Question on filter and odor control

I will be attempting my first indoor grow and will be using a tent with filter for odor control. When the timer cycles to off and lights and everything else turns off,
including fan w/filter, won't the smell easily be detectable again?

Thanks for any help, I'm trying to digest as much info as possible.

fan stays on.

if you buy a fan controller you can reduce speed at this time. If not, stays on full power with lights off.

Yep fan/filter run 24/7

Wow, thanx for fast replies. If odor reduction is a 24/7 process, isn't that going to create substantial additional cost?

Oddjob said:

Wow, thanx for fast replies. If odor reduction is a 24/7 process, isn't that going to create substantial additional cost?

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Yes, but offset by the Ganja produced.

also, its not just odour reduction. Its essential to remove spent air.

Substantial? I'm in the US and power is not that expensive. A fan is just a few watts and not to load bering on the breaker box. I would think it would have a minimal effect on your energy bill

Oddjob said:

Wow, thanx for fast replies. If odor reduction is a 24/7 process, isn't that going to create substantial additional cost?

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The plants do not smell very much when the lights are off in low heat compared to when lights are on, however it's still a very good idea to keep a constant supply of clean air 24/7 moving through
your plants
turning your fans off when the lights off leaving the air static could lead to problems with mold etc

Ok, good points and well taken and I understand that it is good as well for heat and humidity extraction from the grow area. Well no sense on creating another thread to ask on advice.
I'm going to start with about a $1500 USD budget. Here's what I'm thinking:

- Secret Jardin DR120 - 4x4x6.5 ft
- Pro Grow 400 LED or possibly 600w MH+HPS w/digital ballast, but I would like to avoid the heat with HID set-up
- Bubbleponics 6 gallon set-up Or Wilma 8 Pot
- Filter for odor control, running 24/7 of course

Please add any ideas of what I can to do to create an optimal grow environment. I've read alot here and quire frankly my head is spinning from info overload lol

Well LEDs seem to suck unless they are the DIY type. My 600 bulbs didnt heat up my 3x2 closet much at all. I used the AC from my house and it gets 85 tops I keep the house at 75. I do have a cool tube though

Oddjob said:

Ok, good points and well taken and I understand that it is good as well for heat and humidity extraction from the grow area. Well no sense on creating another thread to ask on advice.
I'm going to start with about a $1500 USD budget. Here's what I'm thinking:

- Secret Jardin DR120 - 4x4x6.5 ft
- Pro Grow 400 LED or possibly 600w MH+HPS w/digital ballast, but I would like to avoid the heat with HID set-up
- Bubbleponics 6 gallon set-up Or Wilma 8 Pot
- Filter for odor control, running 24/7 of course

Please add any ideas of what I can to do to create an optimal grow environment. I've read alot here and quire frankly my head is spinning from info overload lol

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1. You'll need a reflector. IMO make it an air-cooled hood.
2. Get a 600W dimmable. Just in case you decide you're running too hot.
3. 1500 is a decent budget. Strongly consider purchasing T5 lighting for clones and vegging.

HPS + MH Over LED ANYDAY.

LED cant compare to HID lights in flower. at least i am still to see it...
i have a DR120 and its awesome. Make sure to get DR and not DS (Darkstreet) the extra money is worth it!

Keep the advice coming...

I thought I've seen some killer results with the Pro Grow 400, price point ain't bad at $579. But there seems to be two camps on lighting, either LED is the bomb or it sux ass. I'm thinking either a Quantum or Lumatek dimmable ballast. I hope you guys are right about going 600w HID, it does seem to create bigger and more dense buds.

I've noticed there are two basic kinds of reflectors, one that looks like a tube and another that looks more like the typical housing/reflector. Is one easier to keep the light cool over the other? I know I can also draw out the heat with a fan and filter, but was wondering if having room air drawn straight through the light itself would be better. Some of the carbon filters seem expensive.

What do you guys think about CFL's? They seem to work well, as long as you use a high enough collective wattage and lumens?

What do you think of the of the package deals out there...ie grow tent, lights, fans...etc

Oddjob said:

Keep the advice coming...

I thought I've seen some killer results with the Pro Grow 400, price point ain't bad at $579. But there seems to be two camps on lighting, either LED is the bomb or it sux ass. I'm thinking either a Quantum or Lumatek dimmable ballast. I hope you guys are right about going 600w HID, it does seem to create bigger and more dense buds.

I've noticed there are two basic kinds of reflectors, one that looks like a tube and another that looks more like the typical housing/reflector. Is one easier to keep the light cool over the other? I know I can also draw out the heat with a fan and filter, but was wondering if having room air drawn straight through the light itself would be better. Some of the carbon filters seem expensive.

What do you guys think about CFL's? They seem to work well, as long as you use a high enough collective wattage and lumens?

What do you think of the of the package deals out there...ie grow tent, lights, fans...etc

Click to expand...

LED - if you buy you'll be regretting it. HID all the way.

CFL , OK ...... T5 , BEST

Oddjob said:

Thanks for any help, I'm trying to digest as much info as possible.

Click to expand...

Moebius said:

1. You'll need a reflector. IMO make it an air-cooled hood.
2. Get a 600W dimmable. Just in case you decide you're running too hot.
3. 1500 is a decent budget. Strongly consider purchasing T5 lighting for clones and vegging.

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hey moebius!

I'd like to add my two cents - i agree with moebius, get an air cooled hood and hook a fan up to it, a separate fan from the intake fan if at all possible (and obviously not the filter fan, because this would defeat the point of pulling through the filter, unless you get one of those new inline filters and put it after the reflector, but I don't suggest it), this way you can run HID in your tent. and also agree with the rating - go with 600 watts, get a lumatek, they're great, silent, they have a fan attachment accessory to help cool them but I would keep it outside the tent to reduce heat. they're dimmable and also have a 'super lumens' switch, haha. the 600 is like 250.

Also add as many oscillating fans as you can in your tent, this will help temperature, keep down humidity and help avoid mold, as well as strengthen your plants and increase yield! think of all the wind you've experienced growing outside, that was actually beneficial.

As far as T5's go - there's two kinds of housings, the T5 designer ones that are expensive as hell, and then there's third party ones - those are all you need and like half the price. But I use regular old daylight fluorescent bulbs from home depot and got the housings there too. cost me a fraction of buying the horticulture stuff. i only use them while my clones are in the cloner, or while my seedlings are waiting to grow their second leaf set. as soon as clones are potted they go under 600 watt metal halide, 3 feet away. after a few days you can move the light a foot closer. same thing with the seedlings, after their second leaf set grows they go under a 600 metal halide, but this time from 4 feet away, i wait about a week after that before moving the light closer. Trust me, you will cut your veg time down a lot going to HID so quickly, and if you do it right your plants will love you and just grow fast as hell. here's a link to a grow of mine with some pics of cuttings grown this way - https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/547649-growing-lotsss-miniature-plants-7x7x9-2.html#post7752207

Lastly - given that your budget is only 1500 and you haven't said anything about nutrients, and it's your first indoor grow, i'd scratch the hydro setup and stick with soil, if you know soil from outside you'll be better off, and you can use the money instead to buy great nutrients and pesticides / fungicides!

cheers ,
-j

Oddjob said:

Keep the advice coming...

I thought I've seen some killer results with the Pro Grow 400, price point ain't bad at $579. But there seems to be two camps on lighting, either LED is the bomb or it sux ass. I'm thinking either a Quantum or Lumatek dimmable ballast. I hope you guys are right about going 600w HID, it does seem to create bigger and more dense buds.

I've noticed there are two basic kinds of reflectors, one that looks like a tube and another that looks more like the typical housing/reflector. Is one easier to keep the light cool over the other? I know I can also draw out the heat with a fan and filter, but was wondering if having room air drawn straight through the light itself would be better. Some of the carbon filters seem expensive.

What do you guys think about CFL's? They seem to work well, as long as you use a high enough collective wattage and lumens?

What do you think of the of the package deals out there...ie grow tent, lights, fans...etc

Click to expand...

Everyone else is shouting HID, I agree, won't beat the horse anymore. CFL's are only good for vegging in a closet or computer or one of those deals.

As far as reflectors - yes there are cool tubes, hoods, batwings, and parabolics (or umbrellas). There's also octogonal air cooled hoods but those aren't very popular in the states, and kinda pricy. Great lumen distribution though. The cool tubes are the tubes you referred to - there's also air cooled hood reflectors that not only have flanges to duct the hood, but have an internal tube around the bulb to increase cooling efficiency. You can also add heat shields on the outside of your reflectors, and there's even water cooled cool tube systems, but they cost a ton. I'd suggest getting a wide air cooled hood. Given the tight space and lots of reflectivity you'll have a cool tube would work fine but hoods are better any day of the week (the right hood that is, the cheap ones that are narrow and tall are sheit)

Carbon filters are expensive, but necessary. I run a 40 pound and a 20 pound carbon filter and i'm adding a third to circulate internally in my flowering room, and i have a handful of ozium auto sprayers outside my room. That's all to conceal ONE 3x15 foot flowering bed. It costs a lot. It beats having to shut down at a moments notice, or worse, the big house. Also bud isn't the only thing that smells. The fungicides I use are so much more pungent than herb, and I foliar spray nutrients too. Believe me, serenade sticks out like sore thumb.

Moebius said:

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sorry moebius I have to disagree on this diagram - I see people doing this a lot, putting their intake at the bottom of the grow. ideally your intake is cold air and should be coming in at the top, cold air molecules are smaller more densely arranged than warm air molecules, so the cold air falls down. to make sure this happens i also have oscillating fans high up pointed downwards. i've had my intake at the bottom before, moving it to the top cut down a few more degrees.

and as far as putting the carbon filter above the plants to reduce smell the most - that's a myth. put it anywhere in the grow, so long as the room isn't like 4 times bigger than the plant bed. I still have mine high up, because it helps draw out the hottest air in the room, and also get it out of the way, if you have a bunch of fans that are also pushing the air in your room downwards and you're getting plenty of circulation then you don't have to worry about having the intake and the outtake both being in the ceiling, but in a small space like your tent you might want to put the filter on the ground, if there's room. i've never messed with tents so i don't know if you can manipulate where the intake / outtake is or if it comes predetermined.

Heat rises. Use that to the advantage of your equipment. Place the exhaust vent high, fresh air intake low. Even if power shuts off there can be a siphon-type flow of air this way. The less load/strain on your expensive and hard-to-replace gear keeps it working cooler and longer. Place filters so your intake/exhaust lines have as few bends or turns as possible. Every bend or even rise the air hits it slows it. And folks, dryer sheets clamped on the end of the exhaust vent with alligator clips - do it if needed. Your neighbors smell that "Spring Fresh" scent and stop thinking about it quickly if they ever start.

hotrodharley said:

Heat rises. Use that to the advantage of your equipment. Place the exhaust vent high, fresh air intake low. Even if power shuts off there can be a siphon-type flow of air this way. The less load/strain on your expensive and hard-to-replace gear keeps it working cooler and longer. Place filters so your intake/exhaust lines have as few bends or turns as possible. Every bend or even rise the air hits it slows it. And folks, dryer sheets clamped on the end of the exhaust vent with alligator clips - do it if needed. Your neighbors smell that "Spring Fresh" scent and stop thinking about it quickly if they ever start.

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agree with putting the exhaust up high, but i also get better results having the intake up high, this is only with larger rooms though where the exhaust and intake are far away from each other so it doesn't make a b-line from fan to the other, or if you're in a really big room and are running AC with ducting and multiple vents

ive grown decent buds in led's that cant be discerned from hid's. because i bought top of the line led's. so i know from personal experience that anyone who boohoos on led's prolly hasn't grown in them. as far as the odor control you can spend a million bux on vents and fans but the human olfactory sense can detect even a few ppm in a room. and when your plants are near harvest...i dont care how much you spend on fans and vents...you're gonna smell it almost anywhere in your house