hey everyone, I am slowly putting together my first grow tent and want to be prepared for flower. I want to have little to no odor in this setup. I am currently using a 32x32x63 grow tent with a 600w Viparspectra LED. (around 230 actual wattage) Do you guys have any suggestions on why cfm fan I should get if I’m going to be using a carbon filter? Heat is a little high so I need decent air flow through the tent. Also should I bother getting an intake fan for the bottom of the tent or can I have a passive air opening to pull air in? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated everywhere I look I see different ways to do it.
If your exhaust fan is powerful enough, which is normal, then you need no intake fan. Under normal pressure, every bit of air exhausted by a fan must also have been sucked in by that fan. An intake fan will allow the exhaust fan to work less hard.
intake fan is best for heat, doesn't take much, inline not required, but a fan blowing cold air in is superior to blowing hot air out. For aroma, multilpy height x width x length to determine cubic area. Max need for control is 3 times per minute and that is very very loud. min is 1 times and you'll still get a whiff but you can hear. I would not rely on carbon fan for circulation or temp although when it is running it may help both issues. Keep odor fan seperate if possible, may not need it or want it running all the time. Oversize your filter or make sure it can handle more than the fan can blow at top speed. There is no such thing as a good quiet fan. Air is loud no matter how good and quiet the fan is. Fresh air may not be so stealthy if it sounds like you are hiding a jet airplane in your house.
Keep it simple. ....a quality 6 inch fan with appropriate 6 inch carbon filter will do you well. Put a speed controller on it so you can adjust its flow and have passive intake. Usually two 6 in intake ports (double the exhaust port size) is all that is needed. I use Can Fan (Can-Filters - Simply the Best - Canada) and their filters(I have used Phresh filters with good results too). Give them a call and they will sell you the right filter for the CFM flow of the fan you decide on. That way its a one stop shop.
So just to be sure, I’d have my bottom port open with no fan, and then I would have a 6” carbon filter inside the growtent with ducting leading up to the top port. where I would have a 6 inch fan which would be pulling hot air out through the carbon filter and leading elsewhere through ducting? The fans I’m looking at are quite big, will the grow tent support such a fan? If I just laid it on top? Also Would it make a big difference to have a fan blowing cold air through the bottom or is it unnecessary?
yes you can have the filter inside the tent and PULL air through it and out the tent. The fan can be inside of sit on top of tent or you can have filter and fan outside tent and PUSH air through filter and that be your exhaust. Obviously, the latter uses less tent space. Yes, a port or two open at bottom is all that is needed providing that light entering the tent is not a problem.
This how I would do it... example tent... what you need.. 25' of 6" ducting 25' of 4" ducting 4 4" ducting clamps 3 6" ducting clamps a CF 4" X 16" a 4" to 6" reducer a 6" booster fan 240CFM a 4" booster fan 120CFM 1 Frost King window ac filter package 15 in. x 24 in. x 1/4 in 2 big rubber bands the setup... 1. close off 6" duct openings (#1, #2, #4) because you are using a led 2.close off the 3 square vents 3. close off 4" duct opening (#3) 4. use the 4" duct opening (#1) on the left side wall, @ the front, for your intake port 5. use the 4" duct opening (#2) on the lright top of the back wall, for your CF exhaust port 6. cut the 25' 4" ducting into (2) sections, one (13') and the other (12') 7. use the (13') 4" ducting for your CF, connect one end to the CF and then run that ducting out off the (#2) 4" CF exhaust port 8. that ducting in (setup #7) will then run down to the floor on the outside of the back of the tent. 9. now connect the 4" side of the (4" to 6" reducer) to the end of the 4" ducting in (setup #8) 10. cut the 25' 6" ducting into (2) sections (3') and (22') 11. get your 6" booster fan and connect the (3') 6" ducting section to the inlet end of the 6" booster fan 12. then connect the (22') 6" ducting section to the exhaust end of the 6" booster fan 13. now cut a piece of the AC filter and use a big rubber band to cover the exhaust end of the (22') 6" duct opening 14. now take the (12') 4" ducting and cut it into (2) sections, one (3') and the other (9') 15. get your 4" booster fan and connect the (3') 4" ducting section to the exhaust end of the 4" booster fan 16. then connect the (9') 4" ducting section to the inlet end of the 4" booster fan 17. now place the (3') 4" ducting section into the (#1) 4" duct opening. 18. now cut a piece of the AC filter and use a big rubber band, doubled-over, to cover the inlet end of the (9') 4" duct opening Other Notes.... use 6" duct opening (#3) to run a power strip that you can use zip ties to attach that power strip to the right rear tubing frame of the grow tent to supply all the electrical devices in your grow tent, ie; (lights, humidifier, fans, etc, etc...) This is a negative pressure example setup for 32 x 32 x 64 that will exchange the entire grow tents air at roughly 2 X per minute