One of the most important aspects of any indoor grow is the CO2 levels. You may be surprised to hear the effect CO2 can have on your plants!
Does CO2 really increase yield?
With the right grow lights, additional CO2 can supercharge plant growth. CO2 is responsible for helping plants absorb lights, and in some cases, grow lights are too powerful and the plant is unable to absorb all the light available to them. Adding CO2 to the grow room in a situation like this will allow plants to receive more light, and will increase the size of the plant, and the weight of the eventual yield!
If you are using MH and HPS grow lights or LED grow lights, CO2 will definitely increase your yield!
If you are using lower intensity grow lights, such as fluorescent grow lights, CO2 supplementation will not have as noticeable effects.
What is a CO2 burner?
A CO2 burner uses either natural gas or liquid propane, and produce CO2 as a byproduct.
Propane is easily refillable, and with a natural gas burner you wont ever run out, as you can hook it up directly to your home’s mainline. These are ideal for large or commercial grow rooms, as they put out a lot of heat that could be difficult to manage in a smaller operation without a grow room air conditioner.
In growing spaces where heat is a concern, you may be better off with a CO2 tank and regulator kit.
CO2 Controllers
If you have a multi-function grow room controller, you can use it with your CO2 burner to maintain a healthy level of CO2, and turn off your device at the same time as your grow lights.
If you do not have one of these, you will need to use a CO2 controller. These are for monitoring and shutting on/off CO2 devices once they have reached the optimal level, or during the lights off period. These will save you tons of time manually adjusting these devices, and cut down on human error.
What is the optimal level of CO2 for plant growth?
Without enough CO2 in the grow room, plant growth can be limited, and if levels fall below 150ppm, growth can stop altogether. By supplementing your plants with a CO2 burner, you can raise the CO2 level to 710-1,500ppm, which is the spectrum where growers have reported an increase in yields of 30-50%. This is the ideal range, and anything over 1,500 will only start to have adverse effects on the plants, so it is important to maintain this healthy range.
What size CO2 burner do I need?
At Hydrobuilder we sell our CO2 burners according to the area they can effectively cover. For example, we carry burners capable of covering a 10' x 10' or less area, all the way up to burners that can cover an area of 40' x 40'.
CO2 burners plug into standard 120 Volt outlets. Be sure to use a fan to circulate CO2 to the entire growing space.
For a detailed guide on adding it to your grow room, check out our article on how to use CO2 in the grow room or grow tent. We also have a grow room CO2 calculator to help you determine the flow rate of your CO2 device, to give your plants exactly what they need.
Not sure which CO2 burner is right for you? Reach out to our experienced growing staff today at 888-815-9763!
To learn more about creating the best environment possible so you can reap the benefits when its time to harvest, visit our learning center!
