Humidity @ 60% w/o plants

Starting a grow soon and running final tests w/o vegetation before getting it going. Tent is 5x9. I just woke up this a.m. and saw the humidity was at 60%. is it too high?

maybe, but at least you can see the rise before the mold.
a dehumidifier even in the same room will be necessary to avoid the guesswork.
monitor temps also, and provide ample air flow.

Thanks @chemphlegm

I'm wondering if my meter is accurate though looking into some dehumidifiers, do you use any?

chooselove said:

I'm wondering if my meter is accurate though looking into some dehumidifiers, do you use any?

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I run a black and Decker 45 pint dehumidifier inside a 105 sqft room. 2x4 tent. My humidity runs an average of 50% in the room. The tent runs 55-68%.

The problem is the water evaporating off the pots. Right after watering the humidity will shoot up to 60-65% around the pots. The next day, 55-60....50-55%. By then the plants need water again. The dehumidifier pumps out about 3 gallons in 24 hours. Because this grow was started as the seasons are changing. Humidity will be a pain till things dry out.

I began using fungicide when they were sprouts. Every 5 days. In my experience, anything over 65% is the red zone on humidity.

Thanks for the info @SouthCross

Well, i just measured the outside humidity with the same hygrometer and it is 65% currently. .. Going to purchase another temp/ hygrometer just to confirm its accuracy, though, i just checked local weather online and it says currently 88% humidity with 73% humidity for today...

chooselove said:

Thanks for the info @SouthCross

Well, i just measured the outside humidity with the same hygrometer and it is 65% currently. .. Going to purchase another temp/ hygrometer just to confirm its accuracy, though, i just checked local weather online and it says currently 88% humidity with 73% humidity for today...

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Here, the humidity is 90% outside. 65% inside(living room). The tent is currently 75° at 54% at the top, 73° at 57% around the pots.

Thanks for that. It looks as though we are in similar climates inside and out and that I need to add a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in control. So far I have only set up the exhaust for the tent and I may need to also add some more air circulation in the form of a fan

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Dehumidification-Humidifaction-Dehumidifier-Charcuterie/dp/B01FQKXRXA/ref=sr_1_4/130-3796754-2914821?ie=UTF8&qid=1507036836&sr=8-4&keywords=humidity+controller

I plug my humidifier into the first plug and dehuy into the other. No matter what the RH is or does outside my RH can be set and maintained. Bonus is it works great for drying too!

ChaosHunter said:

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Dehumidification-Humidifaction-Dehumidifier-Charcuterie/dp/B01FQKXRXA/ref=sr_1_4/130-3796754-2914821?ie=UTF8&qid=1507036836&sr=8-4&keywords=humidity+controller

I plug my humidifier into the first plug and dehuy into the other. No matter what the RH is or does outside my RH can be set and maintained. Bonus is it works great for drying too!

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that's awesome, what kind of de humidifier do you have?

chooselove said:

that's awesome, what kind of de humidifier do you have?

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30 pint in the room my tent is in. If my humidity goes over a set limit the dehuy cuts on until it drops to the set point, same goes for the temps and humidifier.

ChaosHunter said:

30 pint in the room my tent is in. If my humidity goes over a set limit the dehuy cuts on until it drops to the set point, same goes for the temps and humidifier.

Click to expand...

Boom

With tents ive found that controlling temps and relative humidity the room the tent is in and just using fans and ducting to bring in that treated air and exhausting spent air to the outside world is key to maintaining a stable environment amd climate inside the tent. Without plants amd your in the 60 -65% rh...your definitely going to have a spike in rh inside the tent. Especially when lights turn off and plants transpire. Run a 50 to 70 pint dehuey 24-7 in the room the tent is in and open bottom vent flaps on the tent. Should stabilize the rh overall. Keep in mind dehumidifiers create warm dry air and your more than likely going to need air conditioning as well. The 2 appliances go hand in hand together.

Keeping your medium temperature at 65-68 degrees is much more important than keeping humidity below 60% IMO. If your humidity is at 60% and your medium temp is 78+ degrees then you're going to have problems that would take an entire chapter of a book to detail. I found out the hard way. A $200 window air conditioner is worth its weight in gold. If you don't have a window, use a portable AC unit or mini-split. A cheap window AC unit will pay itself off five-fold in the first grow. Not to mention it will maintain a healthy humidity level in the room and keep the dreaded spider mites away. Would never grow without one again. Just bought another one on clearance at Sam's Club for $104. It is a 6,000BTU GE window unit with digital controls and remote thermostat. I have one just like it for each 9' x 12' room with two LEC315 lights in each room. These little gems are quiet, have great SEER, and run cheap. They keep each room at 68F degrees. The nice thing about a window unit is that it does not suck air out of your room - it recirculates indoor air and cools itself with outdoor air. Mini-splits do the same. Most portable AC units have only an exhaust hose, so they suck air out of your room to the outdoors unless they have a second intake hose.