Switching to indoor...

[KGB47]

Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to grow indoors this year. I've been growing outdoors for the last 40 years and I'm totally new to this area of propagation.
I've been eyeing the VIVOSUN Grow Tent Complete Kit 48"x24"x60" with VS2000 LED Grow Light as a starter set up, would this package be appropriate for a newbie indoor grower as myself? Any answers or suggestions would be mighty helpful. Also, would it be easier to use clones or Auto-seeds as I'm starting out?
Thanks for any help or advise.

 

[goingrey]

Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to grow indoors this year. I've been growing outdoors for the last 40 years and I'm totally new to this area of propagation.
I've been eyeing the VIVOSUN Grow Tent Complete Kit 48"x24"x60" with VS2000 LED Grow Light as a starter set up, would this package be appropriate for a newbie indoor grower as myself? Any answers or suggestions would be mighty helpful. Also, would it be easier to use clones or Auto-seeds as I'm starting out?
Thanks for any help or advise.

The kit looks good to me, has everything you need.

With 40 years of outdoor experience growing indoors will be easy for you. Grow whatever you like, clones, auto seeds, photo seeds... even all three at the same time if you want to.

 

[growsjoe1]

​​​​​​Here's the link to that grow kit. It goes into detail and will help out people to answer your questions. put the link in your post.

https://vivosun.com/products/vivosun-grow-tent-complete-kit-48x24x60

 

[KGB47]

Thank you both, it's all new waters to me.

 

[tobedetermined]

Just as an alternative, also have a look at Mars Hydro. They have kits as well and since they are a sponsor here you get a small extra discount.

See Mars Kit

The biggest challenge for you will be managing airflow indoors. Heat and humidity - or the lack of either or both.

 

[onavelzy]

Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to grow indoors this year. I've been growing outdoors for the last 40 years and I'm totally new to this area of propagation.
I've been eyeing the VIVOSUN Grow Tent Complete Kit 48"x24"x60" with VS2000 LED Grow Light as a starter set up, would this package be appropriate for a newbie indoor grower as myself? Any answers or suggestions would be mighty helpful. Also, would it be easier to use clones or Auto-seeds as I'm starting out?
Thanks for any help or advise.

Hey KBG, welcome to the indoors!!

This will be a "my two bits" kind of response:

Depending on the space you have to work with, there are probably better options in terms of tent space, the amount of useable light, and the price. There is a reputable LED company (mentioned in the post above) that has a light/tent package costing $437.

The light in the package you listed is a 2'x2' light--that's pretty poor coverage for a four-foot-wide tent. The package mentioned above has a 2' x 4' light that offers far better coverage and much better light production. The tent in the package you have is 5' tall. In the other package, the tent is much taller, 6' 6", giving much more vertical growth a possibility. Obviously, if your current grow space is shorter then you'd need a compliant tent height but that same company does have shorter tents that are also less expensive. If you have a normal room height, I'd recommend against getting a tent that is only 5 feet tall.

The package you mentioned does have other items, like a fan, eyeglasses, trimming scissors, etc,. Environmental control is critical indoors, of course, so you will need a fan and probably a filter, thermometer, and those other items, but I'd look around a bit and prioritize the factors that will have a big impact on how much and how well you can grow indoors: the tent and the light.

I have mostly grown indoors but I have not used the Vivosun products nor have I used the products mentioned in the prior post. I'm not shilling for or against any company, just suggesting that, depending on the space you have, you may be able to get much more tent and light for a lot less money.

 

[IntheCountyWeed]

Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to grow indoors this year. I've been growing outdoors for the last 40 years and I'm totally new to this area of propagation.
I've been eyeing the VIVOSUN Grow Tent Complete Kit 48"x24"x60" with VS2000 LED Grow Light as a starter set up, would this package be appropriate for a newbie indoor grower as myself? Any answers or suggestions would be mighty helpful. Also, would it be easier to use clones or Auto-seeds as I'm starting out?
Thanks for any help or advise.

Watch for light leaks, cover any indicators lights on equipment or power strips in the tent. You will likely need to groom the plants if you didn't outdoors and likely a bit more if you did. Don't overcrowd, once you reach 50% space used in veg flip, put you around 100% by the end of week 4 of flower. Otherwise I think you will find it easier.

 

[onavelzy]

You are probably well aware of this but I'll mention it anyway: Unless you are only growing one cycle of plants at a time from start to harvest indoors, you will eventually need to set up two different grow areas, one for veg and one for flower.

Generally, the veg space is a little less complicated to set up. You just need a space that you can grow in with reasonable temp and humidity stability and a steady light source for 14 or more hours each day. It doesn't have to be a tent or a room papered in fancy mylar reflective material. I just used a closet with no doors and a three-shelf stand from HD with simple light bulb LEDs hung from each shelf. Not ideal but it was simple, inexpensive, and got the job done in most settings that I needed it for.

I used my tent for the most part as my flowering site.

With respect to the clone question, if you have access to a clone provider who has good quality strains, I personally would go with that. You can avoid the initial time of germination, sex determination, culling of less desirable traits and go right to a round or two of production while you have a set of auto's building up.

If you go clones, be sure to do your due diligence in terms of checking and treating for pests. Trust nothing coming in to your space

If I'm being too elementary, I apologize. I know you said you've been growing OD for decades. I just had enough things go wrong on my early attempts indoors so want to minimize that for you.

Have fun with it, Ona

 

[gizmo666]

link to mars hydro setup similar to what your looking at
better light
better warrenty
and contact on here at mars hydro forum(very active)
https://www.mars-hydro.com/tsl2000-2x4-indoor-grow-tent-kit-257
good luck with what you choose and indoor growing

 

[Creeperpark]

Time to start some seeds and get to growing some weed. Put some seed in a few dixie cups and when they get big put them in 1-gallon pots. Then up pot to the size of your grow. Happy gardening.

 

[KGB47]

Stupid question time;
I transferred the clones into their smartpot homes 4 days ago and I'm running the lights 18 hours a day at 18" above the tops of the plants, is it too early to expect any growth?
Do they need to be watered every single day or just when the soils' dry?
I moved the light setting to 100% today, should i move it back to the 80% i started with?

Any help would be gratefully accepted.

 

[Creeperpark]

It depends on the kind of substrate you are using? If the plants get lanky you should increase the light wattage.

 

[KGB47]

Thanks much! I'm using some soil (Royal Gold King's Mix) that was recommended to me by the grow shop i use, normally i'd go with the ocean forest or the happy frog.

 

[Creeperpark]

Let the soil dry between waterings. When the soil is allowed to almost dry out, the roots will expand in search of more water. If you keep the soil wet you will have problems with root rot and gnats. Mimic Mother Nature's wet to dry cycles.

 

[KGB47]

Let the soil dry between waterings. When the soil is allowed to almost dry out, the roots will expand in search of more water. If you keep the soil wet you will have problems with root rot and gnats. Mimic Mother Nature's wet to dry cycles.

Thank you so much! The tips of all my plants are yellow, is that too much water? Not enough nitrogen? Too much? lights are too close to the plants? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Creeperpark]

Thank you so much! The tips of all my plants are yellow, is that too much water? Not enough nitrogen? Too much? lights are too close to the plants? Any help would be appreciated.

When the tips turn yellow that is a sign of a pH water issue. What kind of potting mix are you using and where are you getting your water?

 

[KGB47]

When the tips turn yellow that is a sign of a pH water issue. What kind of potting mix are you using and where are you getting your water?

Happy Frog potting soil on the Blue Dream clone, Royal Gold King's mix on the Sour Diesel clones.

The water is coming from outside taps but i let it sit 24 hours before i use it. Where i live we have what some people call hard water so that might have something to do with it.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Use pollen rated air filters on your air intakes... clean indoor is a completely new experience for most people. I've been loving it for over 15 years.

 

[Creeperpark]

Happy Frog potting soil on the Blue Dream clone, Royal Gold King's mix on the Sour Diesel clones.

The water is coming from outside taps but i let it sit 24 hours before i use it. Where i live we have what some people call hard water so that might have something to do with it.

Using tap water is bad for indoor plants. Letting it sit for 24 hours doesn't remove the high ppm or change the high pH. Tap water may be ok outdoors in the ground but not indoors in containers. I use rainwater and during a drought I use RO. If you use tap water you have to use a lot of acid to lower the pH and that will leave a by product behind and mess up the soil by the time you get to flowering..

 

[KGB47]

So far, so good. The Stardawg Cough is stretching like crazy, the Cali Sours are filling in nicely. The Blue Dream is a lot smaller but that's due to the pots size.