Carbon filtration questions

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xaos

Active Member
I'm in the slow process of building a grow cab, and it's time to concern myself with air filtration, and have a few questions.

1) Regarding activated carbon, is it cheaper to just purchase one than to make one from scratch?

2) What type of carbon should I use? Granulated?

3) How large/what volume of carbon would be necessary? I plan on running two chambers with a total rough size of between 30 and 35 cubic feet- approximately 2.5ft x 3.5ft x 4ft high.

4) If building my own is going to be the way to go, what tips would you give me about doing so?


Thanks for reading, I appreciate any answers I get.
 
BooleanCisco

BooleanCisco

Active Member
Hey man,
I'm a noob but I've read 3-4 DIY carbon filter threads and some are done for around $15 or less. Tonight I bought some activated carbon for $6 so with the rest of the parts needed (screen, duct flanges) it should put me at around $15 total. I know it doesn't answer all your questions but I know it can be done for SUPER cheap so I'd say go the DIY road. Those filters can get expensive. Google DIT carbon filter and you'll find multiple articles outlining it in detail. Good luck!
 
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BloodShot420

Well-Known Member
1 - it will always be cheaper to build yourself... but if you want perfection, buying one usually solves that quickly.

2 - you are looking for "Pelletized" virgin activated carbon - granulated, or smaller chunks is for water...

3 - most of the filters you would buy for that cab would contain about 6lbs of carbon, the more you use the longer it will last in your cab.

4 - it is imperative that NONE of the air is able to get around the carbon at all... i refilled a carbon filter that i bought and didnt pack it tight enough, so when i put it back together if i shook it i could hear there was a little space on top of the carbon that was air... this was not nearly as effective at removing the smell - i had to take it apart again and top it off...

good luck!
 
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BloodShot420

Well-Known Member
yeah, if you get a good one...

i exhaust my grow air into my house, from a 2KW garden with a couple P's worth of bud in it and you cant smell a thing...

i'm pretty sure i could kill a hooker, throw her dead body in there and take a shit on it it, and you wouldnt be able to tell if i closed the door...

if you pull air through the filter too fast, you'll start to smell it... all the filters have cfm ratings for max air flow.
 
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xaos

Active Member
BloodShot420 said:
2 - you are looking for "Pelletized" virgin activated carbon - granulated, or smaller chunks is for water...
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'm glad I didn't impulse buy that carbon then ;-)

BloodShot420 said:
4 - it is imperative that NONE of the air is able to get around the carbon at all... i refilled a carbon filter that i bought and didnt pack it tight enough, so when i put it back together if i shook it i could hear there was a little space on top of the carbon that was air... this was not nearly as effective at removing the smell - i had to take it apart again and top it off...
Click to expand...
That's also really good to know, thanks again :-P


..and next post-
BloodShot420 said:
yeah, if you get a good one...

if you pull air through the filter too fast, you'll start to smell it... all the filters have cfm ratings for max air flow.
Click to expand...
Another good comment, I'm glad I've got some fan speed adjustors coming in the mail.

thanks for all the tips!
+rep to you, good sir :D
 
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BloodShot420

Well-Known Member
haha... yeah, learn from my mistake... i got 50 lbs of the wrong kind of carbon the first time!! ;-)

i still got it, not sure what i'm going to do with it tho... if you put it into the filter its so small it pours out of the holes... thats when i knew i was in trouble - lol
 
Kingb420

Kingb420

Well-Known Member
BloodShot420 said:
i'm pretty sure i could kill a hooker, throw her dead body in there and take a shit on it it, and you wouldnt be able to tell if i closed the door...
Click to expand...

Odor removal after killing a hooker and defecating on her remains = Priceless....lol +rep
 
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xaos

Active Member
BloodShot420 said:
haha... yeah, learn from my mistake... i got 50 lbs of the wrong kind of carbon the first time!! ;-)

i still got it, not sure what i'm going to do with it tho... if you put it into the filter its so small it pours out of the holes... thats when i knew i was in trouble - lol
Click to expand...
Oooof, 50lbs of wasted carbon, that blows...

Speaking of which, how long would 5lbs of carbon last me, with roughly 30-35 cubic feet of grow space? Not talking massive yields in there, probably at most two mothers and three vegging/flowering plants
 
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BloodShot420

Well-Known Member
the weight of the carbon is not really important - it will get "used up" in about the same amount of time, unless you have a huge filter and pull the air through it really slow - that could make it last longer...

dealing with typical filters - i have to change mine after about 3 harvests... or about once yearly.
 
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xaos

Active Member
That ain't bad at all... I can certainly cope with that :P

I'm blatantly copy-pasting from my other thread in newbie central, but I feel like I might get some extra reads here... that thread is slower than molasses :D

forgive me, I know this isn't exactly the place for these questions, but I'd rather not have to create and keep up with another thread :)

xaos said:
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.

I've got other questions...

What kind of soil should I use?

Do I need a pH tester, and if so, what kind would you folks suggest? What kind of pH balancers should i get?

I'm a bit concerned with my plant pots too... I was thinking of getting 3x 6" diameter(or square?) for early vegging, and then 5x 12" diameter(again, would I be better off with square?) for late vegging, flowering, and the two mothers I'll end up having. Has anyone had any poor results with any specific planting pots? What should I look for when I purchase some?

Ugh, so many questions :/ Should I keep the mothers in smaller pots to make sure they don't overgrow? Or what can I do to ensure they're not going to go crazy in the limited space I have available? As a reminder, I'm probably going to have roughly an 18"w x 40"d x 3.5'h grow chamber, with a 12"w x 40"d x 3.5'h mother chamber.
Click to expand...
Edit- The 40" depth is probably false... I'm going to have to sacrifice a few inches depth(in probably the mother chamber only, I don't know yet) for the ventilation ducting... unfortunately the only direction I can vent through is the bottom, so it'll pull from the upper portions of the cabs, into the service area above, into the carbon filter, and then thru ducting out the bottom of the cabinet. I'll happily MSpaint up some pics if anyone wants to visualize what I've got floating around in my head!
 
Picasso345

Picasso345

Well-Known Member
After you have priced all the parts and carbon out, go and do a search on eBay for carbon filter and compare the prices...they are pretty darn close.
 
jimo09

jimo09

Active Member
Sorry just moving inside. Do you need to filter the air coming in (pests, etc.) AND going out (smell)?
 
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