I am trying to figure out the best insulation (if any) to use for my basement grow room. I am framing out an area in my basement. My plan was to just use plastic wrap then mylar, but I heard that if you run co2 in this type of setup it would leak out of the room. Is this true? If so, what are some alternatives that are as cheap and easy as can be without significantly sacraficing the quality and effectiveness of my room? (I am trying to not over-insulate to help with potential temperature issues.)
Pretty vague but I would think in a basement just blocking off a small area and heating it if needed would work. I grow in what was once unheated, uninsulated grow shed on the back of my house. I used Styrofoam insulation and an oil filled space heater, not the ones that burn oil. They have oil inside which gets heated. Oil filled isn't as dry as ones with a red heating element. I use one of those heaters as a back up or if for some reason i need to get the humidity down. Its dry and pretty cold here in the winter. Its already been below zero and without what I've done so would my gardening shed. I would think a basement would be easy, might not even need insulation, but there's no way to really tell without knowing temps, your lighting system and set up. Don't worry about co2 until you get growing dialed in. Things need to be just right for it and a new grower needs to be focused on learning to grow, there's way better and more efficient ways for a new grower to improve yeilds. Explore co2 down the road. It can get to be large expense if done right and those homemade kits aren't really worth the effort.
It sounds like it would be cheaper to just buy a tent(s) and focus your effort on that micro environment. Tents really allow you to have a lot more control over multiple aspects more than a room. Agromax tents work great and are not expensive. The zippers are a little shitty, but just be careful with them. Some people talk about gas issues with them, but I have never had a problem. As with anything, set it up before you use it to make sure it has breathed all that it needs to. It's as simple a step as waiting 24hrs to use your water. Tents let you be god and will be an ass load cheaper. Spend the saved cash on better equipment.
In cold enough climates your still going to need to keep the environment around the tent stable too. I grow with smaller tents in temps that sometimes hits -20. There's no way you could keep the tent constantly warm enough without. Having a heater inside the tent causes too much temp fluctuation. That's why without knowing his relative temps its hard to say what the op will need it has zero to do with what's harder or easier, but has to do with what's necessary to grow..
Most basements, as the furnace resides there, will not drop below 65 degrees unless there is an extreme heat loss. That just happens to be the lower end of the heat spectrum. Provided that the humidity will exceed the ideal 45% while the lights are off, you should have no problem keeping them at a solid temp with some fine tuning on your fans. Keep in mind, if the outside temp drops a silly amount, you will need to turn down the fan speed on the hood loop. Usually in a modern home, it is too warm with a garden, not the converse.
The reason i was planning on running co2 is because i am not going to cool the room, just the lights. I have heard many times it is important to focus on growing correctly, as well as exploring other alternatives to increase yields before experimenting with co2. However, i am planning on just cooling the lights, not the room, and i have heard with this type of setup, where the plants atre not getting fresh air, it is important to supplement with co2. and i should be more specific when i say that i have concerns about temperature, i am moreso concerned with overheating than having the room not be warm enough. Plus if i AM to explore co2 down the road, im not going to want to have to rip everything down to redo the insulation if needed.
if you cool the lights then heat shouldnt be a problem unless you live in a hot place. co2 will help but idk how effective it will be, co2 is more benefical when temps are abit higher then normal, i think you should just use fresh air instead of co2, if first grow might get too complicated
Ohhh I figured since its winter and your asking about insulation......as far as co2 goes I'm not saying don't do it. What I'm saying is you have more important things like learning how to grow to deal with. I have friends that use co2 properly not some bs sugar and yeast which won't even come close to maintaing the 1200- 1500 ppm needed. You need either Co2 bottles or a co2 generator that runs on natural gas. Even in a 2x4 tent we couldn't get the ppms much past 500 with sugar& yeast and that was only for a couple hours, there's no way to maintain it when the lights are on. So for any decent size personal grow is going to need an actual system from what I've personally seen. So after you drop some $$$ on completely sealing the room, running a/c, environmental controls, regulators, tanks etc in top of actually learning to grow which has enough problems, if that gets to be not worth it. Go buy a $10 vent and some $20 flexible duct work and pull in some fresh air from outside or another room. Your going to have to get cool air for the light anyways I say go for the co2. Hell why not its your 1st grow, you got this covered
Q` I'm not dead set on co2 by any means, This is new to me, i have been exposed to certain information that i am trying to fully understand, hence me posting this forum. Im not pushing for it and I'm not suggesting the information you are giving me is incorrect. but this condescending weed man persona youre putting out is bullshit. if youre going to help people who dont know as much as you, then do that, it's a cool thing to do. But to come into a public forum where I am trying to learn somehting and to say "i say go for the co2. hell why not its your 1st grow, you got this covered" in a blatant sarcastic manner like youre some chill weed god is fucked. help people. dont be a dick.
The only reason i said that is because of your know it all attitude. I have experience with people who use co2 and was trying to pass that knowledge onto someone who obviously dont. I ain't putting out no persona I'm trying to help out some one who's new to this I'm not being a prick, I was in your shoes and fortunately enough had the right people to help me and all they asked was that I passed along the knowledge. But fk it if all there is is ungrateful pricks who think they know everything their 1st time out......adios kid
I don't think i know anything. at all. If i did, i wouldnt be posting very basic questions in "absolute beginners." I was stating i had "heard" this and that, meaning, this is information i have come in contact with and i really dont know if it's true. which is not to be confused with, "i have heard this information and i now believe it to be fact." This is why i was bringing up the things i have "heard" because i wanted somebody else's opinion on the matter. I am not ungrateful with the information you are giving to me, i sincerely appreciate it, i understand you don't have to take the time to share your experiences with me, and you doing so which is awesome. I dont have a problem with the information i am being given, it's the added sacasm and condescending attitude which i think is unnecessary for a forum that is supposed to be filled with people helping other people. just a tip, if it REALLY is your intent to honor the ones who have passed down information to you by passing that same information to others in need, doso without treating them like they are inferior to you, otherwise you are not accomplishing what you set out to do.
Apparently we got off on the wrong foot and I wasnt fkn condensending you. It was the added attitude I got that caused the added sarcasm. See that's the thing with typing responses things don't always get taken in the right ways and someone gets their butts hurt and starts calling names. That's when I decided you were acting like an ungrateful prick and decided to remove myself from the conversation as I'm going to do.....so please take it easy happy growing and above all have fun doing it
http://youtu.be/naleynXS7yo Ah the beauty of technology and its ability to bring us closer as a species. But seriously to the op, I think the premise of air flow to keep heat down has become a little confusing. In my opinion, moving air through your grow room is essential. Spend all you want on the most expensive air cooled hoods, fans, and ducting and your plants will still fair poorly from lack of fresh air. It's as simple as that. If after you have good air flow, the heat is still too high or you'd like to try dropping the lights down to increase yield, then is the time to cool the bulbs down. If you want to get it done in one go, have the ducting pull from the room then through the lights and out so fresh air is still coming in with a negative pressure in the room to contain smell. And if you are looking into CO2 for the future, I know a natural gas BURNER will add heat to the room that will need to be removed.