4x4 grow tent with 600w hps, How should I ventilate?

I have a 4x4x6.5 grow tent, and a 600w 6"a/c XtraSun with 120v lumatek ballast,
I am trying to figure the best way to ventilate my tent efficiently. I want to keep light as cool as possible to keep as close to plants as possible. How many fans will I need, were should i place fans, etc. ??????

LRGenius420 said:

I have a 4x4x6.5 grow tent, and a 600w 6"a/c XtraSun with 120v lumatek ballast,
I am trying to figure the best way to ventilate my tent efficiently. I want to keep light as cool as possible to keep as close to plants as possible. How many fans will I need, were should i place fans, etc. ??????

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Im no pro so i cant promise this works as good for a 600w but it should. Everyone ive heard from says it would work just fine http://www.hydroponics-hydroponics.com/pd-150mm-ventilation-kit.cfm

I have same question.. same setup in Growlab 120 same Lumatech Digital ballast mine is dimmable.. 600 watt maximum.. looking at around $150 on ebay for 4inch and $200 -250 for 6 inch.. both with carbon filter.. I wanna be cheap and get the 4 inch but my brain says get the 6 inch... 8 would pry be overkill according to the formula too.. 1/2 cfm per the total wattage... 600 watts need around 300 cfm.. but I wanna know if around 200 or so cfm would work well enough which is what you'll get outta a 4inch fan

I have an idea of the equipment i need, i just need to know the best way to ventilate the light and room together with the least amount of fans

I use a 6" fan to vent and cool my light with basically an identical setup. If you're worried about it being too big, you can always use a fan controller. I believe its always better to have too much ventilation than not enough.

And if you're going through a carbon scrubber, you definitely want the bigger fan.

good input I appreciate it, where should i put the fan? Ive seen some people put the their incline fan on the end of there can filter, or ive seen them put it outside. does the air go through the can filter than the light than out of the tent all in one line, than my intake is somewhere near the bottom correct?

or is there some way I can elimate the cost of an extra fan for intake at the bottom out take.

No need for an intake fan. You really want negative air pressure inside the tent to keep the stink contained inside. A single 6" fan will be plenty to ventilate the light and tent.

I run my ventilation like this:
Carbon Filter --> Fan --> Hood --> Exhaust

As long as you are pulling air through the carbon filter, it doesn't really matter if the fan is pulling or pushing air through the hood.

yeah im building the same setup .. 4x4 flower room possably a slightly longer veg room alongside if i can afford it ..
you realy think no intake? i was thinking of just putting a few small holes down by the floor around the walls .. just so the air can be pulle dover the leaves and up to the exit fan ...
where do you have your filtered air pumped?
i might have to build my exit fan into a box and fit that into an open window.. cant be making holes in my place..

Oh .. and how many plants do you grow in there .. with out it being crowded.. im thinking 9 - 12

Day to Daze said:

yeah im building the same setup .. 4x4 flower room possably a slightly longer veg room alongside if i can afford it ..
you realy think no intake? i was thinking of just putting a few small holes down by the floor around the walls .. just so the air can be pulle dover the leaves and up to the exit fan ...
where do you have your filtered air pumped?
i might have to build my exit fan into a box and fit that into an open window.. cant be making holes in my place..

Oh .. and how many plants do you grow in there .. with out it being crowded.. im thinking 9 - 12

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Yeah, you want a passive intake like you are thinking. An intake fan is completely unnecessary.

The vented air is pumped into my bedroom where the tent stands. I would vent it outside since the window is right next to it but it is at ground level and people walk by, so it is a security issue. At least it keeps the house toasty in the winter.

Number of plants depends on your growing style and how big you plan on letting them get.

yeah .. do you not have an issue with smell in the house then or is the carbon filter pretty efective? im thinking larger plants ( probabaly lolipoping late veg/early flower) if all goes well (hydro, co2, 400mh veg and 600hps flower ) im hoping/praying i can turn 9 big bud into a 1kilo or 2.2lb or whatever it works out at ..

I'm only three weeks into flower so they aren't stinking a lot yet but it doesn't smell at all outside the tent. No odor issues whatsoever.

You won't get anywhere near a kilo even under completely ideal conditions. Its a high yielding strain but you'd be lucky to pull much more than a lb from the space and light you're working with, regardless of how many plants you stuff in there.

I run my ventilation like this:
Carbon Filter --> Fan --> Hood --> Exhaust

Answered my question pretty damn well.

sweet, what if I give it a fresh air flow from the a/c unit in my attic? it sounds like if the amount of air being sucked in is of lesser power than your exhaust, I will be ok right?

Yep, that should work just fine.

I have a 5x5 tent w 600w HPS. See pics. As long as the room stays about 70 degrees, the tent never goes over 80 degrees.it stays at about 79

in a 6x6x7 will this be all i need
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ok been reading viewing the site for a lil while now.Im ready..i think.Was going to get the BCN Bloombox but some one told me i can set up a cool mini room for 900 and have everything but wATER and plants. a hydro store that shall go nameless for now even told me he will build this room for me. can sone 1 please read this list??? trust you guys more then the salemen you know. 600whps ballast,lumenaire reflector,600HPS BULB/mh600bulb.6in inlinefan,goblin carbin filter, 24 hr timer,felxible air duct 6in.milwaukee ph600 ph pen. gh ph down. alaska fish emulsion. botanicare pure blend pro grow. advanced micro .advanced bloom. advanced carboload . advanced big bud. advanced tarantula . sunshine pro soil. and my space is half a bedroom/OFFICE what do you guys think and he told me with the space and the 600 i can get a pound or more if i grow right. please tell me what you think

and do i have to vent the air outside? or just out of grow space

Bigger is always better! The 4" is a waste of your time, you've got a 6" reflector!

I grow in basically the same set up as Sick and I have 3 suckass fans that barely keep my heat under control compared to Sick's badass 400cfm 6" that keeps his shit perfect.

The fan controller is a great solution if you feel the 6" is too much. Look harder on Ebay too, you should be able to find fans for half what you quoted.

6" for 140 - http://cgi.ebay.com/Inline-Fan-6-Active-Air-Quiet-400-CFM-Free-Shipping_W0QQitemZ280474693715QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414d983053

Look up stanley blowers. They are cheap fans that will do the job. I bought two at Walmart for $20 each when they were on clearance.

I wouldnt recommend the stanley blowers or pushing air through your reflector. i have the same size tent with the same light. you want to put the fan at the top... filter -> hood -> fan-> pulling/blowing that shit somewhere else other then your room or else youre asking for mold. perferably the attic.

I have this fan and this filter. Its loud as fuck but does the job. My tent stays only 10 degrees warmer then the room its in.

fan: http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/active-air-400-cfm-inline-duct-fan-p-2754.html

filter:http://www.atlantishydroponics.com/Carbon-Filters-and-Air-Purification/Can-Filter-6-Can-Filter-66-412-CFM-max.asp

Why are you filtering the air coming into your tent? Wouldn't it make more sense to filter it on the way out, eliminating the smells LEAVING your tent?

If you get a legit 400+ cfm fan for your 600 you should be set.

If you don't care about smell run it exactly like Sick did. Like this:
Carbon Filter --> Fan --> Hood --> Exhaust

If you care about smell run it with the carbon filter being the last thing it runs through on it's way out of the tent. So it would be:
duct comes in from outside > hood > fan > carbon filter exhausting clean scrubbed air out of the tent

Note: Sick's way will eliminate MOST of the smell, like he said he doesn't have any issues right now