okay this is for those out there who, like me, are very strapped for cash. It is possible to make a carbon filter for odor control and it is very easy to do. first you need to go to a pet store that sells fish tank materials and get a carbon filter for fish tank pumps. cheap brand is fine and only costs 3-5 dollars. after this is bought go to a dollar store and buy a roll of electrical tape and a pack of hair curlers. with the materials obtained you will now be making the filter. tape the hair curlers together so that there is one in the center and six around it (makes a hexagonal shape kinda). use the tape to completely wrap the sides so that it is sealed. leave the ends open though. now use a knife or something to open up the fish tank carbon filter. hold one hand over one of the openings of the makeshift filter and pour some of the activated carbon from the fish tank filter into the one you are making. make sure both ends are covered and shake the hell out of it. replace remaining loose carbon back in the fish filter. and use for another carbon filter later on when current one losses its effect. the electrical tape holds a good amount of carbon on the inside of the filter and you now have odor control. seems like it wouldn't do anything, but I've been using one just like this for the past week now and no smell what-so-ever however when you open the grow box the smell is quite apparent. so it does work. and its freakin cheap! LOL Its amazing what we can do when strapped for cash and actually use our imaginations.
vents? lol youre confusing this post for someone that has money... lol this filter is meant to be put on the out take of a small storage bin grow box lol. no vents unnecessary for something so small.
I resourced my activated carbon from this e-crater store. $9.25 shipped to your home for 140z box. WalMart wants $11 for one lb. of activated carbon, so this is really a deal. It only took 5 days to get here too! link to store: Activated Carbon for Hydropnocs and aquarium filter
Yeah, I'll second that request for a pic. I'd like to see the way yours turned out. I had thought about doing just this (buying the aquarium carbon filter), but I wasn't sure about how to add it to the system.
Some fiend on here just told me it would cost 100$+ for a carbon filter! And thats being cheap about it! ....If you make this a picture tutorial, I will rep you every day for a week. No lie.
once ive saved up a few dollars, i will post a picture tutorial. being as it seems to be a popular idea. thanks for the comments people!
Pics are nice. But in the mean time, Bohbo has an awesome tutorial for his home made carbon filters, along with links to like 10 more. http://forum.grasscity.com/do-yourself/569506-diy-carbon-filter-compendium.html
my experience with diy carbon filters is they work... if you don't have more than five plants in three gallon containers. If you have more, well and you live in the US, i'd pay a whole lot more than 100 for a filter if it means i won't be sent to the federal pen and fined thousands of dollars
How can this possibly work? You took carbon out of it's original container (bag with very fine holes) and put it in another container (hair curlers) without drawing air through it. Plus the amount of carbon stuck to the tape is really not enough to do much...especially when you're not circulating air through your little device. Am I missing something here?