Balancing what you need to do to grow the best cannabis buds is a hard job. From nutrients and water to light and humidity, growers have to keep an eye on a lot of different things in their space.
One thing that some growers don't think about is the amount of CO2 in the air. True, CO2 isn't as important as other metrics. When you think about how much CO2 generators can boost yield, they could be the key to making a commercial grower's return on investment even better.
CO2 is very important for the plants. The quality of cannabis can't be good if growers don't pay attention to CO2 levels in relation to light, heat, and humidity, so they can't make good plants. However, those who take the time to raise the level of CO2 in the air will get strains that flower quickly.
Why does Cannabis need CO2?
Photosynthesis is a term you've probably heard before even if you aren't a plant person. This natural phenomenon is very important to the growth of any plant that is green.
CO2 is one of the main things that cannabis takes in during photosynthesis. However, marijuana strains also turn light energy and water into sugars during growth and flowering. During this complicated process, cannabis plants grow strong stems and green leaves while also giving off oxygen.
- Plants in a greenhouse or grow room can quickly use up the CO2 in the air. At 200 ppm, plant growth stops. A level above 1,500 ppm isn't good for business. Humans can die at a level above 5,000 parts per million (ppm), which is dangerous. People who study cannabis say that levels of 800 to 1,000 ppm can help growers get more yields by 10% to 25%.
- CO2 can only help plants grow when there is light around. In greenhouses, they start giving it to the plants early in the morning when it is still cool. As soon as vents or fans are opened, CO2 can't be added because the cost usually outweighs the benefits, so it doesn't happen. It can be added to growth rooms as long as the temperature is below 90°F and the light level is at least 900 foot-candles.
How much CO2 is good for Cannabis?
There are small pores in your marijuana plants called stomata. These are the places where your plants get their air. These are how the plant gets carbon dioxide out of the air. CO2 is taken from the air by plants when they use sunlight to make food. This process is used by algae, certain bacteria, and plants to get energy from the sun before making chemical energy.
Light bulbs are used instead of sunlight when you grow cannabis indoors. They take this artificial light in and use it to make sugar and oxygen. While oxygen is released into the air, the plant uses the sugars it needs to grow and make more leaves. When you raise the CO2 levels in your grow room, your plants use more energy. When they have enough light, that's fine
Lighting is important, but if you don't raise CO2 levels, you won't get the best results.
A lot of people are still disagreeing about how much CO2 cannabis needs to grow. Most reports say that 800 to 1050 parts per million (ppm) is the best range. When plants are growing, master growers usually keep these levels closer to 800-1500 ppm. When the plants start to flower, they usually raise them.
Please keep in mind that plants can't use CO2 without light. You can't help your plants even if you run a CO2 machine all night. During the day, only turn on your CO2 burners if there's a lot of light in your grow space.
How much light you need will depend on the CO2 levels in your grow room. Between 800 ppm and 1,500, CO2 concentrations should have at least 1,000 mol/m2/s of light per second. This usually leads to a 10% to 25% increase in total yield and a faster growth rate.
Between 1,200 mol/m2/s and 1,500 mol/m2/s is a good range for CO2 levels for people who raise them. Light intensity should also stay at 1,500 mol/m2/s if you have more than 1,500 ppm of CO2. Remember that most cannabis growers say that anything above 1,050 ppm won't make the plants grow bigger or faster. The plants could die if you get near 1,800 parts per million of CO2. A level of CO2 that is too high for humans is when it's 4,000 parts per million.
On the other hand, anything below 200 ppm of CO2 will kill cannabis plants. While 400 ppm isn't going to kill cannabis, it won't produce the best crop. Because CO2 levels are going to go up, you'll have to change the heat and humidity in your home. It will take more time and money to change the heat settings in your grow room because cannabis plants are better at absorbing CO2. Most of the time, the best temperature range for CO2 absorption is between 75° F and 80° F.
Advantages and disadvantages of Using CO2 Systems for Cannabis
We don't think you should go this way unless you've grown a lot of plants before. This is for people who already know how to grow a healthy cannabis garden with high-quality weed. know how to:
Use high-quality mediums and nutrients to grow your plants.
In order to get the best strain genetics, you should use the best ones.
Choose a powerful lighting system.
Grow in a room that is sealed and locked.
Keep or treat diseases and pests out of the home.
Advantages:
- CO2 could give you a 20%+ boost to your return once you've taken care of other things like light exposure. It could also speed up the growth of plants by the same amount.
- As long as you keep your room sealed, CO2 can make you feel more safer because no smelly air is coming out. There are CO2 generators that you can use if you want to make natural-smelling scents that hide the smell of the weeds.
- If you keep the CO2 level at 1200-1500ppm, you can raise the temperature in your grow room by up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Disadvantages:
- It costs a lot to add CO2 to a grow room, especially if you run a big business. CO2 can be added cheaply, but it doesn't work very well. There is one thing, though: They can at least show you how adding carbon dioxide could work. On the bright side, most of the cost comes from the things you need to start.
- It's not enough to use CFLs or T5s to grow plants. You need strong grow lights to get the best results. Instead, we want you to use powerful LED lights or get an MHor HPS setup.
- If you want to raise CO2 levels to more than 1000 ppm, you need to seal the room. You must do that because high levels of carbon dioxide are bad for people.
If you can raise the CO2 concentration in your grow room to 1500 ppm, are you ready to seal it? This word is most relevant.
How much CO2 is needed?
To get the total amount of CO2 that should be added, you need to add how much the crop needs, as well as how much CO2 that gets washed away by water. There are about 0.002 to 0.004 cubic feet of plant use every hour for every square foot of floor space.
On sunny days or with a lot of artificial light, more can be used for crops with a lot of leaf area, like cannabis. Depending on the tightness of a greenhouse or growth room, the amount of water that can get in can be calculated by multiplying the building volume (length, width, and average height) by the number of air changes per hour.
This is how you figure out how much water can get in. The amount of air that changes in a tight poly-covered greenhouse or an indoor growth room about every hour is about 12 volume air change per hour.
Conclusion:
Carbon dioxide is important for the growth of all plants that are green. According to a report from Climate Central, an international group of scientists who study climate change, the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air around the world has reached 410 parts per million. This is a lot (ppm). 900 to 1,200 ppm is good for many plants, including cannabis. How much light, how hot it is outside, and how far along the plant is when it needs to be. If you use it at this time, it works best.
The process of CO2 absorption may be complicated, but new research shows that cannabis has a well-defined "CO2 zone" that can be used to get great results. Commercial growers should know a little bit about what CO2 does and how they can use it to their advantage.