Need info on using CO2 in grow room

[Buds Buddy]

High there, I just bought a 50-lb. Co2 Tank, Regulator & 25' of laser drilled tubing. Found the complete set up on Offer Up for $100 with a Full Tank so couldn't pass it up.
Anyways, I want to use it in my 4' x 8' x 7' tent. My tent will reach into the low 90's if I close it up completely. I usually leave it open some to keep the temps down in the low 80's. For this reason I decided it might be beneficial to use Co2.
The problem is, .... I'm not sure how to use it. Hoping you guys will help me out with that.
1st off, Do I hang my drilled tubing from the Top of the tent or closer to the Top of the Plant Canopy?
What kind of Temps does my tent need to be for Co2 to be beneficial?
What range does the RH need to be in the tent? This I have a lot of trouble with. I run a small 1-Room House Humidifier 24/7 but play hell trying to get the RH over 25%.
How do I know how much Co2 to give them? I don't understand how the PPM thing works because I haven't found any info on it.
Somebody please post a thread "Understanding PPM & how to adjust it".
I still need to buy a Co2 Controller with timer.
Do you run the Co2 24/7 ? Just when lights on ?
Do you use Co2 during the entire grow or just during Flower?
Anyways, I need any & all info I can get on this. My current grow will be done in about 7-10 days so I'm looking to get this hooked up & working for my next grow.
I just started 6 clones for a side by side test. Going to use GH Products on 2 clones, AN Products (Voo Doo Juice, Big Bud & Overdrive) on 2 Clones & on the last 2 I'll just use the 3 Base GH Nutes until the last couple weeks of Flower & then I'll use Molasses Water.
Just want to see what the difference is if any at all. Figured it best to do it with clones so all plants will be equal from the start.
Looking forward to your replies & learning how to use Co2.
Thanks All !!!

 

[fanleaf]

High there, I just bought a 50-lb. Co2 Tank, Regulator & 25' of laser drilled tubing. Found the complete set up on Offer Up for $100 with a Full Tank so couldn't pass it up.
Anyways, I want to use it in my 4' x 8' x 7' tent. My tent will reach into the low 90's if I close it up completely. I usually leave it open some to keep the temps down in the low 80's. For this reason I decided it might be beneficial to use Co2.
The problem is, .... I'm not sure how to use it. Hoping you guys will help me out with that.
1st off, Do I hang my drilled tubing from the Top of the tent or closer to the Top of the Plant Canopy?
What kind of Temps does my tent need to be for Co2 to be beneficial?
What range does the RH need to be in the tent? This I have a lot of trouble with. I run a small 1-Room House Humidifier 24/7 but play hell trying to get the RH over 25%.
How do I know how much Co2 to give them? I don't understand how the PPM thing works because I haven't found any info on it.
Somebody please post a thread "Understanding PPM & how to adjust it".
I still need to buy a Co2 Controller with timer.
Do you run the Co2 24/7 ? Just when lights on ?
Do you use Co2 during the entire grow or just during Flower?
Anyways, I need any & all info I can get on this. My current grow will be done in about 7-10 days so I'm looking to get this hooked up & working for my next grow.
I just started 6 clones for a side by side test. Going to use GH Products on 2 clones, AN Products (Voo Doo Juice, Big Bud & Overdrive) on 2 Clones & on the last 2 I'll just use the 3 Base GH Nutes until the last couple weeks of Flower & then I'll use Molasses Water.
Just want to see what the difference is if any at all. Figured it best to do it with clones so all plants will be equal from the start.
Looking forward to your replies & learning how to use Co2.
Thanks All !!!

I have a related question. What type of lights are you using and how much of it? That is going to tell you if your CO2 addition will really be able to do mulch for you. Adding CO2 too a grow if you only have eight or nine hundred par at the canopy won't really be beneficial. With added CO2 par levels up around 1500umol can do great stuff.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I'm running 2 - 600 Watt Meizhi LED's, 2 - Single Light Kessil H350 Magenta Cobs, 1 Vanq 4 - Light Magenta Cobs, 8 - 28 watt LED Spotlights for side lighting. I have a 8" Exhaust w/ Carbon Filter. 4" Intake w/ Carbon Filter. 3 - 8" Fans & a Small Portable Humidifier. I can very easily get my temps up in the mid 90's with lights on & tent closed up. I'm sure the RH will go up to around 40% - 45% also with the tent closed up. Most of my lights are mid-grade. Meizhi's were $250 ea. on sale, Vanq was $240. Kessil's are expensive @ $320.00 ea. I have 6. 4- Magenta & 2 Deep Purple. Did away with all my MH / HPS stuff & went all LED / COB. I also grow in soil not Hydro, etc.
So what does UMOL stand for? My understanding is I want the Co2 Level to be around 1500 ppm's. Are UMOL & PPM the same thing ? Might be a dumb question but I'll never know unless I ask.
So is there a sweet spot to try to hit as far as VPD when using Co2?
Wanting to try something that will get me past this 2.5 oz. per plant grows. Got 4.5 oz. once but I let that Veg for 12 weeks & flower for 7 or 8. I usually top each plant 3 times & tie branches back. I strip everything from about the middle of the plant down about a week before 12/12. I use a Full Line Up of GH Nutrients & Additives. FFOF & Bio-Biz 50/50 mix soil.
Got me what I'm doing wrong. I keep my pH @ 6.4.
So now I want to try Co2 & Super Soil for my next grow to see what happens. This will be grow #6 for me. Only been at it 1.5 years so Not A Pro at all.

 

[Barney86]

Hiya buddy I'd like to give you some friendly advice and please don't take it the wrong way.
But co2 isn't going to improve your yields. It's a tool that's there for growers that already have everything dialed in to push things that bit further. If you're struggling to get good yields then theres many more important things to worry about first before thinking about running a closed circuit for the sake of co2. Closed circuit adds in lots more complications that I can't even comprehend right now.
If yield is what your after then would you consider hydro growing? That's the easiest way to improve. Need to be a bit more Jedi to get yields in soil. It's a bit out of my skill range too. I do though have a £30 NFT hydro reservoir that turns autos into 1lb monsters with ease. Don't even need an air pump for it.
My record in 3-5gal pots is 4oz. Same strain in the reservoir got me 22oz in the same time and I'd been growing for a year less than you when I got that one.
Let the Res do the hardwork and feeding so all you gotta do is tie the plant down n trim it.

 

[PE636]

Umols is in reference to intensity of the light. Ppm is the co2. If you don't have exceptionally strong lighting c02 will have no effect other than being a pain and expense to deal with..How big is your space? Sorry I'm not familiar with those lights to take a guess at if you might be anywhere close!

 

[Buds Buddy]

Hiya buddy I'd like to give you some friendly advice and please don't take it the wrong way.
But co2 isn't going to improve your yields. It's a tool that's there for growers that already have everything dialed in to push things that bit further. If you're struggling to get good yields then theres many more important things to worry about first before thinking about running a closed circuit for the sake of co2. Closed circuit adds in lots more complications that I can't even comprehend right now.
If yield is what your after then would you consider hydro growing? That's the easiest way to improve. Need to be a bit more Jedi to get yields in soil. It's a bit out of my skill range too. I do though have a £30 NFT hydro reservoir that turns autos into 1lb monsters with ease. Don't even need an air pump for it.
My record in 3-5gal pots is 4oz. Same strain in the reservoir got me 22oz in the same time and I'd been growing for a year less than you when I got that one.
Let the Res do the hardwork and feeding so all you gotta do is tie the plant down n trim it.

Hydro sounds pretty complicated to me. Every time I read something on it someones having a problem. Because I work a lot of OT & don't have the time to make sure everything is right all the time I've been avoiding it. Hydro sounds like you really have to be on top of things 100% of the time with no room for mistakes or you lose your crop. Maybe I'll try just one of those 4 or 6 plant Hydro Tubs I've seen to find out 1st hand how hard it is. I hate to invest too much till I know I can handle it.
Soil is a lot more forgiving when it comes to pH, Nutrients & Water Temps. I guess that's why I've been growing in soil.
But if I can get those kind of yields from Hydro I guess I need to learn more about it.
Let the journey begin !!!
Started 6 plants about 2 weeks ago & 6 clones a few days ago so by time they're done I should have what I need to do a small Hydro grow.
Now to figure out what I'll need ???

 

[Buds Buddy]

Umols is in reference to intensity of the light. Ppm is the co2. If you don't have exceptionally strong lighting c02 will have no effect other than being a pain and expense to deal with..How big is your space? Sorry I'm not familiar with those lights to take a guess at if you might be anywhere close!

I'm growing in a 4' x 8' x 7' tent. I also have a 4' x 4' x 7' tent & a 2' x 4' x 6' tent. I use the small tent to start seedlings & clones. 4 x 4 for veg sometimes. Other times I put them straight into the 4' x 8'. Just depends on how many plants I'm growing, if I'm growing both Auto's & Photo's at the same time, etc.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I have a related question. What type of lights are you using and how much of it? That is going to tell you if your CO2 addition will really be able to do mulch for you. Adding CO2 too a grow if you only have eight or nine hundred par at the canopy won't really be beneficial. With added CO2 par levels up around 1500umol can do great stuff.

So how do I check the light intensity PAR Level to find out where I am ?

 

[PE636]

A little gadget called a quantum par meter. You may be able to make an approximation with a lux meter on a smartphone but it isn't really the same thing.

 

[Aroxol]

Ok here’s the most important question that will determine if anything else even needs to be addressed or answered.

Is 90F the air temp you achieve when the tent is closed and you’re running your exhaust?

If that answer is yes, then CO2 is pointless and until you get temps under control you don’t need to think about it.

 

[Barney86]

Hydro sounds pretty complicated to me. Every time I read something on it someones having a problem. Because I work a lot of OT & don't have the time to make sure everything is right all the time I've been avoiding it. Hydro sounds like you really have to be on top of things 100% of the time with no room for mistakes or you lose your crop. Maybe I'll try just one of those 4 or 6 plant Hydro Tubs I've seen to find out 1st hand how hard it is. I hate to invest too much till I know I can handle it.
Soil is a lot more forgiving when it comes to pH, Nutrients & Water Temps. I guess that's why I've been growing in soil.
But if I can get those kind of yields from Hydro I guess I need to learn more about it.
Let the journey begin !!!
Started 6 plants about 2 weeks ago & 6 clones a few days ago so by time they're done I should have what I need to do a small Hydro grow.
Now to figure out what I'll need ???

Hydro is easy mate. You do have to get things fairly perfect but that's also easy if it's explained right. Basically you use a pH pen and a ppm pen to tell you what to do. Number goes up you bring it down. Number goes down you bring it back up. That's about it really. Wee bit trial and error and a few weeks down the line the penny drops, numbers start to stay stable and you have no more worries.
There's actually things called autopots these days too. Check them out before looking into full hydro methods. It's next on my hit list. Gives you all the benefits of full hydro but none of the drawbacks as the plants don't feed directly from the Res. That means you never have to adjust the Res as you would in dwc/NFT etc. Just set it right and leave it for a week at a time no worries. No different from making nutes for a soil mix. Except you don't have to water them and they grow like nothing on earth lol.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Hydro is easy mate. You do have to get things fairly perfect but that's also easy if it's explained right. Basically you use a pH pen and a ppm pen to tell you what to do. Number goes up you bring it down. Number goes down you bring it back up. That's about it really. Wee bit trial and error and a few weeks down the line the penny drops, numbers start to stay stable and you have no more worries.
There's actually things called autopots these days too. Check them out before looking into full hydro methods. It's next on my hit list. Gives you all the benefits of full hydro but none of the drawbacks as the plants don't feed directly from the Res. That means you never have to adjust the Res as you would in dwc/NFT etc. Just set it right and leave it for a week at a time no worries. No different from making nutes for a soil mix. Except you don't have to water them and they grow like nothing on earth lol.

I was just looking at Hydro set-ups on Ebay & it's got me a little confused on what I actually need. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of a 4 Bucket 5- gallon set-up with 8" Net Pots. Not sure what I'll need to buy. I think a 4 Bucket is probably plenty big enough for a 4' x 4' tent. I can always expand it later if things work out for me.
So.... Tell me what all I need to buy to get this going. I only have $400 I can spend at the moment. Not sure if that's enough to get things rolling or not.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Ok here’s the most important question that will determine if anything else even needs to be addressed or answered.

Is 90F the air temp you achieve when the tent is closed and you’re running your exhaust?

If that answer is yes, then CO2 is pointless and until you get temps under control you don’t need to think about it.

If I open my tent 1/4 of the way with lights on it will get to 88 F. If I open it 1/2 way it goes down to about 84 F. If I open it all the way it goes down to about 80 F. If I close it up completely I can reach temps between 96 - 98 F with exhaust fan on Medium Speed & Intake running at 3/4 speed.
So....what kind of Temps are required for Co2 to be beneficial ? I've read that pretty much anything over 90 F would benefit from Co2.

 

[Buds Buddy]

A little gadget called a quantum par meter. You may be able to make an approximation with a lux meter on a smartphone but it isn't really the same thing.

Going to have to get one. Thanks !!!

 

[Aroxol]

CO2 is only effective in sealed environments, meaning no exhaust. CO2 falls on plants and they absorb as fuel during lights on.

In a nutshell, what I’m saying is there’s no point adding CO2 to your room because your exhaust fans are going to pull it out almost immediately, long before your plants can ever use or benefit from it.

 

[Barney86]

I was just looking at Hydro set-ups on Ebay & it's got me a little confused on what I actually need. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of a 4 Bucket 5- gallon set-up with 8" Net Pots. Not sure what I'll need to buy. I think a 4 Bucket is probably plenty big enough for a 4' x 4' tent. I can always expand it later if things work out for me.
So.... Tell me what all I need to buy to get this going. I only have $400 I can spend at the moment. Not sure if that's enough to get things rolling or not.

You can fill a 4x4 no worries with 1 plant mate. I'd strongly suggest the 4x autopot system though.

I've done NFT,DWC, ebb&flow. 3&5gal pots in Coco/perilite. From 100/0 -0/100.

And it's all taught me one thing.

Autopots are better!

Two guys on another forum taught me how to grow.
One used separated, 20L NFT reseviors (as I do) the other used 15L autopots filled with 70/30 coc/per.
I'll be back in 5 with pics of what an autopot can do.......

 

[Buds Buddy]

CO2 is only effective in sealed environments, meaning no exhaust. CO2 falls on plants and they absorb as fuel during lights on.

In a nutshell, what I’m saying is there’s no point adding CO2 to your room because your exhaust fans are going to pull it out almost immediately, long before your plants can ever use or benefit from it.

Couldn't I just turn the Exhaust Fan off ? I don't think it will change the Temps all that much. I'm pretty sure I would stay 96 F - 98 F with Exhaust off & tent closed up during lights on.

Ooooo, I see you did some Incredible Bulk. One of my favorites ! Was it easy to grow ? I bought an 1/8th of it & loved it. Going to have to get some seeds.

 

[Aroxol]

You can, but I’m trying to save you unnecessary time and money. If I were you, I’d put CO2 on hold for now and work to solve for the high temperatures. If you can get your grow area (with lights on) to <70-86F with minimal to no exhausting, that will put you into a great position to really maximize the value of additional things like CO2. Environment is everything, and stabilizing it should be priority #1.

Bulk is good, resilient, easy to grow for the most part. Also does well in autopots as I see that’s being brought up.

 

[Buds Buddy]

You can fill a 4x4 no worries with 1 plant mate. I'd strongly suggest the 4x autopot system though.

I've done NFT,DWC, ebb&flow. 3&5gal pots in Coco/perilite. From 100/0 -0/100.

And it's all taught me one thing.

Autopots are better!

Two guys on another forum taught me how to grow.
One used separated, 20L NFT reseviors (as I do) the other used 15L autopots filled with 70/30 coc/per.
I'll be back in 5 with pics of what an autopot can do.......

Not sure what NFT & ebb & flow actually are. I've heard the terms but never paid attention because it had to do with Hydro & not Soil. Guess I should have. I know DWC = Deep Water Culture & that's the 4 Bucket System I seen on Ebay for $140. Looks like something I could make myself for less than 1/2 the price.
I'll look up Auto-pots to see what they're all about. I want some kind of system that has a reservoir so I don't have to mess with the water too much.

 

[Buds Buddy]

You can, but I’m trying to save you unnecessary time and money. If I were you, I’d put CO2 on hold for now and work to solve for the high temperatures. If you can get your grow area (with lights on) to <70-86F with minimal to no exhausting, that will put you into a great position to really maximize the value of additional things like CO2. Environment is everything, and stabilizing it should be priority #1.

Bulk is good, resilient, easy to grow for the most part. Also does well in autopots as I see that’s being brought up.

Now I'm really confused. Everything I've heard or read said Co2 does no good unless your tent is running hot above 90 F.
But you say 70 - 86 F ? Well Hell's Bells ... Not sure which way to go now.