Papa Smurf

When I first designed my grow room, i had pondered creating a certain section near the light, where i could place dry ice.

Dry ice is solidified carbon dioxide (CO2). Dry ice is extremely cold, -109°F (-79°C) and does not melt. Instead, it sublimates (changes directly from solid to gas), releasing CO2.

This would really boost the levels of CO2 in my grow area/room, and would increase the size and quality of buds. Some have advised me, that CO2 levels make a huge difference, and I have read about people using CO2 tanks and what not, but I haven't read much about dry ice.

So it just so happens, that I got some today, in a bag. And I thought, perfect, its time to place it and see what happens.



You can see the vapor in this pic, but watching it in real life, is way different. It streams down in a thick vapor and covered my buds. I was amazed. So I thought about all the things that could go wrong, like it could freeze my buds, or overdose them with CO2 (because it definitly overdosed me, i was really light headed for a while.)

But i decided just to try it out. 5 hours later, i still have a huge chunk of it left, and it still has a nice vapor stream pouring down onto my buds and plant.

This may be one of the greatest ways to up your CO2 levels. Its like $5 bucks at any grocery store that sells em, and it lasts all day. I really think that dry ice may be the best medium of dispensing CO2 and increasing your levels.

My only questions remaining are, is it TOO much co2? Or can there be too much? I know for sure its not cold enough to freeze my leaves or plants, and it keeps the plant cool enough so i don't need the fan blowing on her all day long to keep the temps down around.

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Xgone.

Part of the reason why the co2 apears as a vapor is because it is cold enough to condense water vapor in the air.

I would venture to guess that you're probably using too much in your room but there is no way to know without a ppm monitor (sweet but expensive) or a co2 level test kit (which are pretty worthless IMO).

I really do not think that dry ice is the way to go with co2.

5 Bucks a day is like $500 per grow....at that price you could buy a bottled co2 system and regulator. co2 bottles are only like 10 bucks to fill and last for a month or longer depending on the specs of your room. just something to think about

Papa Smurf

What size bottle and regulator have you found that does the job? I have found different size bottles but none that were 10 bucks. Also, my grow area is very open. It has access to air from outside and in, and its always moving. This method was easy, and i know its really concentrated.

I did some searches in HC.COM and saw a thread about some guy using CO2 in a cooler with holes in it. He used a pound a day or something like that. I don't think i would use that much, or have this much going out if i had really built what i had wanted to. CO2 is easy to dispurse, because its heavier than air. So i had thought about building a container that would dispense only a little bit at a time, kind of like a PUR water filter and how much it gives out when the filters on. Just enough. So in that case, if i had strategically placed the dispenser tubes around the plant, and had a sealed casing for the dry ice, i think $5 worth could last a week or more.

I wasn't really looking at the prices though, rather the theory of using dry ice as a solution to enriching the air with CO2. Most bottles are expensive, and rely on a different medium of displacement, because the CO2 is condensed, not frozen. And you would have to refill the tanks each time the ran out. I think it may be a better way to go, if you have a sealed room, and tanks that dispense just enough. But for open area type grow rooms, with lots of circulation, the strategic CO2 placement tubes from a Dry Ice container might be one of the best ways to do it. Key word, might. This is the theory forum, and i am definitly open to lots of feedback. I do appreciate your input XENON.

Do you have a tank tha tlast a month or longer, and fills for 10 bucks? Now that is a sweet deal. I would build a small cab that was sealed and get one of those for my next grow if it is that easy.

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Rhetoric would say different.

First indoor soil grow

Xgone.

Yeah, my co2 bottle is like 20 or 25 lbs. Its acutally $15 to fill at my grow store. you gotta buy the tank though, its like $150

I've got the hydrofarm reg but its not hooked up. I wanna get one of those laser ppm sensors.

penguin

Have you read the CO2 Enrichment Guide?

If you're going to enrich CO2 at all, it is definitely in your economic best interest to seal up the room and contain the CO2. This complicates ventilation.

There definitely can be too much, >1800 ppm (or so) inhibits growth and even high levels can kill the plants. This is pretty unlikely if you're using dry ice in a wide-open space.


penguin

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savage_one

The Dry Ice container with the tubes sounds like a solid theory, you can keep the sublimed gas much longer. What about keeping the chamber slightly chilled to further prolong the sublimation?

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cheesewire

the problem, as i think we all know, with longer term, (more than a day) storage of dry ice, is that, its condensation point is so far below freezing temps (like you would get from, say, your freezer) that no matter what eventually all the ice will sublime in your freezer.

plus what size of a chunk would youneed for 18 hours of light? i ask because at night, when the lights are off, C02 builds up naturally, and if you got that ice going for 24 hours a day, there may be problems.

i do like the idea of the cooler, but it would mean a daily trip to your source. that might even look a lil suspicious. in an enclosed space dry ice would be so much more efficient than in an open space, but that has been said already.

hmm

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grass_hopper

Actually, just spending an hour or so in your room per day is the best way to boost CO2. You might night get to 1200 ppm but it's free and requires no effort. Set up a comfy chair and bring a book. Seriously.

You need a lot of light and pretty high temps to make CO2 enrichment worthwhile. Without that, the plants aren't transpiring fast enough to benefit from the enrichment.

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Blueberry/Mazar (started in hydro, moved outdoors)...Skunk#1/Blueberry in Soil
Botanicare 42 Site Cloner - a Review...Grass_Hopper's Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Thread

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Xgone.

I would be interested to know what co2 levels are like in my cabinet. I sleep in the same room as the cabinet.

Papa Smurf

Well I was hanging out in the room today for about an hour, checking trichs on all the buds, and I was breathing directly on them. I sang to one of my last plants, everyday, in different tones. But it died because my breath was nasty..... or because of overwatering, shock from transplant or just overdose on nutes, or it could be because it just sucked.

Anyhow, my lady now is doing really well. I don't see any changes over the past 24 hours that would tell me that the CO2 was overdose or anything like that. I guess more time is needed.

I did take some trich pics though. Using my digi and the radio shack microscope, i focused both lenses the best i could and took a bunch of shots. I posted the clearest 2 of them all. Check em out. And tell me what ya'll think.

__________________
Rhetoric would say different.

First indoor soil grow