Filter Your Air Intakes - Photos of < 2 Weeks of Buildup Will Convince You

blackblunt69 · Nov 6, 2008

I have been using cooker extraction filter sheets with a carbon layer.. I just cut it in the shapre of a circle and just put it over the passive intake hole

... I only did it to try and stop insects and excess light leeking out in the garden...... didnt relise how important it was

.... i love this place

Quazi · Nov 6, 2008

CFL Grower said:
exactly

Hey man if you're trying to create a less controlled outdoor-like environment for your plants then air filters aren't for you. You can spend your days indoor fighting pests that you could have been kept out like mold, mites, etc. all you want.

I'll just catch that stuff in a filter and not worry about it thanks.

-Q :rasta:

White · Nov 6, 2008

stihgnobevoli said:
what filters the air outdoors?

That's not the point. Indoor air can be much worse than the air outdoors. And also, we're able to control our enviroment indoors, why not take the extra step to ensure mold, bugs, spores, etc. aren't going to be flying through our cabs? I don't even see why this is a question. It seems to be a no-brainer to me. :bashhead:

That pic says it all. Thanks Quazi for the tip.

Peace,
White

otherwhitemeat · Nov 6, 2008

Quazi said:

At the very least, if you can avoid smoking this crap...you'll likely be a bit healthier...Less bud rot and mold. Yeccchhh.

I use a filtrete under my cab, and this post reminded me to go in and change it...thanks for the reminder!

pHaroaH · Nov 7, 2008

I'll be the first to admit that outdoor growing is superior to indoor growing, but you can't really equate outdoor to indoor environments. Just research the issues with biospheres. In the outdoors nature has many processes, such as natural predators, to help control and minimize plant damaging diseases that can decimate plants in a closed environment. IMHO it is best to try and keep the nasties out all together.

HeadyPete · Nov 7, 2008

great advice for peeps! :yes:

Incorporating an intake furnace filter was at the top of my list of design requirements. I buy the best 3Ms...it's great insurance against catastrophe, and like someone said, look at all that shit you would be smoking!

Quazi · Nov 7, 2008

Thanks everyone! Glad that people are seeing the benefits.

I see that everyone is keen on showing what they don't want in their bud.

I'd like to second that.

Even if it didn't save my grow from catastrophe (which it does have the potential to do), I would still use it just to keep all this from getting in my buds:

-Q

otherwhitemeat · Nov 7, 2008

luv the dead gnat, nice touch

stihgnobevoli · Nov 7, 2008

im not saying you shouldn't keep bugs and whatever out of your grow im just saying this seems a bit overkill. sure you collected a bunch of dust on your filters but thats also concentrated dust. to me it seems negligible in an indoor environment. were not putting together semiconductors or hard drives. it doesn't need to be that clean, i dont see it being that clean either since i use dirt. its always gonna be some kinda dust or dirt swirling around in there so im not gonna sweat it too much. im sure the food you eat has worse shit on it than dead skin and dust.

HeadyPete · Nov 10, 2008

cat hair is the worst in my sticky budz......don't want to smoke that.

sniffs · Nov 23, 2008

Quick question.....where could I get something like this? Wally world/Home depot/Lowes? Sorry if that has already been answered in the thread I didn't have time to read it thoroughly I just skimmed through it really quick cause I gotta leave right now...

forester · Nov 23, 2008

Filtering the air will have little to no impact on the quality of your herb. Dust etc is everywhere including outdoor growing environments i.e. where choof plants have grown for eons.

What it will do will stop tinder dry flammable particles from getting into hot dry environs with amateur electronic connections all over the place i.e. your average micro grow box.

I'd filter purely to reduce fire and electrical hazards.

Quazi · Nov 23, 2008

sniffs: yes. A Home Depot should carry this type of filter.

forester: nowhere in this thread does anyone argue that the quality of your herb would be affected by a filter. In fact, it would be a bit ignorant to think so.

What filtering does do, for us indoor growers, is allow us to have the most controlled environment possible.

It does filter out mold, insects, insect eggs, etc. which can and will have an impact on the quality of your herb.

"Dust" is not the concern here. What the "dust" has in it, is. You're absolutely correct that "dust" exists outdoors. You're also correct that plants can thrive just find when there is dust. However, your logic fails you because you're not thinking of "dust" that wiped out entire crops, or caused illness, or infestations. Yes, "dust," thousands of times throughout history, has been able to completely wipe out hundreds, if not thousands of acres worth of crop. Why? Because there's nasty stuff in what just appears to be "dust," sometimes.

I've already saved cross-contamination of some fungus gnats from my vegetative chamber to my flowering chamber because of these filters.

Did that suddenly make my herb taste better or have better quality? No.

Did it save my flowering plants from having a possible infestation of fungus gnats? Yes.

Would my flowering plants have definitely been affected by an infestation of fungus gnats? No one knows for sure.

I'm not going to leave it up to chance though. I'm going to be intelligent and take steps to avoid it happening.

Go ahead, leave your intakes open as much as you want. Have fun browsing through the infirmary trying to figure out how to get rid of a spidermites or mold.

Me? I'll just spend a couple of dollars and not worry about it.

-Q :rasta:

FreezerBoy · Nov 23, 2008

In my rockwool days, even with filters, gnat explosions were a constant battle. Just the few minutes a day the door was open was enough to allowing incoming gnats and the race was on. The idea of leaving air vents open 24/7? I don't even want to think about it. With my DWC, they've got no place to thrive but, in a soil grow like Quazi's it could get ugly real quick.

Hydro-Soil · Nov 24, 2008

forester said:
Filtering the air will have little to no impact on the quality of your herb. Dust etc is everywhere including outdoor growing environments i.e. where choof plants have grown for eons.

The carpet it going to threads and there are several pets in the house. I have an open grow going in a room. If you look at the buds you can SEE the freakin fibers and hairs stuck in the sticky trichomes.

This is NOT outdoor healthy dirt and dust. This is synthetic fibers, dead skin cells and HAIR.

All of it is going to have to be water cured and I'd actually prefer to make BHO out of it all.

Freakin' disgusting.

Black Ra1n · Nov 25, 2008

Great thread man, I need some of that stuff for my intakes as well as my cool tube in my seed cab to catch the floating pollen.

K.J · Nov 25, 2008

Another intelligent and informative thread by Quazi! If you grow indoors and can control (at least a little) the air that comes into your growroom for a few dollars, why wouldn't you? I certainly will be.

Even if it doesn't get into the stomata, it WILL land in your tight, kind nugs and then you'll be smoking it up along with the good stuff! Not sure why you'd want to do that if you could avoid it.

FreezerBoy · Mar 1, 2009

It's not just keeping stuff of your plants but off your equipment as well.
Look what bterzz found on his heat shield. :yoinks:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=113447

smurfin'herb · Mar 1, 2009

Just get a blue hepa filter. They look like a car part. Dont be fooled and buy the black odor filter ones tho, they dont filter smell for crap. The blue ones work great, i have them on all my intakes.

On a side note, something should be said about filtering your air thats cooling your hoods (if you are pulling from somewhere than inside the room). Even tho it doesnt have contact with the room, the dust and bugs can/will form a layer on the glass lenses of the hoods. I use something called a bug net for this, it does a great job.

Stacks · Mar 1, 2009

I find it hard to believe this would do much to your plants, although for peace of mind it seems like a decent investment.

Filter Your Air Intakes - Photos of < 2 Weeks of Buildup Will Convince You

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