Carbon Scrubber Questions????

[Stanky420]

Ive just started my grow room about 2 weeks ago. Plants are still small so a scrubber is not a HIGH priority at the moment. However I'm trying to plan ahead. My room is a small spare bathroom in my apt. Dimentions are 5x5x8, using the tub as my flowering area. Ive been looking at a scrubber which seems good enough for my size grow room.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Activated-Carbo...hZ006QQcategoryZ43555QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

My question is.....

Can scrubbers be used without venting air out of the grow room? And will it still be affective if its not ventilated..

What are some other meathods i can use cause i rent and cant be drilling holes in the walls and or ceiling.

Any advise and info would be very helpful!!!


Thanks,
Stank

 

[Stanky420]

Oh yeah i forgot to add that I'll only be flowering 4 plants at a time!!

 

[EZB581]

I understand a scrubber will work just fine in an unvented area. But also You need lots of fresh air for your girls. Is there a window in the room?

 

[Stanky420]

Yeah there is a window. But it had to be sealed off for light leaks....

Any ideas???

 

[icough2getoff]

would a window AC unit be feasible? Light doesn't leak through those and I think most have a fan setting. would be better than nothing

 

[Stanky420]

No, its a pretty small window. I will have a fan in the room aswell as the scrubber...That should be good for air circulation..???

 

[EZB581]

OK, Is there a vent fan mounted in the ceiling of this bathroom? Also there are ways to use a window to supply fresh air & still block any light from getting out. Are you in a house or apartment? Is the window where neighbors or passers by can see it easily?

 

[Stanky420]

There is just a ceiling mounted light no fan. The window faces the neighbors house. Thats why i sealed it. I live in an apt.. So im stumped on how to do this.

Thanks everyone for your input...

 

[Stanky420]

New question..... Will running a scrubber (200cfm fan and 4lbs of carbon) be enough to filter smells and circulate air in grow space?

Advise is needed...Any will help....

Thanks again!!!!

 

[MTF-Sandman]

I seriously doubt that scrubber will be enough for a 5x5 area...you should be looking at something in the 20-30lb range IMO.

 

[Stanky420]

even with only 4 plants?

 

[Grownz]

I assume you're using a HPS or MH?? How many watts?
You have to vent that area!! Either that or you need a AC and maybe CO2.
If you don't want AC, CO2 and can't make holes in walls then there's only one way i can think of doing it.
Go buy a new door so you can put a vent in it for a passive intake. You can also install a lock at the same time. More security. This way you can put the original door back on when you move without having to explain vents/locks etc.
For the exhaust, build a box around the window frame and exhaust through the box and into your carbon filter.
This means either the window will need to be open, use security latches. Not recomended.
Or to use a window mounted bathroom extractor vent thingy. LOL. Get abit of glass the fits the window and get a hole cut in it to fit the vent. Same concept as the door. You can put the orignal back in place when you move.
I know it seems like alot of work but if you don't vent or use AC+CO2 you gonna be battling heat problems and your plants won't turn out half as good.

 

[Stanky420]

Thanks everyone for your feedback!!

Grownz.. Im using a 400w HPS....After doing hours of reading lastnight I may have come up with a plan.. Let me know what you think.

I think ill beable run ducting from my living room vent to the grow area....Vent is on the bottom of wall and ducting will be behind it so i wont need to worry about wandering eyes....

Ill use the scrubber as a stand alone hanging it off the ceiling......

I still have some time to test options as im still in veg and not using the HPS... Before i go to 12/12 i plan on running the lamp without the plant's in the room for 12 hours to see what type of temps i get... Then with the scrubber and venting ....Even if i cant execute this plan...I should beable to open the door during the light period, which will be 7pm to 7am and still run the scrubber and fan when the door is closed...I guess ill have to see what happens.....This is def a HUGH learning process

 

[Guest]

two ways to do it inside, Sealed and fresh flow air. In a sealed room, you will need a A/C installed. A/C's to use would be either of 3: window unit (dont sound like you can use it), stand alone like in computer rooms (they have a 4-6" out duct), but these require a fresh air intake source and will vent cannabis smell rapidly. So a carbon scruber is needed in that situation, but will need to be "over powered" due to the A/C outventing. The last one is a Mini-split system, but your in an appartment so that is out the door. I would do what you are trying with the Appartments build in A/C duct first. Then if that didnt work i would go to the portable A/C unit they have at Home depot from 200-800 usd, and use the kit provided to send the hot air out the little window. You will just have to make a custome light block is all.
Also if your growing in your bathtub, its sounds like your going to use the tub drain for the plant runoff. Please, please use 100% organic firtz to feed your plants. "Our" Auqalife will thank you so very much.. Good luck , be well..

Cannabismavin,

 

[Stanky420]

two ways to do it inside, Sealed and fresh flow air. In a sealed room, you will need a A/C installed. A/C's to use would be either of 3: window unit (dont sound like you can use it), stand alone like in computer rooms (they have a 4-6" out duct), but these require a fresh air intake source and will vent cannabis smell rapidly. So a carbon scruber is needed in that situation, but will need to be "over powered" due to the A/C outventing. The last one is a Mini-split system, but your in an appartment so that is out the door. I would do what you are trying with the Appartments build in A/C duct first. Then if that didnt work i would go to the portable A/C unit they have at Home depot from 200-800 usd, and use the kit provided to send the hot air out the little window. You will just have to make a custome light block is all.
Also if your growing in your bathtub, its sounds like your going to use the tub drain for the plant runoff. Please, please use 100% organic firtz to feed your plants. "Our" Auqalife will thank you so very much.. Good luck , be well..

Cannabismavin,

Hey Canna....thanks for the info.

Ive thought about using an A/C unit but im trying to keep my cost low...200 to 800 is a bit much for venting on my budget... And the problem with the window is that it faces a neighbors home, even if i can seal the light thru a vent in the window im more concerned with the noise that will create.....

Ive decided to cut a hole in the dry wall to run a duct for the room outside of the grow in.. Ill just have to fix the hole before i move. Which is no time soon... Question about where to cut the hole.....

Should i cut hole near floor or ceiling?

As for the drainage you mentioned..... 100% organic all the way.....

 

[icough2getoff]

Should i cut hole near floor or ceiling?

If you're sucking air out, near the ceiling would probably make the most sense since you would be sucking the hottest air in your grow room out. If you're bringing air in, then you might be sucking the warmest air from the other room into your grow but it would probably still be cooler than the air in your grow room. The ideal situation would be to suck the air near the ceiling out and bring air from the floor level in the other room in, probably through some kind of passive intake like some vents, or darkroom louvers installed at the bottom of the bedroom door (an extra door like Grownz mentionioned)

 

[Stanky420]

If you're sucking air out, near the ceiling would probably make the most sense since you would be sucking the hottest air in your grow room out. If you're bringing air in, then you might be sucking the warmest air from the other room into your grow but it would probably still be cooler than the air in your grow room. The ideal situation would be to suck the air near the ceiling out and bring air from the floor level in the other room in, probably through some kind of passive intake like some vents, or darkroom louvers installed at the bottom of the bedroom door (an extra door like Grownz mentionioned)

Thanks icough.....

When you mention passive vents, you simply mean vents cut into the door? Or should they be attatched to a fan I.E pulling or pushing the air...

Are there any methods to light sealing these vents....

I REALLY NEED TO GET A DIGI SO YOU ALL CAN SEE WHAT IM WORKING WITH HERE...ALL I HAVE TO TAKE PICS IS MY MOBILE PHONE....

Again thanks for all the help.... Its very much needed

 

[icough2getoff]

By passive intake I mean an intake cut into the door that doesn't have a fan attached to it. The only thing bringing the air in is the negative pressure you create by blowing the air out. In general they should be 1 1/2 to 2X the size of your outtake. With darkroom louvers (which are lightproof) they restrict some airflow so I would go with at the very least double what your outtake is, and more ideally. In case you don't already know, you can figure what the surface area of your outtake is by this formula. pie x radius squared, or 3.14 times radius times radius.

Darkroom louvers
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=darkroom+louvers&btnG=Search+Froogle

 

[Stanky420]

By passive intake I mean an intake cut into the door that doesn't have a fan attached to it. The only thing bringing the air in is the negative pressure you create by blowing the air out. In general they should be 1 1/2 to 2X the size of your outtake. With darkroom louvers (which are lightproof) they restrict some airflow so I would go with at the very least double what your outtake is, and more ideally. In case you don't already know, you can figure what the surface area of your outtake is by this formula. pie x radius squared, or 3.14 times radius times radius.

Darkroom louvers
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=darkroom+louvers&btnG=Search+Froogle

Thanks again ICough.......

So basically i should have a passive intake say at the base of the door and a outtake near the top on the grow room pulling from the ceiling.

Correct me if im wrong...... Outtake will be 4" so intake 8x4 should be good enough!!

Only issue now is light leaking thru the passive vent.....

What are some suggestions

 

[Lucid]

stanky .... build a light trap .... heres an example.. with a fan .... you dont really need a fan .. hope you get the idea....