Here are some factors to consider if CO2 will work for your cannabis garden.
For CO2 to work, you need....
- Bright Light - Your cannabis plants need a lot of light for CO2 to be effective at speeding up growth and increasing yields. As far as light intensity, we're talking about the kind of light produced by a 1000W HID grow light. CO2 only helps plants make more energy from bright light, so it won't help if you have low light levels.
- Enough CO2 - You must be able to maintain 1200-1500 PPM of CO2 in the grow area or it won't help your plants.
- Sealed Grow Space - You must be able to completely seal your grow space so CO2 can't get out.
- Temperature - You should maintain temperatures between 85°F (30°C) and 95°F (35°C) in your grow space for CO2 to be most effective.
- Humidity - You must keep humidity below 60-70% to prevent mold and other problems, but keeping humidity low can be difficult with a sealed room while running CO2. You may need to get a dehumidifier.
I know it may sound like a lot, but these factors are important! If you have the wrong setup, adding more CO2 isn't going to help you! Today I will share everything I wish I’d known about CO2 when I started growing, so you'll know exactly how you can use CO2 for faster growth and increased marijuana yields. Let's get started!
Beware! Some people (especially companies selling poor CO2 products) will try to trick you into thinking that CO2 is some magical supplement you add to your grow room to make plants grow better. Unfortunately this is not the case! There are good ways to add CO2... and there are ineffective ways.
Pros and Cons of Using CO2 for Growing Cannabis
Benefits of Adding Extra CO2
- Bigger Yields, Faster Growth - If you’ve maxed out the other limiting factors (especially light), CO2 can make your plants grow up to 20% faster, produce bigger plants, and enhance your yields.
- Higher Temperature is Okay - Maintaining 1200-1500 PPM of CO2 in the grow area allows growers to keep temperatures much higher than normal. For growers with hot bright lights, this makes it easier to keep temps at a range their plants will like.
- Security - CO2 enrichment can be beneficial for security since you’re not venting out smelly air (you must seal off the grow area for CO2 supplementation to be effective)
Disadvantages of Adding Extra CO2
- Need Bright Lights - As far as light intensity is concerned, it's recommended that plants receive 7,500-10,000 lumens of light per sq foot for CO2 enrichment to be effective. To give you an idea...
Examples:
~600W HPS in a 3'x3' space
~1000W HPS in a 4'x4' space
- Must Seal the Grow Area - In order to keep CO2 near the plants, you must seal up grow area so it’s airtight, which can make it harder to manage temperature and humidity
- Cost - It can be expensive to get started if you want to inject enough CO2 into your grow area to be effective. The best setups in the long run are a bit pricey to get started with, though they become a lot cheaper once you've got your initial supplies.
