Grow Tent Setup Help!

[Bobblunt]

I have recently set up my 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 grow tent. I have a 5" inlet fan and carbon filter placed in top left side of tent with ducting running down and out the bottom left side hole. The intake ducting comes from the wall vent above my tent and drops down into the tent about 6" in the top hole.I can't seem to get the temp to stay at a certain temp, it climbs within 20 mins to 31, 32, even 33 ..... HELP!

Also I barely feel any air coming out from the cf and fan when placing my hand in front of ducting outside the tent, feels warmer than room temp but no real blow, not even enough to rattle an arm hair. Is this right? Tent sides aren't noticeably pulling in at all either.

I don't understand how to solve this as moved things around and still same problem.

Someone please help me!

Thanks guys!

 

[blackcrow]

Can you post a photo of your setup? Also, what is the CFM of your blower on your filter? Are you pushing or pulling air through the filter? Do you have another fan for your light, or are you only using the one 5" fan?

 

[Icemud]

Photos would definitely help but I will give it a shot..

Here's the link on how to post photos'...
Photo Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos

So what it sounds like to me is your fan isn't powerful enough to bring much air into your carbon scrubber to be pushed out of your tent. Try disconnecting your carbon scrubber and try again to see if you feel any air coming out of your ducting. If you now feel air with your carbon scrubber disconnected, you may need a more powerful fan.

Also I read that your air intake goes into your top vent hole and only drops 6". I would switch your air output hose from the bottom to the top hole, and let your air intake ducting go to the bottom hole. This will allow the cooler fresh air to come in and circulate better through your foliage, and allow the hot air to be evacuated...

From what you described, I would try these things and see if it helps. Also, what type of light are you using? If you can post photos it may help with the diagnosis too.

 

[Bobblunt]

I have the fan pulling air through the filter inside the tent with the ducting out of the bottom side hole of tent, I have tried putting it with the ducting going out of the top hole but didn't make a difference at all.

I have a Lumii 600w Dual Spectrum kit, not an air cooled reflector but from what I researched one wouldn't of been needed, is this right?

Also before I connected the fan to the filter I tried it into the wall on it's own and it had a fair bit of blow but now it's connected you don't feel a blow out of the ducting out of the tent....

Will load some pics asap!

Thanks for the replys.

 

[David Bowman]

It sounds like your fan is not powerful enough to adequately draw air through your carbon filter, which can significantly cut down the CFM rating of a fan. For instance, I have a 130 CFM in my 40 CF grow tent and with nearly 600 watts of CFLs the temperature would rise to 90 degrees. Now that I have reduced the wattage to a little over 400, the temps max out between 80-82 degrees. I wouldn't have thought that with over 3X the volume of the room air changing per minute I would have any temperature problems, but the CFM rating is without the carbon filter. I'm probably getting half that at best with the carbon filter attached to the fan. Also, as mentioned earlier, it is best to extract from above since hot air rises.

 

[Icemud]

I have the fan pulling air through the filter inside the tent with the ducting out of the bottom side hole of tent, I have tried putting it with the ducting going out of the top hole but didn't make a difference at all.

I have a Lumii 600w Dual Spectrum kit, not an air cooled reflector but from what I researched one wouldn't of been needed, is this right?

Also before I connected the fan to the filter I tried it into the wall on it's own and it had a fair bit of blow but now it's connected you don't feel a blow out of the ducting out of the tent....

Will load some pics asap!

Thanks for the replys.

I would say definitely have your air output at the top...even though it may be a subtle difference, unless you are using the insulated ducting, there is heat coming off the ducting, it may only radiate a small amount of heat but its better to get the hot air out right away, the quickest route. Also as mentioned before, if your intake air is at the bottom it will keep cooler fresh air cycling through your leaves. It may not make a huge difference, but it will help your plants roots stay cool as well as keep the hot air from building up below your canopy once your plants get large...

Also for your size tent, a 600w light should be sufficient, however, for that size bulb, you should be using a air cooled hood. Especially if using a HPS bulb which throws off a ton of heat. By getting an air cooled hood or cool tube, you should see your temps drop significantly.

These things plus using a stronger extraction fan will keep your temps down.

 

[Bobblunt]

Thanks for all your help people, taking it all on board, I shall try a few different methods this afternoon and see if there is any improvement, fingers crossed!

After speaking with the guys at my local hydroponic store he suggested having my intake pipe from practically outside blowing practically on the light as well as blowing air through the carbon filter as the fan isn't doing a good enough job pulling through it, I was told that if the cf was outside the tent and I took the the white stuff from outside the carbon filter and placed it inside and had the cf outside the tent it may help? What do you guys think is it worth a try? I only ask as I can't afford any new kit at the moment am willing to try anything that could improve the temps without added cost, otherwise I will have to hold on until I have more funds :/

 

[Bobblunt]

I have just been told that if I used my 5" fan that's currently on my inlet and cf for intake from a vent from outside and bought a 6" rvk fan to attach to my carbon filter I wouldn't require any kind of cool tube or air cooled reflector. I currently have a crap fan which isn't strong enough to pull through the cf so hopefully a 6" rvk would be?

Anyone else run 600hps in a 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 without any air cooled lighting? Thanks!!

 

[Icemud]

I have just been told that if I used my 5" fan that's currently on my inlet and cf for intake from a vent from outside and bought a 6" rvk fan to attach to my carbon filter I wouldn't require any kind of cool tube or air cooled reflector. I currently have a crap fan which isn't strong enough to pull through the cf so hopefully a 6" rvk would be?

Anyone else run 600hps in a 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 without any air cooled lighting? Thanks!!

I would highly suggest the 6" rvk fan as it will definitely be powerful enough to suck air into your carbon scrubber (hopefully mounted at the ceiling of your tent) and eject it quickly. I would recommend a 20$ speed controller which will allow you to speed up or slow down the fan, I find it very useful on mine so I can keep the temps down on very hot days and on cooler or dryer days I can lower the speed.

With the RVK fan, you won't need the other 5" fan...as long as your tent is sealed and you have a hose for air to come in, air will be sucked into the tent because of the negative pressure in the tent.

As for running a 600w in your size tent, I highly would suggest getting a cool tube or cheap air cooled hood. I run a 400w Ceramic Metal halide (runs cool) and a 600w HPS that runs very hot and even with a vented hood, my temps can easily go up 6+ degrees or more with the HPS at full 600w. I now keep it dimmed to 400w. (my tent is a 2.5'x5'x7') tent.

I don't know what type of ballast you got, but if it has a dimming feature, I would use it to also help keep the heat down if needed on hot days.

 

[Cultivator]

u dont want any fan blowing air into tent, especially a tent of that size. 5 inch intake fan is massive over kill. u want a 5-6" fan pulling the air through the carbon filter and out the tent, but not into the same room as the tent. cut a hole in the ceiling and place ur ductwork through that. if poss have ur intake bringing air from outside to the bottom of tent. if u are intaking from the same room u are extracting too, u will be recirculating stale warm air.

 

[Cultivator]

passive intake, allow the extractor fan to pull air into tent. this set up is bigger than urs and was just thrown together with some of the spare bits i have lying around but it will give u an idea. its a 10in rvk fan (these are loud fans, go with airforce 2 super silent, they are class) on a fan controller at idle speed in pic but a 6" would do and its double the size of urs running 2 1000w hps.

 

[GreenNation]

Heat rises! I have my exhaust sucking from the top and cold coming in at the bottom! If your pulling air from the top your just pushing the heat towards your girls! Imo

 

[GreenNation]

Pardon me! If your PUSHING air down I meant to say!

 

[Bobblunt]

Thanks for all your advice! I have finally cracked it! Thank f**k!

Ok ... I bought a 5" rvk fan which I have attached to the the carbon filter exhausting warm air outside the house, I have an intake running from outside to the bottom of the tent with my crap 5" budget fan attached helping bring cold air in, no need for any aircooled reflector or cool tube and temps staying around 27-28.5 at highest

At least with the intake fan I can choose whether to the it on or off as the intake works either way!

At last .... 3 Northwrn Lights x Big Bud auto seeds are germing!

 

[Bobblunt]

I am going to be using Canna Terra soil mix and Canna Vega / Flores / Boost range. When I first plant the seeds what is best to do with the soil, how much to water the pot full of soil before putting in the sprouted seed? What are the best methods for preparing soil once sprout is planted or before planting sprouted seed?

Thanks!!!

 

[Cultivator]

dont use that intake fan during flower as its likely u will get odour issues due to positive pressure,

 

[Bobblunt]

Positive pressure? With the fan running aswell as the 5" fan on cf there is still plenty of neg pressure.

How do you mean? Sound dumb perhaps but just want to know

 

[Cultivator]

if u are pumping air into tent with 5 in fan and extracting with 5in fan u will be putting too much air through tent and will possibly lead to odour leaks in flower. u dont need the fan intake, just turn fan off. trust me i have many years experience and have a dozen tents set up as we speak mate. also if intaking from outside make sure u cover duct with some tights or a filter to stop pests getting in.

 

[Bobblunt]

Thanks. I am not questioning your knowledge was just interested to see why that would happen ( smell leaks )

Thanks for the info though, shall try and check temps with intake off for an hour and see if it makes any difference, would it in your opinion or not? The difference between the fans are staggering, without doing in depth research before hand I bought a 5" complete s**t fan which isn't half as powerful as my rvk.

Thanks again mate, I appreciate any advice and knowledge as I am new to growing

 

[David Bowman]

If the temps are still an issue with the intake fan off, use it to air cool your HID light. If you have a sealed air cool setup you will not need another carbon filter and that should keep your temperatures in check.