Advice - carbon filter users

I'm looking to do my first grow in a 6x6x7 tent with a 1000w hung vertically.

My main concern is smell because I love a nice pungent, earthy, skunky strain like Afghan or Cheese. I've done a lot of reading here, and it seems to me that there are a fair amount of people who are running large carbon filters for their room size, and still have a smell issue.

Does a higher CFM carbon filter = less smell?

I was considering getting a 400 - 500 cfm fan for this room and running it at 65% along with a matching 400 - 500 cfm carbon filter. If a carbon filter that's rated at double the CFM's, helps neutralize the smell further, I will have no problem spending more on it.

I know about Ona Gel and will probably put a few cups of that inside the room that I'll be exhausting to, but would prefer a carbon filter to do 99% of the work if possible.

The room I'll be putting the tent into is much larger than the tent itself so I can load that room with Ona Gel if needed, but would prefer not to have to spend money and time replacing Ona Gel if I can get a carbon filter capable of the job.


Advice please?

you need to match the CFM of the fan to the filter. Any more or less will result in odor.

Thanks.

I assume I need to run the fan at the CFM of the carbon filter then, correct? For example a 450 CFM fan running at 100% for a 450 CFM filter.

If the one filter doesn't completely remove the odor, is there any harm or advantage in adding a second filter after the first one, seperated by some ducting?

Anyone know?

i dont see why having extra cfm would make the room smell anymore. i think you just might exchange the air to quickly with too much CFM so the plants dont have enought time to process the air in the room but should still get rid of the smell. . I can look on my box from the filter and see what it says. Raining right now so ill do it later cuz its outside.

You need to have a filter that is rated more cfm than your fan IMO.. I have a 500cfm filter and I run it with a 400cfm fan. I have NO smell issues at all. If you are pulling more cfm's than your filter is rated for you will have issues.

stumpjumper said:

You need to have a filter that is rated more cfm than your fan IMO.. I have a 500cfm filter and I run it with a 400cfm fan. I have NO smell issues at all. If you are pulling more cfm's than your filter is rated for you will have issues.

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This is what I was thinking. Didn't make sense to me that a higher CFM filter would have issues.

Thanks.

check out the phresh filter site.. they have a chart on there that you simply plug in your room sizes and it will tell you exactly what size fan and filter combo that you'd need for your grow space...
the reasoning i've heard that having a too big fan size leaving smell in the room is that the air will move to quickly through the filter and it won't have enough time to go all throughout the carbon so it won't be as clean as it would have been if the fan would have been slightly slower..

racerboy71 said:

check out the phresh filter site.. they have a chart on there that you simply plug in your room sizes and it will tell you exactly what size fan and filter combo that you'd need for your grow space...
the reasoning i've heard that having a too big fan size leaving smell in the room is that the air will move to quickly through the filter and it won't have enough time to go all throughout the carbon so it won't be as clean as it would have been if the fan would have been slightly slower..

Click to expand...

Yea, I understand a fan of too high of CFM will not work on a filter of too low a CFM. I mean the other way around though. For example a 250 CFM fan on a 1000 CFM filter shouldn't have smell issues, then again I've seen people who have a higher CFM filter with a lower CFM fan and are complaining of smell.

I did check out that presh filter site, the thing is, if you use that calculator then you will be running a fan very near it's max power level, which I would think would stress the fan over an extended period of time. I personally would like to run a fan at 50% - 60% rather than a smaller fan at 90% - 100%.

What I am trying to figure out is if I run a 550 CFM fan at 50% with a 550 CFM filter, will there be smell issues? My grow room would be 252 cubic feet so a 550 CFM fan running at 50% would be fine at that speed I think.