First time growing hydro sealed room... Tips? I think I got my set up right?

I originally posted this in the newbie thread but I think it is more appropriate to post in this section. I am growing hydro for the first time and want to get some feedback on my system before I start the ladies. My grow room is a 5x5x8 tent that is completely sealed. I have a 1000watt hps in a 8inch air-cooled hood attached to a 8inch inline 755 cfm fan to cool it. Using the CAP Ebb and Gro 12pot 2gallon system using hydroton as a medium with a 55gallon reservoir outside the tent. Got a 20lb co2 tank attached to a CAP Fuzzy logic co2 controller set for 1500ppm. Have a 10,000 btu a/c with dual hoses going outside the tent. Got an 8inch 755cfm inline fan attached to a carbon filter inside the tent that runs twice a day for one minute to "scrub" the air inside the grow room. Have not bought a humidifier or dehumidifier because I dont know which I am going to need yet, does anyone possibly have an idea which one I will need with the 1000watt air cooled lamp and 10,000 btu dual hose a/c running? I know everyone hates this question but since I have been pretty precise in explaining my set up I figure someone will have a thought on it. At best what can I possibly yield growing 12 hindu kush plants in 2gallon hydroton ebb and gro system using advance nutrients under a 1000watt hps light with a primary pot space of 4x4 and a grow space of 5x5 in nearly optimum conditions with co2 at 1500ppm? I want to vegetate 18/6 for 4 weeks and flower for roughly 8weeks on 12/12.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I doubt you'll need that ac unit if you're running only 1000w, supplementing co2 and cooling the light with 700cfm....it may come in handy in the summer of you aren't in a basement...As for yield, I'm my 5x5 tent with 1200w and co2 I run 20-25 2 gallon buckets and yield 2-3 lbs per cycles depending on strain.

Had some time to think about this a bit more while I was driving the zamboni haha....here is how I would set up the tent. Instead of running it 100% sealed, set up an exhaust system to that will run when temps get to high. This will prevent the need for an ac in the tent. If heat is an issue, the ac can be placed in the room the tent is in, not taking up your grow space. I would also have the exhaust clear humidity instead of running a dehumidifier. The ac and dh pull close to 1000w each, and produce heat. The electricity is the main thing though. I've got a zenith dehumidifier in my tent that pulls 680watts, heats the tent up fast and takes up ~2sqft, no good. I have a controller with independent temp humid so I'm stuck using the dehumidifier for now.

AKMEDMAN said:

Had some time to think about this a bit more while I was driving the zamboni haha....here is how I would set up the tent. Instead of running it 100% sealed, set up an exhaust system to that will run when temps get to high. This will prevent the need for an ac in the tent. If heat is an issue, the ac can be placed in the room the tent is in, not taking up your grow space. I would also have the exhaust clear humidity instead of running a dehumidifier. The ac and dh pull close to 1000w each, and produce heat. The electricity is the main thing though. I've got a zenith dehumidifier in my tent that pulls 680watts, heats the tent up fast and takes up ~2sqft, no good. I have a controller with independent temp humid so I'm stuck using the dehumidifier for now.

Click to expand...

Why not just put your dehumidifier outside of your tent in a ~2sqft box and run a vent from that into the tent? Assuming you have negative air pressure in your tent from adequate exhaust it would pull the air in from the dehumidifier and into your room. You may have to take the sensor out of the Dehu and put in inside your actual tent in order to get it to keep your humidity at the right level, but that's fairly easy with the use of google to find where the sensor is and a screw driver I've seen some bad ass dehumidifiers that have remote sensor capability for this express purpose you might want to look into those as well.



As for you OP, the only way to know if you need more or less humidity is, unfortunately, to start growing and figure out which is your problem. Also, that AC is going to be maaaaaaaajor overkill for a room that size and you probably wont even need it except for exceptionally hot days.

What you DONT appear to have is exhaust. From the way you phrased "Got an 8inch 755cfm inline fan attached to a carbon filter inside the tent that runs twice a day for one minute to "scrub" the air inside the grow room." it sounds like you're just recirculating your air? You really need to have that carbon filter OUTSIDE of your tent with the fan pulling old air out so that new air can flow in. You're going to end up with some really fucked up concentrations of CO2 and humidity and heat problems all around without proper exhaust.

ExDex1x1 said:

Why not just put your dehumidifier outside of your tent in a ~2sqft box and run a vent from that into the tent? Assuming you have negative air pressure in your tent from adequate exhaust it would pull the air in from the dehumidifier and into your room. You may have to take the sensor out of the Dehu and put in inside your actual tent in order to get it to keep your humidity at the right level, but that's fairly easy with the use of google to find where the sensor is and a screw driver I've seen some bad ass dehumidifiers that have remote sensor capability for this express purpose you might want to look into those as well.
What you DONT appear to have is exhaust. From the way you phrased "Got an 8inch 755cfm inline fan attached to a carbon filter inside the tent that runs twice a day for one minute to "scrub" the air inside the grow room." it sounds like you're just recirculating your air? You really need to have that carbon filter OUTSIDE of your tent with the fan pulling old air out so that new air can flow in. You're going to end up with some really fucked up concentrations of CO2 and humidity and heat problems all around without proper exhaust.

Click to expand...

he wants a SEALED room....what your talking about is not a sealed room.......I agree your way is more noob friendly and the standard but im just pointing out that he said he wants a sealed room well sealed rooms dont have passive intakes and exhaust fans exhausting outside while passivly bringing in fresh air .......if it did then it wouldnt be sealed

As for you OP, the only way to know if you need more or less humidity is, unfortunately, to start growing and figure out which is your problem. Also, that AC is going to be maaaaaaaajor overkill for a room that size and you probably wont even need it except for exceptionally hot days.

FootClan said:

he wants a SEALED room....what your talking about is not a sealed room.......I agree your way is more noob friendly and the standard but im just pointing out that he said he wants a sealed room well sealed rooms dont have passive intakes and exhaust fans exhausting outside while passivly bringing in fresh air .......if it did then it wouldnt be sealed

As for you OP, the only way to know if you need more or less humidity is, unfortunately, to start growing and figure out which is your problem. Also, that AC is going to be maaaaaaaajor overkill for a room that size and you probably wont even need it except for exceptionally hot days.

Click to expand...

Yes exactly, i do want a sealed room. This would be the best way to make the most of my co2 right? Plants dont need fresh oxygen, all they need is co2 right? The plants breathe co2 and give off oxygen correct? Therefore why exhaust all my co2? I am circulating and "scrubbing" the air to keep the air clean and the room mold free with one inline fan attached to a carbon filter and using another inline fan to keep the light cool and the a/c is there for a safety to keep the room at the perfect temp. I may be setting myself up for a disaster but if i do not have an equipment failure I believe the conditions in the tent would be optimal. got the humidifier or dehumidifier to keep the humidity at the desired level and then the a/c to keep the temperature perfect. i figure both the a/c and dehumidifier would only be running maybe 50% of the time the light is on which will make it not to much of an expense, i would say its well spent dollar to ensure perfect conditions. Then the co2 tanks take care of not circulating fresh air from outside. fresh air on average has a co2 level of 300-400ppm and i will be forcing 1500ppm from my co2 tank.

Just an FYI from an HVAC guy...Your A/C also acts as a dehumidifier. You'll never want to add humidity to a flowering room so I wouldn't worry about either now. Buy a digital temp/humidity guage and give it a day or two and you'll see with out assuming.

Social

mjthoughts said:

Yes exactly, i do want a sealed room. This would be the best way to make the most of my co2 right? Plants dont need fresh oxygen, all they need is co2 right? The plants breathe co2 and give off oxygen correct? Therefore why exhaust all my co2? I am circulating and "scrubbing" the air to keep the air clean and the room mold free with one inline fan attached to a carbon filter and using another inline fan to keep the light cool and the a/c is there for a safety to keep the room at the perfect temp. I may be setting myself up for a disaster but if i do not have an equipment failure I believe the conditions in the tent would be optimal. got the humidifier or dehumidifier to keep the humidity at the desired level and then the a/c to keep the temperature perfect. i figure both the a/c and dehumidifier would only be running maybe 50% of the time the light is on which will make it not to much of an expense, i would say its well spent dollar to ensure perfect conditions. Then the co2 tanks take care of not circulating fresh air from outside. fresh air on average has a co2 level of 300-400ppm and i will be forcing 1500ppm from my co2 tank.

Click to expand...

How are you set for electricity? You'll need separate circuits for the light and ac. Sealed rooms do have some advantages, but you should consider a hybrid where there is an exhaust in place to evac/scrub the air when it leaves optimal ranges. Once it's back to set range the room returns to sealed and your co2 turns back on. You need a passive intake, but that doesnt mean the tent isnt sealed. I found an industrial vent that opens and closes electronically, hooked it up as my intake so its completely open/sealed. In a small tent I don't see the need to completely seal the room. You want your temps around 85 with co2, and I really doubt you'll exceed that with a single 1000w. With my 1200w 5x5 tent I can run sealed for 12 hrs and temps never exceed 90. The 12000 btu everstar portable ac I spent a pretty penny on is just sitting in my garage. Since you've got all the gear just start testing settle and see what you think.

Thanks everyone for the advice! And I am set for electricity because I have about 3 plugs all with separate capacities of 2000watts so I have the power to run up to 6000watts in my room. As for setting up an exhaust i will look into that. I never used co2 before and I am worried about wasting it to quickly if I exhaust the room a few times a day. Once I see how long the co2 last in my room I will decide if exhausting the room is worth it. Thanks again everyone!

Not likely you'll ever need a humidifier. Your plants will ad all the humidity you need. your AC unit will manage your humidity during the photoperiod. It is when the lights go out and their heat is removed that your RH will spike. You can either vent in the PM or throw a dehumidifier into the mix. I don't allow my dehuey to run at the same time as my AC as it ads heat causing the AC to run more which in turn also removes moisture.

I run 2-1000 hps watercooled and a 5200btu AC does fine. 4 X 12' completely sealed. Bottled Co2, Digigro COCO Co2 controller. A high RH 60-70% isn't a bad thing in VEG. Try to keep it much lower than that during flower. If your plants start looking pale and kind of puffy, you'll want to check your PM humidity levels.