year round growing.

The portable AC units suck, they typically heat the room more than cool it, even exhausted outdoor. A small efficient dehumidifier with a drain hose option (so you don't need to drain it daily if you can run a hose to drip somewhere) will work but you'll still see temperature spikes when it's on. I use a small efficient DH with the drain option, but only use it during lights out on a timer. That's when RH spikes and you need it, during light on there's typically no need for it as the lights will burn off RH and drop it. During summer this keeps my temps more or less the same whether lights are on or off, sometimes slightly higher during lights out. Not a bad thing, it's called negative DIF when your temps are same or higher during lights out and I've had some of my best crops in that environment.

THANK YOU! I grow outdoor in the summer, so this is exactly what I was hoping to find. I guess my misconception is happening with the filter. The reason I have it is for the smell. So when I think "filter" for "odor" I've thought that it needed to be the last "step", that the smelly air would be sent through the filter & outside the grow room. But thats not what I'm hearing. I will need to 2 duct setups for my flower room.

1 - to move the hot air from the light into the attic.
2 - to move the fresh air from the outside-into the room>vent that into the attic too.

 

[GroErr]

THANK YOU! I grow outdoor in the summer, so this is exactly what I was hoping to find. I guess my misconception is happening with the filter. The reason I have it is for the smell. So when I think "filter" for "odor" I've thought that it needed to be the last "step", that the smelly air would be sent through the filter & outside the grow room. But thats not what I'm hearing. I will need to 2 duct setups for my flower room.

1 - to move the hot air from the light into the attic.
2 - to move the fresh air from the outside-into the room>vent that into the attic too.

Yeah if you can avoid summer runs in there then brining in cool air from outside through the rest of the seasons will work.

For odour with the filter first before the inline, the inline will pull the air through the filter then outside, in turn scrubbing it before it goes out.

For the intake it's kind of reversed where the air is being sucked in through the filter then into your room. Some will use HEPA filters for that purpose but since you have an inline any cheap carbon filter will work with it to scrub any nasty stuff before it goes into your room and easier to setup.

 

[802HQ]

Just wanted to say thank you to GroErr & Chiqifella for your help. I'm all set up, running at a consistent temp and humidity. I feel really dumb now, and I was most definitely making it harder then it needed to be. My setup is odor free, plants are thriving and I'm happy to report I can focus on the fun part of this hobby.

I did just have 1 last question. With the inline fan- is it safe to keep it running 24/7 or should I put it on the same timer as my light? And carbon filter- how long do they last? I picked up a used one over the weekend for my veg room and I'm just curious how to tell if it's any good?

 

[thumper60]

THANK YOU! I grow outdoor in the summer, so this is exactly what I was hoping to find. I guess my misconception is happening with the filter. The reason I have it is for the smell. So when I think "filter" for "odor" I've thought that it needed to be the last "step", that the smelly air would be sent through the filter & outside the grow room. But thats not what I'm hearing. I will need to 2 duct setups for my flower room.

1 - to move the hot air from the light into the attic.
2 - to move the fresh air from the outside-into the room>vent that into the attic too.

be careful moving that hot humid air into cold attic=mold very quick think hot room sucks,wait till ya ceiling is dripping on ya lights an plants an attic is covered in black mold

 

[marijaymade]

Hey gang, I'm new to this forum, and newish to the indoor grow world. Before I waste anymore $, I'm asking for your help. Google isn't cutting it this time. Feels like friends of friends that "know it all" are giving me advice all over the spectrum.

Here are some of my factors-

I live in New England, and the indoor grow room is in the 2nd floor spare room (i don't have a basement) that has radiant heat that keeps the room at a consistent 70 degrees.

The way i've framed and built my room(s) is the following: walk in the veg room that is aproxx 4'deep X 7' long 6' ceilings. It has an exterior window that is right above my entry way (hoping to keep this window as discrete as possible)

VEG ROOM - I have aproxx 4 younger plants that are in soil. Sometimes more if I've got clones going. This room operates fine. Temp is easy to control, plants thrive, humidity is ok. I have a couple low end UFO full spectrum LED's for lighting. An oscillating wall mount fan.

So you walk THRU the VEG room to get to the FLOWER ROOM.

FLOWER ROOM - (Where I need the most help) this room is 6' deep X 5' wide, 6' ceilings. I have a door separating the 2 rooms so no light gets thru. This room also has an exterior window. I use a 600W HPS light with 600W ballast. Again, typically 4 mature pants in this room at any given time. I have a ceiling vent into the attic space.

I have a 6'' vent hole that can be open or closed between the 2 rooms (it's located at the top of the wall with black out material to avoid light transfer.)

My issue is setting up my fans, duct work, filter etc. and mostly keeping the temperature under 90. I had all used fans and equipment so I thought that was the issue, they weren't powerful enough so I went out and bought all brand new stuff. And I don't know what to put where, or how the "flow" should be. I like to think of myself as a half smart young women, but this has me frustrated to the max- I can't seem to wrap my head around how to set this up!

I have a 6'' inline fan from ipower, with carbon filter, the 6'' duct to go with it. I also have a new 6'' AC In Infinity CLOUDLINE fan with thermostat and cooling/heating ability. I haven't even taken this out of the box yet as I want a plan before I start thinking I can figure this out again.

Before I created 2 rooms in my house, I had a 4X4 grow tent, and I was able to manage that with no issues. I had a small veg box that worked like a charm. The smell was a little out of control, and I found myself wanting to have higher yield, that's why I went bigger.

Please, don't publicly shame me for what I've done wrong- I'd just like some insight on how to do it right. I know fresh air is important, but safety is even more important and when I came home the other night and my grow room was 120 i unplugged everything and I'm hoping now I have the right stuff I can get a better understanding how this needs to work. I also have a bunch of other inline fans, 6'' mostly.

thank you for your help!

Very smart insights right there...

 

[Cold$moke]

Post a pic or drawing of your setup and i can highlight where to put your stuff

 

[Cold$moke]

be careful moving that hot humid air into cold attic=mold very quick think hot room sucks,wait till ya ceiling is dripping on ya lights an plants an attic is covered in black mold

Agreed never vent into an attic

 

[Cold$moke]

Just wanted to say thank you to GroErr & Chiqifella for your help. I'm all set up, running at a consistent temp and humidity. I feel really dumb now, and I was most definitely making it harder then it needed to be. My setup is odor free, plants are thriving and I'm happy to report I can focus on the fun part of this hobby.

I did just have 1 last question. With the inline fan- is it safe to keep it running 24/7 or should I put it on the same timer as my light? And carbon filter- how long do they last? I picked up a used one over the weekend for my veg room and I'm just curious how to tell if it's any good?

If you can afford it just get a fan temp controller .

Used filters are a sketchy thing unless you know how long it was used .

But a good quality filter last a while as long as humidity isnt terrible. Mines going on a year i think still good just wash the prefilter every plant change
Till they get stinky then get a new one

 

[sparkygeek]

I usually use carbon filters for about a year too... You'll know when it stops working. (You whole house will smell... nice!) I stopped using a carbon filter in veg and didn't notice an increase in smell... @Cold$moke has a great suggestion about washing the prefilter between grows... Cleans out all the nasty stuff before it can impact your new crop... Best of luck!

 

[Hydrowannabe]

Hey gang, I'm new to this forum, and newish to the indoor grow world. Before I waste anymore $, I'm asking for your help. Google isn't cutting it this time. Feels like friends of friends that "know it all" are giving me advice all over the spectrum.

Haha one of my friends told me I should wake and bake with my plants bc Cannabis plants liked their own smoke. Whaaaaaatt haha. I’ve heard of plants reacting to music, but yea. Haven’t seen his plants, don’t care to see them. I know you said you were able to manage a tent which is what I’m using now (before this, I had my own room kinda like your talking about) and the heating problems were very similar but the room Andy my tent size are very similar. So maybe there is something I’m not reading right,..but anyway, I have also had heat issues in the summer when running 1000 Watts. I always had to lower it to 600 in the summer. This made about a 10 degree F difference (85 down to 75 F) and was a pretty simple idea since I have two inline fans and only one hid system. Maybe someone could point me in a more efficient direction. I feel I too, could be using my extra 8nline fan in a better cooling manner. Here is my current setup. You can’t see in the pic, but the ducting goes out the room obviously or I would just be recycling the same hot and stale air

 

[Hydrowannabe]

I didn’t really explain what I did to lower the heat by ten degrees because I assumed the picture showed it, but in case it doesn’t,...what I did was just hung another 440 cfm in-line fan, angled up and blowing air towards the light. It’s working really well and was a really simple thing to do to lower my temps, but like I said, I’m sure there is a much better way to use two inline fans to cool one hid light and am willing to listen. I was told that two inline fans sucking air out the same ducting would be more counterproductive then anything which I can visualize. I was told the only way is to by a larger hood with 8 inch ports and one major beefy fan. I feel there are other ways of course