By Luke Sumpter


Growing cannabis indoors comes with a large set of advantages. You’ll have complete control over temperature, humidity, water, and lighting. Such command over your growing space will enable you to boost plant health, optimise yields, and keep pathogens and pests at bay.

However, growing indoors comes with a downside, too. Things can get very, very smelly. You might get used to the pleasant and floral odour, only to be reminded of the intensity of the terpenes when having guests over for dinner. While exposing friends and family to the signature scent of cannabis might not be an issue, landlords and nosey neighbours are an entirely different story.

You can keep your indoor growing operation completely private by removing skunk-y smells from the equation. After looking for a solution to this issue for decades, cultivators finally stumbled across a piece of kit that works remarkably well: carbon filters. Find out how these stealthy devices can eradicate obvious aromas and keep your cannabis grow clandestine.

What are Carbon Filters?

Carbon filters play an important role in any indoor cultivation environment. Aside from growing tents, these devices are also found in air conditioning and furnaces where they help to capture contaminants while allowing clean air to pass through. When it comes to growing cannabis, the “contaminants” in focus are aromatic terpenes. Although these pleasant molecules determine the taste and effects of cannabis, they also unleash a mighty smell!

These filters feature layers of activated carbon, a form of carbon treated to features small, low volume pores. These small holes vastly increase the surface area of the filter, which provides much more space for chemical reactions and filtration to take place.

How Carbon Filters Work

Carbon filters use the principle of adsorption—the adhesion of molecules to a surface—to scrub the terpene-rich air found in grow tents. Because activated carbon possesses a greatly enhanced surface, it serves as the perfect substance for the job. To put things into perspective, a single gram of active carbon features a surface area of 3,000m²!

To ensure terpenes pass through the filter, growers need to create a vacuum in the grow space. Exhaust fans that match the requirements of the carbon filter in use will drag air through the device and out of the grow tent. Adequate suction will force all of the terpene-rich air through the filter, preventing any from leaking out of the sides of the grow tent.

As the smelly air passes through the filter at the correct speed, the active carbon will capture airborne terpenes while allowing other molecules to pass through, preventing the obvious smell of cannabis from seeping out of the grow tent. By attaching ducting to the external outlet of the exhaust fan, growers can direct odourless air out of the nearest window or ventilation shaft.

How Carbon Filters Work

Where to Put a Carbon Filter in a Grow Room

Carbon filters typically suspend just below the ceiling of a grow tent. Use the following step to position them perfectly:

  • Connect your filter to an exhaust fan that features a compatible CFM (cubic feet per minute) and duct diameter.
  • Secure the two devices firmly together using an airstrip or duct tape.
  • Hang the setup from the roof bars of the grow tent, as high up as possible.
  • Connect ducting to the outlet of the exhaust fan and secure with duct tape.
  • Feed the opposite end of the ducting through the designated hole on the side of your grow tent.
  • Position the ducting outlet near an open window or ventilation shaft.

How to Build Your Own Carbon Filter

Hydroponic shops, hardware shops, and e-commerce websites all offer a wide range of effective carbon filters. However, making your own can reduce costs, and you’ll gain a skill that will come in handy during future growing projects. Follow the tips below to secure the materials you’ll need, and learn how to put them together.

Materials

As a relatively easy task, you’ll be able to obtain all the materials you need to build your own carbon filter after one trip to the DIY shop and a brief look around your house. Check the following items off your list as you go:

A) Roll of aluminium screen or chicken wire
B) PVC cleanout cap and PVC adaptor of the same diameter
C) Dryer vent hose
D) Roll of duct tape
E) Role of quilt batting
F) Laundry basket (ideally one with a lid)
G) Activated carbon

Materials

Step-by-step Guide

Now that you have all of your materials place them on a large clean work area to begin construction. Use the following steps to create your own working carbon filters out of these random bits and pieces.

  1. Create a tube out of your chicken wire or aluminium screen that matches the diameter of the PVC cleanout cap.
  2. Insert the cap into one end and secure in place using duct tape.
  3. Place the tube into the basket with the open end facing upwards, and trim the tube down so it’s the same height as the rim of the basket.
  4. Remove the tube from the basket. Insert the PVC adaptor into the open end, and seal the two objects securely in place with duct tape.
  5. Fold the quilt batting in two to double its thickness before wrapping two layers around the tube—duct tape everything in place.
  6. Fold more batting in the same manner, and form a double layer around the walls of the laundry basket, securing with duct tape.
  7. Place the tube into the centre of the basket with the PVC adaptor facing upwards. Add more batting to the walls until a 3cm gap remains between the tube and the basket walls.
  8. Fill in the gap with activated carbon.
  9. Cover the top of the basket with more double-layered batting, and cut out a hole over the PVC adaptor.
  10. Attach one end of the dryer hose to the cleanout cap, and attach the other end to your exhaust fan.
Step-by-step Guide

When Should You Change a Carbon Filter?

Congratulations, you’ve made your own carbon filter! Not only will you save money, but you’ll also be able to help fellow growers look after their wallets and become more independent cultivators. Hang your DIY filter up in the same way and begin filtering terpenes!

All carbon filters have a set lifespan. Once the surface of the active carbon builds up and becomes clogged, it will lose its ability to absorb more molecules. How long until that happens, you wonder? Well, on average, your DIY filter should keep the air clean for around two years.

However, a sudden increase in aromatic terpenes outside of your grow tent will also indicate the expiration date has come. When that happens, simply remove the lid and exchange the spent carbon with a fresh load. Happy growing!

Cookies settings

We are requesting your permission to use your data for the reasons stated below:

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data from a particular website that get stored on a user’s computer while they’re surfing the internet. Cookies have several different functions. Some of them track browser activity that enables businesses to deliver targeted advertisements. Other cookies serve to remember user login details to different websites to make jumping on social media, or other sites, a more fluid process. Because each cookie has its own unique ID, these pieces of data allow website owners to measure the unique traffic coming into their site.

Why do we use cookies?

Cookies come in handy when you visit our website. They ensure you stay logged in, that you can shop safely, and that the items you add to your cart stay there before you make a purchase. But cookies also help us. The data they provide allow us to improve our website and enable us to present you with targeted advertisements that are compatible with your interests.

What kind of cookies do we use?

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

How can I disable or delete cookies?

Not a fan of cookies? No worries. You can disable them (with the exception of necessary cookies) in your browser settings. However, blocking cookies may impact your browsing experience and prevent you from enjoying all of the technical features of our site.

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: