Carbon filter clogging from tap water

[Zmc2021]

My 10” carbon filter pre filter plugs solid from my humidifier after about 7-10 days

4x4 tent
10” exhaust fan and filter turned way down
6” intake fan
Humidifier sprays about 6-8L a day

10 days and the pre filter is so clogged that barely any air discharges.

why? What’s the fix for this? How do you run a humidifier and an exhaust fan together?

 

[EMC2]

Whats your humidity level at? Its possible your tent may be way too humid.

Also, how far away is your humidifier from your carbon filter? Try to keep them as far away from each other as possible

 

[Aqua Man]

My 10” carbon filter pre filter plugs solid from my humidifier after about 7-10 days

4x4 tent
10” exhaust fan and filter turned way down
6” intake fan
Humidifier sprays about 6-8L a day

10 days and the pre filter is so clogged that barely any air discharges.

why? What’s the fix for this? How do you run a humidifier and an exhaust fan together?

Only use distilled or RO water in a humidifier. Also I would move the humidifier outside the tent and humidity the room the tent is in

 

[Madmax]

sounds like your humidifier % is over 65% clogging the filter .

did i read that right..how bigs your room mine takes bout 3 days to use bout 3 litres keeping veg room at 65-70%..

 

[Zmc2021]

It’s a 4x4 tent. I have 4 humidity meters in there at diff spots. The two most accurate ones read around 55% at the most. Maybe a tad higher at canopy level.

humidity meter holds 1 gallon and that lasts about 8 hours. Most of it going out the exhaust filter. yes they are far away as possible in opposite corners, maybe RO is the way to go. That’s tricky

the lung room is a garage and it’s usually 25-40% along with the house.

 

[Madmax]

This in your veg room Zmc.

 

[Zmc2021]

No it’s in a tent. The lung room need to stay as is. Yes veg. 4 plants. 2 months into veg. About to flip to flower.

 

[Aqua Man]

Using tap water will create mineral deposits.... on everything in the tent.

 

[PpmOver9000]

second the RO or dstilled water. I used tap and my room looked like a life sized snow globe and caused some burns eventually. No bueeno

 

[Imcamping861]

second the RO or dstilled water. I used tap and my room looked like a life sized snow globe and caused some burns eventually. No bueeno

Just stole your profile pic. lol new wallpaper. sorry op , carry on ..... lol

 

[Moe.Red]

Also I would move the humidifier outside the tent and humidity the room the tent is in

Can you explain your thinking here? Trying to control a larger space to limit the deadband?

 

[Aqua Man]

Can you explain your thinking here? Trying to control a larger space to limit the deadband?

A humidifier in the tent is much more likely to to have direct contact with the plants before being able to evenly disperse and that greatlyincreases chances for fungal and bacterial issues. It also will cause very big fluctuations in humidity throughout the tent... just move your humidity sensor around to see this (much depends on the airflow) but say a foot or 2 over it will be very humid and where the passive intakes are will be very dry. It's also likely that the humid air is being sucked out before it even reaches the plants. As exhaust is at the top of the tent and the passive intake at the bottom drawing dry air in. Remember plants transpire from the bottom of the leaves.

So IMO it is by far better practice to control the humidity of the air that will be drawn into the tent. As this will ensure a consistent humidity through the tent and the bottom side of the leaves.

 

[Moe.Red]

A humidifier in the tent is much more likely to to have direct contact with the plants before being able to evenly disperse and that greatlyincreases chances for fungal and bacterial issues. It also will cause very big fluctuations in humidity throughout the tent... just move your humidity sensor around to see this (much depends on the airflow) but say a foot or 2 over it will be very humid and where the passive intakes are will be very dry. It's also likely that the humid air is being sucked out before it even reaches the plants. As exhaust is at the top of the tent and the passive intake at the bottom drawing dry air in. Remember plants transpire from the bottom of the leaves.

So IMO it is by far better practice to control the humidity of the air that will be drawn into the tent. As this will ensure a consistent humidity through the tent and the bottom side of the leaves.

Yes, I see your point.

What about a sealed room, say with CO2? Is there a better way to humidify than in the tent? It's not an issue once the plants get big, the humidifier never turns on due to respiration. But during transition to flower, what is your recommendation?

Also, do you follow VPD or just an RH setpoint?

Sorry if I am hijacking here.

 

[Moe.Red]

Using tap water will create mineral deposits.... on everything in the tent.

It will also make your gas stove burn orange rather than blue. It's really not healthy if you get that much in your air.

 

[Aqua Man]

Yes, I see your point.

What about a sealed room, say with CO2? Is there a better way to humidify than in the tent? It's not an issue once the plants get big, the humidifier never turns on due to respiration. But during transition to flower, what is your recommendation?

Also, do you follow VPD or just an RH setpoint?

Sorry if I am hijacking here.

The best way I found is I put it behind my fan a ways (which is far from the plants)... its really going to depend on the setup.

I do use VPD but not in the sense of those charts... I go by kpa but because I'm running co2 I have to adjust mine to run a higher KPA (lower humidity to make up for the more efficient photosynthesis and lower transpiration rates) VPD basically controls stomatal opening and transpiration. Thise charts are very dangerous to go by and I suggest you calculate your own VPD values and go by the KPA recommended for stage of growth.

I did a thread on it here if you feel like reading. Also can link you and app that makes calculations easy.

VPD (vapor pressure deficit)

Ok i was gonna sit down and write out a whole article but i have been lazy so instead instead I'm going to copy paste because im lazy. This is not my work so let start. You may find this very long but its worth the read. Some may want to skip ahead. I have added here and there to what i feel is...

www.thcfarmer.com

 

[Zmc2021]

Interested. My tent has a ton of white calcium buildup. As well as my circulating fan in the tent.

I don’t have RO. Looks like I need to ditch the humidifier as it’s useless anyways it seems.

 

[Aqua Man]

Interested. My tent has a ton of white calcium buildup. As well as my circulating fan in the tent.

I don’t have RO. Looks like I need to ditch the humidifier as it’s useless anyways it seems.

Pretty cheap here. Also handy to have if ya grow and need to cut tap water or want to start with next to 0 ppm.

50 GPD 3-Stage RO Buddie Reverse Osmosis System

Description The AQUATICLIFE RO Buddie is a three-stage RO/DI unit designed for residential use to reduce the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in tap water. Each RO Buddie includes a Sediment, Carbon and cartridge. Useful applications include smaller aquariums, fountains, humidifiers and more. With...

aquaticlife.com

 

[EMC2]

Interested. My tent has a ton of white calcium buildup. As well as my circulating fan in the tent.

I don’t have RO. Looks like I need to ditch the humidifier as it’s useless anyways it seems.

I had the same issue a year back. Thought it was PM at first until I looked closely. Its typically calcium build up from non-RO water. Its not going to effect your crop other than the look. It WILL fuck up your equipment though so def get an RO going to your humidifier.

 

[Zmc2021]

Just renting this place so can’t install that. I wish. Gonna have to turn off the humidifier I guess.

 

[Porky1982]

Just renting this place so can’t install that. I wish. Gonna have to turn off the humidifier I guess.

What is the average humidity of the room the tent is in??