Rather than buy a CO2 tank, can I drop chips of dry ice into my grow box (2 aquarium) and let them melt out to provide CO2? The go straight from solid to gas, so there's no mess.
ues dry ice would roek but only use a small amount and place 2 small cubes on top of the aquarium but ony use it for flowering, its not worth it for veg.
Good site, grOwer! But it didn't seem to mention the issue of when is the best time to use CO2. I thought I remeber it opposite of your prior posting: That veg was the best stage for its use and had been known to slow down the bud developement? I agree that dry ice is very expensive, and hard to keep in bulk, as the ordinary home freezer only slightly slows its evaporation. (Maybe if it were vacuum packed?) Anyway,OSD, as the article says, CO2 is only effective when all other conditions are at the optimum. I figure that even though the desert suffers a relative paucity of free CO2, I make sure I give my babes lots of mine, and so far that has worked just fine. Of course my grow is ultra small, which accounts for a lot of my successes. It is rarely more than 2'sq, with from 1-4 plants at the finish. I always fall in love with my plants, studying them with the 10x & 30x magnifiers, and getting to know their every idiosyncrasy. I talk and sing to them,(my CO2). I rearrange the reflectors and lighting as needed through the day to maximize its effectiveness. I love it! C U...earth girl
CO2 is THE limiting factor of terra firma growing. PERIOD. that means that if all other factors are up to snuff...CO2 is by far the best means to make ur plant grow faster and fuller. there is no 'better' time to provide this source of plant building material. but on average...u want to have more CO2 during veg growth just because ur lights are on 24/0 and there is no time that the plant doesnt use CO2 as much as it can get its hands on it. with that said, flowering time is also a good time for CO2 enrichment. its fairly easy to get all other factors up to snuff, water, light, fert's, but CO2 can be a bit tricky to keep a constant source going. what i do is make a yeast bomb every other week or so and have a closed grow room and just let it do its job. im sure im not even close to max CO2 but i also dont want stinky yeast bombs laying around my grow room if i had a free source of dry ice...that is what i would use and i would use it copiously.
I have gone so far as to pour seltzer water in a shallow tray just before the lights are due. And it is true, only the rainforest produces significantly more CO2, due to the layer of decomposing matter on the forest floor, and look how it thrives! I have also had some success by misting the mature foliage with seltzer water. CO2 definately helps, because I shine 40W plus per sq. ft. in my tiny setup. I thought I read that since CO2 can only be used by the green foliage during light, and it's addition accelerates green growth, when you are in 12's, and the plant is putting all it's energy into making buds, you are inhibiting her natural progression. I'll try to find the reference. Probably over at the old cann.com