By Max Sargent


There are many things to master when it comes to growing cannabis. Most of these skills and techniques surround getting the most and best-quality bud. However, this is not all. The perfect grow doesn't just yield a good crop, but makes the process enjoyable, safe, and discreet as well. Given that, reducing noise within your grow is one of many goals for the expert cultivator.

Cannabis Cultivation: Silence Is Golden

Having your very own cannabis grow is a wonderful thing; but having it roaring away all day and night can become a bit of a nuisance, at best. At worst, it could attract a visit from the police.

Therefore, silencing, or at least muffling, the noise produced by your grow is a key aspect of most good grow spaces. There will of course be those who are lucky enough to allow it to make all the noise it wants, but for most of us, a quiet grow is a happy grow!

4 Tips for Silencing a Grow Tent

So, without further ado, let’s look into the ways you can make your grow subtle and quiet. We’ll begin by looking into the specific ways we can silence grow tents, in which most small-scale growers are likely to cultivate their crop. Later on, we’ll look at noise reductions for grow rooms too.

1. Mount Your Extractor Inside the Tent

First things first; the best thing you can do is get everything inside your tent. The tent itself will insulate a lot of the sound produced by various parts of equipment—and if you follow these steps, it will insulate even more.

Your extractor fan is likely to be large and bulky, and as such you’ll probably be tempted to mount it on the outside of the tent for ease. While this is tempting, it is also one of the noisiest pieces of equipment, and therefore mounting it inside the tent has significant value.

To do this, it’s best to use the tent’s ceiling bar(s). Using clips and bungee cords, you should be able to suspend the inline fan comfortably inside the tent. Bungee cords are brilliant friends in the quest for quietude. Their flexibility means that they will absorb the vibrations emitted from pieces of equipment, further helping to reduce noise. Not only will they stop your tent from becoming an amplifier, but they will help to keep it structurally secure as it won’t be subjected to constant shuddering.

Mount Your Extractor Inside the Tent

2. Modify the Fans on Your Grow Light

This one can be a little tricky, and is only recommended if you’re confident with your DIY skills. LED grow lights run cool, and as such come fitted with the same fans as computers. While they’re pretty quiet already, they can still whir annoyingly when they get hot—as anyone with an old computer is likely to know.

However, it’s very possible to remove the fans they come fitted with and instal ultra-quiet ones. The process will depend on which lights you have, but it shouldn’t involve much more than taking off the outer casing and replacing the fans.

For some, this method might be unnecessary as LED lights are fairly quiet anyway. But if you’ve got a grow tent in a room you spend a lot of time in, it’s probably a worthwhile effort.

3. Consider Switching to LEDs

If you’re still using old-school light setups, such as HID lights, then switching to LEDs will quieten things down a lot. Older lights emit a load of heat, and as such require a large amount of extraction to keep grow spaces cool enough. LEDs, on the other hand, emit almost no heat, and so extraction is greatly reduced.

This means that instead of having a giant fan sucking the air out of your grow space, you can get away with a much smaller—and much quieter—alternative. By doing this, you’ll be saving space and energy. A double victory!

Consider Switching to LEDs

4. Seal All Optional Openings

It’s not only light that seeps through the cracks. Any noise will squeeze its way through openings in your grow tent and find its way into the outer world. So seal those openings!

A soundproof grow tent is an easy and effective way of keeping a grow quiet. Grow tents, by default, come with lots of different openings so you can run wires, hoses, ducts, and equipment in and out of them. Very handy when you need them; noisy when you don’t!

They’re simple enough to seal, though. Depending on the opening, you have a couple of options. First, you can duct tape them closed. If you do this, it’s probably worth doing it on both the inside and the outside—just to be sure that you have a decent seal. For larger openings, consider cable-tying cloth over it. The cloth will absorb much of the noise and act as a very good seal.

Sealing openings is essential for growing photoperiod plants anyway, so it’s worth doing it well whatever your motive. Light leaks can stunt growth, cause plants to revert to the veg stage, and create all manner of other issues. So don’t skimp on this.

4 Tips for Silencing a Grow Room

For those who have the space to dedicate entire rooms to growing, noise is likely to be more significant. Likewise, a room will probably absorb most of the sound emitted from a grow tent—so it might be annoying in the building, but probably won’t attract the attention of neighbours. Grow rooms, on the other hand, might be significantly more audible, and silencing them is not just a matter of preference, but often essential.

1. Soundproof the Room

Effectively soundproofing the room is your best bet when it comes to reducing the noise of your cannabis grow room. Depending on how much effort you want to put in/how much you want to permanently change the room, there are a number of things you can do.

Perhaps the simplest and most reversible option is to instal vinyl hangings, like curtains, over the walls. These will absorb much of the sound, rather than it vibrating through the walls. You could also put soundproof underlay on the floor. Despite being underlay, you can temporarily put it on top of the existing flooring.

The most extreme option, and this is only worth it if you intend to grow in the room regularly, is to cover the walls with soundproof plasterboard. This boarding is specifically designed to absorb noise. You can even double-board, a technique used by some builders, which will seriously dampen any sound produced in the room.

As mentioned with the tent, all ducting and fans should be suspended from bungee cords, which will stop the vibrations from entering the larger structure.

Soundproof the Room

2. Try Insulated Ducting

Metallic ducting probably looks the coolest, but it's also the loudest. Think of the resonance produced by metal compared to other materials, such as fibreglass. Using noise-reducing ducting will stop the constant rattling sound you may otherwise encounter.

Failing that, insulating it yourself is simple and effective. Either build insulated wooden or plastic casing to go around your ducting, or even wrap it in insulation, such as Rockwool. Basically, anything to absorb the brunt of the metallic shuddering will make a big difference.

Finally, anything that sits on the floor is worth laying on something soft, such as a yoga mat. This is particularly useful with things such as pumps, which cannot be insulated for safety reasons. As they emit a lot of heat, wrapping or boxing them up could cause them to set alight, which is far more annoying than a quiet rumbling!

3. Use Extra Air Stones in a Hydroponic Setup

Air stones attached to the pump in a hydro setup can determine how much noise the pump will make. Blocked or old air stones will cause the pump to work more loudly. Therefore, at the very least, replace your air stones regularly to keep it working efficiently.

If you really want to quieten it, consider adding extra air stones to minimise the amount of effort your pump has to put in, keeping it quiet, cool, and energy efficient.

4. Add a Ventilation Muffler

The exhaust duct in your extraction system will probably be the culprit responsible for the most noise in your system, so muffling it is key. Some systems may come with mufflers, or you may be able to buy them. If this is an option, it makes your life very easy.

It could be expensive, though, and so you might want to consider making your muffler at home.

Add a Ventilation Muffler

Making Your Own Muffler

Making a sound muffler for your room is simple, cheap, and if you like making things, fun as well. Though the size may vary, this is a key element of a soundproof grow tent or a soundproof grow room. Following these instructions should have your ventilation system muffled for very little money.

Equipment

  • 200-litre plastic trash bin with lid
  • Some metal netting (aka “chicken wire”, “hex netting”, etc.)
  • Silicone gun
  • Duct tape
  • Insulation (such as Rockwool or quilt batting)

How to Make a DIY Exhaust Muffler

  1. Make a tube the same diameter as your ducting from the metal netting. Make it slightly longer than the length of your bin.
  2. Now, cut holes in each end of the bin so the mesh tube can snugly fit through. Feed it through with 5–10cm coming out each end.
  3. Using silicone and duct tape, secure the mesh to the inside of the bin.
  4. Now, use your insulation to fill the spaces between the outside of the mesh and the inside of the bin. There is no need to pack it too tight. Wear gloves, a mask, and goggles as fibreglass insulation is highly irritating—and you will spend the rest of the day in pain if you don’t!
  5. Use duct tape and silicone to fix the lid closed. Then, use duct tape and silicone to seal the outside of the holes where the mesh goes into and out of the bin.
  6. Feed your new muffler over your exhaust ducting. All going well, it should fit like a glove!

Keep Your Indoor Cannabis Grow Quiet

Whether it's for your own quietude or to enhance the stealth credentials of your grow, noise reduction is likely something you will consider at some point. There’s no need to use every technique mentioned here, and you’d do well to adapt them to the specifics of your grow. In most cases, grows are a mix of predesigned equipment and things we’ve cobbled together ourselves, so flexibility and ingenuity are key!

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: