Need help setting up an A/C controlled sealed grow room

[Ricod306]

OK, so here’s what we know: temps are fine but your lights are lacking for that much area.

I thought that much with the lights also with my new lights I cant tell if they were the issue because I got them just after the plants went into flower and my tent now is roughly 1 square meter with 200W LED's. I had 15 CFL's before my last grow and all I know for a fact is that these new lights are 100x brighter and cleaner in terms of spectrum. When I replaced the lights the plants almost immediately stopped stretching and there was an insane difference in how well the plants started growing.

Too much nitrogen during bloom can cause airy buds and other issues, for example.

This could definitely be a cause as I did often feed nitrogen after 3 weeks.
I'm now going to use Flora Micro nutrients for my plants.

What we don’t know is the medium you grew in and what if any nutrients you used. Pictures of the plants with airy buds would be immensely helpful as there are other factors that could be at issue.

As for medium I am going to use 75% Freedom Farms Premium mix with 25% leca (small clay balls mix).
This mix is recommended by the supplier of the fabric pots I'm using.
and I will be bottom feeding.
And the old mix wasn't as good as freedom farm's that is for sure.

 

[The Celt]

So it could be a combination of light and nutrients that caused your problem but the lights are a definite issue.

I run 2 x 630w DE CMH (1260w total) in my flower tent the same size as yours, these lights are much more powerful than an equivalent draw LED, regardless of the chip type.

If I were to use my 400w 3200k LEDs in that tent, I would be using at least 4 of them for 1600w total (double what you are using) and still wouldn’t expect the same yields I get under CMH. My COBs are quite powerful but only penetrate 12” (30 cm) whereas the CHM is good for about 18” penetration

 

[Ricod306]

So it could be a combination of light and nutrients that caused your problem but the lights are a definite issue.

I run 2 x 630w DE CMH (1260w total) in my flower tent the same size as yours, these lights are much more powerful than an equivalent draw LED, regardless of the chip type.

If I were to use my 400w 3200k LEDs in that tent, I would be using at least 4 of them for 1600w total (double what you are using) and still wouldn’t expect the same yields I get under CMH. My COBs are quite powerful but only penetrate 12” (30 cm) whereas the CHM is good for about 18” penetration

@1:17
The Migro LED has a much better light spectrum curvature than the LEC which I hopefully assumed correctly is the same as a CMH. The COB used in that Migro LED is the same chip I'm looking to buy for far less than Migro are trying to sell their lights for and thus the reason for me going DIY.

In terms of cost I can truly understand why the CMH would be better due to it being much more cheaper than the equivalent in terms of LED's. What I also know is that these chips has a far deeper penetration level than previous LED's due to their new technology so I truly think they might be one of the best LED's fro growing.

But still on the sealed grow tent will I need to add CO2 if no fresh air is entering the tent. (not for better yields just to maintain standard yields).

 

[The Celt]

You should have some form of air exchange in your tent whether negative pressure (extraction) or positive pressure, not sure that it really matters as long as exchange is happening

 

[TorturedSoul]

Without high temperatures, and without the level of light-energy to support both that and a higher-than-ambient level of CO₂... again, there's no need for air conditioning in the first place. However, I just managed to escape a thread in which the OP was steadfastly insisting on doing things the hard way because... as near as I could figure... people were suggesting that he didn't. So:

Yes, if you're going to run an airtight grow room, you'll have to put a mechanism in place that replenishes the CO₂ that the plants consume while the lights are on (they won't do that in darkness, merely consume a relatively tiny amount of O₂).

The usual mechanism is a CO₂ tank, dispenser valve setup, and - for best results - a monitor. Some setups combine those last two things in one unit.

Good luck with your grow!

One final comment (from me): Once upon a time, I moved to a new location that didn't have central air conditioning. I started noticing temperatures that peaked at - and slightly above 100°F (37.78°C). I thought about adding an air conditioner but, due to the grow space's interior location, I'd have had to either cut a hole in the wall and dump the heat into the immediate adjoining space (which was where I was attempting to sleep at night - so NO) or purchase an expensive mini-split system and install it. Plus, there was the additional electricity usage to consider. So... I switched to highly oxygenated medium-sized (20 to 25 US gallon) DWC setups, put strong fans on the plants in order to facilitate their inbuilt self-cooling mechanism (transpiration), and didn't look back. Come harvest day, I was busier than a whore working a Husbands of Frigid Wives convention in Vegas - and bud density was just fine, thanks. . . .

 

[Ricod306]

Without high temperatures, and without the level of light-energy to support both that and a higher-than-ambient level of CO₂... again, there's no need for air conditioning in the first place. However, I just managed to escape a thread in which the OP was steadfastly insisting on doing things the hard way because... as near as I could figure... people were suggesting that he didn't. So:

Yes, if you're going to run an airtight grow room, you'll have to put a mechanism in place that replenishes the CO₂ that the plants consume while the lights are on (they won't do that in darkness, merely consume a relatively tiny amount of O₂).

The usual mechanism is a CO₂ tank, dispenser valve setup, and - for best results - a monitor. Some setups combine those last two things in one unit.

Good luck with your grow!

This is what I was concerned with and thus my initial post (yet I also solved my airy buds delema) is answered.

Then I will still add the a/c on a closed loop but what I will do is add an extractor fan on a timer and every few minutes or hours let it cycle new air into the tent for a set amount of time as the manufacturers give the amount of air vented per hour. The main reason I want to a/c is to better control my temps and remove excess humidity as I will be bottom feeding and the a/c also has a power saving mode built in and it uses only 1850W when the a/c pump kicks in. I did my tests on hot and cold days with the a/c in my tent and it will only bump up my electricity bill by 20% which I am more than willing to pay for far better temperature control in my tent given that a heater more than doubles my bill in the winter.

Thank you guys for your support and eagerness to help.
I will let you know if the airy buds are solved and if the a/c set up works and is economical.

 

[TorturedSoul]

In that case, one thing to keep in mind is that, if your air conditioner is too large for the volume of the space plus its heat producers, it will make a poor dehumidifier, because it won't run long enough to remove any significant amount of moisture. Therefore, I hope you can manage to work out the calculation for BTU of cooling required. I always seemed to be off in one direction or the other.