Help me set up a tent

I can put this in a closet and have good access, and stealth. Here is the initial idea:

4' x 4' x 7'11" Gorilla tent

4 plants in pots, maybe some kind of SOG with each being it's own 2' x 2' made from PVC, that moves with the pot (someone here on ICMag invented that, and I need to find that thread). Veg and flower in the same tent. I can't see any reason not to want as tall a tent as I can fit under the ceiling, ie 7'11".

Filter inside the tent, located close over the LED power supply, 6 inch adjustable controlling fan ( AC S6 has a 400 CFM), 3000 watt adjustable LED. I will get instrumentation and watch the humidity and CO2, and hope it is OK. Air inside is 68-72*F. Air outlet can be to outside or better yet under the house, where smell/sound is no problem. I see a few 90* bends possibly. What kind of ducting is best?

Using a 20"x20" filter element has been discussed, mostly for mold. Has anybody put one to practical use for the inlet return air (air into the tent)? Maybe some kind of box that transitions to a 6" or 8" duct to go onto the tent. This is key for my place, if I want the air inside the tent to have a chance of being clean. Air inlet may be the biggest problem, unless only one side opening at the bottom is sufficient to flow enough air.

I like the idea of a rubber pad on the floor under the tent.

How many errors in my thinking? Suggestions?

Looking at a carbon filter, I see these can be bought with "protection plan". How often do they need changing (flower cycles)?

Edit: Does buying a protection plan involve sending in the old stinking to high heaven filter? LOL. If not, a new filter every so often would probably be a good idea.

https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-Australian-Charcoal-Hydroponics/dp/B07GSKTT86/

The 4 piece individual SCROG idea allows easier access to the rear plants, by moving the front ones out. Yielding 200-300 gr each would be fine.

What would be a good watering system?

I have been getting carbon filter, fan, ducting, clamps, hygrometer, dimmer and hangers as a kit on eBay for about 140 delivered. 6" Vivosun or ipower. Nice kits. The 6" dialed back to 50% is perfect for a 4x4, and very quiet.

As for individual scrog is done easiest with a tote and 3/4 pvc, or you can just drill holes in the tote and tie branches down. I like totes as they are big and cheap and we all know roots equal fruits!

Solid plan looks good from here! Good luck and pm me if you ever need a hand.

One more thing. At home depot or lowes you can find small HEPA filters which are easy to mount as an intake. Cheap and molds and pollens are not getting through.

4 x4 is good for 5-6 brother

Lester Beans said:

I have been getting carbon filter, fan, ducting, clamps, hygrometer, dimmer and hangers as a kit on eBay for about 140 delivered. 6" Vivosun or ipower. Nice kits. The 6" dialed back to 50% is perfect for a 4x4, and very quiet.

As for individual scrog is done easiest with a tote and 3/4 pvc, or you can just drill holes in the tote and tie branches down. I like totes as they are big and cheap and we all know roots equal fruits!

Solid plan looks good from here! Good luck and pm me if you ever need a hand.

Click to expand...

How to dial back the Vivosun fan? I too am in a 4x4 and love my Vivosun however, this round I ran into wind stress later in flower.
thx

flylowgethigh said:

I can put this in a closet and have good access, and stealth. Here is the initial idea:

4' x 4' x 7'11" Gorilla tent

4 plants in pots, maybe some kind of SOG with each being it's own 2' x 2' made from PVC, that moves with the pot (someone here on ICMag invented that, and I need to find that thread). Veg and flower in the same tent. I can't see any reason not to want as tall a tent as I can fit under the ceiling, ie 7'11".

Filter inside the tent, located close over the LED power supply, 6 inch adjustable controlling fan ( AC S6 has a 400 CFM), 3000 watt adjustable LED. I will get instrumentation and watch the humidity and CO2, and hope it is OK. Air inside is 68-72*F. Air outlet can be to outside or better yet under the house, where smell/sound is no problem. I see a few 90* bends possibly. What kind of ducting is best?

Using a 20"x20" filter element has been discussed, mostly for mold. Has anybody put one to practical use for the inlet return air (air into the tent)? Maybe some kind of box that transitions to a 6" or 8" duct to go onto the tent. This is key for my place, if I want the air inside the tent to have a chance of being clean. Air inlet may be the biggest problem, unless only one side opening at the bottom is sufficient to flow enough air.

I like the idea of a rubber pad on the floor under the tent.

How many errors in my thinking? Suggestions?

Looking at a carbon filter, I see these can be bought with "protection plan". How often do they need changing (flower cycles)?

https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-Australian-Charcoal-Hydroponics/dp/B07GSKTT86/

The 4 piece SOG idea allows easier access to the rear plants, by moving the front ones out. Yielding 200-300 gr each would be fine.

What would be a good watering system?

Click to expand...

I do not vent my 4x4x6 AgroMax tent but, I also have a different environment than you are going to set up so I'll leave those items to the folks experienced in such matters. I just open my tent on all 3 sides while lights on. Stinks to high heaven outside the house as I near harvest haha. I run a dehuey outside the tent though that vents out the rear window. If you're going for stealth, a filter would def be necessary given my experience. Lights out, I zip the tent.

I ran more than my usual 4 plants this run and ended up with a moisture issue during the 'night' while the tent was closed, even while running a dehumidifier in that room. I will not run more than 4 again in the future for this reason and... they were quite crowded by harvest time haha.

I prefer a single bucket/ tote scrog system as the plants can be moved easily etc. I train/ prune my plants from the beginning to keep them short and bushy. I don't get monster colas but I get a shit ton of smaller ones this way. I have also used tomato cages and whatever else is necessary lol.

A rubber mat under anything that vibrates is essential IME.

I hand water as I have more control + it gets me up close and personal w/ each plant on a regular basis.

Another helpful hint a friend gave and has saved me much frustration... color code the poles!
I have to take my tent down + move other obvious weed growing items every other year due to property inspections. Color coded support poles has saved me more frustration than I can relate.

Glad to see you're getting your grow on!
Best o luck to ya

flylowgethigh said:

I can put this in a closet and have good access, and stealth. Here is the initial idea:

4' x 4' x 7'11" Gorilla tent

4 plants in pots, maybe some kind of SOG with each being it's own 2' x 2' made from PVC, that moves with the pot (someone here on ICMag invented that, and I need to find that thread). Veg and flower in the same tent. I can't see any reason not to want as tall a tent as I can fit under the ceiling, ie 7'11".

Filter inside the tent, located close over the LED power supply, 6 inch adjustable controlling fan ( AC S6 has a 400 CFM), 3000 watt adjustable LED. I will get instrumentation and watch the humidity and CO2, and hope it is OK. Air inside is 68-72*F. Air outlet can be to outside or better yet under the house, where smell/sound is no problem. I see a few 90* bends possibly. What kind of ducting is best?

Using a 20"x20" filter element has been discussed, mostly for mold. Has anybody put one to practical use for the inlet return air (air into the tent)? Maybe some kind of box that transitions to a 6" or 8" duct to go onto the tent. This is key for my place, if I want the air inside the tent to have a chance of being clean. Air inlet may be the biggest problem, unless only one side opening at the bottom is sufficient to flow enough air.

I like the idea of a rubber pad on the floor under the tent.

How many errors in my thinking? Suggestions?

Looking at a carbon filter, I see these can be bought with "protection plan". How often do they need changing (flower cycles)?

https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-Australian-Charcoal-Hydroponics/dp/B07GSKTT86/

The 4 piece SOG idea allows easier access to the rear plants, by moving the front ones out. Yielding 200-300 gr each would be fine.

What would be a good watering system?

Click to expand...

Sounds good to me.

Only thing Id be a little concerned with is those lower temps running with led, plants will probably drink slowly so youll have to go easy on watering at first. make sure you have plenty of airflow too.

I try to change my CF's out after every year or so. so about 5-6 runs. I would pass on some protection plan
can't speak to an irrigation system or ducting.

good luck, sounds like youve got it though.

The tent will be supplied with 70*F air from the room it is in, and there is AC going to that room. It may be hotter inside the tent depending on the heat generation and air transfer rate. IMIUBU, maybe your humidity issue was from not exhausting the fan discharge air outside when the lights were on? Putting the filter on the tent intake makes sense to me. Right now I am wondering if the tent air inlets will be OK, if I only use one passively drawing air through a 3M 20 x 20 filter.

I need to find that thread where the guy came up with the individual2' x 2' SCROG modules that can be removed from the tent, and rotated 90* or 180* if needed for the light. What size pot would that need? How heavy would one plant/pot be? That concept limits this to 4 plants, Mr. Sunshineinabag. That should be plenty for a personal grow.

For water I have a aerated fish pond that doesn't get any runoff except from my lawn. I can use 5 gallon buckets of that water, supplement as needed. Electric pump, timer, manifold the water to the pots, pump and bucket located outside the tent. Put the individual SOG pots on a platform about a foot high, under which I can slide plastic oil drain pans to catch the runoff from each pot. Do I want to re-use this runoff water after measuring it, or dump it and start with new? It would be easy to dump the runoff pans back into the empty bucket, take it outside and get another fill.

Which lites? Is 3000 the right number?

Lester Beans said:

One more thing. At home depot or lowes you can find small HEPA filters which are easy to mount as an intake. Cheap and molds and pollens are not getting through.

Click to expand...

+1 that is what I use

I have not seen the 3000w LED but will wager it's absolute crap. Plants are made from air and light with feed a very distant 3rd. Air is air, so light is something you must get right.

Don't give money to the crap light supply chains. We need to see our money go towards development of better lights. Not more copycat factories. More immediately, you want your money to buy you something that will work.



I like space above a tent. Sometimes to helps clear hot stuffy air away and other times it's good to put insulation and empty boxes up there. Duct runs and space for remote drivers. It''s generally useful. With 8 foot to play with, you could stack two crops. Hell, I'm on my second in 80cm so I could stack 3 in that tent. A typical 2m high is common and offers the choices you need for the zipper and venting arrangements you want. The carbon can go anywhere really. In it or over it.

a 1.2m reach isn't bad. I like a meter tbh but have found people will start leaning on things and breaking them at that sort of reach. Ideally you need something sturdy to hold on to in the middle. Like a cat scratch post. Or access from both sides of the tent if the cupboard is big enough. Which brings me back to the tents venting points.

Ordering stuff today. So I got one of these LEDs, without the controller: $900 ROI E680. I like that the controller they have can do two zones, so IF I want to expand to a second tent, one controller would do both. For now the manual control and a timer will do. They have a 720, which with a 5x5 would be good in a flower tent, if it comes to that. Or a little starter light for sprouts could be the 2nd light (swap them out).

I got the light from Growershouse, and also the tent ($325 with the ext kit). Very good people to work with, ON THE PHONE.

For a exhaust fan I got an AC Infinity T6, pricey at $160, but it has a controller that senses temp / humidity. I think I can also control an intake fan with the same controller, if needed, so both run together when the controller senses Rh or temp.

Got to make a HEPA filter and adapter for tent air inlet, and a house AC register could be part of the design.

Filter, thick ducting, 2ea Autopilot APCEM2 CO2/Rh/temp loggers, fans, pots $365 ( had to get these from AMZN)

Shopping for:

Water instrumentation (EC and Ph meters) - irrigation system/stand. I think i am going with a timed fill and drain system to hopefully minimize my screw-ups.


Get the tent running and flowing satisfactorily, then...

Nutes
Ph kit

Come up with 16 gallons of soil and a way to prevent bugs

And of course, beans.

for led go with kingbrite.

you can get a 480w QB, or two 240w qb's that will be enough for a 4x4 for about ~$300 bucks off alibaba. same diodes and everything as the HLG's

you can get a 630w CMH off amazon for the same price.

I notice if each of the 4 plants yields 200-300g it will be fine. That's 650g a meter. A yield that only one user here has openly claimed to beat.

I'm undecided if 480w is enough for a meter. So I would be putting at least 3 of the 240w lights in. I know it would be 4 of them.

You don't get big boy yields from childrens night-lights

I run 2 Mars Hydro Ts 3000 in my 4x8 tent and really like them could use just a little more and sometimes I run a 315 cmh in the middle, Mars has a new fc led that might be better, take a look at Unclefishsticks thread or maybe message him, he is running multiple tents w many different leds
Cheers Renne

I found a plan for getting water to the plants. Basically copied this idea, using the drip rings. I need to find a stand for the pots, and develop a runoff collection and waste removal plan. Maybe veg with 5" rings, and flower with 9" rings in larger pots? What do you guys do about water and pot size when you flip, and there is 4 ft2 per plant of canopy available?

https://www.cocoforcannabis.com/guide-to-automatic-watering-systems-for-indoor-cannabis/

I am definitely doing two side-by-side 4x4s. Each will have it's own fan and light controls, and irrigation system. I think I have a very simple and effective scheme to exhaust air. You can pass thru the top vent holes. I can put a filter and T6 in one tent, and run the exit duct into the next tent, where another filter and T6 is. Slip this wye duct on the run, and wye in the second tent's air. Run an 8" duct out the other side to this 8" wall fan, and exit the exterior wall through one of these booster fans, with it's own switch on the wall. Stealth IR will be gone, but I won't be shooting a bunch or warm moist air up into the attic to make mold.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Speedi-...Branch-HVAC-Duct-Fitting-SM-WYE-866/202907307

https://www.homedepot.com/p/VENTS-3...t-Vent-Fan-VCN-200/204725548#product-overview

Sunshineinabag said:

4 x4 is good for 5-6 brother

Click to expand...

You are right. 6 totes easily fit in the tent.

limit the number of 90* elbows in you ducting if you can.

It looks like the only 90* bend will be the filter into the fan, if that. This system should be able to replace the tent air every minute. Airflow was one reason I chose the bar lights. I will run one power bar into each tent to run the air data logger and small fans inside. If I can devise a waste pump system, the pump will run off that bar.

These tents as equipped, are 9 amp at maximum power draw. I tried a T6 controlling on temp, and the controller is pretty sweet changing fan speeds automatically. The lights and fan should run under their max capacity. That wall exit fan will be nice in the summer, and help boost the in-tent fans. Take off the cover and there is my 8" fan-driven wall exit.



The lung room is air conditioned, clean and dry. But it does have carpet and a rug. I will put a plastic floor cover in front of the tent openings. I am making air filter boxes to accomodate these:



I am toying with the idea of putting video security cameras inside the tents, so I can put the video up on the wall monitor and see them remotely from my desk here. The IR LED bulb of the camera would need to be disabled so they don't confuse the plants.

So I needed more outlets... I have a friend who isn't read-in to this classified project, who is going to wire me in a bunch of outlets and breakers, in an adjacent closet. The two big outlets are for "freezers" I might get someday (so I have to wire for 20amp 110v, cause that is what they take). The other 8 outlets will be for a video security system he is putting in, with extra outlets I want for later "expansion".



He thinks that video system is the main job. LOL, He already put one in for me, but a man can have 2 video systems. They are cheap, and can be accessed via internet if you are a fool with your security. It may work ... one channel for the starter plants, and one for each tent.

https://www.amazon.com/Security-Outdoor-Pre-Install-Recorder-Surveillance/dp/B07MZPV6BW

The CO2/Rh data logger will be put so I can see it without opening the tent. My goal is to open the flower tent as little as possible, so the plants have a stable clean environment. Hell, maybe the camera can see the data logger display too.

This is what one of the vid cams looks like on the tee vee I quit watching, from the other side of the house with a 50' HDMI cable..

I got the tents erected, and they barely fit into the 8' tall ceilings.



Edit 10 days later: The table is a key part of working on the tents.



I am attacking humidity with wet shirts for now. Evaporation has cooling benefits in a hot tent. There is supposed to be a humidifier coming that has hot moisture or cool moisture. Taking that lower picture, I smelled chlorine from my laundry - don't hang towels in the lung room (on the right)

... I see you have the 8' extensions which, aren't needed.