So my question is if I am growing in a closet with the door closed and have a fan pulling air through a carbon filter inside the closet, but the air inside the closet is never vented anywhere will this work? The carbon filter will just continously cycle the air that is in the closet through the carbon filter. I heard that if you don't vent the air anywhere then carbon filters don't work. Can someone further explain this for me? And what are peoples experience with ONA gel, I have been reading good and bad reviews some say it works for small grows well, some say it berly works etc. Which method is cheaper overall? Building your own carbon scrubber and replacing the carbon every so often? Or building an ONA bucket and replacing the ONA when ever it needs to be replaced? Anyone one have experience with both? Which one tends to last longer, carbon or ONA gel? Thank you!
get a carbon filter and fan and you must vent the air out, most people use ono gel on top of a carbon filter for smelly strains or to cover smell leaks.
I've used both... Spend the coin and go with the carbon filter...the Ona gel was useless....useless. But you need air movement...you need to have a good fan to suck air thru the CF and exhaust it somewhere...
I use the ONA bucket in the DIY section and have great success with. Cheap and easy to put together too
Maybe I grew skunky strains but I had the DIY bucket as well and it was Shit... The CF cleaned the air tho... OP if you have no ventilation use the ONA bucket...but you should really ventilate the grow as mold may spring up!
What is the need for the ventilation, other than mold? I don't really understand that part. If all the air in the room is being circulated through the carbon filter than what is the need to vent it out of the room? I figure it should leave the room with no smell if all the air circulates through the carbon filter. Someone please explain this further. Sorry if I am sounding slow, but it really just isn't making sense to me. There is a small passive vent at the top of my closet which goes into the main air condition system or attic I believe. Will this suffice? Or do I need a active outake ventilation? Thanks for all the replies guys.
^^^this. you definitely need to let your plants get fresh air, they need co2 and oxygen. Think of it this way....if you were locked in a closet with no outside air coming in, how long would you last?
Okay so it is not that a carbon filter does not work in a non vented room, it is that plants do not grow in a non vented room because they need fresh air. I open my door a few times a day and let in some fresh air, seems to be sufficient. How long do your guys carbon filters usually last? Something along this size: Small DIY one: http://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html
You could read that thread on RIU.... I would guess you should change it every month...carbon's cheap.
my deal with the diy version is this.....a 17 lb bag of virgin activated carbon is like 40 bucks. A filter that will last me a year costs 75 bucks. And then you just replace the carbon after a year. So 40 bucks a year isnt bad, and the can filters are easy to work with. Diy works well if its done well. And I cant make filters outside so a store bought can is a better option for me. I can easily enough replace the carbon in a can with a lot less mess than fuckin with a homeade one that blackens your hands everytime you touch it.
Thanks for assuming I didn't. The same question was asked several times in that thread with not one clear answer. Thanks for the replies guys.
Yo dude i saw this while designing my diy filter and feel you pain. Tutti was right about to plant needing fresh air to breath, but if you had a filter to scrub the air inside it would bring the smell down. I've seen people use ionizers and air purifiers in closet grows and have a lot os successes.