Pros & Cons - Sun Hut Tents vs. Grow Room

[poptartlove]

I need your help in deciding Pros & Cons between - Setting up a Custom 8x10 Grow Room OR go with two Sun Hut XXL 4x8 Tents for my 4 1000w light system?

Also Pros & Cons on using the Drip vs. Ebb and Flow?

Background Info:

• I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building and need to be discreet
• I have limited Power supply, that's why i was thinking of running 4 lights 2 on, 2 off alternating every 12hrs
• The space i have is 12x14 feet the ceiling is 9ft high.
• Though i don't have carpentry skills to build a custom room, I was told the Tent systems are really only for hobbyist who don't expect to get more then one pound. Where I'd like to aim for 1.5 pound per light. But the Tent system is attractive as it's easy to setup.

Thanks all

 

[rocky5]

i live in a block of flats and i have got a tent incase it has to come down in a hurry
and make the room look normal again.
i dont think it matters if your growing in a tent or a built room as long as the
enviroment is correct,what you get out tent or built room would be the same
if using the same lights.

 

[hazydreams]

assuming (ass outta you and me) that your new to the game, 1.5 pounds per light is gonna be a hard trick to accomplish the first go around without serious coin invested in CO2, AC and a friend who knows what they are doing.

Getting that out of the way, Being on the third floor i would advise against a hydro set up. Any leaks or spilled water for that matter will let your neighbors below know something is up. a quick call to the landlord and you have him and the plumber over asking to check out whats going on in your room in a hurry. If you are bent on using hydro on the third floor then i would say get the tent just incase of things going wrong, you can take it all down in a hurry.

a Drip system would probally be better then an ebb and flow in my mind as the amount of water being moved is less and at a slower pace then an ebb and flow system. I have nightmares of my system clogging the outlet and my 750 gph pump spread 50+ gallons all over the place in a hurry. before anyone says you can do this and that to prevent these issues, i say WHAT IF IT HAPPENS!!! Its not you going to jail!!

honestly i would say in your situation, IMO drip system with the tent would be your best bet if bent on hydro. A soil system and the tent would be much safer IMO.

 

[ShroomDr]

If there was a leak, it could have been your water bed. I recommend a you line the floor with a 'pond liner', if your on the third floor of an apartment.

I like tents, because i can easily flip flop them in the same room (one tent lights on/ the other lights off), but i think a 4x4 tent is just slightly too small, (and 5x5 seem less sturdy) (for vert).

 

[F_T_P!]

If you have no skills in building than you should definitely get a tent. There are many sizes available, in a 12'X14' room I would get a 10' X 10' tent. You can divide the tent into two sections if you wanted to flip flop your lights.

http://www.greners.com/grow-tents/brand/secret-jardin/secret-jardin-dark-room-grow-tent-dr300.html

 

[mikecar312]

another vote for the tent. easy to come up and easy to come down. i have a similar setup in my sunhut 4x8 but use 3-600w instead of 2-1000w.
i use ebb and flo too. its the simplest system i've used and very low maintenance. i guess someone would said that about the drip system too though.
i don't have a pond liner but it would probably be a good idea to lay one of those out since you're in an apt.

 

[El Toker]

I used to grow in tents but I don't like them any more for a few reasons

• I prefer to be able to walk right around the grow area and get to it from any direction. This really helps with keeping things clean and dealing with problems as they come up. With tents there's just not the space to do that without loosing too much of the grow area.
• You also loose some height from the grow area.
• Once a tent has been used for a few months, it gets more difficult to take it down and put it up again.
• They are expensive, much more expensive than the better option of light-proofing the window and door in a room.
• You still have to block up the windows anyway because most tents glow through the vents.
• They are a pain to clean
• They are relatively fragile, if you tripped and fell onto one it would be enough to bend and break
• You have to extract from the tent and you have to extract from the room.
• If you have two tents you have to double up on a lot of the kit.

4KW of lighting is a lot of light and heat for an 8*4 space.

If you try running those lights in that area without spending an absolute fortune on air con and extraction and air cooled hoods and CO2 the room will be more suitable for cooking pizzas in than growing cannabis.

That's 8*4=32 square feet
and 4,000 watts of light

4,000/32 = 125 watts per square foot.

The maximum that cannabis can use is about 50 Watts per square foot, and that is using the entire floor area as a grow canopy, when in reality you aren't going to be able to use the entire room.

Let's say realistically that you are going to be able to use 80% of the room as a grow area. That would be 32*0.8= 25.6 square feet. That would require a maximum of 25.6*50 = 1280 Watts.

Two 600W would be your best bet.

If I were you I'd start ignoring any grow advice from your friend and do a lot more reading before you start spending money.

 

[thefalsediviner]

Line the room with a pond liner, ShroomDr is right on that one. Can't afford any leaking to lower floors in a rental. I prefer a custom built grow room over tents, but, in a rental I could be convinced the grow tent is better.

If you are using two 4x8 tents with 2000watts each you will need significant cooling and air movement, and CO2 wouldn't hurt. 1200watts each tent is more manageable all the way around.

If I was growing in a rented apartment I wouldn't have more going on than I could calmly break down in an hour.

TFD

 

[Hammerhead]

I only trust 1 company with my grows and that Secret Jardin.

 

[BIG JT]

I only trust 1 company with my grows and that Secret Jardin.

Check out that new thread with the mammoth tents, they are amazing, sturdier poles, thicker material. I have the secret jardin tents as well and they are the only way to go if you have the room

 

[hazydreams]

Line the room with a pond liner, ShroomDr is right on that one. Can't afford any leaking to lower floors in a rental. I prefer a custom built grow room over tents, but, in a rental I could be convinced the grow tent is better.

If you are using two 4x8 tents with 2000watts each you will need significant cooling and air movement, and CO2 wouldn't hurt. 1200watts each tent is more manageable all the way around.

If I was growing in a rented apartment I wouldn't have more going on than I could calmly break down in an hour.

TFD

+1

 

[poptartlove]

Pros & Cons - Sun Hut Tents vs. Grow Room

another vote for the tent. easy to come up and easy to come down. i have a similar setup in my sunhut 4x8 but use 3-600w instead of 2-1000w.
i use ebb and flo too. its the simplest system i've used and very low maintenance. i guess someone would said that about the drip system too though.
i don't have a pond liner but it would probably be a good idea to lay one of those out since you're in an apt.

Hey mikecar312 from my understanding because the Sun Hut's only have a 7ft head-space, the ebb and flow (being that its off the ground by 2-3ft) it limits the how high you can grow your plants.

Plus for everyone that uses 600w i heard you get much better results with 1000w.

Regarding the top-down drip system, with so many parts that can go wrong and leak i would guess the Ebb and Flow is simple enough to manage... but then you have the problem of toxicity

 

[bubblebert]

I say go with the Sun Huts for the ease of setup and breakdown, and less room modification. I have two 4x4 Sun Huts and the only holes I've put in the walls for the my setup are for the window box. If I need to move, my whole room can come with me without having to build a new one.

 

[BIG JT]

Hey mikecar312 from my understanding because the Sun Hut's only have a 7ft head-space, the ebb and flow (being that its off the ground by 2-3ft) it limits the how high you can grow your plants.

Plus for everyone that uses 600w i heard you get much better results with 1000w.

Regarding the top-down drip system, with so many parts that can go wrong and leak i would guess the Ebb and Flow is simple enough to manage... but then you have the problem of toxicity

You can find threads with people arguing about which is better 600s or 1000s. I prefer the even coverage of the 600s and less heat, but I know 1000s produce more if you can keep the heat down. I have 2 5X10s going, one with 2 1000s another with 3 600s. Magnum XXXL baby

 

[Hammerhead]

I would not say much better. 600 are more efficient then 1k. I also use 600's I dont feel the increase in cost to run 1k justifies switching over to 1k.

 

[BIG JT]

To me it seems more expensive to go with the 600s! Instead of buying 2 complete systems, i have to buy 3!

 

[mg75]

can tents be sealed for CO2 use?

maybe some 2x4s, some thin plywood and insulation will be more economical, sturdy, and light/air proof. you can't really use a window A/C with a tent. you must use a portable (less efficient one).

plus you can put a lock on them.

How hard is it to build a box?

 

[Sam the Caveman]

Just get one tent and light proof the windows. Then you can still run the fip flop and see which way you like better.

Personally, I just decided against getting a tent, its just one more thing to complicate matters. I can have the windows light proofed faster than I can put up a tent, and its much cheaper. If I ever expand to the room capacity, I won't have a useless tent laying around.

 

[slave4sail]

I need your help in deciding Pros & Cons between - Setting up a Custom 8x10 Grow Room OR go with two Sun Hut XXL 4x8 Tents for my 4 1000w light system?

Pro's and con's are dependent on your personal and unique situation. Traditionally I am a huge advocate to building a room versus putting up a tent, however I will admit that there is no one single right way. Only the best way for you. One thing I would like to nitpick is the common misconception of the tents being so quick to tear down. While that may be true, the actual gear and plants within the tent usually take the most time to deal with. Not to mention patching any holes if any are made. The ease of quick tear down has little to no bearing whatsoever in my opinion when you are pressed more to deal with the actual gear and plants in the floorspace, than hiding a tent under your bed after you quick tear it down.

Tents do serve a good purpose for many, so do not let my bias sway you. It may be the best situation for you, but then again only you can determine that. In my opinion tents help allow a stealth way to bring a growspace into an otherwise difficult space. You mention living in an apartment, so this would be an advantage to tents unless you have a secure entrance to bring building materials without raising suspicions. Then again, how many building materials do you need to build a room? See below.

Background Info:

• I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building and need to be discreet
• I have limited Power supply, that's why i was thinking of running 4 lights 2 on, 2 off alternating every 12hrs
• The space i have is 12x14 feet the ceiling is 9ft high.
• Though i don't have carpentry skills to build a custom room, I was told the Tent systems are really only for hobbyist who don't expect to get more then one pound. Where I'd like to aim for 1.5 pound per light. But the Tent system is attractive as it's easy to setup.

Thanks all

Chances are the room the tents are in will be totally off limits, so why not just utilize the whole room? It is already built, there you have it. Custom grow room already built! No need to go crazy, panda off an entrance to keep your light leaks at bay and if you really want to flip flop run a strip of panda down the middle. Doubled up if need be.

If this is your first show, and you are in an apt. 3rd floor and asking for help I truly suggest waiting on the flip flop idea and KISS.

Some solid information given by other members here, take it all in and apply it to your situation how you feel best.

Drip to waste in coco or hydroton, but I am bias. Both ebb/flow and drip systems work wonders.

You will never know which one is truly better, or if the pro and con are actually pro and con until you experience them yourself. Though adequate research is a great tool, I hope my comments can be of use to you.

 

[mikecar312]

Hey mikecar312 from my understanding because the Sun Hut's only have a 7ft head-space, the ebb and flow (being that its off the ground by 2-3ft) it limits the how high you can grow your plants.

Plus for everyone that uses 600w i heard you get much better results with 1000w.

Regarding the top-down drip system, with so many parts that can go wrong and leak i would guess the Ebb and Flow is simple enough to manage... but then you have the problem of toxicity

depending on the plant, i veg til about 10"-12" and then flower. i have a trellis about 30" from the top of my trays and i make sure the plants don't go to far past that point. 3' is the max my plant can get. my light is about 12" from the tops of the plants and can't really go any higher so i feel like 1000w would burn them, although i've never tried. the bottom of my tray is 20" from the floor and i can slide a res that is 12"-14" high under my trays. i use the gh snap stands to hold my trays up. i use 27gal, 35gal, and 70gal res.

if height is a problem, the hut is not the way to go.

what problem with toxicity are you talking about?