How To Use CO2 For Grow Tent Growing

 Indoor gardeners are always looking for new and innovative ways to boost their yields. There is, in fact, a very simple way to maximize your yields and grow strong and healthy plants, and this is through the addition of CO2 to your grow room. But what exactly is CO2 and how does it benefit your plants?

What is CO2?

CO2 or carbon dioxide is what we expel when breathing, and what plants use to initiate photosynthetic functions. Plants actually ‘breathe in’ CO2 in the day, but give out CO2 at night. Levels of CO2 are measured in PPM (parts per million), and ambient room levels are typically in the region of 300–400ppm. Assuming you have sufficient circulation in your grow tent you should be able to achieve the atmospheric standard of 390 PPM. At this level, you should see plant growth similar to what you see in your garden.
If the CO2 levels drop below 200 PPM, your plants will stop growing.

It is understanding this behavior that can really benefit your growth. If everything is being done correctly and you have a fine-tuned system, then CO2 can be the one big difference in boosting your yields. Adding enhanced CO2 levels to your growth can significantly boost plant growth without having to change the way you grow.

If you are looking to accelerate the growth cycles of your crops consider adding additional CO2 to your grow room. Plant growth accelerates as you increase CO2 levels up to around 1,500 PPM. Growers have observed up to a 100% increase in grow speed at 1,500 PPM.

Why use Co2 in the grow?

There are two main benefits to using Co2 in your indoor garden that I found: greater yield and faster growing. To explain further, plants have a certain amount of moisture and energy in their leaves at all times, and Co2 aids in bringing out that energy to help your plants thrive. By unlocking that stored energy, most growers agree that you will get about 20–30% more yield with an increased growing speed of at least 15%.

What do I need to know before adding Co2 to my grow?

Co2 will increase the humidity of your growth, which in turn creates more moisture. More moisture you have in your grow means the potential for fungus and rot in your garden increases. Moreover, if you let your Co2 go unregulated it can create a toxic environment for your plants and yourself. A Co2 level of over 2000ppm can kill your plants, and levels higher than that can become unsafe for humans and animals to breathe.

Keep in mind that a quantity below 250 PPM of CO2 will harm your plants. Let’s say you have six plants growing in your dressing and there is no artificial or natural ventilation provided. In this case, your plants will use all available CO2 in a few hours. When the CO2 supply is exhausted, the plants will stop growing. This is one of the reasons why you must provide ventilation and fresh air for your plants constantly.

To avoid these issues you’ll need to control ppm levels by venting your growth. Most use meters to measure the levels of Co2, like the LTL Co2 Air Controller we offer. For venting, you’ll need fans and ducting. Some use duct fans that connect to aluminum ducting and escapes through exhaust ports on your tent. Others use in-line fans that connect directly into the ducting and carry that out of your garden via exhaust ports in your garden.

Now, Co2 is heavier than oxygen so it usually falls down a lot easier than oxygen. But when venting your grow, there is a potential for the abundant natural oxygen in your growing area to overpower the Co2 and render it useless. On the flip side, if there is too much Co2 in your grow the humidity levels will get too high and prevent the plants from growing.

Because you’re giving your plants more Co2 to increase the speed of your grow, you will need to keep a close eye on your garden as you will need to compensate for the extra Co2 with more water, nutrients, and light. This increase in energy will mean higher temperatures in your growth. Venting should be done in a closed area and done only when your grow lights are off to lower the temperature of your grow.

For example, when using HID bulbs (like HPS and MH bulbs in your grow light system), you’ll want to vent your area to cool your grow because HID’s emit so much energy and heat. When using LEDs, on the other hand, you won’t have to worry so much about the heat, but you will always want to vent your growing area to regulate the ppm-level.

Pros and Cons of Using CO2 for Growing Plants

Benefits of Adding Extra CO2

Bigger Yields, Faster Growth — If you’ve maxed out the other limiting factors (especially light), CO2 can make your plants grow up to 20% faster, produce bigger plants, and enhance your yields.
Higher Temperature is Okay — Maintaining 1200–1500 PPM of CO2 in the grow area allows growers to keep temperatures much higher than normal, up to 95°F (30°C). For growers with hot bright lights, this can make it easier to keep temps at a range their plants will like.
Security — CO2 enrichment can be beneficial for security if you seal your grow room since you’re not venting out smelly air. Certain methods of adding CO2 like using a CO2 generator will also create natural smells that help cover up the smell of plants directly.

Disadvantages of Adding Extra CO2

Not As Effective If You Don’t Have Bright Grow Lights — As far as light intensity is concerned, you probably need either MH/HPS or strong LED grow lights to produce bright enough light for your plant to be able to use the extra CO2. CFLs and T5s probably aren’t bright enough to get great results with CO2.
May Need to Seal the Grow Area — Although adding just a little CO2 doesn’t require a sealed room when trying to maintain very high levels of CO2 (like 1200–1500 PPM) you probably need to seal up grow area so it’s airtight in order to prevent CO2 from leaking out.
Cost of Adding Extra CO2 — It can be expensive to get started if you want to inject a whole lot of CO2 into your grow area, for example in big grow operations. The cheapest ways to add CO2 are actually not very good at providing a lot of CO2 over time but can be a great way to “dip your feet” and try CO2 out. The best CO2 setups, in the long run, are a bit more pricey to get started with, though they become a lot cheaper once you’ve got your initial supplies.

How Much CO2 Do I Need?

Maintain 1200–1500 PPM of CO2 in grow room for best results when growing marijuana

Millions of years ago when plants were evolving there were much higher levels of CO2 in the air than there are now. As a result, plants evolved to be able to use higher amounts of CO2 as part of the photosynthesis process, up to about 1500 ppm (parts per million).

Even though CO2 levels in the air are much lower today at around 400 PPM, plants are still able to use CO2 levels at higher concentrations, allowing them to produce more energy from the same amount of light. Growers can take advantage of this increased growth by providing extra CO2.

That means in order for CO2 enrichment to be the most effective, you want to maintain levels up to 1500 ppm of CO2 in your grow space with very bright light.

Plants Can Use Up to 1200–1500 PPM of CO2

CO2 supplementation works best when everything else in the grow space has already been optimized, and for most growers, a little optimization may result in even bigger returns on yields than adding CO2!

If you’re using smaller grow lights with lower light levels, you will need less CO2!
Plants should have fast & healthy growth — No nutrient problems and no pest problems if possible. It will also maximize your yields by using plant training. Healthy and vibrant plants respond really well to extra CO2!

How to Add CO2 to your Grow Room

Using exhale CO2 bags is the natural and easiest way of adding CO2 to your grow room. The Exhale CO2 bag cultivates carbon dioxide 24 hours a day with no need to refill bottles or use expensive production units.

They work through photosynthesis — photosynthesis is the process by which plant leaves make carbohydrates. Sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water are converted into carbohydrates and oxygen by the action of chlorophyll in the chloroplasts of the plant. Plants growing indoors under artificial light often lack enough CO2 to efficiently photosynthesize. When plants are able to maximize the process of photosynthesis, the result is larger plants with larger yields.

The power lies in the mycelial mass inside the vented cultivator. This mycelial mass cultivates carbon dioxide and the one-way breather patch releases CO2 continually for up to 6 months.

Please note, that as CO2 is heavier than air, the exhale CO2 bag should be hung at the top of the grow room to deliver a shower of CO2 over your plants.

Conclusion

If your goal is harvesting huge plants with a heavy yield, you should be supplementing with CO2.

With the right grow light system, CO2 supplementation can supercharge your growth as you’ve never seen before.