So my 1st grow I got by without a carbon filter. I grew a White Widow and a Northern Lights. The WW would smell up the house some days, but not all. I have a small tent and my exhaust fan is a 265 cfm squirrel cage fan. I could not for the life of me, figure out how to mount it in the tent. So instead, I put it on a shelf, right above the tent, with a short piece of ducting going directly down into the outtake hole on top of the tent. Well, this exhausted the heat well. I have a 17 year old Hydrofarm 400w HPS that is not cooled and generates heat like the sun. lol. My first grow was this past summer, and with my air conditioner on, and my room kept at 69 degrees F, The exhaust system worked well and kept my tent temps between 76 - 79. Well, now this is my second grow and I am growing a Lemon Skunk this time around. I am 4 weeks into veg, and this sucker smells potent already. lol. So I knew it was time to hook up the carbon filter. Well doing that made my tent temps soar to the upper 80's. So I broke down yesterday and bought a Cool Tube with an external ballast. Holy COW has that made a difference. My tent is too small for a straight setup with no bends in the ducting, but this is my setup in words (Will post pics in my journal tonight, thats the 2nd link in my sig). I have a carbon filter, with 6 " ducting making a U to meet the one end of the Cool Tube.The other end has a 6 to 4" reducer, with 4" ducting running up the outake hole onto my exhaust fan. Wow, has this ever worked. Now i have zero temp issues, this thing puts the temps in the perfect range,I am running a consistent 73 - 76 degrees. and my odor problem is solved. Plus I know it is running way more efficient than my 17 year old HPS was. And the thing is cool as hell, you can touch it anywhere at anytime, except directly under the bulb, and the thing is not even hot. Its also way lighter, so I can use the Yo Yo hangers I bought, which I could not use on my old beast, so now adjusting it is even a piece of cake. I am as happy as a kid on Xmas morning. Wish I would have done this sooner. Wow, if you use HPS, or MH, and can afford a Cool Tube, I ABSOLUTELY recommend one. I was skeptical a bit, but man, am I ever pleased. Cooltubes ROCK. Peace. Pics later, in my journal, 2nd sig link.
Are the cool tubes a totally different system? I have a 400w system with a digital ballast. What else would I need to switch to cool tube?
I am not sure. I went from an all in one unit to the Cooltube. The Cooltube consists of the Glass Tube, and inside the tube is the lightbulb socket. Attached to the socket is a 15 foot electrical cord that I run out of the tent and plugs into the ballast that sits outside of my grow area. So if you have a separate ballast, then I assume all you need is the cooltube, and a way to hook your socket into it. Then run the socket to the ballast and your good to go.
cool tubes are the shit. I run a 6" with 4" reducers in a DR80 with 200cfm and my temps stay 81-82, but I keep my house at 76. As far as light distribution goes there not the best but with a 400 watt in a small tent your good to go. Speaking of quality grow equipment, what type of filter are you using? I read the reviews about mountain air and got one from greners and I'm really surprised that you seriously cant smell the slightest hint of anything. Gotta be the best filter for stealth no doubt. enjoy your new stuff man.
Yet another thing I have to add to my list for my flower room :/ . $80 for a reflector, holy cow. I'm gettin a 4x2x5 tent and I'm startin to feel like I need to just get a 250watt HPS. Actually I'll prolly do that and just hang 3 100watt CFLs around the plants. tent $80 inline fan $70 cool tube $80 250watt HPS set up $120 carbon scrubber $80? prolly gonna need another fan too, goodness gracious. Yeah, I'm not gonna rush this veg cycle lol LSTing and topping like a muhfugga
Cool tubes are the cats meow.....You made a good decision. Your exhaust fan is probably to small and inefficient when using the scrubber....A good exhaust fan besides the cool tube will help a lot. Your good on your temps, but get those temps down to 72-75 and you will have some awesome dank...Trust me...
Yep, that's why they call 'em "cool" tubes. If you have an external ballast then the socket in the cool tube should connect to it, assuming they have compatible male plug to female outlet.
whatup dude? don't you love the dr80?! that's my shit too. but yeah, i got a 400 watt cool tube and it works perfect in that, so right on.
Hey TC could you post the measurements for your tent? I'm planning my future grow room and I'm trying to figure out if a cooltubed 400w HPS will be sufficiently cool in a rather small grow box measuring 39 x 23 x 30 (In inches). Thanks in advance
Nah, My exhaust fan is actually perfect for the filter at this point. With a straightt run, my fan would have been too much for the filter. I have the Can Filter 9000. My hydro gave me that one because I was pushing into it at first, not pulling through it, so it rated well. Now that I am pulling through it, the 9000 is rated for a lower cfm than my fan, but since I have bends in my ducting, thus resistence, the fan is actually perfect right now. Pulling all odor out and keeping temps right where I need them, 74 - 75 degrees.