Filters Fans
Why A Carbon Filter Fan is so Important for Your Grow Tent
A good ventilation setup in your growing room is very important for ideal odor control
Plants breathe and get rid of various unnecessary elements through foliage. When proper ventilation is not provided, the pores of the leaves get clogged, leading to the plant’s weakening and progressive death. If there is a sufficient air movement, the leaves can breathe and the plant will grow happily.
Did you know? A carbon scrubber can completely hide the smell of growing cannabis plants, even really smelly ones!
Our Best Carbon Filter Fan Comparison
Introduction To Grow Room Fans
There are various types of fans you may use to maintain your plants in good conditions:
- The exhaust fan or extractor, is the central piece of a basic setup. It takes the air out of your grow box, renewing it and helping to maintain a bearable temperature for the plants.
- An intake fan can be added in some cases, to increase air circulation.
- A simple fan will always be needed to move the air around leaves and buds.
You may use only an indoor grow extractor fan and a simple fan, they create climatic conditions good enough for most of small to medium sized projects. However, an intake fan for grow tent might be needed in larger areas or in case your lamps create a high heat output.
Grow Room Exhaust Fans, Intake Fans and Simple Fans
The Exhaust Fan
- By sucking the air from the inside, this fan provides the basic air-renewal. It can be used alone, one side drawing in the fouled air and the other one exhausting it outside. The air intake is then passive, the depression created being sufficient enough to create a vacuum effect leading fresh air in your grow box through the intake vent left open.
- One great advantage of air exhaustion is it also allows to cool down the heat-loaded atmosphere induced by the lamps, especially if you use HID lights (MH or HPS) which are known to greatly increase the temperature when lit-up, and many growers use it to regulate climatic conditions when summer heat related problems show up.
- It also helps to control humidity in your grow space. If a greater level is needed for seedlings and clones, to much humidity can lead to nasty fungi development in your buds and it should be regulated carefully during blooming stages.
- There are different points of views when it comes to the amount of ventilation you should provide. Some like to leave the fans on all the time, others prefer to use them only once every hour using a dedicated exhaust fan timer.
There are 3 Main Types of Fans used in Grow Spaces
- Axial Flow: they are the less powerful ones, might be used for tiny areas or in larger projects using low heat output lamps like LED or fluorescent.
- Centrifugal Flow: those are the best ones. You can find Squirrel Cages or Vortex style models, both are powerful and will last long even when used 24/7. A major inconvenience linked to their use is the loud noise they produce, which increases accordingly to their power and the duct’s length.They are the only type you can use if you need a carbon filter for grow tent.
- Mix Flow: these are powerful in-duct (inline) mounted fans. They are quieter than the previous ones and can be used with success in small to medium sized projects, especially if your lamps don’t increase the temperature much (LED, CFL, fluorescent tubes). However, they won’t last as long as the centrifugal types and cannot be used along with carbon filters for grow rooms.
Best Carbon Filter Fans - The Details
iPower 4 inch 190 CFM Duct Inline fan with 4” carbon filter, 8 feet ducting combo for grow tent ventilation. Quiet operation with composite fan blades and center hub.
PROS
- Designed for silent operation with noise and vibration reduction with the use of the composite blades and the center hub.
- Uses 1050+ IAV Australia Charcoal Filter, one of the world’s most absorbent carbon.
- Duct has flame retarding coating and corrosion resistant wire helix.
- Pre-filter included. The pre-filter catches large particles and dust prior to getting into the ducting.
- Works as a ventilation and exhaust combo, removes heat and eliminates odor from ill-smelling grow tent.
CONS
- Fan is single speed. It cannot be controlled.
- Fan is loud but not as loud as a 6” fan.
The Growsun 6 inch 400 CFM has an inline carbon filter fan combo for a grow tent. It comes with a speed controller. Up to 400 CFM capacity. Removes up to 99.5% of volatiles from the air. It includes a 30 yard duct tape and 25’ ducting.
PROS
- Variable fan control has 3 settings: Variable speed, Off and Full Speed.
- Carbon filter has a thickness of 1.5 inches of virgin activated carbon. Removes up to 99.5% of all volatiles from the grow tent.
- Includes a fabric pre-filter cover.
- Discrete packaging using an Amazon labeled box.
- Good enough for a small tent.
CONS
- It may be necessary to keep the filter outside the tent.
- It is the nature of the free standing fan, or one connected to the ducting, to shake during operation.
The Growsun 6” duct fan exhaust kit with carbon filter and fan combo, also comes with a 25’ ducting and 2 clamps. Full capacity duct fan and exhaust fan combo. Works great with a small sized grow tent.
PROS
- Removes 99.5% of all volatiles from the air.
- Can be configured as an exhaust filter and fan, or as an intake filter and fan.
- Discrete packaging.
- Comes with a fabric pre-filter cover.
- Works well with a small grow tent.
CONS
- Average noise level. Almost the same noise levels as a 6” duct fan.
- If the tent is small, it is best to keep the filter outside the grow tent.
The Hydro Crunch 4” 100 CFM Booster Fan and 4” x 25 ft. ducting hydroponic ventilation kit is a ventilation fan and filter combo for better odor control. It removes both odors and heat from a closed system grow kit.
PROS
- Improved odor control with charcoal activated carbon filters and a booster fan.
- Lightweight and easy to install.
- Energy efficient and quiet operations
- 4” x 25’ uninsulated aluminum ducting with pair of clamps.
- Can work as an exhaust fan or as an intake fan using different configurations.
CONS
- History of fan dying after a few months
- It may not be powerful enough for a 2’ x 4’ grow tent.
Temperature Control Equipment
- A Cooltube is a reflector equipped with a glass tube surrounding the bulb and connected to the extractor through an air duct. It allows the exhausted air to pass around the bulb and cool it on its way out.
- Air cooled hoods are pretty similar to cooltubes but instead of surrounding the bulb only, the glass covers the entire surface of the reflector. They are more expensive and considered as more efficient.
Noise Reduction Equipment
Main problem of all these devices is the noise, it can be loud, very loud. If your setup is located in your house and the noise is annoying or if it’s anywhere else and you just don’t want anyone to notice that never-stopping sound you might consider those items:
- A noise reduction box, is a simple insulated wooden box in which you place your extractor.
- A muffler is a device you place as a part of your ducts.
- Speed controllers for fans are used to reduce the speed and thus the noise created by the device.
- Noise-insulated ducts.
Match Your Needs
Exhaust fans have a CFM (cubic feet per minute) rating. It’s important to get a fan with the correct CFM rating for your size’s space and take into consideration the lamp’s heat output.
Here are Some Examples
Room Size
Minimum CFM recommended
2 x 2 x 5.25 ft
157
3 x 3 x 5.3 ft
166
5 x 5 x 6.6 ft
355 (2 lamps)
8 x 8 x 6.6
591 (3 lamps)
The Intake Fan
An intake fan for grow tent become necessary when running 2 / 3 lamps or more, and using a big fat extractor to cool the place down. If too much air is being taken out without a fan bringing air in, fresh air will go straight to the carbon filter, missing the plants on its way up. The intake fan should always be somewhat smaller than the exhaust one so the room is always under some suction. You can use mix or axial flow models for that purpose, or centrifugal ones in really large tents.
The Simple Fan
Air circulation is just as important as air replacement and should be provided at all times, especially during the budding phase. All the plants should be moving in a breeze every few seconds. Good conditions can be obtained with large ground fans or smaller oscillating fans. 
An Air-Circulation Fan
- Strengthens the plant stems, making them ready to bear heavy flower tops.
- Helps control fungus and pest infestations.
- Prevents the creation of hot or cold air pockets.
Carbon Filter Setup
Evaluate your needs
The carbon filter should always have a higher CFM rate than the exhaust fan, to ensure a smooth and continuous unobstructed airflow. A small carbon filter connected to a powerful exhaust fan will result in insufficient air-flow and can cause serious problems to your fan, even leading it to burn.
A 6 inch carbon filter will adapt perfectly to most air-cooled setups, as air-cooled reflectors and cool tubes have 6 inches duct outlets. A 4 inch carbon filter on the other hand, will save you money and is a good choice if you use low-heat output lamps like fluorescent tubes, CFL bulbs or LED panels which need no extra-cooling.
Set it up!
As stated previously, the filter must be situated in the upper part of your grow space in order to be fully effective. It is usually placed inside the box, as the primary exhausting part of your ventilation system, but some people place it outside with great results.
That’s all folks, I hope you have a better idea of what a proper ventilation system must look like! Don’t forget to check our website regularly for the best up to date growing equipment reviews!
Next Steps
Now you have purchased your first filter & fan and the only thing missing is:
- Buy Grow Tent – you have several different options
- Buy growing lights – Read the guide here
- Buy cannabis seeds online – plantsily.com/cannabis-seed-banks
If you are completely new to indoor growing read our guide how to grow weed indoors!
