First grow questions. Attic, ventilation, temperatures?

[smeltstorm]

I have spent the last week looking over the forums and I’ve learned a lot.

I’m currently planning my first grow. CFL’s will be used for the primary lighting with maybe some LEDs down the road for flowering. Ill be going with organic soil to cut down on cost plus I'd have no idea what to do with nutes. The grow space is currently set to be in an attic/crawlspace. Right now my main concern is heat and ventilation. The attic can potentially get to be 100 degrees on hot Midwest days and drop right down to 60 at night.

Will high temperatures cause damage or kill my plants?
Are there strains that can handle higher temps?
Should ventilation for CO2 be a main concern?
Will occasionally opening up the door and “flushing” out the air be enough?

I know there are a lot of variables in each grow but any input would help.

Thanks -smeltstorm

 

[smeltstorm]

Pics would be up, but I guess they need approval.

 

[smeltstorm]

44 view and no replys?

 

[Boss]

Maybe waiting for the pics

 

[Racefan]

To answer your questions in order...

Will high temperatures cause damage or kill my plants?

Yes!

Are there strains that can handle higher temps?

2) Yes!

Should ventilation for CO2 be a main concern?

3) Yes!

Will occasionally opening up the door and “flushing” out the air be enough?

4) No!

 

[Damagoman]

For ventilation,
you need to figure your cubic feet and
move/replace at least 2-3 room fulls/total cubic feet of your grow area,
every hour.
That's the standard I use/figure by

If your temps are too high you can move more air too try and lower them.

Sativas have a higher heat tolerance than Indicas, norml-ly

 

[smeltstorm]

I still dont know how the pics get approved...

Does anyone know of a strain that can handle high heat? Or just a tough strain that can handle stupid noob mistakes.

Thanks for the respond Racefan but I would love your you to expand on your "yes and no" answers.

Thanks agian for all your help.

 

[Boss]

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/photo-gallery-guide-how-resize-upload-photos.71594/

 

[Racefan]

I can't really expand too much because your set up for failure unless you take certain steps. The first being that 100degree temps will NOT work indoors. EVER! Over 85 degrees without co2 supplements and the plant is just fighting to survive. Over 95 degrees on a regular basis is eventual death no matter what you do except drop the temps. The temps have to come down.
I don't know of any high temp strains. I think you'll have to contact the seeds vendors for that info.
Ventilation is the key to growing. Without it your done before you start. If you can't control the enviroment of your plants you might as well not try. Ventilation is the key to controlling temps as well. And occasionally opening the door is not good ventilation for any living thing let alone plants. Invest in fans. Oscillating, intake and exhaust fans are needed.
While I love going cheap and making my own equipment...I also believe that if your going to grow, do it right or don't do it at all. When new growers go off half cocked without understanding what they are doing they end up here asking everyone what they need to do to fix things. If they had just read everything they could have and didn't start until they understood things, they could have avoided a lot of head aches and frustration. The key and what has taught almost all of us is reading. Period. Read the OverGrow FAQ section. Use the search features for answers and before you know it you'll have a understanding of what's needed.
Before ever popping a seed have a established grow room set up and working with a few all night and day test runs to make sure all is working right. You want to iron out the bugs before you introduce the plants.

 

[smeltstorm]

Thanks racefan, I have spent alot of time reading over the grow threads and searching through the whole forum. I had a really hard time finding information potential growing temperatures.

Pictures are approved... The attic is right under a roof that could get baked by the Midwestern sun all day, hence my questioning.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Boss]

I would recommend framing an area that includes the block wall and access to interior air.

Just a frame for something to cover it. Also a few emergency blankets stapled to the roof over the room (cut direct heat in half). Vent out anywhere into the attic, just not out one spot. The trick will be pumping enough air through from the house to keep it cool. The block wall will help regulate night temps somewhat.

 

[Racefan]

Boss hit it. I had a friend named atticman because he grew in the attic. He did exactly what boss suggested and even ran a dedicated electric, water and drain line to the area. If I remember right he even tapped into his central air system and had ac when he needed. One thing he did was to dial his set up in before popping seeds.

 

[Boss]

I forgot, that insulation has to be completely covered and sealed. No glass dude. That kinda thing is where police rumors come from

 

[smeltstorm]

Thanks all for the wonderful suggestions. I plan on getting a good grow environment before we start planting. I'm sure I'll have enough issues with the grow alone, no need for other environmental issues.

No glass dude. That kinda thing is where police rumors come from

There are no exterior windows so the public shouldn't have a issue. Unless you referring to fiberglass.

Great idea with the space blankets.... Those are truly amazing

Thanks to all

 

[smeltstorm]

If you know of any similar grow threads please post them. And yes, I've searched.

 

[Boss]

Ya, I mean fiberglass from the insualtion

 

[smeltstorm]

Alright that makes sense. No need to be smoking little pieces of glass, that cant be healthy.

Boss I checked out your Poor Man's Grow, you truly are a master of CFLs. Im sure I'll have many questions down the road. I plan on consturcting the grow room mid march.

Thanks for any help.

 

[jackhammermik]

Hey Smelt,
I've got a tip for you...That black pipe is a stand pipe (vent) for your sewer system. It looks to be 3" or 4"cast iron so cutting it will be fun but can be done with a sawsall and a carbide saw blade. If you cut a section (1 to 2 feet)out of the pipe the part that is going through the roof can be used to suck in fresh air. Attach your exhaust to the piping that is going down to the lower levels and eventually out to the sewer. Venting through the sewer is awesome... with all the terds in the sewer system the smell from the plants is nonexistent... but you have to watch out for a couple of things.
First of all if you have a dry p-trap in the house you might get sewer gas odors entering the dwelling from that point. Sewer gas= pot smell...Every plumbing fixture has a p-trap. Unused tubs, and showers are the most common sources of sewer gas. Just run water in all of your fixtures and dry p-traps will not be a problem.
Second, if your fan is too strong you might blow air up through other sewer vent pipes going through your roof. One way to prevent this is to install an inline vent such as a "Studor vent" or a "pro-vent". It is a one way air intake for drain vent systems. Mobile homes and RV's use these all the time. The studor vent is more expensive than other types.
Most plumbing supply stores will have them. To test it just hook up your fan and turn it on. Go on the roof and hold a cigarette or a stick of incense up to your roof vent openings. Air should be sucking down into the vent. If it is blowing out of the vent you need an inline vent. Once the inline is installed on the vent it will only allow air into the piping not out of it.

One last tip...If you use the sewer pipe use caution when you cut the section of pipe out. Being that it is cast iron it is going to be a little heavy. The piece that penetrates the roof may slip down through the flashing. If it does don't panic....push it back up into place and secure it with a hose clamp of the same size as the pipe and put the clamp on the pipe just above the flashing and re seal the flashing with some Henery's or other roofing patch. It should support the weight of a three foot or shorter piece of pipe.


Racefan couldn't be more right on. I'm in the process of getting my first grow together. It's been in the planning and research stages for a couple of months now and will soon be going through wet runs. I'm a little anal about it but I want my first time to be my best. Kinda like sex. I'll never forget the first time lol...and it was GOOOOOD :O)

P.S. Don't get rid of the pipe you cut out. It is easy to re-install once you don't need the vent anymore.