Air Supply Grow Closet

[rhumbot]

Hi all,

I am planning my fist more sophisticated grow. I plan to use an aeroponic system and would like to set it up in a small closet using a 300W LED grow light. The big remaining questions are the air flow system + the smell and the noise resulting from the air supply.

1. Will there be enough fresh air for 4 plants if the fresh air comes from a approx. 50m³ room where the closet is located? Its a room like any other in my flat which will get fresh air but has not ventilation system.

2. If I use an activated charcoal filter; will one still smell the plants in that room?

3. Once the ventilation is installed; can the closet be dampened enough to be completely silent? I use this room as a home office and a guest room. So I don't want to make it unavailable for guests for the next 3 months and would start thinking about other possibilities.

Thank you for your answers in advance!

 

[rupert]

1. Will there be enough fresh air for 4 plants if the fresh air comes from a approx. 50m³ room where the closet is located? Its a room like any other in my flat which will get fresh air but has not ventilation system.

Yes, I'm not good with cubic meters but that sounds like a good sized room. You don't need to actively ventilate the room, tho at times I do point a fan into the room where I have my cabinet. Spend time in the room whenever you can, to boost CO2. Your farming activities will have you in the room fairly often, no doubt.

2. If I use an activated charcoal filter; will one still smell the plants in that room?

Yes. It won't be overpowering but you'll smell something in that room. You're going to be opening up that cabinet at times to work on your project -- more often than you think. And a bit of fragrance will leak out anyway.

3. Once the ventilation is installed; can the closet be dampened enough to be completely silent? I use this room as a home office and a guest room. So I don't want to make it unavailable for guests for the next 3 months and would start thinking about other possibilities.

It won't be silent, but won't be noisy. Your fan will be the loudest thing. I barely notice mine, but it's not silent. Your fan will likely be outside of your cabinet, to draw air out. I believe that's the best practice rather than mounting the fan inside and pushing air out. Plus you want to conserve space in your cabinet, so build it with the fan & filter on the outside if you can. Also... your fan will give off a small amount of heat. Another reason to have it outside the cab. Your light will put out some heat as well, even if it's an LED. Much, much better than the alternatives, tho.

Build your cabinet as tall as you possibly can. A short run of 4-inch diameter duct from cabinet to fan, and a short 4-inch duct from fan to filter. Intake opening should be about 50% bigger than exhaust opening. I have multiple intakes, which altogether total probably 75% more than the size of my 4" exhaust. I don't want to subject the fan to any resistance on the intake side, so it can spend its energy pushing the air through the filter.

 

[rupert]

ps -- I also run a small oscillating fan inside the cabinet. And my LED lights themselves have fans built in.

 

[rhumbot]

Hi rupert,

thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions!

I think I will move the growing to another room. The new setup would be approx. 5-7 square feet grow setup, 10-15 square feet for the rest of the room. The used air will be ventilated through a wall into another room. The fresh air would come from a third room, through a mainly closed door. Would that sound acceptable?

 

[rupert]

The new setup would be approx. 5-7 square feet grow setup, 10-15 square feet for the rest of the room

Sounds like the room with your cabinet is only about 20 sq feet in size. That's quite small, especially if the room is somewhat air tight. So I can see why you are thinking of drawing air from a separate room and also exhausting into a separate room. That seems a bit involved, but it's probably better than drawing from the 20 sq foot room and also exhausting into the 20 sq foot room. Another variation would be to exhaust into a second room, but draw air from the same room as your cabinet. That would work if there is a big crack under the door, or plenty of other air leaks (electrical outlets, etc) that will let plenty of air into the room. Whatever you do, make sure you have more bandwidth on the intake side than you do on the exhaust side. Also, keep in mind that you will use some space outside your cabinet for grow-related equipment, etc. You'll want to have a few shelves at least. And a folding chair to hang out on, read a book, and produce some CO2 for your plants. Just a few minutes in the grow room raises CO2 levels significantly. Humans put out a lot of CO2.

 

[golfer420]

Here is a picture of my little set up and I can add my experience from my first grow.

I have a 30x18x30 grow tent. One opening on the left and two in the back. The one on the left is low, the two on the back are higher.

I have a 300w Mars Hydro old style LED, a small fan, and soon a 6" exhaust for one of the higher openings in the back. The other back opening is for the cords.

It definitely gets warm in there being in the garage. However, I feel if I had this set up inside with the AC the temps inside would be around 80-85. Just having some difficulty keeping it cool when we're in 90 degree weather.

You mention 4 plants. Might be tough doing four plants in a small area with 300w LED. Check out my first grow. I grew two plants under the LED and 4 CFL's. I also used really small pots. Instead of two small pots I'm only doing one plant in a 3gal inside the tent. Good plants can be grown small but I think I'm going to have more success with the bigger pots. I don't think I could fit more than two inside this grow tent.

Good luck with yours!