I'm planning on using a DR60 grow tent which is 23.5" x 23.5" x 55". It will be in a small closet in my home office. I have no easy access to ventilate to the outside but the closet doors have an inch all the way around them to let air from my office which will be kept at about 72F during the day, maybe 65 at night. Do I need to get that exhaust outside or does the cooltube setup bring the temp down enough to just blow into up into the closet and let it come out into my office?
My thoughts are:
DR60
250W or 400W cooltube setup?
Does anyone have preferences for an exhaust fan of some sort with carbon filter? There is so much too choose from it is overwhelming. I just need it to work. I don't like to do things twice because of cheaping out or anything. I see some people say you need a 400CFM vortech, then the next person says you can get by with a couple of computer fans so I'm a little confused.
I've read thousands of posts on different lighting and I think this is the way to go in a small tent? It seems like a lot less screwing around or is cheaper than using CFL's, T5's or LED's. At this point in time anyway.
If I need to get that exhaust outside I have some serious drywall and brick issues I'll have to tackle.
Thanks for your help!
One thing I almost certain of is that you will eventually add a direct air input from a vent near the floor and an output through a vent near the ceiling, both of these will be into your room due to cost (outside would be great but cost prohibitive and unnecessary due to your needs). Use cold air vents and flexible aluminum foil ducting from Lowes, or the Canadian equivalent, eh, and direct any air/light "safely" out of/into your room. Carbon filters of some sort must be included for your output to control smell. And I also am almost certain that you will eventually grow the best bud you have ever experienced.
Let me try to give you an answer as to why you cannot get a direct answer as to what is best light/fan/carbon filter for your needs.
Unless someone has been in your exact geographic location (for instance, I am in a northern climate, but probably not quite as north as you, but I have looked south on Canada from my office) with a room of your exact size (mine is 6'x4') and the exact same location in your house (mine is in the coldest corner of my basement), with your same humidity (I recently added a dehumidifier due to last summers experience), using your exact bulb, reflector type (my 600w HPS has a truer "inline" reflector while my 400w MH had an input that was near the end of the bulb and did not cool the base much at all), fan abilities can vary greatly, air input location and size, air outlet and size, the temps in the room into and out of which you are venting air, etc, etc, etc.
I think you are me about a year ago although the specifics may vary. I have a 4'x6' closet in my basement that I have dedicated to growing my medicine. I originally had it split into a 4'x2.5' flowering area on the left, a 2'x2.5' veg area across the back right corner and a common area in the front right that allowed me to access either area without affecting the either.
My 2'x2.5' veg area had a 400w MH with a cheap 4 inch booster fan as an inline fan on a less than optimal "inline" reflector that input the air near the end of the bulb that does not cool the base at all). I also had another cheap 4 inch booster fan clearing air from the 90" tall veg area through a simple DIY carbon filter. I had few temperature problems with this setup.
After a year my panda paper was wearing thin in many places and I had to find a setup that didn't waste all the common area in my small closet. I finally had the bright idea to use a 18"x36" shelving unit from Lowes to create a new veg area within my closet. I spent a day converting everything only to watch the temps in my new veg "shelving closet" rise to temps that were intolerable (I am sure this was primarily due to the new height of this area being only about 40"). So I moved a much stronger fan, 5-10x stronger, to the inline fan position in this new veg area. The temps were much better, almost tolerable, but still too high. I finally decided to try the 90w UFO LED unit that I had felt wasn't filling my original veg area enough when it first arrived. After two weeks the LED seems to be working fine and now I have no inline fan running in that area and only a wimpy 4" booster fan pushing through a weak carbon filter and the temps in that area are the best temps of any area in my house in this first heat wave of the summer. Do I recommend the LED light? Not yet, haven't tested it enough, but it looking promising for this small area. I will have a couple mothers in that area in a couple months, then I will know for sure.
So that is the very long way of saying....it depends. You will learn that. Hopefully it will cost you less now.
You can't know it all before you begin. Start small with room for growth. I spent too much too start....will you? Probably.
Oh, and just to confuse things more....I tried a 250w MH system in my original veg area, it was hotter than the 400w system, so I returned it.
Good luck,
Tom
