C02 question

I have never used co2 before for any grow. Has anyone compared the two before? Does it really increase yields and bud size or not really would love feed back on some would have done with and without co2 thanks

The easiest way to see how c02 works is by..

C02 allows you to cook your plants, and they get to continue to grow

cook as in up to 38c-100f before the gains fall off fast

the C02 needs to be regulated, that costs serious cash or used too

then a volume of C02 needs to be replenished regular also a cost

all this in a sealed and controlled room

and you will need a C02 detector hanging,

or keep checking the color of your lips or finger nails ..lol

good luck

ps is old school now with many commercial operators opting for the organic approach

Co2 is the limiting factor when you push light and temperature, hence its use for growing.

Nevertell1987 said:

I have never used co2 before for any grow. Has anyone compared the two before? Does it really increase yields and bud size or not really would love feed back on some would have done with and without co2 thanks

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Unless you have a sealed grow room (ie not a tent) and plenty of cash. Don't waste your time.

I have co2 and that change my plant,

There is something called the "light saturation point" in C3 plants. When the plant hits this point it begins to change on a cellular peptide level to protect it's self from the intense light of the day.....This reduces photosynthesis by about 35% over the day.

In a closed and controlled environment, you can increase the available Co2 up to an effectively used 1500 ppm. You must have the proper amount of lighting to do this. If you have a 600w HID. You can use up to about 1000ppm but, your only gaining back 60% of the lost 35%. To run effectively at 1500ppm, you must run 1k lighting or better as far as u/mals - lumens, etc.

Ok, so now your going to need to run that area at around 86-90F and increase the RH to 75% to effectively use the available Co2.
Got that done? Good, your on the road to increased yields.

Now about those yields.....You can gain back about 6/7ths of that lost 35% so your right around reaching that plants potential it lost to that "saturation" point. There is something else to note. The plants will grow a bit faster, a bit bigger but, the most increase in yields are from the buds getting denser! Yes they can get some bigger but for the most part it's the density that increase's. Especially with Sativa's.......

Still interested? Here comes some suggestions then. Going to go the "bottled gas" route? Get and use an environmental controller!!! This is a nice one! https://4hydroponics.com/autopilot-digital-environmental-controller.
Deal directly with the gas dealer - don't go to a grow shop and pay the marked up gas price for a 40lb mini tank. Get into a 75 lb tank! SKIP the 40! (be sure you have a hand truck for this).
Tell them your a metal artist and you need the thing for welding. Go to the gas place with a truck or a van and pick it up your self!
If you grow in a basement - battled gas is safe as Co2 is heavier then air and if by some act of fate the tank empties. The gas won't come up and suffocate you!
*IMPORTANT* If you grow in a home and you have sealed a room off and are using Tanked Co2. Even a 40lb tank can kill you by removing the air in a area of about 2 normal sized home rooms! GET a Co2 ALARM and use it! Place it where you are and NEVER forget to bring it in the bed room with you! NEVER believe that an accident can't happen to you! Dead is forever!

They ain't cheap - but it's cheaper then dead!

If your even considering a Co2 generator - NO in the home use! Only for stand alone building grows! A garage is acceptable if it's not connected! Still going generator? I have a separate central heating and cooling system......I don't use a high dollar "fuzzy" logic controller that runs the cooling and the RH. I run a stand alone Co2 sensor that turns the generator on and off at 1500ppm and set my temps and RH at the units controlling those things. My gen has water flow through cooling and I run a Chiller between the gen and the holding tank...

Night and day difference between my old air exchange room and co2 sealed room. My colas doubled in size, most are as big as 20oz pop bottles. HUGE improvement but came with a cost. Deheuy, new ac, 2x 20#tanks, 550.00 controller, tank refills weekly at 21.50@.

DemonTrich said:

Night and day difference between my old air exchange room and co2 sealed room. My colas doubled in size, most are as big as 20oz pop bottles. HUGE improvement but came with a cost. Deheuy, new ac, 2x 20#tanks, 550.00 controller, tank refills weekly at 21.50@.

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I don't see that kind of gains at all but, I do see that size enough.....The most I see in yield increase has been about 32%.....Dabbled with my soil mix and I am very happy with my "potentials" being met without the gassing.....Had to look for alternatives to it due to perpetual harvesting - gotta shut it off those last 2 weeks..

Dr your on the farm, yeah? Check out my co2 grow log over there. After this harvest (3 days), then 4 more days I'll post up pics week by week progression of my co2 room and my air exchange room. All the same strains, same veg time, same flower times. This will show the benefits of co2 in a sealed room vs air exchange.

For the cost associated with running a sealed room....like mini splits....santa fe dehuey...controlled co2 and open hoods....i sometimes wonder if its worth it or not to just go back to venting the room and running air cooled hoods again. Only in the hottest summers do i need to run a.c. with vented rooms and hoods and it surely can be a cheap portable or shaker (not on and running nearly as much either)and not a pricey mini split. Hell for what i pay in energy bills i could run one or even two more air cooled lamps to make up for the yield loss of going back to vented room and pay the same iam paying in electricity now or even save a couple bucks.

I got so much money invested in running 8 gavitas in a sealed room i might as well just keep rolling. Shits expensive i know that.

My total power bill.monthly is 550 on average.

This is for my 2000sq' commercial bldg
3x 600 in flower
3x 8" 720 fans
5 x 10" fans
3x 18" fans
14k btu ac
71pint deheuy
Blueprint dbac2 controller
2x 600 veg
3x 6" 440 fans
2x 18" fans
12 disc ultrasonic fogger w/80mm fan
4x 4' 4 bulb t8
1x 2 bulb t5
2x 4' 4 bulb t8 clone room
3x cloners
1x 8" intake fan

Shits fukin expensive huh? And prices around here keep falling. I question what i been doing more and more everyday. I count on outdoor in the season that helps bigtime. The only cost with that is my labor and tjme and thats not too bad. That basically covers a chunk of my electric bills for my indoor all year long.

Its like them crabbers on Deadliest Catch....they net Salmon in the off season to basically cover fuel costs in the King and Opie seasons

That's not counting the 1200 I pay for my lease, nor the 25k I have invested in this from the last 4 years. I still get 200-225 all day for flowers.

I dont even look at initial equipment purchases anymore. Gives me ulcers. Lol. Consumables like nutes ...bulbs...and medium i dont mind. Its all them pricey appliances and building materials and shit ive bought in the past thats ridiculous. Old tents and bullshit hydro systems from way back. Alot of mistake purchases ive made over the years to figure out how to really do it rite. Newer growers with the internet forums have it much cheaper and easier with information and choices these days.

People thinking about growing now that want to go spend big bucks for like 10 400 watters in a 10x10 piece of shit tent with a co2 tank hooked to a timer with a big fan sucking it all out. And an overpriced crap hydroponic system that will flood if you look at it wrong...All they have to do is click on a forum and someone thats been there done that can tell them its a bad move and then ....boom...they just saved thousands of dollars on some bullshit. I had to learn the hard way years ago. And it was an expensive lesson let me tell you. No one to tell me no. Certainly not the hydro shops.

I'm the master of flipping old hard parts for at least 75% of my initial investment

DemonTrich said:

My total power bill.monthly is 550 on average.

This is for my 2000sq' commercial bldg
3x 600 in flower
3x 8" 720 fans
5 x 10" fans
3x 18" fans
14k btu ac
71pint deheuy
Blueprint dbac2 controller
2x 600 veg
3x 6" 440 fans
2x 18" fans
12 disc ultrasonic fogger w/80mm fan
4x 4' 4 bulb t8
1x 2 bulb t5
2x 4' 4 bulb t8 clone room
3x cloners
1x 8" intake fan

Click to expand...

Now I'm not calling BS here anywhere! Lets say I'm scratching my head.

What are the ppm's your running with these 600s?
In your old air exchange. How often did the air get exchanged?
How many cf was the op (cubic)?
What was the exhaust fan rated for (cfm) ?
How long did you run it?

You see with 600's your not effectively using 1500 ppm, in fact your wasting money! There are limiting factors due to light intensity!

I gotta ask. With an area that is approx a 63' X 63' area (or some ratio of equilibrium). Even with dividing proportionally for a veg and bloom area, you should be more like 150 - 600's in just the bloom area figuring for a 40X60 area and that's low on intensity (light)...figuring 1 light per 4x4 area!!!

I have to conclude you were not moving the air properly with the exchange to actually exchange the old air for fresh, bring in the Co2 with it....OR you where in a building/house that did not exchange the Co2 from inside to outside in ppm's faster then your grow area did! I think you were experiencing actual low Co2 levels in your previous non-gassed op! This maybe the 50% increase you see.......

NOW! I have not seen your before and after pics and I could be off on this but, something had an effect on the difference between the 2 ops to skew the results so much......

I'm sitting on my hands here for awhile, I've said enough and I'm not understanding a cpl of things......I know your an accomplished gardener, so I'll just wait and see what's said to ease my confusion..

Please don't take this as a negative "attack"