Co2

[pergamum362]

So i picked up a system yesterday. Ppm monitor, controller and another monitor. I was originally going to go with an ares generator, but opted to pick this up off a guy on craiglists. I had worries of heat generation, easily fixed but before i drop the cash on a generator, i figured this cheap tank set up would give me an idea of what i needed to change to get the most out of it. Much to my surprise the monitors have co2 in my room right not at about 500-540 ppms.

 

My question to some of the mathy guys here, is how long can i expect a #20 tank to last me. Room is sealed, with a mini split and its roughly 10' wide by 14ft long and 7ft tall, with a starting ppm around 500, i plan to have it sit at around 1100-1400 ppms. I have all the lens out of reflectors and no air in or out, just an exhaust fan scrubbing air inside the room. I have wall mount fans every 3-4 ft on the walls. I can keep my temps as low as 75 or as high as i want. Im hoping the tank will last me 7-10 days.

[trichcycler]

you'll need to figure this out in your room, in one day. weigh tank. bring room to desired ppm, monitor ppm, cycle when necessary, and weight at the end of the cycle. thats what I did, and that stupid tank lasted a few days is all. I bought a liquid cooled hydro gen and hung it on the wall, while I watched my kilawatt meter cash in  form the sump pump needed to cycle the liquid through it. It did remove some heat though.

I unplugged it and got a pilot light 4 burner and hung it from the ceiling. This does add heat though. I manage it. it costs me 15-22$ each month in propane to keep my room(s) at1500ppm for 12 hours per day.  when it fails I'll replace it with the same model. my flower room is 12x30 11 foot ceiling, and the veg room is 10x12. they're separated by an "s" curtain and also air is pumped between them. As my ac unit was failing I noticed an increase in propane use along with higher temps that I tolerated for a month before I discovered the issue. 

 

hope that helps.

[pergamum362]

you'll need to figure this out in your room, in one day. weigh tank. bring room to desired ppm, monitor ppm, cycle when necessary, and weight at the end of the cycle. thats what I did, and that stupid tank lasted a few days is all. I bought a liquid cooled hydro gen and hung it on the wall, while I watched my kilawatt meter cash in  form the sump pump needed to cycle the liquid through it. It did remove some heat though.

I unplugged it and got a pilot light 4 burner and hung it from the ceiling. This does add heat though. I manage it. it costs me 15-22$ each month in propane to keep my room(s) at1500ppm for 12 hours per day.  when it fails I'll replace it with the same model. my flower room is 12x30 11 foot ceiling, and the veg room is 10x12. they're separated by an "s" curtain and also air is pumped between them. As my ac unit was failing I noticed an increase in propane use along with higher temps that I tolerated for a month before I discovered the issue. 

 

hope that helps.

yup, i planned on doing the tests tonight, ill know for sure over the coarse of a few days. I plan on buy an ares 4 or 6 burner. I just couldnt pass up the deal this guy had. The tank, regulator, controller and 2 monitors for 200 bucks, all in good condition.

[pergamum362]

My hopes are with the gen, ill be able to add a duct from flower to veg on a timer and get both rooms.

[trichcycler]

thats a steal you got. easy sell or keep for back up. nice!

 

I should also say I dont vent outdoors and my rooms are closed doors mostly. I'm by no means anal about my "seal'dness" and do leave the entry to the room open while working in there. (I have a secondary closed entrance door to the building that houses those rooms) .

I have gone without my gen for weeks at a time. I posted here somewhere about it. I wasnt nervous but I did notice something. Everything good that I like about growing cannabis is enhanced with the addition of c02. From growth patterns/rate, nutrient uptake, disease resistance, pest resistance, yield, brix readings, terpene profiles, finishing expectations, flavors.   you're going to love your new addition!

[trichcycler]

My hopes are with the gen, ill be able to add a duct from flower to veg on a timer and get both rooms.

Highly suggested to manage your c02 gen trigger. mine has worked without fail since 2009

[pergamum362]

thats a steal you got. easy sell or keep for back up. nice!

 

I should also say I dont vent outdoors and my rooms are closed doors mostly. I'm by no means anal about my "seal'dness" and do leave the entry to the room open while working in there. (I have a secondary closed entrance door to the building that houses those rooms) .

I have gone without my gen for weeks at a time. I posted here somewhere about it. I wasnt nervous but I did notice something. Everything good that I like about growing cannabis is enhanced with the addition of c02. From growth patterns/rate, nutrient uptake, disease resistance, pest resistance, yield, brix readings, terpene profiles, finishing expectations, flavors.   you're going to love your new addition!

nice, everything i want to hear. I recently redid everything when i added the new mini split in, and was anal about sealing it. 3 cans of expanding foam later i believe im happy lol. I still need to insulate the cieling, im thinking about just putting a layer of the pink board, covered with poly film up there, but not to worried about it right now.

[shishka]

#20 tank lasts me 4-6 weeks in a room that is 12x13x8 and sealed up tight. That is at 900 ppm.

[trichcycler]

I wrapped my interior room in ....steel, tar paper, foil/bubble/foil, R30, foil/bubble/foil, plywood-three walls.  Ceiling is plywood, tar paper, fbf, 2foot blown, inside wall is plywood, fbf,r30/fbf.  no spray foam, lots of spiders doing there job, and the emergency exhaust shows all the leaks on the infrared in the winter.(with the intake closed) mostly wall plugs, a little at the floor(dirt, plastic, foam balls, fbf, tar paper, plywood) corners. The exhaust never comes on so no worries. I've got the cheapest electric bill of any similar size grow room I've seen posted, so I feel good about my over doing it. all electric, 200 amp, 220, baseboard

[williams2311]

#20 tank lasts me 4-6 weeks in a room that is 12x13x8 and sealed up tight. That is at 900 ppm.

Wow i must be doing something wrong mine only lasts 7 10 days

[trichcycler]

my gen cycles about once every couple hours for about 10 minutes to keep a cozy 500-1500ppm.  I can set limits with the timer too.

In a plastic bag with a four foot cannabis plant in flower I watched the ppm's rise to 1800 with a tank filling the vac sucked bag, then watched the plant breathe it

down to 800 in less than an hour before it was evac'd and refilled with c02. An empty bag filled to 1800 will maintain that for hours with no plant breathing it.

Higher heat = faster metabolism=more transpiration=more c02 needs. plants will endure and even thrive in higher heat when needed c02 is given to them.

They dont need 1500 ppms of course, but in an enclosed room with only fans for a breeze, its necessary to keep them at a happy "more than 400" , like outdoors does with its constant air exchange at every leaf surface.

 

 believe plants grow to their weakest resource. Without c02............

doesnt mean one cannot grow good meds without c02....but they could have been perfect meds.

 

I wonder if anyone has mounted their fans on the ceiling aiming down at the canopy?

[pergamum362]

My buddy has two pre existing cieling fans in his room. They seem to do a good job circulating the air. No co2 in that room tho.

 

So im getting ready to get down there and get my hands dirty, im wondering should i put outlets on both sides of the room stuck in fans, or put outlets throught the room, like 3-4 on each side all stuck in fans. Nvm, i anwsered my own question, ill put them through out.

 

Another thing, i mentioned i bought 2 bails of black magic peat based mix, well this mix is drying out substantially faster than the sunshine 4(black bail). 3 days in the 10 gal smart pot and they need water, fresh transplants, 3 days from last water.

[trichcycler]

I regret wasting money on wall mounted oscillating fans in the beginning. They are still spinning though!. I find cheap box fans move the amount of air I expect. A couple few in a room is a whirlwind for me.

 

is there less perlite in the black magic? 

peace

[Willy]

a 29# tank has lasted me for a month in a 10x14x7 room, and it was pretty constant, at 1300ppm.. and i just used a timer for on/off every 30 mins for 10 mins..

Edited July 14, 2016 by Willy

[trichcycler]

a tank has lasted me for a month in a 10x14x7 room, and it was pretty constant, at 1300ppm

some men have bigger tanks than others......just sayin'

[pergamum362]

I regret wasting money on wall mounted oscillating fans in the beginning. They are still spinning though!. I find cheap box fans move the amount of air I expect. A couple few in a room is a whirlwind for me.

 

is there less perlite in the black magic? 

peace

i love my wall mounts. Floor space and cieling space is very limited with it only being 10 ft wide, having two rows, and then roughly 8 inches on all side to walk around, so i still have wasted light, but It gets tight, one of the reasons im transitioning to flood tables. Ease of watering and maximizing my canopy space not having to have that room to walk around.

 

There seems to be a slight less bit of perlite, but loads more aged bark and coir. I suspect the larger percentage of coir has to do with water timing being faster.