Grow Tent Help Needed!

VladPutin

New Member
Hi,

I've been growing 4 Bubba Kush in a basement room, but feel it's time to invest in a tent. Have some questions.

My ceiling is a little low - 7'. Would a 3x3 tent work for my 4 plants? I have 3 x 300 watt LED lights.

I'm having a hard time understanding the items I will need for airflow. An intake fan with carbon filter for smell? Would I need another intake fan for bringing in fresh air? I have a timer, thermostat and small fans already. The LED's have cooling fans on them.

Can anyone point me in the direction of what parts I will need? Any brand recommendations are helpful.

Thanks!

:thumb::thanks:
 
Vlad, from my newb experience you should be good with a 3x3 tent for 4 plants. You need an exhuast fa with a carbon filter for smell. I would look for one that will cycle the entire volume of air from your tent 2 times a minute. So you are looking at a 125cfm fan at the least. Most tents have passive intake vents on the bottom to draw fresh air in but a fan would be helpful here as well. In line fans with a duct style connector would be the best in my opinion. What tent are you looking at? Here is my tent with the passive vent on the bottom open. Good for veg but not good for flower, light leaks!!!
20160514_093140.jpg
20160514_093140.jpg
 
Vlad, from my newb experience you should be good with a 3x3 tent for 4 plants. You need an exhuast fa with a carbon filter for smell. I would look for one that will cycle the entire volume of air from your tent 2 times a minute. So you are looking at a 125cfm fan at the least. Most tents have passive intake vents on the bottom to draw fresh air in but a fan would be helpful here as well. In line fans with a duct style connector would be the best in my opinion. What tent are you looking at? Here is my tent with the passive vent on the bottom open. Good for veg but not good for flower, light leaks!!!
20160514_093140.jpg
20160514_093140.jpg

I'm looking at this one, but now I'm not sure if a 3x3 would be good for 3 LED lights?

Amazon.com: Urban Farmer 36x36x72 Reflective Mylar Hydroponic Grow Tent for Indoor Plant Growing

I'm throwing my plants into flower soon, so yes, a tent w/o light leaks would be best.

So I would need a carbon filter, 125cfm fan at the least, and another fan inside? Can you recommend an "In line fans with a duct style connector" ?

Thanks!
 
We have a similar tent to you, a 2x4x5. We use a single centrifugal exhaust fan. Not sure the brand but it's green and not an inline I think it moves 300cfm. We use a speed controller to dial it back. No intake fan though we let the exhaust fan pull in air from the passive vents in the tent.
That way we have a vacum and smell is less likely to get out of the tent.
But we're noobs and someone with more experience may have a better way.
Good luck on flower. We used 1 300w (135w actual watts) led in our tent for 1 plant.
 
We have a similar tent to you, a 2x4x5. We use a single centrifugal exhaust fan. Not sure the brand but it's green and not an inline I think it moves 300cfm. We use a speed controller to dial it back. No intake fan though we let the exhaust fan pull in air from the passive vents in the tent.
That way we have a vacum and smell is less likely to get out of the tent.
But we're noobs and someone with more experience may have a better way.
Good luck on flower. We used 1 300w (135w actual watts) led in our tent for 1 plant.

Good to hear, Twinturbodogo. What exactly are the "passive vents"? Do you use a fan inside the tent to circulate air?

Thanks for the good luck! Same to you.
 
Good answer from twin turbo, I agree with his recommendation .

What's the real watts draw on the lights? If they really are 300 each then 900w is a lot for a tent that small, going to need good ventilation fan.

Each LED has an actual draw of 180w. So I'm pulling 540 actual.

I'm confused by ventilation fan and fan for exhaust? These are not one in the same? Or does the exhaust fan hook to the carbon filter and ducting to a window outside and the passive air vents have a hole that a circular fan is placed in?

Serious newb here.

Thanks!
 
Usually a drum shaped filter is put inside the top of the tent (draw hot air from top) which is connected to the fan and the fan is connected to the top exhaust hole of the tent. So the fan pulls air from inside the tent through the filter and blows it out of the tent hole. You could also put the filter outside and blow air into it but that is less efficient. This creates a vaccum in the tent bringing cool air in the lower intake holes. Having a constant vaccum in the tent keeps smell from leaking in the zippers and other openings too.
Hope that helps.
 
Usually a drum shaped filter is put inside the top of the tent (draw hot air from top) which is connected to the fan and the fan is connected to the top exhaust hole of the tent. So the fan pulls air from inside the tent through the filter and blows it out of the tent hole. You could also put the filter outside and blow air into it but that is less efficient. This creates a vaccum in the tent bringing cool air in the lower intake holes. Having a constant vaccum in the tent keeps smell from leaking in the zippers and other openings too.
Hope that helps.

Ah, that is what I needed. Now the lower ventilation vents makes sense too. Thanks, Ottawa!

Do you think I'll need an extra fan at the bottom because of the 3 x 300 LEDs I have? Also, should I go 24x48 or 3x3 with my 3 LEDs? Might fit better in the latter?
 
Not sure on which shape, never seen the lights footprint.
As for how much light: in my opinion 540w is enough for a 3x3 (60w per square foot) or 2x4 (67.5wpsf)
I have 63wpsf (760w real draw in 2x6) and it works great. I would not put that little amount of light In a 4x4 (only 33.75wpsf) or bigger.
 
Hi Vlad, check out my set up. I'm awaiting my Mars II 1600 LED which should come today, but I've used Phresh Hyperfans. They're amazing. There are pics in my journal.


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
Hi Vlad, check out my set up. I'm awaiting my Mars II 1600 LED which should come today, but I've used Phresh Hyperfans. They're amazing. There are pics in my journal.


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App

Looks great, Rastas. I'll follow your grow. Tons of great people on here to help. You're starting the right way. I did the opposite and tried going really diy and cheap. But now I realize I have to get a tent as the plants should be flowering in a few weeks.

I see you have a gorilla tent. Top notch. What size are you using and how many plants are you growing in there? Thanks.
 
Looks great, Rastas. I'll follow your grow. Tons of great people on here to help. You're starting the right way. I did the opposite and tried going really diy and cheap. But now I realize I have to get a tent as the plants should be flowering in a few weeks.

I see you have a gorilla tent. Top notch. What size are you using and how many plants are you growing in there? Thanks.

I figured I might as well spend the money properly the first time so I don't have to keep re doing it. It's a 5x5 tent with an extension (But my roof is only 7ft so I can't use that) and I will have 4 plants in there. It was going to be 3 but I decided to germinate some OG Kush.
 
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