Need help with diy grow tent

[indicasloth]

2 primary questions:
1. Am I silly in thinking I need this much access room to the plants? Should I make it smaller?
2. How does one attach Foylon to 1/2" pvc pipe? I am thinking adhesive velcro and overlapping flaps at the edges.

The Grow tent will be about 5'x5'x6′ made from 1/2" pvc, with a 400 watt lamp (which covers 3'x3′). 4 plants, each in a 5 gallon bucket on top of a milk crate. By putting the buckets on milk crates, I should be able to drain back to the reservoir with gravity. There is a carbon filter in the top corner and an air intake in the bottom corner. The brown rectangle will be the controller home, with built in relay controlled outlets, sensor hook-ups and relay hook-ups.


The grow tent will be anchored to a sheet of pressure treated plywood, to help insulate it from the basement floor and give me a more level working surface. I also plan on anchoring the roof piece to the basement ceiling (which is bare beams).

The siding material will be Foylon.

 

[Steve8420]

your dimensions are spot on and some heavy duty Velcro does the job for me.Great preparation so far and good luck.

 

[indicasloth]

Thanks Steve, glad to hear the velcro idea will work.

 

[Dr Fish]

If you have the space, 10" or 12" taller would give you extra height if you ever need it...

 

[indicasloth]

I have exactly 76" height to work with, so I will get a little more but not that much.

 

[JAFO]

1/2" PVC will be too flimsy under the weight, step up to 3/4 at least. On the top, I would go 1"

 

[Alienpus]

I agree 1/2 will be too flimsy.

 

[madscientist9]

I built a 4x4x6 out of 3/4" pipe and wasn't sturdy but was defintly ok for growing but you can shake it around pretty easily I would go a bit more expensive but I would do a 2" since there are plenty of parts as pvc is legos for adults. But wouldn't do it with 1/2" unless it was 2x2x2

 

[lushgreen]

use PVC pressure rated pipe. The wall thickness is much greater = stiffer.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I'd use wood but then that's what I work with most so find it convenient I suppose. Or consider at least running wood (or stronger pipe?) uprights in the corners of the room, attached to plywood base, and basement ceiling joists at top, to make the thing more rigid.
A wooden lip around the edges of your plywood floor along with a bit of caulking will give you something to attach the uprights to and retain spills. A few cross pieces for extra bonus rigidity and to give you places to attach stuff to. 2" x 2" boards would be ok as a minimum, or 2x4" It's handy to have a structure strong enough to hang things on, and attach shelves to, and vents, etc. without it constantly flopping over
Also as you may know- you can buy zippers with adhesive strips which you stick on to the tent material. Then open the zipper, cut a slit all the way up, and voila. You need two to make a well functioning doorway. May or may not be handier than Velcro for the doorway.