Evening (or morning!) fellow GS goers. I am new to the scene of growing but have been reading forum posts and guides, almost religiously as my g/f tells me , so I am very excited to get our first grow up and running smoothly! Currently starting out with some bag seeds I've acquired over the last few months to get some experience under my belt and then moving up to some NL's I bought. So I recently purchased a Grow Tent and Grow Light System Kit, but am somewhat stumped on what type/size fan and venting I will need since I will either be putting this in a garage (Which will be very hot in the summer! SE states) or up in our house's addition where it will be left alone and slightly more cool. I have been looking at a few inline 6" fans to fit my lighting but am green (no pun intended lol) when it comes to what I will need to get. Will I be fine with just a fan like that? Or do I absolutely need some kind of ventilation? I read the Ventilation FAQ but would still like some personal opinions on the matter. Like I said, I'm new and just wanna do this right and produce the best yield I can without screwing up too much. My dad suggested getting some type of ventilation duct but wanted some growers' opinions on the matter. I am kind of on a budget since I just shelled out about $250 on the tent, lighting, nutes, etc.
I should reiterate I DO plan on buying an inline fan, but just not sure which one and if the duct tubing is necessary. Thanks!
Hey there i'm currently using the exact same setup as you are,minus the tent, in a 3x1x4ft cab and i have to say ducting and the 6" inline are absolutely necessary as the light puts off a high amount of heat, that will quickly overheat an already warm area considering you said it'll be in a non air-conditioned garage. Even in a 70 degree room i'm having temps of 95 and up at the canopy, with a 160 cfm air booster fan. I would recommend an inline fan with around 400cfm to cool the cool tube itself as that's what my next upgrade will be and also an oscillating fan just for the canopy itself. This is an inexpensive fan i found while bargain hunting, with a speed controller it can be turned down to run slower 6" 530 CFM Inline Exhaust Cooling Fan Vent inch Can Six | eBay Also don't forget your gonna need to buy/make a carbon filter to scrub the smell as well if you haven't already done so
Thanks for the reply. I went ahead and purchased a fan and ducting that I found for a decent price: Amazon.com: 6 in. In-Line Fan - 400 CFM: Home & Kitchen Dundas Jafine AF625ULPZW Aluminum Foil UL Listed and Marked Duct, 6-Inches by 25-Feet - Amazon.com I'm not so much worried about the smell. My parents are ok with it and I live way in the country so I'm not expecting people to be nearby much to smell anything. Do you have a picture of your light setup? I'm sure it will be simple to figure out how to attach it all, but I'd like to get a general idea of how mine's going to look. Like the fan should hook on the outside and slide into the exhaust hole right? Will my Air cool tube just plug right into it or what?
Here's my setup Yeah the ducting slides right on to the Cool Tube and the fan itself. All you'll need is duct tape or clamps to hold it in place
Hey man i bought that exact same fan from them. I just recieved it fri. im still waiting on the air cooled hood i ordered. The fan is better then i expected you'll definately need a speed controler. It is very well built and comes with a 5 year waranty. Good buy.
Nice, your setup looks really well made. I got the 25ft tube just bc I know I'll have to siphon it all through my garage to find the exhaust. 420patient: yeah, I figured as much on the controller, but I was hesitant to buy the one they had bc the reviews say it makes the fan louder and burns the fan out. Which one do you recommend? Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 3
This one is the one i got. SE Electronic Stepless Speed Controller - Amazon.com It works great and the fan is very quiet when using it u just gotta dial it in. It went up $6 since i ordered it tho. That sux.
Yeah that's the one I saw and was worried about. If you say it goes really well with the fan then I'll go ahead and order it now. How often do you change the fan speed? Does it just depend on how hot and humid it is? Ga weather is as fickle as it comes so it changes constantly. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 3
I change it when the light comes on and then again when the light goes off at night. But you could just leave it on the speed that keeps your plants cool when the lights are on and leave it at that, but it could get alittle cool when the lights are off is the reason i cut it down. I grow inside with 70degree temps so humidity isn't an issue for me, you'll have to adjust it for your specific conditions.
Hm, that makes sense. Atm, the weather is average 70-76 outside (unless it rains then it goes back down to 55... Wtf) but once I get my tent setup that won't be a big deal anymore. The tent I'm using is gonna be huge so I'm debating once I can afford it, is buy another one of those iPower light kits that I linked above. On a random note, how soon do you add nutes or anything to your girls? My biggest one is just about to sprout it's third set of "leaves" so they're still small. I have them in little pot plants as of now, but I'm in a grey area when to actually do anything more than water them? Thanks for all your input so far.
I wait awhile before adding anything. Im using FFoF atm and did't feed them for almost 4 weeks. The first couple of grows i was anxious and fed them to early and burned them, this time tey look way better for waitin. and when you do feed start at 1/4% and work it up to full over afew feedings.
Gotcha. Yeah, I think that's gonna be my downfall is impatience. Lol hopefully everything works out all right and I can get a decent harvest by late July. I just ordered a small Fox Farms trio pack off eBay so it should last me through my first grow I hope. If not, at least I know what to look for now. Is the other stuff with investing in or just stick to the main three they have? I know the other supplements are good for it, but im thinking keep it simple for my first time. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 3
I absolutely love Fox Farms line. I used the trio pack as well and the ladies just show awesome growth with it...at some points i did heavy feedings with no problems.You don't need anything else in my opinion for nutes. I used Advanced Nutrients PH perfect system before and would rather use fox farm all day over it. Its cheaper and i think more effective and better bang for the buck I used the ffof soil and mixed it with perlite and vermiculite and do definetly recommend it as well. the soil will feed your plants for a good month before you even really have to add anything .. If your looking for soil without nutes, go with pro-mix and then add the ff trio to it btw thanks for the cudos on the cab and yes keep it simple lol it seems you'll do just fine
I'm glad I ended up going with Fox Farms then, they seemed really good and cheap so I was hesitant. Lol Can perlite and vermiculite be found at home depot or some place like that? My gf got me to buy some organic soil, but I'll probably need more soon anyways so I'll look for some with that stuff built in. You're welcome. It's cool to see other people's ingenuity in their work! Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S 3
i bought it at my local horticulture store but i do believe home depot may carry it, not positive though
Finally got all my stuff in except the aluminum ducting, but I think I'll still set it up tonight and begin a grow journal! I'm really excited that this is all finally coming together.
Id leave it that way man, i don't see it effecting the effectiveness. I was gonna get the exact same one as you, i bit the bullet and spent the extra $10 for the horizon inclosed hood, the kind with the glass door. I kinda regret it cause i feel like it hasn't lowered temps as mush as the cooltube would. Let me know if ya don't mind, how many degrees it drops your room when you get it setup. my temps are currently 80' when light ON max, and 72 at lights OUT. Humidity is 50' max ON and 55' max when lights out. My tent is 3x3x7' with a 400cfm running at medium/high on the speed controler. During the day intake is passive 6" and two 15x4" flaps, i close the flaps at night and just let the 6" be my passive intake point, to make it light proof. Any sugjestions or opinions man? Id really appreciate if you care to compare setups. Im gonna +rep ya on the cooltube, kinda regretin not gettin it... Nice to see a new member that gets it...Your setup's looking good man. You should start a journal. Never took the time myself but i like readin them. Well don't meen to take so much time man, i don't usually take an interest in poeple's set-ups, and this is the longest post iv'e ever typed,. but started thinkin how long it took me thru readin and research to get to the point i am now, which is novice to be kind,lol. But iv'e been able to harvest enough to see that this is somthing that i'll always do. If you have any questions id be happy to help ya find the answer, either by what i know or some readin i'll try my best to help ya out. And maybe in the future you could do the same for somone else? That way we can all have a full stash box ya know. Well let me get off here i gotta check on the girls. Later man. BTW, Welcome to the forums man.