Natural Co2 generator!

Hey Folks!
First of all, this is not an idea of mine. The first time I saw it posted by @M4ur.
It’s about creating additional Co2 for the plants to breathe.
And I realy like the idea of this self-/homemade version, so maybe you could get into some more details @M4ur

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I also get that recipe from internet… Now I make the version whit sugar, yeast and water but that is not so good… Soon I will make that whit vinegar and baking soda.

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Depending on what you use for a setup it could work.
The setup I use I don’t think it would do much good. I actualy looked into this my last grow but determined it probably would make much of a difference (for me anyway)
I have a 440cfm exhaust fan constantly exchanging the air so any co2 generated by the drops of vinegar would be sucked out before it did any good.

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I think using a brewers type yeast makes a big difference. If you feed it correctly, it will live much longer

The vinegar and baking soda has been around for a while. Possibility of dripping rate increasing can cause a huge mess. Guess how I know haha!

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Correct me if I’m wrong, doesn’t the co2 need to be above the plant as it is heavier than air and will drop towards the plants?.. May be something to do at lights off, w/ no fans running, never did this but sounds interesting

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Good question. I’m going to assume at some discretion you are correct. But I’m also going to figure that we all have some sort of ventilation typically drawing all of the air in our space toward the top and exhausting it. Unless you’re drawing air from the bottom, then absolutely.

I haven’t messed with co2 in a long long time. Unless you gave some sort of restriction on fresh air supply, it takes a lot of light before you make ambient co2 levels a crutch. Much more light than most are providing.

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So is it worth to use this technique? Or are there any risks decreasing the yield or messing up the taste?

What do you have for lights, ventilation, and size of your grow area?

I’d like to say don’t waste your time. But I’ll entertain it. Chances are you’re not using all the co2 you’re already providing, and what little bit you’re going to add is going to be exhausted. And you definitely will risk other problems by shutting down your ventilation to try and make it work.

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I don’t know exactly how it’s work but plants definitely love co2… But I think the amount of CO2 needs to be in a good range…
Also depends how big is the grow area… If you grow 1-2 plants I don’t think it’s necessary because they get that when you bring the fresh air inside.
Just my thoughts!

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This is my new Grow Journal (isn’t a big thread) Laughing Buddha & Pineapple Express Auto First Grow - Preperation & Journal
All information on my grow so far…

Based on the looks of your grow, I wouldn’t see any reason to supplement co2. You are bringing fresh air into the tent, and then exhausting it right?

A 400 watt light is gonna put you around 25 watts a square foot in that size grow. Using that amount of hid, you should be a good ways from using all of the co2 available.

If you want to go ahead and try it out, it shouldn’t hurt anything. But I don’t see you gaining much from it.

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Thank you man! I appreciate every advice given to me. I’ve read very much about the theory and seen some nice grow journals but doing it for real is still different.
And yeah of course I do have fans to provide a nice airflow and also a slight negative presure against the odor

Yes more plant over a given area will require a little more co2.

Plants require certain amounts of light, water, and co2 for photosynthesis. Water is very easy for all of us to control. Which leaves us with light and co2 remaining. Most people’s limiting factor is light. As in the amount of light they have doesn’t use all of the co2 available in ambient air. So adding co2 will just simply increases the excess amount that was already available. When you hear people refer to the ideal amount of lighting being 30-50 watts per square foot, thus is typically the reason 50 is the upper end of the range. It’s not because 60 watts per square foot will kill your plants, it’s because you generally won’t have enough co2 for the extra light to make any difference.

Now the 30-50 watts is kind of an old school number, and watts don’t have anything to do with how much co2 is used. But they are numbers that were typically associated with par levels. As technology continues to improve, it’s entirely possible to be at or less than the 50 watts per foot and see some benefits from co2.

But generally speaking, if you’re not around that upper limit, adding co2 won’t change anything within your grow. Of course there are always exceptions. Something that was mentioned and is also often overlooked. It usually takes a fairly advanced setup to make good use of co2 even when makes sense to add it. The correlation between, lighting and temps usually require additional cooling and/or ventilation. And it doesn’t make sense to pump a bunch of co2 into your grow room if you have to immediately exhaust it to keep your temps and humidity in check.

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I agree. I run my exhaust fan even when the lights are out to exchange the air in the tent so for me personally it wouldn’t work to well.

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I think most people do, and for good reason. All the weight in the world won’t make a difference when it’s covered in mold.

It’s just like everything else we do, try to find a good balance within out budget. It’s entirely possible to blanket your canopy with enough light to need co2, run a/c, and automatic your ventilation so it only runs when necessary. But if you have that kind of coin, you’re not supplementing co2 with baking soda and vinegar.

It’s a neat little trick, I even tried it. When it didn’t seem to make a difference, I upped my drip. All the way up to the point of making a mess. I just feel like there’s very few that would benefit from it. If you are one of those few, I’m not sure it would help on this scale. Maybe having a few spread out would do it.

Again, I didn’t notice it hurt anything. So by all means give it a try. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, it’s kinda scummy to clean up lol.

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Run exhaust fan 24/7 as well as any other fans you have
I don’t shut any of mine off ever air flow prevents mold !!!
If you show me a grow with mold I’ll show you a grow room with and air flow issues lol
This is an area I know all to well lol most of you who know me know what I do for a living so :+1:
Happy growing all :v: :cowboy_hat_face: :+1: CB

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@M4ur, @dbrn32

As well, I’m only growing 2 plants and I vent to a 10x12’ room that has central air. I figure I’m circulating the tent air through the whole house and get my CO2 that way. Does that make sense?

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@HappyCamper yes is ok, the plants have enough co2. Where do you send the exhaust air?

I vent the filtered exhaust air into the ‘grow’ room. The grow room is cooled along with the rest of the house via central A/C.
My two plants are just seedlings at this point. Do you think I’ll have an odor problem when they get bigger?

I don’t have a carbon filter now but if you have it I hope she will do the job… Them will smell when the buds will get bigger so you need to wait and see @HappyCamper