Ventilation Question

I was going to do a cfl flower, but have decided to go with a 400w hps. I'm growing in a closet and don't really have space to put up ventilation without it being obvious. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need some sort of ventilation. I was thinking of getting a 6" high velocity inline fan with a carbon filter. The room is 2.5' wide, by 7' high by, 7 long. I've bought Ona Gel, and a ona block. How important is a carbon filter? How should I rig the filter so its not obvious? Thanks

mops7 said:

I was going to do a cfl flower, but have decided to go with a 400w hps. I'm growing in a closet and don't really have space to put up ventilation without it being obvious. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need some sort of ventilation. I was thinking of getting a 6" high velocity inline fan with a carbon filter. The room is 2.5' wide, by 7' high by, 7 long. I've bought Ona Gel, and a ona block. How important is a carbon filter? How should I rig the filter so its not obvious? Thanks

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there's no real way for it to not be some way obvious with the sound of that fan but if it was me i would find a way to rehang a fake door you can get a cheap door from the hardwere store then cut the intake outtake holes you need in that door - either way you will have to vent the heat from that light some where- you could make the grow space air tight , with no air coming in or leaving out but you will deff. need co2 and fans to keep the air moving but you will still have to cool tube the lights and vent the heat from the room but this will help with the smell a lot untill you open the door

How not obvious does this need to be?

It needs to not be visible to the eye. I have some clearence on top of the closet, that I can possibly run the exhaust out of. Do I need the cool tube for sure? 1st I wanted to do a cfl, because I was concerned about heat/cost, The I was going to go with a 250hps because I've read that its not that much of a difference between the cfl's. Upon further research a 400hps is not that much more expensive then the 250hps, and if you could accomodate it then its much more effecient. I thought I could accomodate it, but now I'm having reservations about getting it because of the heat and possible lack of ventilation. I'm kind of lost on what my next step should be. Thanks

I was thinking that you would have the fan and carbon filter in the closet, rigged such that you have a carbon filter->fan-> ducted out of closet. That way the fan and filter are inside the closet, hidden, and the fan pulls stinky air through the filter and pushes it out the ducting. Where you would run the duct to, I'm not sure. But the air that comes out of it will be the cleanest air in the house. Those carbon filters work.

Any pics of the space?

Thats what I was thinking after thinking about it for a little bit. Thanks for the reply. I dont have the cord that connects the camera to the computer. The closet is under the stairs going down to my basement. So there is about a 6"-8" area above the closet that is out of site, I could run the duct work up to that. This would be pushing the air back into my basement which is fine, as long as it doesnt stink it up. Also how hot do you think the 400w hps will get. The air at the top of the room is between 62f-68f. I live in a cool climate right now so added heat from the outdoors is not a problem. Also If I go with the "cooling refector" the width of the room is not much more then 22" and those reflectors are 18" the with the duct work attached I imagine that in would be to tight, and crimp the ducting rendering it useless. So do you think I would be safe heat wise with the exhaust and a fan blowing in the closet? Also is filter->fan->duct, better the fan->duct->filter?

You can go filter, fan, duct or vice versa. Both work. But lots of people swear by sucking the air through the filter, rather than pushing it through. It is a good debate, like 24/0 vs 20/4 vs 18/6. I push mine through and will have to continue to do so, but I will change this once conditions allow.

The 400w will produce hot temps, but not so very bad. You can get away without a cooling hood or cool tube if your temps are OK. Which they usually would be in a basement in a cooler climate. As long as they don't get above 82-86 with the lights on, you will be OK.

And any air exhausted through a carbon filter will be the cleanest air in your house. To test the one I made, I smoked a cigarette 10 feet from my fiance around the corner, out of sight. I blew the air through the filter. I smoked most of that cigarette before she asked if I was smoking inside. Carbon filters work! The air will NOT be stinky

PS - It sounds like you got this figured out pretty well. You are definitely on a better path than most, including myself. Just keep us updated, you will do fine no matter what you do