I have a 4×4×6 tent, two spf250 from mars hydro and plan to do 4 to 5 plants. I dont have a temp control for each room bc my house was built by the flinstones, so my first question is, if i have an air conditioner, do I still need a dehumidifier? My vent system is AC infinity everything and it has a built in RH meter which will activate the fan if the RH is too high. Idk if i need both the ac and dehumidifier or if the vent system is already good enough to maintain optimal conditions. **ALSO** you guys said peat moss is mandatory to fix my soil issue, what are the differences in premier peat and Michigan peat? Sent from my LM-20 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I had to buy a humidifier AND a dehumidifier. Your AC might handle it, might not,lol. Every house is different. I needed a humidifier in March when the furnace was still on, and needed a dehumidifier in May when spring kicked in and it got humid. House AC can handle some humidity but again no two are the same. Last month we had a 90 degree week and my house AC died, so I had to buy a portable AC also just to keep the tent under 80. At this point I'd have to guess I'm ready for any weather now.
Do you live in Florida or Alaska? I’m in Montana and wouldn’t need an AC, dehum or humidifier for a grow this size. Can you dump hot air from the tent to the outdoors? RD
Im in the tristate area and I have an "AC Infinity" air vent system with RH meter built in, does that make any difference? Yea i can dump it outdoors via the 25 ft air duct and any comments or thoughts on the diff between Premier peat moss and michigan peat moss?
I have the AC and two fans to cool things down, was just wondering if id need the other equipment due to the fact that my air vent system has built in RH meter to control when the fan kicks on and off.
If you can dump a majority of the hot air outside, I would think it’s unlikely the AC wouldn’t get the job done from there. As long as dehums are on the shelf in your area I’d wait to buy one. If they are hard to come by then it may be a different story. It will make your AC work even harder since they kick out hot, dry air. RD
*I* have no idea about Michigan peat, using only Premier or Lambert from Canada. Canadian peat is well regulated and you can be confident of consistant quality. I just snag whichever is on sale with a prefrence for the Lambert. Out of the same size bale, I get 3 or so more gallons more from the Lambert. Wet
Be careful with smell if you dump portable AC air outside. I had to build a lung box for my carbon filter to vent outside.
If you run AC and dehu next to each other be aware of where the heat from the dehu is going. I had to make a cardboard vent cover to send heat up because it was hitting my AC and triggering it to turn on and my tent was always way to cold and wasted a lot of electric.
Sphagnum is the first word you look for. Almost all you will see are. Canadian sphagnum peat moss in huge bales/bricks. It’s nothing like moss you are probably thinking of. Not like forest floor moss or Spanish moss. It’s dried out, deep golden brown. It will be encased in plastic. Maybe $15. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I actually run between 4-6 dehums between 2 rooms. I blast them directly at the mini split heads. My HVAC guy told me the AC has a much easier time making hot, dry air cold than hot, humid air cold. Sounds like you just need to turn the thermostat down on your AC. I bet the OP can handle it with AC alone. RD
During lights on it's not a problem but lights off if the AC is turned down to low and the dehu air hits it it gets really cold because the AC thinks it's hotter than it is.
Thank you everyone. You guys come through in the clutch. Got the peat moss and about to source the perlite. Still waiting to see about the dehumidifier etc to see how things work temp and RH wise before i spend more cash....*Thoughts on a truncheon PPM meter? I know its for hydroponics but it can also be used to test the run off from soil or coca...ill assume you guys know this but i had to say so for the one or two of yall who are gonna crack jokes and tell me read slower lol...seriously though shout out to all you guys!
I use the Truchen and it's very reliable. Not so exact but measuring run off it's more than adequate. Plus you can stir with it too.
Yea thats what im hearing, also seeing that its built ford tough incase i need to crack a burglars forehead. I may DM you if i need info on how it works lol. Thanks again guys.
*another question* Probably a dumb question but I spent money before i knew what i was aiming for and just bought stuff...If im going organic, would there be ANY use for "Terpinator" without hurting the microbiology? Im sure you guys know weather or not its toxic...thoughts?
*One more thing atm* I have two spf250s from marshydro. What would be the general consensus on adding two addition red and two additional blue (not blurple) led strips to run vertically to maximize light exposure to the sides of the plants. Before anyone asks, I do plan to do LST and the sea of green but was wondering if anyone else has thought of and tried this idea...i understand wanting and training the plant to focus on the upper growth rather than the rinky dink smaller lower growth, therefore making the buds higher up on the stem more potent...however i dont plan to leave the lower vegetation on the plant, so im thinking even when i add the other strips vertically, the plant will still focus on the upper vegetation bc ill defoliate, yet the sides of the plant will have extra exposure maximizing my grow space and plants production....am i right, wrong, somewhere in the middle?
***Cherry diesel = Creative Thinking*** I was thinking the truncheon would be good to test run off but now im wondering if it would be beneficial to test compost tea levels! Being that i plan to try and adjust everything accordingly, thoughts on the truncheons ability to help me diagnose what needs to be added to my tea?
What I mainly use now is just the test strips and soil samples to get a rough approximation of the soils pH at different levels. Exact is just chasing your tail as the pH is constantly fluxuating from the plant and micro herd. As long as it is in a range of ~6.4 to around 7.0, you're golden. Plus the strips are cheap @~$3 or so. I have a nice meter, but haven't used it in years. Wet
Thanks again wet. I appreciate the info brother. Just got the perlite and about to mix the peat and hot soil all together. Working on pine bark compost, cant find it atm though.