Carbon Dioxide Enrichment.

[Guest guest]

For explosive growth in plants ever thing has to be in balance;

the links of the chain have to be strong, for a chain is only has strong as its weakest link.

Carbon dioxide enrichment does work and it works very well.

When green plants first evolved, there was a much higher level of carbon dioxide in the air, than there is today.

Plants have never lost that genetic heritage, and have the capability to absorb much high levels of carbon dioxide.

In fact, under a very bright sun(weakest link) plants stop growing.

Under an intense sun there is not enough carbon dioxide in the air for the plant to be able to use the intense sunlight.

Plants require both mineral and non mineral elements for growth.

the non mineral elements are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

These nutrients are found in the air and water. plants use energy from the sun to change carbon dioxide (CO₂ - carbon and oxygen) and water (H₂O- hydrogen and oxygen) into starches and sugars.

These starches and sugars are the plant's food.

The availability of these starches and sugars is the main limit on the rate of growth.

Assuming that everything is in balance(the weakest link)

then carbon dioxide will increase your yield enormously;

if you use it effectively, carbon dioxide enrichment will easily double your yield.

The plants grow much faster, and the flowering cycle is reduced by around 1 week.

Details

For the carbon dioxide to be effective it has to be maintained around 1000 to 1500 ppm.

It is a heavy gas, and it is cold when it comes out of the canister, and tends to sink to the floor.

If the room is not sealed reasonably well, then your gas escapes from the room, and is lost.

There are a number of ways to use the gas precisely.

First, of course you have to have some way of delivering the gas to the plants;

Tanks

If you are using carbon dioxide tanks and have a flow meter and a solenoid, that controls the flow and the delivery of the gas to the plants.

The gas when it comes out of the tank is heavier than air and is cold;

i delivered the gas to my plants by running tubes, that had pin prick holes in them, above the plants,.

The idea here is that the gas is released and cascades ver the plants, as they absorb light.

As the gas is heavier than air, the air must be moving vigorously,

as the gas is of no benifit to the plants unless it is continually flowing around the plant, its leaves.

Carbon dioxide at high levels(over 2000ppm, I think) is toxic to plants and is not good for us either.

For the gas to be of benefit and not become toxic to the plants, it level in the grow room has to be preciously controlled.

Humidity goes through the roof because the plants are transpiring so much water(they are growing at their maximum rate).

The level of light has to be very high for the plants to process the extra carbon dioxide.

at least 60 watts per square foot, but around 80 watts is better, and if possible even more light.(weakest link!)

The room must be sealed,

so the heat from the lights has to be expelled from the room, while the level of carbon dioxide is maintained at the optimal level of around 1500 ppm.

Cool tubes, and water coolers and air conditioners are about the only way

I know of exchanging the heat without losing your gas.

The heat has to be taken from the room, but not the carbon dioxide, so exhaust fans can only be used every hour or so.

The temperature in the room can be raised to 90 F,

as the plants need extra heat to have their physiological processes working flat out.

Assuming the heat is dealt with in one of the above ways,

the air is keep moving,

and the plants have plenty of light and the right level of nutrients,

then your yield will double,

your flowering cycle will be reduced by around 10 days to one week,

and your veg cycle can be much shorter too as the plants grow so fast.

So how do you maintain the gas at the optimum level?

You can purchase controller that uses a laser to measure the level of carbon dioxide in the room,

and when the gas falls below the optimal level,

it sends a signal to the solenoid on the gas bottle to release gas,

and when enough has flowed into the room the controller turns the solenoid off.

If the air is exchanged by the exhaust fans, the it turns the solenoid on until the correct level of the gas is reached.

These sorts of controllers are much cheaper today then they once were.

When I used the gas, I used a controller to release the gas into the room.

The cycle worked like this: the controller would turn my exhaust fan on for 5 minutes to refresh the air,

it would then turn off the exhaust fan,

wait one minute and then release the gas;

i controlled the level of the gas through the flow meter that is connected to the solonoid.

This is not as precise a method as having a laser controller that measures the ppm of the gas in the air,

and then either releases or switches off the gas, once it has reached the optimum level.

This is if you are using bottled carbon dioxide gas,

but you can also generate the gas using a burner. Here is the best one I have seen on the market:

happy growing, john

[johnnybbad]

Thank you that was very informative. I've heard of co2 enrichment by way of baking soda and a vinegar drip and also venting gas appliances into a room for cheaper methods has anyone tried it?

[anguscr]

I use Soda & works good, but the system above looks very good & you can be sure that's more effective, in my case I'll used both.

[johnnybbad]

Thanks I'll take that into consideration.

[Guest superbluehaze]

hello,

the thing with co2 is that at levels over 2000 ppm it is toxic to plants, so the dosing has to be precise;

to achieve maximum benefit the co2 has to keep at the optimum level of around 1000 to 1500 ppm..

Co2 should not be used in the last few weeks of flowering;

happy growing

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

Hi anguscr,

the trouble with using soda is that you can not preciously measure the gas levels in the air, without a meauring kit..

Some people brew beer in their grow room.

And another way, if you want to experiment but do not want to purchase expensive gear( which is what brewing your own co2 does) is to spray your plants with soda water, which is just co2 and water.

be careful though with using both together as the plants can have too much co2, and then it becomes toxic to the plants as well as to us.

happy growing,

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

Hi jonny,

Venting does work I believe, especially if you live in a cold environment, but you do need, in that case, to have a close look at venting the space every hour or so, as co2 gas can build up to toxic levels, as well as other toxic gases may be given off and building up to dangerous levels, such as carbon monoxide, which is very toxic to us and the plants;

measuring kits can be brought inexpensively that measure the level of co2 in the air, but I have never used them so I cannot comment on them.

happy growing,

john

[anguscr]

Understood John... Thank you very much.