New tent/room setup advice requested

[blondie]

I just purchased a 4x8 gorilla tent and got it setup next to my old lighthouse 4x4. On a side note the lighthouse tent is built better. The lighthouse has a traditional HID 600 watt system in it.

I’m working on accessories for the new tent, such as air intake, fans, controllers, temp/humidity meter, etc, etc, . I quite honestly do not have knowledge of what’s out there yet and am looking for advice. The thread @flylowgethigh started is great and I’m checking it out.

I don’t need a carbon filter as I do not care about smell. In my experience with other types of filters, more power is needed to pull whatever you are filtering. Same with air filter I assume?

I’m planning an air filtration similar to what is in the flyhigh thread. I really want to build or buy an efficient system. I also am reading the @Douglas.Curtis filtration thread. Maybe tweaks or changes to items don’t always make to threads. suggestions?

I’m also trying to figure what’s best as far as connecting the airflow for the two tents, keeping separate or ? My current setup is very simple, but seems effective. I have a three speed floor fan I changed and it now pulls air instead of blows. This is connected to my hood and does a good job of moving air across the bulb. This in addition to a Home Depot 20 buck desktop fan is all the air movement I’ve used. It seems to have worked. Now the question is can or should I connect the two tents with a short piece of tubing and this be enough air flow for both tents? Or is this not enough air movement or generally a bad idea? The large tent has LEDs. Winter time the hid will be providing heat.

I was going to retire the lighthouse Hid combo but now am asking why... now what is the best use of my equipment. Seeds... mother or two, etc etc. I’ve got some sativa seeds on the way and more planned. Suggestions on this welcome as well.

The more I think about this the more I think I’m certifiable... this tent is just HUGE to me..

All good stuff.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Each bend reduces airflow, and I try to keep a full 3 exchanges of air per minute. This usually means a 6" fan for a 4x4 or 5x5. Adding a tent doubles the volume of air you need to exchange, as well as making one tent work with the exhaust and depleted CO2 air from the first tent in line. so your best bet for the freshest air in both tents is likely 2 different fans.

What to grow for what? Well... what is your passion?

 

[flylowgethigh]

If you can put two separate exits, one for each tent, you can better control the humidity. My tents communicate via the wye I have merging their outputs with. A compromise, as I only wanted to cut one hole in my wall.

Inlet filtration is as simple as a roll of heavy duty duct tape, a box big enough to fit the filter. Inside put a 6” fan and duct it into the tent, with speed control (manual settings like a S-6 are what works best for me. The fan controller logic is not worth a damn, so just find an inlet and outlet setting that works. The fan is trapped in the box and it has to suck through the filter to blow air in the tent. Make the box sealed as best as you can so SM can’t sneak in.

Controlling the light is key. Instrumentation is important. I got a 3 channel remote sense deal, with a base station, off Amazon for around 30 bucks. Works great if you don’t mind Celsius.

I have extra bars all over the sides of my tent frames that really make them more rigid. To get all the way back in the 4 x 4 tent I have to use them. I only use the front dual doors.

BTW, the front main zipper on one of the tents ripped loose on one side and the rip kept progressing. I was using tape to try to keep the front sealed. Gorilla tent folks, Grow Strong, sent out a replacement under warrantee. They had first tried sending a couple big needles and heavy thread, thinking it was small I suppose. I bought the tents through Growers House, and they set up the warrantee claim with Grow Strong. Both companies stand behind their stuff and I recommend Growers House as a place to buy big ticket items like tents and lights.

Good luck. Simple is best, and it is nice to be able to get away for a couple days, and come home to happy plants. Are you going to put a room dehumidifier, heat vented outside? Window banger AC to tailor the lung room conditions? I wish my banger could be programmed to only run when the lights are on. Better would be two settings, timed to change with the lights.

You will need 10 amps for each, the AC and room dehumidifier. Lights are 10 amps, plus another 10 for the accessories and fans. Each gets their own breaker and wires. That is 2 10 amp breakers per tent, plus 2 for the lung room. To do this this better, have a second dehuey near the hall where the lung room gets it’s inlet air, which should also be filtered… at least at my house.

Dehueys that drain themselves are far better, if you can manage a way to drain them. Don’t drill a hole in the floor and expect it to work for long.

You can sustain a pretty healthy dope habit with two tents, but you have to step up to the power and environmental needs. I have my lung room dedicated, and there is where I burn joints inside. The smell gets blown into the tents and sucked Outside through the exit carbon filter.

 

[flylowgethigh]

I just read your post again and see that you have a 4x8 Gorilla with the 8foot height. Imo you want 8” fan for outlet and inlet. Vent those tents outside to get rid of the heat and moisture. I would run 2 4x4 lights in there and daisy chain one off the other, which has a controller.

A 20” x20” filter fits the side of a 2’x2’x1’ box. Get some 8” ducting, a roll of black gorilla tape, a box from the mailbox/UPS store, and if you are fancy a 5 gallon bucket and lid. Run the duct into the bucket, and holes on the bucket sides to distribute the air. Maybe run a 8” in the top through the lid, and 4 dryer vent hoses to the 4 corners. A center exit at the top would ensure good circulation. The little corner fans blow down, and help stems get strong. You will solve a lot of problems with forced filtered air from a good lung room environment.

With a tent that size I would leave a corridor in the center all the way to the back, which is where the air bucket and fans would be. A humidifier is needed for young sprouts until roots are made. Plus little fans in the corners. The side support bars GGT sells are great for hanging fans and power bars.

The tall tent will come in handy for Sativas. Hang around here long enough and you will be growing hazes in there. When I said a healthy dope addiction can be supported with two tents, I didn’t mean combined into one!!

I like two side by side tents so I can have different light schedules, which my 2 channel light controller has. I can run 60 day dope in one tent and 16 week haze in the other. The combined exit vent I have messes the humidity up though. If you can, dump each tent right out the wall they are up against. I ran one tent through the top of the one next to it, and both exit through a 8” outlet made to pass through walls. It has a fan also. Looks semi legit from outside. If someone added a window banger and an exit fan together, they might suspect something.

 

[blondie]

Great info. My room is a bit unique. I don’t need much if any stealth. I have two doors to the room and have typically closed one door and exhausted out the other. The floor fan is placed in the doorway and the door is closed as much as can be. It gets cold in the winter and warm air is needed. Exhaust just goes into another room. I have a dehuy and it works as needed. Electrical should be up to the needs. One outlet is directly behind the tents. Also 1 on each side of the tents. It’s not possible for me to have a window AC as there are no windows and no link to outside.

I ended up with a pair of mars fce6500s. It’s a tight fit. I’m not quite done setting things up but I think it will work, just barely. I also have to figure how to use these LEDs.

When running ducting through the tent, should I worry about sealing around the ducting so light does not enter/exit or is not needed? I’m not sure how much to worry about light leaks. I have not worried in the past and been ok. Sativas seeds are coming. Seems I need to start exploring some haze threads.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Definitely seal up light leaks. Aluminum tape is not strong, but it does cover light extremely well.

 

[Three Berries]

AC Infinity has good systems for US market. Get one bigger than you think so you can run it slower. I run my veg tent in my bedroom so it sucks up the exhaust from it. But with a 5F degree differential between the two things work out good.

 

[blondie]

I’m looking at the 8in infinity and wasnt sure exactly what I need for the 4x8. I need two fans? One fan with the filter on entry and one fan pulling out for exhaust? Or one 8 inch intake? I was thinking two fans but not certain. The infinity 8 in with temp and humidity controls looks quite nice. But if there are two Independent fans, this would be a waste.

 

[troutman]

I only use 1 inline fan on my 10' long X 5' wide X 7' high grow tent to vent the air.
I also keep only the lower vents open at the other end to create an air current that
gets rid of the warm air.

The amount of cooler air around a tent also make a huge difference.

i.e. lung room

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

3 complete exchanges of air per minute.
4x8x? Multiply the total cubic feet by 3. You will want a fan or two pushing that much air.

 

[Three Berries]

I’m looking at the 8in infinity and wasnt sure exactly what I need for the 4x8. I need two fans? One fan with the filter on entry and one fan pulling out for exhaust? Or one 8 inch intake? I was thinking two fans but not certain. The infinity 8 in with temp and humidity controls looks quite nice. But if there are two Independent fans, this would be a waste.

The 8" is plenty big. And the Controller 67 can run two fans off the same settings. Unless you are wanting to limit the intake openings on the tent to just one opening I seen no need for an intake fan. Quite a bit of light leaking out at night though with the vent flaps open.

I just started using the Automatic settings to switch modes when the lights go off. Normally the high temp and humidity I still have to manipulate to get the VPD sweet spot with lights on. I still need to stop any humidity control until the temp is up in the tent, when the lights come on and it switches modes, which takes about a half hour. Otherwise it never gets up to temp and the humidity is always high and the fan is always running max.
The +2* transition setting for the temp under ports works to keep the fan on constantly at varying levels. You have to run it lower than the actual target temp though.

 

[flylowgethigh]

Yes, you want one fan outside sucking through a filter, blowing clean air into the tent. The other fan sucks the air out of the tent and blows it outside. Bigger fans run slower are quieter.. I suggest 2 each 8” fans. Automated fan controllers are not very good. I use steady flow and dial the inlet and outlet speeds to get the tent pressure right and desired temp inside. That is also based on the lung room air being blown in.

 

[Three Berries]

The controller I use (AC Infinity Controller 67) works great but I'm not worried about tent pressure. I suck through a filter box and seldom need more than speed 5 on the 6" fan and usually to control humidity. Generally it runs at a steady speed of 2 to control temp and then kick in at 5 for humidity.

And got the automation working so it kicks back in to normal control 77F/66RH lights on or so from 80% RH when lights off. I delay the fan temp control coming back on for 40 minutes after the lights come on so the heat builds up. This is the flower tent and is on a constant 1 speed, lights on or off.

Using the transition temperature under the ports menu at a +2* allows the fan to run continuously at a lower setting than the max you set.

Getting the VPD RH factor nailed always takes some type of slight manipulation, mainly due to changes in ambient. Using a 300w light.

 

[blondie]

Finally getting this set. Due to a bizarre set of circumstances, my gorilla tent took until now to get straightened out. Gorilla support is really amazing. I can’t say good enough things about them and the product.

Nearly done with my intake, got the ac infinity in place and configed. Thanks 3 berries, that info above is extremely helpful. I opted for the cardboard box and 3m 1900 filter a-la flylowgethigh method. Just need to cut a piece of hose to fit. Still fighting some with these lights and will revisit now that the tent is in good shape. I popped beans under my old hps for now.

 

[flylowgethigh]

Finally getting this set. Due to a bizarre set of circumstances, my gorilla tent took until now to get straightened out. Gorilla support is really amazing. I can’t say good enough things about them and the product.

Nearly done with my intake, got the ac infinity in place and configed. Thanks 3 berries, that info above is extremely helpful. I opted for the cardboard box and 3m 1900 filter a-la flylowgethigh method. Just need to cut a piece of hose to fit. Still fighting some with these lights and will revisit now that the tent is in good shape. I popped beans under my old hps for now.

What makes the filter easier to replace is using the black gorilla tape as the surface the filter is taped to, and green masking tape to connect the filter onto that surface. 90* drywall angles would help. Don’t give the mites a way to sneak past the filter.

I put the manual controlled fan inside the box, and ran the duct from it through the box side, sealed with tape. I used a different fan though, costs more but runs quieter.

I know this is working because the fans in the tent stay clean.

 

[flylowgethigh]

So speaking of fans… the little clip-on ‘hurricane’ fans are failing. What is a good fan for hanging on the tent bars? I was using 2 or 3 of those. I was also losing all my terps.

Are fans needed later in flower?

 

[Three Berries]

If it's a fairly big tent say bigger than 4x4 there are 8" box fans that really move a lot of air for the watts. Two speeds and low speed is plenty. Cheap at Menards.

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/portable-fans/comfort-zone-9-box-fan/cz9bwt/p-1470660716837-c-12727.htm?tid=4640937751373889077&ipos=1

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Historically I bring my cold and filtered intake air in at the bottom, blowing along one wall from one corner to the next. My goal is to get a slow vortex of air which warms up as it moves through (hopefully evenly hahahaha) the canopy.

Any fans I add are below the canopy. Whether or not this makes a difference with terpenes I don't know. I do know I have a *lot* of terpenes.

 

[Three Berries]

I think the only reason for small fans is to keep the CO2 stirred up, not so much cooling other than keeping the humidity constant around the leaves. So you don't need a lot. I have a bath exhaust mounted high and flex duct it down to the floor. Then a 4" fan on the floor facing up.

 

[flylowgethigh]

The fans may be my problem. I do circulate the air brought in and distribute it around the bottom. Maybe just lose the top fans in flower, or move them down below the canopy.