Adding co2 at the rate air is exchanged

AgentPothead said:

You don't even have a meter to determine your current levels. Pumping more co2 that you are then going to exhaust is a waste. Go to your local hydro shop and ask them about supplementing co2 in a non sealed room. They will tell you it's a bad idea. And they literally want to sell you stuff.

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Do you buy equiptment before researching, if so you must be a hydrostores wet dream,,,,,,,



I'm having a custom built grow controller made with co2, co, o2, monitoring

I don't think you get my point. My point is that a person who literally just wants to sell you stuff will tell you it's a bad idea to supplement co2 in a non sealed room. They literally just want your money and they will say, no, you can spend your money in better ways. If you want to waste your money, time, and energy supplementing co2 to then vent it, that's your prerogative. Spending 600$ on a custom controller without even knowing your ppm to start? That sounds like somebody being taken for a ride by an unscrupulous person. Without knowing a baseline it's impossible to know the best way to supplement anything, be it nutrients, co2, or light.

Just curious. Open question, not directed at anyone in particular: Where does this belief that CO2 supplementation is only for sealed rooms come from? Pretty sure growers have been supplementing for longer than sealed rooms have been in use. I think most confuse the fact that CO2 is required in a sealed room with thinking it’s only for sealed rooms. Waste is relative to circumstances.

I grew for roughly five years without CO2. There was a very noticeable difference when I added it. I did so with a natural gas generator that would cycle on every 1.5 to 2 hours for six to seven minute intervals, or thereabouts - don’t recall the exact timing schedule. The generator would run only during lights on hours, and with exhaust and intake off. Neither of which were engaged unless a set temp and/or humidity level was reached, thereby triggering them. If they triggered while the generator was running, it would shut off until the room was ventilated to below the target temp or humidity setting.

In other words, the controller was designed to run CO2 in conjunction with exhaust/intake fans - complete with a photo-eye to not engage the generator during dark hours... My first such controller was from Green Air and my second from C.A.P. Such controllers are still readily available, so that raises the question of why, if CO2 is only for sealed rooms... ?

From what I gather, he isn’t looking to supplement in this manner, but instead while continuously exhausting. And any arguments of waste lose even more validity if Cork is exhausting as such into a closed loop, which I don’t think he has specified.

Because the exhaled breathe of a human is ~40,000 PPM co2 so as long as you have any air flow to an area with people and/or check on your plants once a day, they will be getting plenty of co2.

Hey AP,

So do you mean to say that you disagree that levels above “enough” increase yield?

Sorry if I come across as an asshole, I don't mean to. What I mean is that there are so many other variables that in my opinion matter more that need to be dialed in for a particular grow before anybody honestly needs to worry about supplementing co2. It sounds like you have everything dialed in, so adding more co2 helps your situation. If people want to throw a few dollars down on a mycellium bag and try it out that seems, to me, to make a lot more sense than throwing down for a custom made controller before they even know their baseline. I just hate people wasting money on things, maybe aggressively so. Can I ask what temperatures you are running with your supplementation?

No asshole alarm sounding over here. Hopefully not over there either.

I get what you’re saying. I think I more or less said the same thing in a previous post. Knowing a baseline from which to build on is important. However, I may be mistaken, but my impression is that this isn’t going to be Cork’s first grow. (Sure as hell hope not considering the light power he’s talking.) I think he’s asking about supplementing an existing operation, or one that’s soon to be up and running. I reckon he has the other variables already under control.

And to your point about variables. This is why none of us (store employees included ) can tell him it’s a waste - variables of the unknown. If his yield increases enough to cover the investment on his first run, was the investment a waste? I wager he’ll see a ROI.

I wish my room were dialed in, lol. I no longer supplement the way I described, but did so for many years. Toward the end of that setup I was exhausting if temps reached 87* and or humidity at 75% I have been experimenting with lighting and supplementing differently over the past three years or so. One way being to continuously exhaust with a generator in the room. I cannot speak to his specific question about time to exhaust the room relative to time to increase levels, since I just used a speed controlled fan at a setting to create just enough negative pressure so that the door to the room would be pulled shut when within two inches of the jamb. But I most definitely found that I could maintain high levels while exhausting 24/7. Even without firing the generator, only having the pilot light lit.

Cork,

Is this 14,400 watt room already up and running? Do you already have a baseline yield to measure against? What is the reason for wanting to exhaust continuously instead of at target points? If the room is just in the planning stages and not operational, I would strongly recommend considering a sealed room for an investment like that. That’s a lot of light! And I would think you would want maximum control over the environment, which will be hard to achieve in a non-sealed room.

Cork144 said:

I beg you to not believe the bollocks the system tells you about co2.... if they cared that much they would of tuned to hemp for paper years ago

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Well I do believe the effects that co2 has on the planet.. especially if and when the emissions (global) scale are as high as they are.


That being said.. I do not believe the bollocks the system tells me.. (they try to guilt people as that is the easy thing they can do). My favorite counterpoint is the ocean tankers and huge freight ships that run on diesel fuel with little or no emission controls (ok, this is much more general than just co2) I have not confirmed this but everything in this story adds up (so I believe it).


But but.. still .. I hate the idea of letting a flame burn , maby.. 5% of the co2 gets used by plants and 95% gets dumped into atmosphere..


While as a single source this dose not tip the scales .. as a single individual you will become one of worlds leading (say.. top 500.000) co2 producing individuals. (ok, lot of guesswork and estimates here .. just hammering down my point)



You said you wish to do your research before buying equipment? I agree .. People are telling you that you are going about this the Short and (pardon my language) stupid way.


IF you wish to gain advantage with co2 .. search for solution with very limited air exchange or closed environment.