Why You Need Clip On Fans in Your Grow Tent?
Air circulation (clip on fans) is an undervalued but extremely important component for your grow tent. While most growers are familiar with ventilation being important—moving fresh air into the tent by either pulling air out or pushing air into the enclosed space—since it helps control temperature, humidity, and refreshes oxygen and CO2, but air circulation inside the tent is also a crucial component.
Providing air circulation is best done with a fan that is positioned in parallel to the canopy, rather than from above or below, and also circulates air in different directions (read: oscillation). So what are the benefits of having air circulation inside the tent?
The benefits of air circulation (clip on fans)
Air circulation (clip on fans) is important for a few reasons:
Plants constantly need fresh air with lots of CO2. Outdoors this is no problem and is done by the wind but indoors there is no natural airflow so, while your tent’s exhaust does bring in fresh air, the air is placed in one area and not dispersed throughout the tent. A clip on fan is able to do this.
Air circulation helps strengthen plant structures. This means plants are sturdier and naturally produce auxin, a chemical that is anti-bacterial and helps repel pests and encourage growth in plants.
Air circulation helps balance humidity and temperature within the canopy. Humidity, especially, tends to vary throughout the tent regardless if you have a ventilation system or not. This is because, as your plants respirate, they release moisture which, if there is no airflow, sits around the leaves. Over time, this collected moisture builds up and can encourage bacteria growth, fungus, and other pests to find a home in higher humidity. This is why we see bud rot more often in areas within the canopy.
Why you need clip on fans in your grow tent?
Clip on fans are the best solution for improving airflow. They’re better than not using a fan at all (naturally), but they also have some key advantages over standing fans. You can adjust the location of the clip on fan easily—from the top of the tent, to the middle, to the bottom. Each location has a benefit to it.
Above the canopy, your clip on fan helps dissipate heat from your grow lights and provides CO2 to tips and buds. Position your fan so it covers as much of your canopy as possible and rustles the leaves.
Fans below the canopy help keep air refreshed within and below the canopy—this helps control temperature and moisture and, as we said, this helps you reduce the chance of pests that prefer higher humidity. It also helps dry out any moisture or water off the floor.
In the middle of the tent, your clip on fan will help evenly disperse air through the canopy, balancing temperature and humidity, and rustling leaves and moving stems and branches so that your plants will become more resilient as they continue to grow. Clip on fans are the only type of fan that is versatile enough to cover any part of the tent as is necessary.
Wrap-up clip on fans
Clip on fans are an excellent tool for all growers. Don’t overlook that you need air circulation within the tent, it is a crucial part to improving your grow. If you’re growing with high heat lighting like an HPS system you definitely want to pick up one of these fans because of the amount of heat they put out.
Increasing circulation above your canopy will help you control temperatures—although this is no cure for high temperatures. Why clip on fans are great is that they also oscillate so they cover more area than other types of fans. There are lots of fans on the market, though, and almost all of them will help your system, not just clip on fans!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
And be sure to check out our other blog posts for useful tips on becoming a great grower!
