Back when I was first starting out growing indoors (circa 1990) I had the opportunity to ask an indoor cultivation guru this Q: "Once I've provided the proper light, medium and nutrients, is there anything else I can do to increase yield?" He said "Flo-through ventilation." I thought yeah sure. A few years later I found out he was 100% correct. I had a small 5' x 5' x 5' growspace. The plants weren't doing as good as what I'd seen in the experts growspace. The house next-door was being remodeled and I noticed the contracter had thrown away a few bathroom exhaust fans. Remembering what the expert had said, I fished 'em out of the dumpster and installed them in my growspace. The plants started jamming. They fucking loved it. Before, I had provided ventilation by leaving the door open, with a oscillating fan inside. With flo-thro ventilation I increased yield by as much as 25%. Marijuana "eats" CO2. When the CO2 (about 300 atmospheric ppm) in your growspace is exhausted, growth ceases. For excellent ventilation you need to use a saw and install exhaust and intake fans. For most closet grows, you can use the cheap-o bathroom exhaust fans (home depot $12.99). Install the exhaust fan as high as you can, the intake fan as low as you can. If you rent, you don't want to cut holes in the closet door. Remove the existing door and measure it. Then go to a home wrecking yard and get a replacement, or build one out of plywood. Make the alterations in that door and replace with the existing one when you move. You'll spend something like $40--$50 and an hour or 2's work. You'll make it back by increased yield. Finally, put an oscillating fan inside for stem strength and air distribution. P.S. ventilation also prevents overheating and mold.
rangerdanger, any suggestions on what i could do - i have my growspace enclosed in the corner of a room, i have an extractor fan pulling air out from the top with an inlet at the bottom. but of course its just pulling in air from inside the room, and blowing the old air back into the same room. i always keep the window open - do you think thats good enough, or would it be better to pull air straight from outside into the growspace, or blow the old air outside the room?
moving air also makes it easyer for plants to breath and strengthens stalks, but before you go through the time and expense study study study, theres boatloads of info all over the net
"do you think thats good enough, or would it be better to pull air straight from outside into the growspace, or blow the old air outside the room?" Well that would depend on the temps in the room and outside. It's easier to control temps in the growroom by using intake from inside. Plus anyone in the room would convert oxygen to CO2, which plants love. No smoking allowed tho. Your set-up, with the fans and open window, sounds superior to many others'.
Hey ma friend,i read a book (GOLDEN HARVEST) & it said Co2 levels should be 1500~2000ppm per m3.Do you think this is too much my closet is 110"x93"x24" any info you could give me could result in a lot of stonage thanks