Tent growing questions (+rep)

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 12, 2018

Back on ICmag after a long hiatus. Glad that my home state of Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana! :woohoo:

Kinks are still being worked out so there's no dispensaries yet - only ones for those who have a medical card as far as i know. NOW lets get to the questions!

I have a 4x4x6 grow tent, that will be lighted by a 600 watt hps in an air cooled hood with a digital ballast. Already have an extraction fan as well as a carbon filter for odor. I plan to grow any where from 4-12 plants hempy bucket style.

How many plants will comfortably fit in 4x4 tent?
What are the benefits of growing larger trained plants instead of a bunch of smaller ones in a SOG style grow?
What size pots should i use? Was gonna go with 5 gallon paint buckets from the depot.
My ballast has four wattage settings (250,400,600, 600+ super lumens) is it okay to give the plants the least amount of light in the beginning then adjust accordingly based on growth?

Lost in a SOG · Jul 12, 2018

IMO like 4-6 plants depending on pot size and genetics. 4 trees or 6 SOG.

The advantage of larger trained plants would be ease/lack of tying comparatively to a SOG, possibly better air movement as well as the canopy is less dense so slightly less heat stress although plants are taller so heat stress can be higher that way as well.. Kinda depends on genetics.

5-10 gallon's good..

Dimming bulbs will cause significant wear on them damaging their spectrum and lifespan. It's a bad idea, stick at 600 but just raise the lights alot and get a blue bulb for veg. Going down from 600 to 400 is not so bad but you're wasting money.

Lost in a SOG · Jul 12, 2018

Actually thinking about it with really tall/viney/stretchy genetics maybe more like 3 trees and 5 SOG. With more indica dom 4 "trees" and 6 SOG at a push.

With some clever training and a bit of extra veg time you can cover that area with 2 plants SOG and not lose much in the way of yield.

What do you want to grow in there?

Also why Hempy style and not organic ?

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 12, 2018

Lost in a SOG said:
IMO like 4-6 plants depending on pot size and genetics. 4 trees or 6 SOG.

The advantage of larger trained plants would be ease/lack of tying comparatively to a SOG, possibly better air movement as well as the canopy is less dense so slightly less heat stress although plants are taller so heat stress can be higher that way as well.. Kinda depends on genetics.

5-10 gallon's good..

Dimming bulbs will cause significant wear on them damaging their spectrum and lifespan. It's a bad idea, stick at 600 but just raise the lights alot and get a blue bulb for veg. Going down from 600 to 400 is not so bad but you're wasting money.

More than most likely I'll be growing 4 larger trained plants (topping, LST). I have a lot of different genetics mostly hybrids both sativa & indica dominant varieties. Which would be the best for my style of growing?

I'm not too worried about heat stress, i have an air cooled hood with an exhaust fan rated at 440 CFM. I spent the extra $$ on on the cooled hood so i can get the light closer to the plants.

I figured dimming the bulbs would save me $$$ on electricity & not the other way around .. I might invest in a MH bulb for veg, blue spectrum will help control stretch at the least - will check out Ebay, & see if i can pick one up for a decent price.

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 12, 2018

Lost in a SOG said:
What do you want to grow in there?

Also why Hempy style and not organic ?

I have so many different genetics, i'll name a few I might i go with.
Hashberry (F2)
Bubblicious x Blueberry
Bubblicious x Grand Daddy Purple
Chem D x Derailed Blues
Pine Tar Kush x Trainwreck x SD IBL
Point Break 2 x Brotherhood OG
Kali-Most (MOD seeds)
Bubble Gum x SSH/C99
Mirre x Brotherhood OG
SD/OG x SSH/C99

I'm growing hempy style instead of organic because i don't want to have to deal with soil - that and out of simplicity. Will be doing the K.I.S.S. method and feeding with Maxi-Bloom the whole way through. Already have a TDS meter, a PH test kit with PH Up & Down. The TDS of my tap water is 119 which is pretty good being outside of a major city, the only thing it's very Alkaline with a PH of 8.5.

insomniac_AU · Jul 12, 2018

Smoke_A_Lot said:
More than most likely I'll be growing 4 larger trained plants (topping, LST). I have a lot of different genetics mostly hybrids both sativa & indica dominant varieties. Which would be the best for my style of growing?

I'm not too worried about heat stress, i have an air cooled hood with an exhaust fan rated at 440 CFM. I spent the extra $$ on on the cooled hood so i can get the light closer to the plants.

I figured dimming the bulbs would save me $$$ on electricity & not the other way around .. I might invest in a MH bulb for veg, blue spectrum will help control stretch at the least - will check out Ebay, & see if i can pick one up for a decent price.

Hi SAL
I have almost exactly the same setup as you. Really there is no correct answer to this question as it's completely strain dependent.
Usually I grow 4 plants which I find perfect to fill a 4x4 tent but I grew Barb once and 1 plant filled the entire tent.
I veg under 2 x 80W CFLs which means the plants are a perfect size to go straight into the tent as soon as the last flower cycle has finished.

I always find Indicas and hybrids easier to manage.
This is 4 plants in my 4x4x6 tent.

This is my new girls veging under 2 x 80W CFLs.

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 12, 2018

insomniac_AU said:
Hi SAL
I have almost exactly the same setup as you. Really there is no correct answer to this question as it's completely strain dependent.
Usually I grow 4 plants which I find perfect to fill a 4x4 tent but I grew Barb once and 1 plant filled the entire tent.
I veg under 2 x 80W CFLs which means the plants are a perfect size to go straight into the tent as soon as the last flower cycle has finished.

I always find Indicas and hybrids easier to manage.
This is 4 plants in my 4x4x6 tent.

View Image

This is my new girls veging under 2 x 80W CFLs.

View Image

Nice girls you got there insomniac_AU! What strains are those in the tent?
I also have large wattage CFLs like the ones you're using to veg with. Unfortunately i don't have the space for a separate VEG area, although i might hack up a rubbermaid container to keep clones / bonsia mothers in.

insomniac_AU · Jul 12, 2018

Smoke_A_Lot said:
Nice girls you got there insomniac_AU! What strains are those in the tent?
I also have large wattage CFLs like the ones you're using to veg with. Unfortunately i don't have the space for a separate VEG area, although i might hack up a rubbermaid container to keep clones / bonsia mothers in.

This is my last run. 3 x Jean Guy from House of the Great Gardener and 1 x Black Russian.
Surely you can find some space somewhere? Mine are growing in a built in wardrobe. I've just removed the doors and hung a sheet of reflective plastic. Crude but effective. I am not in a perfect situation myself so I just make do with what I have available. It would be really good if you could find a spot because then you can have the tent perpetually flowering. I rarely have more than a day or 2 between harvest and the next crop flipping.

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 13, 2018

insomniac_AU said:
This is my last run. 3 x Jean Guy from House of the Great Gardener and 1 x Black Russian.
Surely you can find some space somewhere? Mine are growing in a built in wardrobe. I've just removed the doors and hung a sheet of reflective plastic. Crude but effective. I am not in a perfect situation myself so I just make do with what I have available. It would be really good if you could find a spot because then you can have the tent perpetually flowering. I rarely have more than a day or 2 between harvest and the next crop flipping.

That would be great, & eventually that's my plan to have 2 separate grow areas. I'm very tight on space right now, i had to buy a wall mount for my TV & had to throw out the stand it was on + i had to re-arrange things to make room for the tent. i definitely need to finagle something to keep clones in asap - Any suggestions or links?

I'm thinking of using these 105 watt cfl bulbs to veg in the beginning & then switch to the HPS for flowering.

Would using these save me $ on electricity? That's one of my concerns also being recently unemployed, not only are the quarters tight at the moment so are the pockets.

insomniac_AU · Jul 13, 2018

My veg area is 24"x38". I also have my clone tray in the side of this area. I have 2 6500k 80W CFLs which is plenty of light for that area. I have a feeling if you are going to veg in the tent you may need to run more lights as it's a bigger area but you could try.
I don't use anything fancy just a cheap plastic clone tray from the grow shop which cost me a few dollars. You can see it in the back of this shot.

insomniac_AU · Jul 13, 2018

Have you thought about using a cheap flat pack cupboard and converting it into a veg room? There are some great little setups in the micro grow section.

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 14, 2018

insomniac_AU said:
My veg area is 24"x38". I also have my clone tray in the side of this area. I have 2 6500k 80W CFLs which is plenty of light for that area. I have a feeling if you are going to veg in the tent you may need to run more lights as it's a bigger area but you could try.
I don't use anything fancy just a cheap plastic clone tray from the grow shop which cost me a few dollars. You can see it in the back of this shot.
View Image

I have 6 of those 105 watt cfls, i think that should be sufficient - trying to find out how i can wire them together into a diy hood or something..

Would 6 of those bulbs use the same amount of electricity as a 600 watt HPS? Could anybody else chime in on this question?

insomniac_AU said:
Have you thought about using a cheap flat pack cupboard and converting it into a veg room? There are some great little setups in the micro grow section.

Very interesting grows in that section, been scrolling for some inspiration.

Easy7 · Jul 14, 2018

They will pull about 30 less watts than a digital 600. A digital 600 pulls about 660 or 10% extra.

Honestly to tell the truth the main point of small cfl is to be below the wattage of a hid. If running 600 watts of cfl, it makes more sense to use a 400 watt Metal Halide. A hid will put out far more light for plants and use less watts than all those cfl.

Even a 250 metal halide will put out more light than 6 105w cfl. The spectrum is better and penitration is much deeper. A watt puts out 3.41 btu no matter what. So what ever comes thru at the outlet, multiply by 3.41 and that's the heat in btu's you are dealing with. The only reason people say cfl and led put out less heat is cause they use less watts.

Smoke_A_Lot · Jul 15, 2018

Easy7 said:
They will pull about 30 less watts than a digital 600. A digital 600 pulls about 660 or 10% extra.

Honestly to tell the truth the main point of small cfl is to be below the wattage of a hid. If running 600 watts of cfl, it makes more sense to use a 400 watt Metal Halide. A hid will put out far more light for plants and use less watts than all those cfl.

Even a 250 metal halide will put out more light than 6 105w cfl. The spectrum is better and penitration is much deeper. A watt puts out 3.41 btu no matter what. So what ever comes thru at the outlet, multiply by 3.41 and that's the heat in btu's you are dealing with. The only reason people say cfl and led put out less heat is cause they use less watts.

Thank you so much Easy7! I'd give you rep but it won't let me.
I'm just gonna keep things simple & use the 600w hps the whole way through.
I'll save those CFLs for another project, maybe for a separate area to veg plants & grow perpetual - either that or for mothers/clones.

Smoke_A_Lot · Aug 15, 2018

I found a new way to cut down on electric costs - the "gas lantern technique", which has multiple benefits some of which is keeping stretch down which helps with height constrains of tent growing & faster finishing times.

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