Soundproff growing indoors is very important. The noise made by some of the tools used, like extractors, water pumps, air pumps and more, could be a problem. In many cases, where growers have neighbours at only a wall distance, the noise produced by some appliances could make a difference between being happy with your indoor op, and suffer the anger of your neighbours, annoyed by a noise that doesn't let him sleep. In this post we will talk about possible solutions to soundproof your cannabis indoor garden.
Soundproof your grow-room
Most growers using a grow-tent won't suffer from noise problems with neighbours, due to the size of their extractors is not big enough to cause that problem. It is not the case of grow rooms with more than two lamps, in wich the size, and the power of the air system can cause those noises that could be upset (for us and also for those living close).
To solve problems derived from the fan's power we could act in different ways:
1.- Use soundproof tubbing (covered with fiber) type sonnoconnect. These type of flexible tubbing, are used to connect the extractor with the carbon filter, and also with the window (or air outake). These connecting tubes use a glass fiber coverage to reduce the noise of the air passing through the tube. There are soundproof tubes available for almost all diameters of extractors, and can be plugged in all sites due to its low diameter increase, compared with non-soundproofed tubes. Notice that the extractor will be connected to both: the carbon filter on one side, and to take the hot air extracted to the window on the opposite. Knowing that we are talking about ways to soundproof our indoor facility, it is important to highlight that longer the tube-line is, lower the sound released will be (longer the distance to the extractor, less noice we'll have at the exit). Said this, there is a direct relation between the noise reduction, and the performance's loose of an extractor (longer the distance less performance). Even though, as we are talking about high performance extractors, setting up a 4-6 meters long tube is not a problem nor efficiency loss.
2nd.- Use soundproof boxes for extractors. These boxes are made in wood, with an insulating materials inside (to reduce the noise created by extractor's engine). These soundproof boxes are useful, thus decrease notoriously the noise of the engine, what's specially critical when this is working in full-power setting.
3rd.- Use a muffler. the same way it happens with cars' and motorbikes' mufflers, air-system mufflers are thought to reduce the noise of the air circulating through the air-system, deriving in a much silencer working. The use of mufflers is specially interesting in places where the exit blows the air to the street (or to building community areas). These mufflers should be placed at the end of the air system, just before the exit.
4th.- Power dimmers: We place this option in the fourth place because dimmers can help to reduce the noise produced by a fan extractor, but also reduces its capacity to extract the air, so what we are winning on one side we are loosing in another. In-between different dimmers we will find cheaper dimmers (that allow you to set a continuous working speed), and also professional dimmers, that include a temperature probe (some of them also include a humidity function), what actually helps dimme the extractor when the temperature in the grow room is under the desired, and let them work in full power function, when the temperature is over the setting.
5th.- The fifth option if we are still worried about noise, and we've used all the previous techniques is to completely soundproof the grow room. This is a much more expensive, and needs more efford than others, so we should only use it if we already tried everything said before, and it's not enough. To insulate the noise of a grow room it is interesting to get insulating materials like glass-fyber, or special foams to get the same effect, to cover all the walls with it (forget about eggs' cages, we should eat too many eggs). Another option, even better, but also expensiver, is to create an air shield, building sheetrock walls. The worst point of these option is we will reduce the growing area (just few centimeters), and also that we need to know how to build it (pay for the work is an option, but depending on the size of the grow room, it could increase the budget for the setting due to materials and workforce needed.
* We would like to notice that some extractors are better than others, and actually we can find all-in-one (extractor with muffler) what derives in a higher air extraction possibilities with lower working noise. We aim you to buy professional extractors, because it's worth it to pay the extra money for a professional extractor. These increase the air extraction, and they do it producing less noise, the perfect combo. We tell you this because the difference in price is not much when we take a common extractor and then we buy the muffler separately.
Reduce other noises from a grow room
Another noisy problem, once we soundproofed the air-system is commontly the noise created by air pumps (commontly used to oxygenate the nutrient solution in water tank. To solve the noise of these pumps (that usually vibrate a lot) the best solution is to hang'em so they don't transmit the vibration to the floor.
Focused in hydroponic systems, water circulation could be a problem too. This has very difficult solution, because we need the water to circulate through all the system to keep plants healthy and alive. As we can not stop the water pumps, what we actually can do is trying to soundproof the noise of the water circulation. A key point to solve this usually try to solve the noise of the cascade created by water when returning to the tank. this cascade is thought to oxygenate the nutrient solution, so solving this issue we will create another one (nutrient solution oxygenation). What we have to solve first is the height the water is falling from, so we have to reduce it within whatever that helps lowing this height. Once we've made this, it is VERY IMPORTANT to use air pumps to source the nutrient solution with air (what will help keeping the system healthy for plants developement).
We hope our tips help you set up a soundproof garden.
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