Grow room design... heat issues!

willicious

Active Member
so i've got four tiny skunk #1 plants that are a little over a week old. i'm growing in a 2 foot deep x 6 foot wide x 6 foot high closet:

- 400w mh with reflector (4 feet above the plants to control heat; ballast sits outside closet);
- fan duct system sucking air from under the reflector and then venting it under the door continuously;
- oscillating fan blowing on plants;
- walls painted matte white.

the temp at the plant tops is around 85 degrees with lights on. i'm running 24/0 for the veg, so don't know temp with lights off yet. the air by the plant tops was like 95 F before i put in the fans and ducts for all the air movement, so.... how can i lower it more?
 

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
Put an extraction fan at the top and consider an active intake if you're not getting enough air exchange.
 

willicious

Active Member
ok, this seems too easy to not have a catch somewhere... but this is what i did. i took the air extractor that was sucking air from under the reflector and venting it under the door and i reversed and repositioned it, so now, the air is being sucked from under the door into the closet from the bedroom (a nice 77 degrees F), and is forced through the duct work onto the plants, keeping the plant area at a steady 79 F. Is this ok? the breeze blowing onto the plants is very mild - it's a kids' fan on its lowest setting - and the plants only wiggle about a millimetre or two back and forth... is that too much breeze? is breeze a big stress thing for plants? so much i don't know.... lol
 

willicious

Active Member
since i now have an intake blowing onto the plants, i want to add an extractor to suck out the hot air and lower that 79 F a few more degrees. once i start flowering, i'll add a big carbon scrubber onto the intake of my soon-to-be-acquired heat extractor to (hopefully..) take care of the smell. i have four plants raised from seeds.. and if i can just get one female.. just one.. i'll be soo happy. i know my questions are all over the place, but if i have a total of four available feet of grow height, and i'm growing skunk #1 (75 sativa/25 indica), when should i start flowering, to be safe in case they get too tall before harvest?
 

jphamac

Active Member
usually the plants get 3 times taller so if you have 4 feet of growing space, I would flower around a foot tall.
 

panhead

Well-Known Member
You need 3 types of air in your room.

1, Intake,very important to control temps & air quality,also important with natural co2 levels.

2, Exhaust, equally as important as intake,exhaust helps with all of the above plus helps keep humidity at a constant,this will be more important durring flowering.

3,Circulation,a standard oscalating fan is the best method,this helps build strong plants & helps keep away issues like powdery mildew & mold,it also helps keep your entire room a constant temp,you do not want large differences in temp between the canopy & the base of the plants,it also helps with humidity issues,cant forget fukin spider mites,the easiest way to assure you dont get them is to have kick ass air flow all over the plant,all leaves should be moving all the time,a little harder than a flutter is perfect as long as the leaves are not being hurt.

Unless your living on the equator where you live it is the cool temp time of year right now,in a few months your going to have alot more heat/humidity problems than your having now if you dont regulate air flow,you need the ability to raise or lower in room temps around 10 degrees at all times with your air system,keep in mind that the very instant you connect a carbon filter temps are going to raise.

For about a $100 bill you can set up your closet to be prepared for the summer heat wave that is comming,you can take care of all the intake & exhause right from your closet door.

You'll need 2 8" inch inline fans from Home Depot which cost $35 each, then you'll need a 20" inch oscalating fan from a dollar store,they cost around $20,preferably one with a stand that you can raise when your plants get large & are in full bloom,you'll also need 2 10" register covers which are $5 each at home depot.

Cut a 7" inch hole at the bottom of the door close to one side then cut another 7" inch hole at the top of the door twords the other side,being offset helps circulate air flow.

Mount one inline fan on the bottom ofthe door sucking cold/fresh air in & mount the other inline fan on the top of the door pulling stale/hot air out,then fasten the register covers over the open holes on the outside of the door,if light escaping through the holes from the fans is a problem its an easy thing to fix,you simply build a light box around each hole from the inside of the door so no light can escape but air flow is not restricted.

Then you should place the oscalating fan in the best location to move the most fresh air through the canopy & into the lower section of the garden,after a few days or weeks on the low setting you can increase speed as the plants grow thicker & stronger,by the time your in bloom you'll be able to have it on high without hurting the plants,possible even add a 2nd oscalating fan,one at the base of the plants & one at the canopy.

Air flow is just as important as light,look at all the indoor grow masters like Seeymore buds,watch their videos,the main thing i learned from the Seeymore buds videos is that air flow & circulation is key,you cant ever have too much air flow & your yeild will greatly increase & your furure problems with heat,mold,mildew & humidity will show a sharp decline.

Edit, I forgot to answer the height question.

If all you have is a 4ft height max you'd beter start flowering s soon as you know sex & surely below 1 ft,you'll need atleast 10" inches as a buffer zone between the canopy & your light,you can grow larger & closer to the light by running a cool tube instead of a box reflector or batwing.
 

slybizzle420

Active Member
i just started growing and i turned a closet in to a grow room and i can't alter the closet to put an intake fan or an exhaust fan. i'll open the door to let air circulate through the closet but i don't know if it's enough. could some one give me some advice?
 
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kief13

Well-Known Member
panhead said it all and then sum way to go =).as for slybizzle420 maybe just stick em outdoor if u can't have exhaust/intake there super important if u hadn't notice
 

slybizzle420

Active Member
i take them out side and let them get fresh air, but when the closet door is closed is what i'm thinking about, and also i have baby m.j plants and the new leaves are pointing toward the light is that normal?
 
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