
When you’re ready to set up an indoor cannabis grow, it’s essential that you have the proper filtration system in place to keep your grow room air healthy for your plants. Air filtration starts with a vent to the outdoors to ensure that your plants are getting fresh air, rather than recycled air from your home. Carbon filters help remove the smells from the air and keep your house and neighbors happy.
The smells from the grow room are pumped through the filter and the molecules of the odors stick to the carbon. Carbon filters do last a long time, but they must be changed periodically as they’ll eventually become saturated with the compounds they’ve taken out of the air. It’s more cost-effective to choose a filter of high-quality that’ll last longer than to go on the cheap and possibly not get the filtering your indoor cannabis grow requires.
Choosing A Carbon Filter
There are many things you must consider when choosing your filter: the size of your exhaust fan, the cubic feet per minute (CFM) value of your fan, material, versatility, price, and warranty. There are several excellent carbon filters on the market:
iPower 4-inch Air Carbon Filter: The iPower model has a 200 CFM and uses 1050+ IAV charcoal – considered one of the most effective and absorbent carbons in the world. The pre-filter needs to be changed every six months and maximize airflow to a 53% open area.
Cool Grows 4-inch Air Carbon Filter: This 6-inch long filter of galvanized steel is quite durable. It filters airflow by as much as 98.9% and also creates up to a 53% open area.
Amagabeli 4-inch Air Carbon Filter: Using 1050+ IAV Australian virgin charcoal, this unit filters airflow by as much as 99.8% and creates up to 55% open area. It can be used as an intake or exhaust filter with a pre-filter that can be washed instead of replaced.
Phresh Carbon Filter 4 x 12 inches: Phresh uses 46mm thick layer of RC-48 carbon. It uses nano carbon technology for highly effective odor control and comes in multiple sizes.
Setting Them Up
There are four generally accepted methods for installing and using carbon filters in grow rooms:
Method 1: When you’re setting up your outdoor exhaust, attach the filter to the fan with a duct, and then connect your exhaust fan to the outside with another duct. The air must be pulled from the inside of your growing space to the outside air.
Method 2: Attach the filter inside of the grow room near the exhaust hole. Run ducting from the filter through the exhaust hole to the fan outside. Run the exhaust fan to draw air from the growing room to the outside.
Method 3: Keep the fan inside the growing room near the exhaust hole. Run ducting from the fan through the hole to the filter outside. This may not be the best choice depending on how powerful your exhaust fan is.
Method 4: Simply create an exhaust hole and assemble your filter and exhaust fan outside the room. Run ducting from the exhaust hole to the fan, which should be directly attached to the filter.
The good news is that ducting is not that expensive. So, if one of the methods doesn’t seem to be working for you, you can always try another type of set up without breaking the bank.
It’s important that your indoor cannabis grow doesn’t pollute the surrounding areas of your home with strong odors. A good carbon filter will help absorb the odors and keep your home free of “the weed smell”.