The Complete Guide to Space Buckets and Carbon Filters

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One of the trickiest things about growing weed is keeping it stealthy and hidden.

Space Buckets were originally made to grow weed as cheaply as possible but they had the side benefit of being very stealthy.

Thanks to their low profile and concealed lighting setup, space buckets are very discreet and easy to hide….except for the smell.

Marijuana is one of the most pungent and aromatic plants. But if you want to keep your grow operation concealed, then smell is something you need to plan for and eliminate.

In this guide wel’l take you through some of the options for keeping your space bucket grow operation concealed and smell free by using a carbon filter.

Carbon Filters & Space Buckets – Two Choices

If you want to filter out the smell of growing marijuana, you have to use a carbon filter.

There’s no way around it; no alternatives; no other options. Active carbon filters are the only way to fully remove the smell of marijuana.

But how do you connect a carbon filter to your Space Bucket? There are two main ways.

Option #1 – Inline fan with carbon filter attached

The standard way of removing the marijuana smell from your grow area is by using a strong fan and a large carbon filter to remove the smell of your exhaust air.

This is the most common choice for cannabis growers because it works really well. As long as you choose the right size fan and filter, there will be zero smell coming out of your grow setup.

The main drawback to this is the size and noise.

Inline fans can be really loud and are pretty bulky.

If you plan to use an inline fan on your space bucket, you’ll need to insulate/sound proof the container holding the fan if you want to reduce the noise.

Anybody walking near your space bucket will be able to hear the fan when it’s running and that might ruin any stealth you’re trying to achieve.

Here’s an example of a space bucket with an inline fan attached to the bucket.

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For context, that’s a 150 liter bucket that’s been turned into a space bucket.

For a normal size space bucket, the carbon filter and fan will be about the same size as your space bucket set up. So imagine having a second space bucket set up directly next to the bucket that has your plants growing in it.

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Pretty big, but extremely effective.

If you want something smaller and more discreet, the second option might be what you’re looking for.

Option #2 – Activated Carbon Attached to the Bucket

If you’re only going to grow in a space bucket and keep your grows relatively small (1-3 ounce yields for a space bucket), then you can get away with attaching a small computer fan to your exhaust port and attaching a miniature activated carbon filter.

The easiest way to do this is to buy some activated carbon and force your exhaust to go through this container. This is a little tricky because you need 100% of the exhaust air to go through the activated carbon. Any gaps or holes where the exhaust can escape means it will smell like marijuana and your filtering will be for nothing.

This method is cheap, but not very effective. If you attempt to create your own small filter, you should also get some ONA gel which works really well for masking the smell of weed.

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Wrap Up

If you’re looking for a way to keep your grow operation hidden, your best bet is an inline filter with activated carbon filter.

However these fans can be noisy and are pretty big.

If you’re looking for something smaller and easier to hide, you can go with a DIY activated carbon filter and a PC fan. The trade off here is that you won’t get 100% smell removal so you might need to get some additional filtration or ONA gel to mitigate any odors.

Professor Cannabis

Yo, my name is Chad. I grow dope weed (haha) and want to help you do it too. I started growing a few years ago when it was legalized in my state and now I can help you avoid all of the mistakes I made!