HELP! DIY VS TENT Indoor Grow

[Supermoto182]

So I’m starting to put together some ideas for my indoor grow for the winter as my outdoor seasons coming closer and closer to a end. Looking for some ideas to build DIY hydro or soil for a vegetation room and a Flowering room I am a carpenter and can build stuff just don’t know good HxWxL for both rooms got plenty of space in a basement no real need to vent other than for areas I’m really rural so no need to vent smell or I can get a machine to cut smell down if need be but being in a basement with concrete floors just really need dimensions and materials recommended for both veg and flower rooms so i can get costs cause I do got a local hydro store and they got gorilla tent setup and could just buy 2 tents but I can build two rooms if I can save some money. Please need input and ideas got plenty of room to build can put them side by side or separate!!

Thank You all ideas are much appreciated!!

Super420👍👍

[Toker1]

Your room size will depend on your yield requirements and light size.

[Supermoto182]

I got 6’ H x 7’W x 12-14’ L to work with but my ceiling in the room is a drop ceiling so not sure what i could put up there for materials I saw a nice full spectrum light at the hydroponic store if I remember correctly it’s 2x2 or 2x1 that’s my issue is on building a room is what size light covers what size area n for height I can LST I’m pretty good at it n looking to use 10-15gal grow bags(smart bags/fabric pots) in them.

[Toker1]

Light size has a lot to do with canopy size.

[Supermoto182]

I found the gorilla tent shorty series that be perfect it’s 5’8” tall but what 2 sizes would be best like a 3x3 for veg and 3x3 for flower or something like that either way height would be 6’ max height so nothing bigger than that or I could build 2 rooms I’m really just trying to figure out what sizes WxL rooms or tents be best I’m trying to do 5 5-10gal pots but ideally like to have 5 veg and than move to flower room/tent to finish an start 5 more in veg tent so I can have a consistent turn over if that makes sense so what be best for 5 plants ?

[Toker1]

It really depends. I would say 5x5 with out knowing much about the equipment you plan on running. Or how long you plan on vegging for.

[Supermoto182]

I don’t know about indoor or setup that’s why I’m asking for recommendations.. really just want to grow 5 good plants best yield possible gonna do 7gal grow bags with FF soil.. if I went with 4x4 tents my 5 bags would sit in there with room like I said never done a indoor anything so I’m asking for a full recommendation on light for the bags I got a hydro store they got everything I need there and they got tents and seeing as I don’t got much to build on as I’m looking at it the tents would be nice probably gonna need a heat mat for the floor and I’m not worried about smell just need proper lighting and fans for a 4x4 setup I like the full spectrum lighting not sure if that’s best for grow or flower or if I can use for both stages I mean obviously I want best yield I’m disabled so I got time to play with them just would prefer to buy the right setup the first time.. than all I got to buy after that is seeds and soil/nutrients.. I don’t know what setup I’m trying to do cause i don’t know shit this is new to me I always grow outdoors and have done pretty good with it.

As as far as veg time I guess it depends on strains I don’t even know a strain I wanna grow I wanna try all different stuff til i find ones I like ya know I guess let em grow to be as full as possible before i would flower.. I’m sure some strains I could move along faster like I said with a consistent turn over after a few batches I’ll have enough to smk while I wait for new crops just wanna always have something in veg and something growing and if I find one I like I’ll clone it not really trying to breed or cross breed none of that yet I wanna get some good indoor grows under my belt before I try all that and I got a buddy that is gonna give me a seedling and clone table 😄😄

[Supermoto182]

I mean I see u got 3 tents one for mother and one for grow and one for flower pretty much trying to do same thing start with 2 n than I can get a small tent for mother’s n still have 1 for veg and 1 for flower

[Toker1]

Right, but start with your end goal. What are you trying to grow? An oz, a few lbs?
1000w HID is good for a 5x5 and will yield approx 1-3 lbs depending on grower skill level.
This should help.

https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-grow-lights

[Supermoto182]

Yea I like pounds.. mmmhmmm that sounds nice 👍 I’m not a pro at this stuff yet but I got a really good grasp on it so I was looking at some setup with DWC instead of soil have u don’t both or either?? I was thinking of staying with soil cause from being outdoors I know how to use soil sticking with that for first grow or 2 so I can get used to tent and light thing and not trying to learn both at once. Also they recommend u want 35-50 watts per sq ft but most the LED lights actual wattage are 524-527 watts so it’s right around 33 watts per sq ft and are the LED good seems to me they are only decent for veg stage or like u got for a mother plant. Cause a 4x4 is 16 sq ft so I would think I’d want at least 40 watt per sq ft. Are the HID better than the LED and since I am gonna have 2 tents I was thinking on having a veg light and a grow light not one that does both but maybe im wrong.. lol!

Thanks

[Toker1]

I do DWC in the winters. It requires more attention than soil.
Plus, you will need to chill the water in most cases. Equipment like this gets mighty expensive fast. You want 50 watts per sq ft. If you are using quantum boards, then you want 30 watts per sq ft.
Most LED lights are not as efficient as HID. And the air cooling technology of HID is superior to the heat sink technology of LED. I use LED on my mothers because it slows the growth down when compared to HID, I already pull more than enough clones from them. So I don’t need fast growth there. I’m contemplating switching my low watt LED for a even lower watt quantum board. Keep in mind, my goal of slower growth in my mothers is usually something other growers try to avoid.

[RagWeedDWC]

This is a home built system example, I'm contained to this area for reasons (Spouse) :-). https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/263345-grow-journal-girl-scout-cookies
I did add a 6 inch carbon filter that pulls air from both chambers, helped a lot. A rolling platform helps pull the units out and change nutrients etc (DWC)

[Supermoto182]

Well my buddy who is giving me a clone/seedling table is giving me his tent too his wife won’t let him grow no more it comes with everything but the in-line fan and cfm filter he has the dwc pots and nutrients too!! With the DWC i got a pretty good idea about it just need to flush the medium to clear the old nutrients.. he’s got all the testers and timers and monitors for everything I never saw it setup but he only did a few grows in it and I know he he don’t but cheap shit he is a electrical engineer so he gets having the right stuff weird I was looking at getting a tent and he stops over and sees my grow and says u should do my setup I get 4lbs every 3-4 months I’m like Ok what u got n he starts rapping off what he has and I’m like cha Ching in my head I was like bruh I just was looking at tents last night!! Soo he’ll yeah I get to get a nice setup for minimal costs and can get a grasp on it n figure out from there for what I need for my grow veg or flower tent depending on lights he’s got must be decent if he’s getting 4lbs off bag seeds!!

when you say water needs to be chilled he said he has the air pumps and actually I got a few extra nice ones anyways cause I got big big fish tanks so i get water cooling and heating. What’s recommended temp for the hydro water??

[Toker1]

I keep the water temps below 70F.

[Supermoto182]

What pH and NPK should I keep the water at and are there any other nutrients to use or u got a preference line u like to use my local hydro store has all the ones people recommend but have u tried different types and got a favorite line you like I think they push the general hydroponic flora trio there but I got to see what nutrients my buddy is giving me I’ll probably just finish up using what he gives me for first grow and see but any recommendations on nutrients and extra nutrients I may need besides a trio kit like cal-mag or other.. thank you been a big help!! Want them pounds to make Oils, Butters and Hash!!

[Toker1]

No one nutrient brand is typically the same as the others in most cases. I use fox farm. Just follow the recommended feed schedule going online. PH for hydro should fluctuate between 5.5 and 6.5 throughout the entire grow cycle.

[JQP]

Light spread vs. plant quantity will dictate your dimensions. Recently built a set-up and used a high quality 1500 w. LED. The spread is about 6.5 ft square (according to the manufacturer), but this is not indicative of the effectiveness of the lighting area. Trying to light 3 plants, but as they grow, they block the horizontal spread of the light and reduce its effectiveness. So needed to add a supplemental 4' fluorescent to get light even on all plants. If doing it again I would recommend limiting the grow to 2 plants per LED fixture.

So from a planning perspective I would advise this. One plant takes up about a 2.5' -3' diameter area. Topping will keep your height needs down, and packs the footprint of the area. So I would advise that you allot a 3' wide area x the length required for the number of plants. 2 plants = 6' in length. If you want to grow more you can use the 3'X6' module for planning, and plan on one light per 2 plants.

This is conservative, and you could jam in more per light like I have to get 3 in a 3' x 7' area, but you are going to want more light.

One other note is that topping and FIMing are the way to go IMHO for a number of reasons. First is that they really have increased the bud production on the branches. Despite it being a scary proposition to do after all your work to get them to their 5th set of leaves, I would recommend toping there (waited until between the 8th and 9th branches, and wish it had been done sooner). That said topping also keeps your height needs down, and allows you to use your light spread to more efficiently provide energy to the plants. So in a basement with approx 7-8' to the underside of the floor above you will be fine.

Other planning notes: You can buy a grow tent, but I found that using solar safety blankets gives a cheap reflective surface that can be hung from the ceiling, cut, and taped together to provide decent light reflection. If you are growing 365 then buy the tents, but if you are looking for flexibility and are only growing for yourself on a budget I felt the solar blankets worked fine. Give yourself a lot of electrical locations to give yourself flexibility in placing lights and fans/

[MJTECH]

By the way does your existing panel have any spare breaker positions and what model is it?

[Supermoto182]

MJTECH the panel is old not sure the model info do know however it’s a GE 200 amp 2-pole main cause i just had to replace it and repair the main breaker cause I lost one of the. It does got 2 spots open for single breakers so I could run 2 new 15 or 20 amp.

[MJTECH]

Very good, while I prefer Square D, G.E. makes decent panels too and the breakers are not expensive.

Being 15 feet away would make it real simple to add more circuits, your best bet would probably be to run non-metallic cable commonly referred to as Romex , I prefer Electrical Metallic Tubing EMT aka. conduit as it is easy to add more conductors if ever needed, but if you are not well trained in bending it, don't go there it can be frustrating to work with.

Again remember 15 Amp = 14 gauge copper 2 conductors with ground, 20 Amp = 12 gauge copper 2conductors with ground.

12 gauge.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/romex-simpull-50-ft-12-2-non-metallic-wire-by-the-roll/1098045?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-rpe-_-google-_-lia-_-106-_-electricalcable-_-1098045-_-0&kpid&store_code=2221&k_clickID=go_1793722707_69617672072_346785626058_pla-397718858554_c_9012023&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwu6vkr-j4wIVikkNCh0g_QRpEAQYAyABEgI54PD_BwE

14 gauge

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-50-ft-14-2-Solid-Romex-SIMpull-CU-NM-B-W-G-Wire-28827422/202316377

And always use the 6 foot rule for your outlets which is a code requirement, that is to say you will space your outlets so anything to be plugged in will not be more than 6 feet from the serving outlet, if you space your outlets 12 feet or fewer apart you meet that rule.

This rule was put into the NEC a few decades back as a result of residential fires caused by people using permanent extension cords to extend the reach to an outlet.

Extension cords, by code cannot be used for the permanent powering of anything.

MJ

[MJTECH]

So I’m starting to put together some ideas for my indoor grow for the winter as my outdoor seasons coming closer and closer to a end. Looking for some ideas to build DIY hydro or soil for a vegetation room and a Flowering room I am a carpenter and can build stuff just don’t know good HxWxL for both rooms got plenty of space in a basement no real need to vent other than for areas I’m really rural so no need to vent smell or I can get a machine to cut smell down if need be but being in a basement with concrete floors just really need dimensions and materials recommended for both veg and flower rooms so i can get costs cause I do got a local hydro store and they got gorilla tent setup and could just buy 2 tents but I can build two rooms if I can save some money. Please need input and ideas got plenty of room to build can put them side by side or separate!!

Thank You all ideas are much appreciated!!

Super420👍👍

I have built 2 indoor greenhouses and have found the minimum width and depth dimensions to be 6 feet, anything less than that makes working around the plants difficult if not damaging to the plants, as for height anything 6" higher than yourself is comfortable to work in.

For walls I build everything on 16" centers and for the ceiling I use 24" centers, construction is all 2 X 4 studding, unless the top of the grow room is going to be used for storage then I use 2 X 6 for the joists.

For ceilings I use sheet metal hangers versus trying to cross-nail, they are very inexpensive and in my opinion provide considerably more strength.

I'm guessing based on the season you seem to grow in you live somewhere up North, because of that I would recommend you avoid the temptation to use two existing walls of your basement, I believe that will give you problems with heating and condensation, instead consider placing some vertical lath and installing Styrofoam sheets between the lath, then install 1/2" drywall over that, such construction will go along way to controlling temperature and humidity.

Also don't leave the drywall bare, it will discolor and turn slightly brown which will absorb some of your lighting, instead tape and mud the seams and paint it with a good grade semi-gloss white.

As for entry pre-hung doors are the way to go unless you have very limited space for the swing, if that is a problem consider pocket doors.

And while you are at it consider bringing in a couple of 15 amp branch circuits from your breaker panel, you will need power for the lighting and ventilation/heating and running extension cords it amateur and dangerous.

Should you have any other questions post them and I will do my best to help out.

MJ

[MJTECH]

Semi gloss white works well and as you stated easy to clean which is important, things happen and walls will get crap on them.

Running 20 amps on number 10 reduces voltage drop which is good, it's less fun to terminate on the outlets, unless you use outlets that have clamps versus wrapping the wire around the screws.

GFCI is always a good idea, the breakers are more expensive, but if the greenhouse can be considered a wet location, they are required by code.

So far I have never built an indoor greenhouse for hydroponics, so I have been able to get by without GFCI's, that stated, if hydroponics where involved I am quite sure the electrical inspector would fail out my rough inspection if I did not use GFCI's.

[MJTECH]

By the way I normally don't get involved with the painting, if the customer wants the room painted I refer then to my wife who also does the drywall taping and mudding

Her method is to first prime the walls, primer is inexpensive and pays for itself when applying the finish coat.

Her SOP then is applying two coats of semi-gloss white with 3M glass microspheres/bubbles mixed into the paint, about a tablespoon per quart, this produces a surface that is not perfectly flat, which is a surface that provides better light distribution resulting in more bushing and a shorter plant height.

The microspheres are very inexpensive and a quart really go's a long way.

http://www.uscomposites.com/fillers.html

[MJTECH]

I will go over your diagram tomorrow and try to give you an idea of the number of outlets and the spacing.

[Supermoto182]

Thanks guys I’m a Forman for a GC company so I got plenty of experience in building shit so for all this is nonissue at all. I drew up area and what I was thinking and seeing as there are 2 outlets per room probably on same circuit if I had to guess but could probably still use them for some things I’ll run 2 new 20amp circuits. My main 2 problems are first do my rooms need to be that big guess I could just build them like that and if I don’t use it I don’t use it but at least it won’t be to small when operations get bigger which I know will... secondly the worst I have a drop ceiling above where these rooms would be depending on how everything lays out I could maybe cut the grid and drywall the floor Joyces or this is where I need ideas cause I could just run foam board over the tiles run visqueen over that and poke little holes and run eyelits into floor Joyces for light hangers. I drew up what I’m thinking and if u could fill me in on maybe what size lights for each room I’d need and how many outlets you would recommend for each room to make it easy to expand later and also can I used the existing interior wall dunno if it’s insulated and it is wood panel but the exterior wall is insulated and 5/8 green board!! YaY

Here is my drawing of proposed grow rooms:

https://imgur.com/a/4I3M3Sp

Thanks So So Much for the input I think building the rooms will be much cheaper than tents!!

[Toker1]

When considering time and materials, building a room will be more expensive. A tent costs $120 for a decent 5x5. You will spend about that much on wood studs alone.

[MJTECH]

True, but a dedicated room in the long run provides a much easier area to work within, and with dedicated outlets, versus strips, is a whole lot safer.

[Toker1]

For electrical, you can still add additional legs safely with out building a room. And as long as the tent is not hugging the walls, you can plan for plenty of space for accessibility. I have no problems accessing my girls from 360 degrees. You just need the right kind of tent that has side access.
I built a 10’x10’ insulated grow room and run 3 separate tents inside plus a cloning lab. I have access to all corners and walls inside my tents and have room to spare for storage as well.
Just a side note, I run strips from each dedicated outlet anyway. I never overload them and the power surge protection keeps the equipment safe from hazard. I also have high temp shut off switches on each one. Plus I have those portable hanging fire extinguishers covering every square inch.
Safety is my #1 concern always.

[Supermoto182]

Toker1 I’m being given a tent that’s 4x5 or 5x5 he’s not sure which size but one or the other. I basically want a flower room/tent a veg room/tent and a mother room/tent cause I’m gonna mother a a few different strains that’s I like cause with the tent comes a clone/seedling table if for some reason he don’t got the seedling table and what would u recommend DIY for a seedling setup so I can have my clones started and rdy to go in veg room/table as my veg plants go to flower.. just trying to get ideas for ridged hard DIY room vs Tents cause a room will last forever a tent will break and wear out over time and I’d have to assume the Mylar lining on the tent will break down over time as well. LMK what ya think cause I wanna start getting all this stuff together cause for now til I can get other rooms/seeds put together I’m just gonna clone my outdoor female for m my first indoor grow in my tent.

@MHTECH I never answered your question about my location I’m in Gettysburg PA which is south central PA so we have hot humid summers and dry cold winters not usually to much moisture in the air in winter and my basement at least the side I’m gonna grow in is insulated and has drywall and stays the same temperature year round it don’t heat up down there from the heater so it’s a constant 60-70 degrees year round also the floor has vinyl tiles on it so not direct concrete floors. Plz take all this into factor when doing your figures in the room and lmk if 6x6 or 5x5 would be better seeing there are 5x5 tents it maybe easier to find lights for that size room.

Thanks Y’all
Super420

[Toker1]

Nothing lasts forever. The frame of a room is made from wood while the frame from a tent is made from metal. In a wet or corrosive environment the metal will outlast the wood by far.
Personally, I like those 2 in 1 tents for mothers and clones. It’s a mother room and a separate section with levels for clone trays.
These are good for the first month or so if propagation, but they won’t be ready for flower unless you are running a sea of green.

https://thelashop.com/collections/grow-tent/products/35x24x53-inch-2in1-reflective-interior-hydroponic-grow-tent?variant=45210100810