A Few Ventilation Questions

[420Girl]

Hi guys, a little advice please! It's my first grow...

Strain: 2x Northern Lights auto
Grow space: 90x60x90cm grow tent (HxDxW)
Lights: 96w T5
Ventilation: Mini 6" desk fan
Light cycle: 12/12

So my question: Is a 6" desk fan sufficient for a space like this? And do I need to keep it on CONSTANTLY while the lights are on? At the moment I have a few periodic breaks of an hour at a time where the fan is off (but the lights stay on) to give my plants a break. I also try and keep the vent on the side of the tent open a little bit as much as I can to help let some fresh air in and so it doesn't get too hot in there. I do worry a bit about how hot it gets while the flap is closed and the fan is off though. I'll be getting a thermometer shortly but my estimation is that the temp is about 80-85 degrees.

I've seen plenty of pics of other much smaller grow spaces with little desk fans in them so my tent in comparison to those is actually quite big. I'm not sure whether they have any other form of ventilation though as you can't always see them clearly in pics/video.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Locoschmoko]

Hi guys, a little advice please! It's my first grow...

Strain: 2x Northern Lights auto
Grow space: 90x60x90cm grow tent (HxDxW)
Lights: 96w T5
Ventilation: Mini 6" desk fan
Light cycle: 12/12

So my question: Is a 6" desk fan sufficient for a space like this? And do I need to keep it on CONSTANTLY while the lights are on? At the moment I have a few periodic breaks of an hour at a time where the fan is off (but the lights stay on) to give my plants a break. I also try and keep the vent on the side of the tent open a little bit as much as I can to help let some fresh air in and so it doesn't get too hot in there. I do worry a bit about how hot it gets while the flap is closed and the fan is off though. I'll be getting a thermometer shortly but my estimation is that the temp is about 80-85 degrees.

I've seen plenty of pics of other much smaller grow spaces with little desk fans in them so my tent in comparison to those is actually quite big. I'm not sure whether they have any other form of ventilation though as you can't always see them clearly in pics/video.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Hi ☺ are you using the 6" desk fan as an extraction or just to move air around in the tent?

Do you have anything pulling air into the tent?

If you are growing autos you will want to increase your light schedule to 18+ hours on and a dark period... I run my light 20/4.

Loco

 

[Locoschmoko]

I forgot to add, most people will use a fan to keep air moving within the grow area, it helps prevent mold spores from settling and also mimics a natural breeze so the plants tend to get stronger stems to combat the constant wriggling

Loco

 

[420Girl]

Hi Loco, thanks for your reply. The fan is just moving the air around the tent; I don't have intake or extraction which is why i keep the ventilation flaps open as often as possible, not sure how much difference this makes though! I know it can't possibly replace proper intake/extraction fans.

I'd read that you can give autos as little as 8-10 hours of light and I don't really want to keep the lights on for too long so I decided to just settle on 12/12. Although I'm bound to get a bigger yield on 18/6, as this is my first grow my intention isn't to get a massive yield, rather to just get something, even if it's an average to below average yield, to me that will be a success

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Hi 420Girl! Welcome!

You have autos so in your case you can leave door open for ventilation. With a 6" fan circulating inside tent should create enough mixing of air from outside for tent.

Auto can grow at any light setting, but they do prefer longer light cycle. The ruderalis species they are bred from evolved to start flowering long before days shorten to 12 hours. Going with 16/8 cycle I think will improve quality as well as yield.

 

[420Girl]

Cool thanks for the info KingstonRabbi, maybe I'll adjust my light cycle then.