Happy Valentines Day Hydro Lovers!!!

Check out this cool "I love You" Bean I found 

It is started and growing in a 4x4 Grodan Cube

 

Don't get caught being Stale: Ventilation

Ventilation and air flow is one of the most important elements of harvesting a successful crop. Not only do you want to make sure that your grow room is receiving ample amount of fresh, cool air, but also that you get out the stale, warm air that hangs out in the upper level of your room. Everyone knows that plants need carbon dioxide and oxygen for Photosynthesis. I'm not sure how well you would do if you couldn't eat. In a not so ideal environment your plants stomata can become clogged and make it very difficult to do its job and keep itself healthy. Fresh Air is the easiest element to come by, and its free! So no excuses.

The warm, humid air hanging around can cause your plants growth to become stagnant and make a great environment for disease to arise. Ideally your intake and exhaust fans would be on opposite sides of the room so the air is pulled across your plants.So yes, my drawing in slightly off but you get the point. My exhaust fan is placed high in order to catch the hot, stale air right where it likes to gather. Both of my fans would be on a thermostat so that they will automatically kick on when the room reaches, lets say 75 Degrees which gives me a nice even balance of temperature.

Ventilation fans are measured in CFM, Cubic Feet per minute. Ideally your fan should replace the volume of your room in less then five minutes. You can figure out the cubic feet of your room by multiplying the rooms Length x Width x Height


It is also necessary to to have an oscillating fan to move around and mix up the air. Without this, you will create a stagnant area of stale air the is most likely right at plant level in between your intake and exhaust. It is important that the oxygen and Co2 around your plants is replaced and circulated regularly.  The oscillating fan also helps harden up your plants, making them move around helps your stems get nice and strong.

You can also take advantage of the flanges on your hood that allow you to cool directly from the heat source. This will eliminate a lot of hot air going into the room from the start, making it easier to cool.

If you are wanting to exhaust through a Carbon filter you can easily figure out the proper size by calculating your CFM with the formula above. Each filter supplies you with two CFM ratings. One being for ventilation purposes and the other for scrubbing.

If you are Scrubbing your room, you are simply setting the fan on the filter and letting it recirculate through out the room. If you are exhausting you are pushing it directly outside the room. Remember when you have air pushing out you will need a comparable fan putting air back in the room or you create a negative pressure. Those of you with tents or home made boxes made of poly will find this rather annoying when your walls suck in and you loose a foot of space on each side.