Humidity too low. Battling PM

I've got a 5x10 tent in the basement. With Summer approaching, this may not be an issue anymore, but I want to get set up for next winter. The humidity was way too low.

I don't understand the best way to set up my grow tent. The plants need air flow, so my exhaust fan is running all the time. This means that even if I add a humidifier to the tent it will just be sucked out immediately. I know cuz I've tried. The highest humidity I had this winter was 35%.

I'm sure Titan controls makes some controller that I can hook up that would turn the exhaust fan on and off to keep humidity and temperature where it should be, but what about air flow and CO2?

There again, I'm sure I could buy a CO2 machine and another controller to regulate all this.

I guess my questions are, what controllers would I use and what would I hook up? Can I avoid needing a CO2 tank or generator? This seems like too small a grow space for so many controls and equipment. What's a better, more cost-efficient way?

I've been battling PM for three grows now and am doing a complete system reset. I've got a pound of buds and some vegging plants that I'm just going to toss (I've done the hydrogen peroxide soaks, etc, etc before but just want these fking spores out of my life!

I'm throwing out all my plants, bleaching everywhere, and running an ozone generator for a few hours.

Any help is more that appreciated...

Put a inkbird on your fan. It will control the temperature, so it's not constantly sucking your humidity out

Titikshu said:

but just want these fking spores out of my life!

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Sulfur vaporizer.

Renfro said:

Sulfur vaporizer.

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Sulfur as a cleaning measure or if it comes up again?

Titikshu said:

Sulfur as a cleaning measure or if it comes up again?

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As a cleaning measure.

If you do have it pop up again the sulfur works like a charm but I wouldn't use it in flower due to the taste.

Renfro said:

If you do have it pop up again the sulfur works like a charm but I wouldn't use it in flower due to the taste.

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You don’t like your weed to taste like cat farts?

Depends on the cat...

worked for me..

Renfro said:

If you do have it pop up again the sulfur works like a charm but I wouldn't use it in flower due to the taste.

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Yeah, that's why I couldn't do it before as I was doing perpetual harvest. I don't think I'll do perpetual again. It spreads out the labor of harvest and trimming, but it's a constant pain.

Digger47 said:

Put a inkbird on your fan. It will control the temperature, so it's not constantly sucking your humidity out

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Yes, a controller like this is what I'm talking about. If my exhaust fans are off, however, where are the plants getting fresh air from?

My two cents...
35% is a little low but fine, many would kill for that.
H2O2 29%, mixed in water 25 mls per Litre, a little wetting agent helps. Spray the shit out of your plants every three days, shake them off. Does very slight damage to fan leaves but that's it, gets rid of PM. You have to eradicate it, don't start thinking you can control it.

I had similar issues until I purchased an ink bird hygrometer that can control both humidity and temp. As far as cO2, it’s really not necessary unless your tent is sealed because like you said, the exhaust is sucking whatever humidity you put in there, same goes for the cO2, trust me, I tried. If you room is sealed it’s relatively easy to add co2, just make sure your temps are a little higher. I would suggest a speed controller on your exhaust so it isn’t running at full blast the whole time, might help with humidity being sucked out so fast. I’m in a 3x3x7, so obviously my tent is a little smaller than yours, but the effect is the same. Hope it helps at least a little bit

Titikshu said:

Yes, a controller like this is what I'm talking about. If my exhaust fans are off, however, where are the plants getting fresh air from?

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The fan will run off and on depending on the temperature setting. Never had an issue not getting enough fresh air

Titikshu said:

I've been battling PM for three grows now and am doing a complete system reset. I've got a pound of buds and some vegging plants that I'm just going to toss (I've done the hydrogen peroxide soaks, etc, etc before but just want these fking spores out of my life!

I'm throwing out all my plants, bleaching everywhere, and running an ozone generator for a few hours.

Any help is more that appreciated...

Click to expand...

I feel your pain....I had pm my last 2 grows, and thanks to the advice of a few members here, I now have a simple IPM (intensive pest managment) program that probably costs about $10 a week...No PM this grow and my plants are better than ever at 6 weeks. I just flipped to flower last Friday!

I am using Marrone Regalia & Venerate and GH Armor Si for it's silica...Just those 3 products, all are certified organic, and I have plants in super soil and aeroponically, all thriving, and pm free (KNOCK on wood) .

I did the same as you....Got rid of everything, cleaned everything, ran the piss out of my ozone machine...and the pm came back, but with the IPM program, nada, zilch, no signs of anything except huge healthy plants. Best move I made in 20 years of growing!! I can not recommend it enough!

https://marronebio.com/products/regalia/

That’s good stuff manfredo. Might have to add that to the arsenal for just in case purposes.

Lots of good info in this thread too

Dontjudgeme said:

That’s good stuff manfredo. Might have to add that to the arsenal for just in case purposes.

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You want to add it before you have a problem....That's how all these products work, by strengthening your plants so they can defend themselves from bugs and powdery mildew, and it is proven to work....Doesn't work so well once you have a problem though.

Dontjudgeme said:

I had similar issues until I purchased an ink bird hygrometer that can control both humidity and temp. As far as cO2, it’s really not necessary unless your tent is sealed because like you said, the exhaust is sucking whatever humidity you put in there, same goes for the cO2, trust me, I tried. If you room is sealed it’s relatively easy to add co2, just make sure your temps are a little higher. I would suggest a speed controller on your exhaust so it isn’t running at full blast the whole time, might help with humidity being sucked out so fast. I’m in a 3x3x7, so obviously my tent is a little smaller than yours, but the effect is the same. Hope it helps at least a little bit

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Great! Thanks. I just figured that with the exhaust fan off for periods of time, the air would lose CO2. My tent isn't "sealed" but it is a tent. I have active air in though, not passive, but I guess I could just open some of the vents.
Appreciate the insight. I'll just have to give it a try.

Best of lock, hopefully some of the suggestions offered works for you.