Heres what Ive got planned, Do you think its going to work?

In my basement I have sectioned off a corner about 4x6x7. I plan to put 5 plants in there and run a 400 mh and a 600 hps, I have a 12 inch oscilating fan but am not opposed to buying a larger stronger fan. I have a 3 foot baseboard heater in that space, to control night temps, I am going to buy an inline fan to vent out the air into the rest of the basement, I will likely rig that with a carbon filter later on when things are flowering. I will just have small holes in the bottom of the wall to the room to vent in cool basement temp air without any extra fan(basement is around 12-13 degrees right now(54 farenheit) but will likely drop a little more as the winter sets in. The basement is not vented in any way to anything. Other than if I open a window or open the door to the basement the air will not be leaving the basement very easily except for small leaks wherever they are. This factors into my idea with co2 control. I want to run a co2 generator in the basement to bring the entire basements co2 up to 1500 even though it is only for the one small corner. Since the air isnt being deliberately vented out anywhere can I expect my CO2 to level off at a nice ppm with the generator flame being set very low? Ive never heard mention of this technique with all Ive read about co2. I am also curious if I could eventually have low oxygen levels from venting back into the basement? I plan to run a dehumidifier as needed and when spring comes and temperatures rise I will look into getting a portable AC.

Is this a sound plan? the basement is 4200cubic feet minus 168cubic feet for the room. the rooms 2 concrete walls are not insulated and the walls of 75% of the rest of the basement are insulated

I hope that sums it up close enough, any thoughts?

For starters, don't enrich your whole basement with co2 just your area with a controller. (Keeps cost of bottle or lp down)
Your incoming air try to filter it, to keep bugs and spores out. You dont want to deal with those problems, it's like pissing in the wind.
It might be in your buget, you should try to setup a sealed room with a sealed vented hood.

Good Luck

hmmm just got with a closed circuit room eh? I like this idea, but i have my little ones stuffed in a small closet at the moment and I think they want to get down into the basement where they can have more space. I think I should put emphasis that the basement is in its own way a closed loop. no open windows, no air ducts to the upstairs, no air vents to outside(ok i think the clothes dryer has a duct in it actually) and as long as the door is kept shut for the most part I was hoping I could just build up my CO2 with a generator, and then since it has no where to go the only lost co2 is what my plants breath in. doesnt that make sense? I havent heard anyone refer to doing that anywhere though so maybe your right just co2 the room with the plants. if I do that then I have to come up with timers for the fans and use a co2 tank with a regulator and all that, whereas if I can just burn a generator at a low flame in a cold cornere of the basement it will be so much easier and cheaper.

I hadnt even thought of filtering my intake air, this sounds like a good suggestion, I will need a second smaller fan for intake to do this obviously, I havent reallly looked into that I dont even know what sortof filter I would use. do you think this is more important for plants in late veg/flowering? hopefully I can get away with my 2 week old plants for a little while with no filter.

Im going to try and get the plants down in the room today even though I know the room isnt all ready just yet, but they are probably going to like having a 400w MH instead of 2 cfl's

You might wanna make a cheap carbon filter until you get a good one because depending on your strain, you'll have smells during veg as well and since your basement has no air escape it will seep through your walls over time.

Also I agree with rushed, sealed room with AC hood. And good idea on filtering intake as well! Build a frame of some 2x4's and staple panda film both on the inside and outside and use flat boards for bases with your intake / exhaust as well as your wiring pannel. That way its much easier to control temp /humidity as well as what's in your room. Basements (imo) collect insects and bugs during winter and if you have an open bottom then they will be attracted to the lights/warmth. Just stick a couple duct boosters near the floor and put a prefilter over them and you'll be getting the same coldness of air.

I see potential with this if you dedicate hard work with it. Could be a real nice room. Btw you don't need to buy a $150 inline fan to cool a 600w. I use a $30 fan rigged up to fit with 6" ducting and it cools my 600w easily. I've got a lot of DIY parts in my grow and they work just as good. Only thing that isn't diy is my 600w cooltube setup and my nutes. My budget was like $350 and I made it work.

Edit* oh yeah in case you were wondering about the fan... http://forum.growkind.com/showthread.php?t=36192

Have a air cooled reflector http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-COOLTUBE-AIR-COOLED-GROW-LIGHT-REFLECTOR-COOL-TUBE-/400233875140?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d2fcc46c4 with an intake and an exhaust, install this on the exhaust side http://www.ebay.com/itm/Inline-Booster-Fan-6-6-Inch-240-CFM-Air-Direct-Air-Flow-Duct-Hydroponic-120-V-/390354457841?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae2f054f1This will get rid of most of your light heat, use insulated flex duct also, people don't realize how much heat comes off your duc ts. http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Silver-Flex-QuietFlex-Insulated-Flexible-Duct-r6-/110753551708?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c96d155cJust use another one of those small exaust fan for your room temps on a t-stat http://www.ebay.com/itm/WIN-Portable-Plug-Heating-Cooling-Units-Programmable-Outlet-Thermostat-/160698329156?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item256a5de844to regulate yout temps.For your co2 set it up on a controller. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Green-Air-CDMC-6-CO2-controller-/190612945273?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c616ab979 don't just let it burn it will never shut off. the controller will pay for itself in short orderIf you look you can get this stuff a little cheaper. That t-stat works the balls I have 1 keeps everthing right to the #'sHope this helpsGood Luck

I've tried using those duct boosters for exhausting and failed miserably. I Use them for intake now and they work wonderful. Plus he's probably going to need a bigger fan for his space (4x6x7.) I run 600w in a 5x2x7 and had major issues with heat until I got it dialed down.

KushisSweet said:

I've tried using those duct boosters for exhausting and failed miserably. I Use them for intake now and they work wonderful. Plus he's probably going to need a bigger fan for his space (4x6x7.) I run 600w in a 5x2x7 and had major issues with heat until I got it dialed down.

Click to expand...

I have 1 on a 1000watt it works great. It doesn't take much air flow to vent properly.
Are your ducts, and your reflector insulated insulated? Put your hand on an unisulated duct it acts as a radiator. heats your room back up.

All my ducting is insulated. And I wasn't attacking you just laying my experiences with them.

I do like this idea for a setup, but is there any feedback on my original layour plan as I had it described? Im not trying to be stuborn but I dont see the need for going to extra lengths if what I originally described doesnt have any flaws to it. mainly Im wondering if the co2 level will stay pretty consistent if the air in the basement is not being flushed out and the basement is relatively well sealed(I found that I have a switch on the air duct for my drying machine so that too can be closed when the drier is not in use). In theory the only way the co2 will escape is when I open the door the basement to go in or out and also whatever amount the plants sequester. If that is the case than I should be able to maintain good co2 throughout the basement with a generator burning at minimum output, I would think. Sorry if I am being stuborn, its partly because I already have 10 seedlings started in my closet and they are only receiving 2 26watt cfls and I dont think its ideal so I want to move them down there asap, tommorrow if possible.

Thanks for the help

oh damn jsut noticed the thermostat you linked... I have been searching all over town for one of these!

I have a fan that claims to move 175 cfm, my room is 168cubic feet. is emptying the air once per minute on a pretty safe side as far as venting goes? sounds good to me just want to double check. for now there will be no exhause filter but will be getting one soon. and intake will just be from hole in the wall near the ground(for now).

Can I safely hook the fan up to a standard incandescent light dimmer and control its speed using that or am I going to start a fire or break my fan if I try to do this?(so that I can control temperature as the cool air in the basement will sometimes be as low as 10 degrees celsius)