Temp and humidity help

[Mkneller33]

hey everyone, need some help with temp and humididty control. Currently running a 4x3 in my basement 600w mh/hps have a 440cfm fan with carbon filter drawing air out of the tent through the vented reflector. Using passive air flow with 10" total diameter fresh air coming in. Have 2 6" oscillating fans inside tent also have a small dehu.
I am currently in week 2 of flowering and am having a horrible time with humidity control at lights off.
Because the basement is so cold I end up with temps around 63-65 F and humdity spikes to 71-75.
with lights on i get around 73F and around 53-56 humidity. i know the simple solution woukd be to get a large dehu and a heater for the lights out. Unfortunately in my basement I only have one outlet with 2 receptacles. And they are running everything. Still have space on a powerbar, but worried about using too much power off 1 circuit and also trying to avoid spending a shit load more money. As I have to move in around 2 or 3 months.
thanks 8n advance everyone.
I really hope i don't have to give up on these girks at this point especially over an environmental issue
🤢🤮

[golfnrl]

Hi Mkneller33 that's a tough one. Sounds like your fresh air is coming from the inside the basement. If that's the case controlling the RH and temp in the grow room is the key. My grow operation is set up so that the only thing running at night is the exhaust fan. You probably already know this but I had to learn, the fans inside the tent only move the air that's already inside the tent. They don't do anything for temp control or air quality. That's the exhaust fan's job. Exhaust stale air and bring in fresh air. My tent exhausts into the grow room and fresh air is also drawn into the tent from the grow room. If the only thing running at night inside your tent is the exhaust fan, would that allow enough space on your electrical circuit for a more efficient dehumidifier and/or a heater for nighttime?

[Tersky]

Unless it gets below 60 then it shouldnt be too much of an issue though it really depends on the strain. Sativas will be more susceptible to cold as they are used to warm climates. I think you can get around doing anything unless it gets colder, then i would think about adding a small heater a good distance away from the plants so as not to melt them lol. It really depends on how serious you want to get about this. If you want top shelf bud then you will need to dial in the environment whether that means new equipment or timing. It doesnt have to be perfect tho. I also dont think that the humidity is too bad. I live in texas and humidity is a battle fought with commercial equipment which i cant afford so i just make sure there is good ventilation and a small fan for airflow and have had good results. My humidity is constantly around 60% and i have found that you can get away with it.

[Mkneller33]

If i eliminated both fans i could probably get away with a heater or dehu. I was also playing with the idea of turning off the extraction fan at night and placing a portable air scrubber in the tent. This way I wouldnt be drawing cold humid air into the tent during lights off but still achieving some level of filtration. The air scrubber looks like this. Any thoughts?

[Mkneller33]

I could also run the small dehu in the tent at night again.

[bboyfromwayback]

I live in the southeastern US and I grow in my basement so I’ve delt with the same issues for years. I use a dehumidifier in my grow room and it helps. The lower temps at night won’t hurt, if anything they’ll bring more color out during flower. I vent the exhaust to the outside so the humidity doesn’t get into the 70’s but it still gets into the mid 60’s every night once the lights go off then drops down to the low 50’s to upper 40’s once the lights come on and I’ve never had issues. I have 3 fans inside the tent itself so I figure as long as the air keeps moving everything should be ok. Considering the humidity at night where I live makes the air so thick it’s hard to breath but outdoor plants still do fine, I believe the environment inside a tent is still better.

[Mkneller33]

Here's a pic of the girls if anyone thinks that will help. Don't seem to be showing any ill symptoms as of yet.
day 10 of flower.

[AccidentalGardener]

As a rookie indoor gardener with humidity/temp issues, I can tell you what seemed to help my 2 girls living space dry out a little.
My ladies are flowering, but not too far along yet. I followed Nebula's instructions for defoliating the underbrush https://www.growweedeasy.com/nebulas...-tutorial-2020
The humidity in my 2x4x5 tent, located in my clammy PNW garage with weak-sauce-to-nil ventilation decreased quite a bit. I have them in 5 gal pots with organic soil that drains well, but I also cut back on the amount of water given each time. The plants didn't show over-watering signs, but they sure were sweaty, lol. There are two 6" fans, plus a small tower to keep my leaves from getting wet, and a 4" vivosun exhaust fan terminating in a carbon filter outside the tent. I do have a small oil-radiator type space heater that is used if nights fall below 65F, and placed it near the intake vent so the fresh air coming in has a chance to dry out.
That's a lot of leaves, my friend. I'd consider trimming up the bottom leaves that are blocking airflow, not getting light and respiring water. My 2 cents. They are beautiful specimens!