The dreaded carbon scrubber questions

S

SweetJane

Well-Known Member
I am a total n00be, just starting my first grow. I have been researching like crazy, but the whole carbon scrubber deal has me confused.

I have a Secret Garden DR60 grow tent, I plan on only growing 3-4 plants at a time, using CFLs. I live in a duplex, so keeping odors down is VERY important. I have made an Ona bucket, and I also have an OZN Junior ozone machine. I would like to also toss a carbon scrubber into the mix, just to keep my ass covered. Paranoid much? Hellz yeah, lol.

I have my eye on a 4 inch fan and carbon filter setup I saw on eBay. Can I just hook up the fan/filter in my tent without venting to the outside of the tent? I also plan on having at least one small oscillating clip fan in the tent (do I need more than one?) Also, do I push air or pull air thru the carbon filter?

Thank you in advance.
 
Being inside the tent, your carbon filter should be drawing air 'into it', filtering it, and blowing out the other end of the filter unit which is often ducted. If heat is a factor (which shouldn't be the case if you're only using CFL lights), then that said 'ducting' should exit your tent.

Keep in mind that the fans on those built-in carbon scrubbers can sometimes be a bit loud...hopefully that won't break your 'stealth-mode' if you're in an apartment building...
 
Dayzt,

How loud is loud? Is it just the noise of a fan, or do those in-line deals sound like a jet engine? I have watched the Phresh Filter vids on youtube, the fans don't seem that loud, to me anyway.

Would people even question the sound of a fan? I tend to keep a small fan running in the winter anyways, to keep the air from getting stagnant...
 
Well, I have a fairly large tent so my carbon scrubber uses a 440 CFM fan on it, so it's loud enough that I can hear it upstairs with it running in the basement... But if your fan is small, it shouldn't be too bad. That would be a good question for the retailer where you get your fan from - some are especially quiet as part of the design.

I would probably put it on a timer or something though, so it only runs at certain parts of your light cycle when it's needed most - then it would be less suspicious i'd think.
 
You will have to come up with a way to stop "tent suck" - which is the walls of the tent sucking in due to the outside pressure being higher. You can build a frame of sorts (SteveHman made one of PVC) to go inside the tent.

A way to reduce the noise is to buy a larger fan and throttle it back. The larger (6, 8 and up) fans balance better at lower speeds and are quieter.

You could also go with the 4 and get a muffler for the exit end that will reduce the noise significantly. You can re use your exit air to blow on your ONA bucket.
 
SweetJane said:
I am a total n00be, just starting my first grow. I have been researching like crazy, but the whole carbon scrubber deal has me confused.

I have a Secret Garden DR60 grow tent, I plan on only growing 3-4 plants at a time, using CFLs. I live in a duplex, so keeping odors down is VERY important. I have made an Ona bucket, and I also have an OZN Junior ozone machine. I would like to also toss a carbon scrubber into the mix, just to keep my ass covered. Paranoid much? Hellz yeah, lol.

I have my eye on a 4 inch fan and carbon filter setup I saw on eBay. Can I just hook up the fan/filter in my tent without venting to the outside of the tent? I also plan on having at least one small oscillating clip fan in the tent (do I need more than one?) Also, do I push air or pull air thru the carbon filter?

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Do not place an ozone generator inside your grow. Not sure if that's where you're running it or not - I just wanted to mention.
 
Thanks Tortured Soul. I wasn't planning on putting it inside my tent, just in the room. Or perhaps just outside the room. I have read you need to keep a window cracked, as the ozone can build up (?) and become dangerous. Somehow, I don't really understand what ozone can do to a person. Or a plant.

If you can expand a bit on this, I am all ears. Or eyes, in this case :)
 
hi mate, how good are those diy ona buckets inside your grow room, do they work well to get rid of odour, iv been thinking about making one for my next grow?
 
tommyb88 said:
hi mate, how good are those diy ona buckets inside your grow room, do they work well to get rid of odour, iv been thinking about making one for my next grow?
Click to expand...

I think there is a super long thread on this board about ona buckets. Try searching. If the thread isn't on this site Google 'ona bucket' or 'diy ona bucket', you'll find it. All of your ona bucket questions will be answered :)

The thread starter claims he uses nothing but ona gel and no one can smell anything but clean freshness in his house. He owns a ferret as well, no ferret smell either, so I'm guessing this stuff is nothing short of a miracle.
 
Carbon scrubbers are for the primary smell of the grow room.

Ona, Ozone generators, basically everything else cant handle that much smell and is for the little bit that escapes when you open the door or move out of your room.

I dont want to argue the point, my GF is a purfumer she cant smell anything in the house with carbon. With ONA she smells ONA and weed.
 
Maer,

Thanks, that is what I wanted to hear. Carbon scrubber/fan is my next purchase.

Can I wait until I put my girls in flower, or do they get stinky while in veg? I have never seen a live plant before, sorry if my question seems dumb. I'm a way off from veg, my seeds just cracked the other day.

If they do get stinky in veg, what week can I expect the smell to become obvious? Four plants, hopefully. Bagseed grow, so I have no idea what I'm getting, if anything.
 
Thanks, I plan on doing 18/6 for my veg cycle. I understand it reduces your chance of getting a male, and since I am growing from bagseed I want to hedge my bets :)
 
Yeah, it probably is BS. 18/6 works for me, tho. I can have my lights off when I'm at work.

I plan on buying seeds after I get a few grows under my belt. I'm dying to try some of these strains I keep reading about. One of the reasons I decided to go the GYO route is I got tired of supporting the drug trade and I'm tired of overpaying for average at best weed.
 
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