Air Purification / Ventilation Ewww - what's that smell? Many people today are finding that they have scent allergies and having a grow room in the house can make this more obvious. Also, many people would agree that the smell put off by nutrient lines is not exactly what they had in mind for the aroma of their home. We have the products you need to neutralize the smells in the air!

Gels and Oils Many gels (which are really liquid in suspension) and natural oils are also used as a way to combat unwanted odors. The benefit to these is that they are non-toxic and effective. They work usually by masking the odor with another scent. Many of these lines, like ONA are sold with fans to disperse this freshener through the air. They do add a nice, fresh scent to the area whereas ozone generators and charcoal (carbon) filters do not. Many customers find that it is most effective to use the gel in tandem with an ozone generator or carbon filter.

Carbon Filters Carbon filters are sold based on the size of the grow area. They usually are referred to by the size of the flanges on the top. Basically, these are metal filters which contain virgin, activated carbon and when air passes through this filter, smells in the area are neutralized. This won't add a smell to your home (you won't find rose-scented carbon filters) but it can zap the odor out of a stinky area and give you someplace more comfortable to be. Each carbon filter is run with a fan to pull air through the pre-filter (which resembles cotton batting), then through the filter and carbon and out again. The air exiting the filter is referred to as "scrubbed" and is free of odor. Many smokers also use this to get rid of the stale smoke smell. Check out this website to see what size your room requires: http://www.phreshfilter.com/.

Ozone Generators We also sell ozone generators which produce ozone, or O3. This will neutralize odors and will also kill mold and mildew. Ozone generators are popular in areas where wet basements are a problem. Many hospitals in the U.S. use ozone to sanitize garments and bedding; it has also been used in place of chlorine to kill bacteria in water. As part of fire restoration, it is used to deodorize air and objects which were affected by smoke. Ozone is a powerful cleanser and should be used accordingly.

Temperature: Comfort Zone 65¢ªF - 77¢ªF Plants, much like we humans, have a comfort zone when it comes to temperature and humidity. They generally do the best between 66 - 77 deg F. when the sun is out (i.e. when the lights are on). Some plants will thrive in temperatures outside of this range simply because they flourish in areas of the world which experience other temperatures. It is important to check what your plants prefer based on their natural habitat since you are trying to replicate this indoors. This blog's purpose is to give you the tools to manage the environment for your plants.

The most obvious cause of temperature increase is lighting. HID lights have a reputation for heating up the grow area and this is a great tool, especially for plants which thrive under the heat of the sun. One easy way to keep this heat from getting out of control is to air cool your lights. Most of the reflectors we sell now come equipped with flanges which will work great in concert with an inline fan to push the heat out of the room.

If temperatures are still too high with the use of inline fans, it may be time to take a step up to Hydro Innovations contraptions like the Ice Box which is a coil box which will hook onto the end of the reflector. Once it is hooked on, you pass cold water through the coil and back into a reservoir. This set up will work most effectively if the reservoir is kept in the grow room. This contraption for removing the heat created by HID lighting is so effective that there is no need to exhaust from the room at all. The water chiller can be hooked up to an environmental controller which will only turn the chiller on when the room reaches a temperature that is outside of the comfort zone. For anyone who utilizes CO2 in their grow area, this is a great innovation as you can keep from exhausting that precious gas.

The environmental controller is the icing on the cake when setting up the grow room. This little device will do the work of turning the fans and CO2 on and off while you are away and strives to keep the room at a temperature and humidity which you preset. These are so advanced now that they will also "dose" your reservoir and correct the ppm and pH (but that's for another blog). If all you really need is temperature control, you can get a controller for about $65. Not too much when you see the savings in your electrical bill (in terms of running your fans or water chiller) and also when you see how happy your plants are when they are in a controlled environment.

Comfort Zone: Humidity Range 40%-60% In general, plants (outside of seedling / cutting phase) enjoy a small humidity range of 40%-60%. Obviously, this isn't always true for tropical plants and it is a good idea to build your environment around what your plants want. Many people who are gardening indoors and using filters, such as activated carbon filters, will strive to keep the humidity below 50%. This is practical not only because the plants enjoy this range but also because it will cut down on pest attacks and mold and mildew problems. Dehumidifiers usually come with a control so that you can set the percent you are aiming for and it will turn on and off as needed. However, if you are using a fan to control your humidity, you can plug this fan into the humidity receptacle and it will turn the fan on and off as needed. This is often paired with temperature control and will come with a setting to turn your CO2 off as the exhaust fan turns on. Sentinel makes a great line of environmental controllers which can piggy back onto one another which allows for you to expand as your successes grow.

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