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HELP! DIY VS TENT Indoor Grow

Supermoto182

Supermoto182

New member
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 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.
 
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 ?
 
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.
 
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 😄😄
 
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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
 
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
 
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.
 
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??
 
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!!
 
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/
 
Supermoto182 said:
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👍👍
Click to expand...

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
 
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Thank U for the input fear is for the weak I’m not scared to FIM or top I do it to my outdoor plants and I am familiar with that and yea I am kinda on a budget and only growing for myself but I do want to have a perpetual growing operation. The one bonus I have is I’m always home so I can keep a eye on them daily( few times a day) to make sure things are going ok. I kinda was already on the topping and training tip for my indoor grow so I can allow the light to be maximized to the whole plant. Next thing would kinda be with all the training to the plant I’m sure it stress the plant with that being said are there things I can feed or do to help with stress of training to promote faster growing while training?
 
So I would be using 2 existing walls for first room and than have a mid wall to separate the 2 room and on 2nd room it would just be the back wall be existing so I was thinking for that I could staple some:

R-Matte Rmax Plus-3 1/2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. R-3.2 Polyisocyanurate Rigid Foam Insulation Board

To the drywall and using that since it does have a aluminum side for reflection what is your take on that if not I could just use reg foam board and drywall over it i was think of getting something to coat the walls in a Mylar material for reflection around the whole room weirdly enough there would already be 2 outlets in each room the existing back wall has 4 outlets now seeing if there on same breaker I’d have to run test and if they are maybe just move them to a 30 or 50 amp breaker would that be sufficient enough to run 2 rooms if not the breaker is close by I could run new power if needed.
 
One other thing too is i am gonna be giving a whole tent setup it’s a 4x5 gorilla tent that I only need to buy CFM filter and in-line fan. Also he is giving me all the medium/buckets which are DWC air pumps and nutrients his wife making him give up the growing so I’m the beneficiary of the tent 👍👍 as well as a clone/ seedling table so I’d only have to buy one more tent or build a room I may just take on building rooms for a flowering room and mother plant room instead of tents and just use the tent for veg or flowering depending on how the tent does on first grow I’m gonna use tent for veg and flowering to test and see how it does and go from there 😮😮
 
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