Double Decker tent setup idea...what do you reckon?

[transcend]

Hi everyone,

Came up with this idea while my mind was wandering the other day. I was trying to think up different ways to maximise yield in my tent and thought I'd float this to you guys and gals who have way more experience than me. My tent is 6'6" tall, and now that I've been scrogging this double decker idea came to mind as a potential way to maximise the spare headroom.

Basically I'd be creating a shelf halfway up the height of the tent made of plastic or metal sturdy mesh to allow full airflow 'through' the shelf (perhaps also extra small fans to help push air through).
Would be using LED boards and scrogging in 5gal pots (coco/perlite) low to the pot line to keep each tier in a workable height, watering would be done by removing the plants or with some type of hydro halo type setup.

This would in theory double my current harvest but still utilising the same space. There's a couple of potential hiccups that spring to mind that could hinder the idea:

- Would the heat produced from the lower light warm the upper pot too much?
- Would the lower plant (being closest to the intakes) hog the available CO2 from the upper plant?
- Would the mesh be too much of a barrier for good airflow and create temp/humidity problems?

Please feel free to give me your thoughts/opinions, any info/ideas welcome!

 

[OldManGrower]

Well, it's an idea but not a practical one.
The heat produced by two lights in a space set up for one will create ridiculous problems.
No, no plant of any type can hog all of the CO2. They're plants not large animals.
Every existing store bought tent already has mesh over intakes,
The support structure and air vents will use up a lot of the space created by double decking.
Watering could be done with a siphon and hose

 

[Puglover1]

Not a tenter. If everything else was OK I'd think that the coated white wire shelving would provide more airflow than all those little squares.

 

[Ckbrew]

While technically possible, not very practical. It would take some thought to make it work. You would be placing water above electrical components that are not designed to be used in an overtly wet environment- building a failure chain. Add a few more unseen components and you will forge more links. Murphy is always watching.

 

[90Gizmo]

Similarly, I used dual levels in my closet before I switched to a tent (because I couldn't control smell in the closet.) I only sprouted seedlings on the top so water danger was minimized.

 

[90Gizmo]

So I can identify with people trying to grow with equipment from local stores. I had 4x 50 watt shop lights from harbor freight and Walmart along with a shorter 25 watt UV lamp. The trays are leftovers from growing orchids. The top level seedlings light is a Walmart fixture with a 20 watt LED spotlight. That reflector is a wind-shield for a camping stove. Survival "blankets" line the walls.

 

[changeofpace2014]

While technically possible, not very practical. It would take some thought to make it work. You would be placing water above electrical components that are not designed to be used in an overtly wet environment- building a failure chain. Add a few more unseen components and you will forge more links. Murphy is always watching.

Good catch....even if there were a tray to catch water run off there might be a condensation issue with drips on the led driver below...

 

[2by4Rich]

It looks like a great idea Transcend. However, I think that it has consequences like the one CKBrew about the water of the top plant possess a risk to the lamp below. I notice in my 2by4 by 6 tall tent that when the lights are on, the temp inside the tent usually runs approx 2 degrees higher that the room temp where the tent is. This is with the Air Intake and air out fans working hard to change the air and temperature inside the tent. As a matter of fact, I was thinking of adding a 2nd light in my tent but the temperature generated by two lights may be too much. Specially in the summer when I cannot get the temperature of the room to a nice 70 F all day

Now, not related to your question but since it is about settings, I want to share that I like to place my tent over a table so that I dont have to work so close to the floor. With the tent floor at a height of a table, I bring my chair or stand instead of kneeling while doing LTS, watering, inspecting trichomes, inspecting the plant, pruning etc. It has done wonders for my back and knees..

 

[transcend]

Thanks everyone for your input and ideas. I haven't entirely abandoned the idea but it is a back to the drawing board situation.

I didn't really get into the technical side in my description but safety was and is the highest priority, the drip tray for the upper pot would be sitting on a bigger tray who's footprint would be greater than that of the light below, cables would be shielded and waterproofed in the appropriate places. I wouldn't have an irrigation system per se, just a small tube (say 6-8") coming off the 'hydro halo' things that I'd just plug into my feeding container and gravity feed them while doing any other plant checks/admin. Then I'd unplug once watering was done. The drip trays would be plumbed to a drain running down one corner of the tent to a catch tank or I'd just suck it up with my wet vac.

Another idea I had was to construct the shelf/table for the upper plant, and use the reflective bottom tray that came with the tent to create a false floor for the upper level (sealed with strong tape around the perimeter), effectively creating a 2 in 1 tent. There are enough duct ports and intakes to facilitate good airflow and exchange. Light leaks wouldn't be an issue as I'd be running both tiers on the same schedule.

As mentioned by other posters (I accidentally posted this topic twice), vertical space might be an issue so I'm going to have to do some measuring up etc to see how viable viable it is.

 

[Phlash]

If your thought is to run this setup in your current 2.5x2.5 tent it’s definitely feasible giving a couple of caveats. Utilizing led lights with detachable drivers will really help with the heat, mount them outside your tent, this removes heat from the space along with reducing electrical hazard. Depending on your location and environment it may also be beneficial to have your tent in a conditioned space. This really helps if the tent runs with higher temps and humidity, use a temp/humidity fan controller in the tent to regulate the internal space with air from the conditioned space. Each application is different but can be dialed in. Drip rings for feeding and trays for run off are both must haves.

Everyone has different styles of growing, for me currently that equates to a 4x4 for 4 photos in flower otherwise it’s just too crowded, I grow fairly low and wide. I say this because looking at your space for running 2 plants, 1 top, 1 bottom you will need to be extremely diligent in your plant training otherwise you will have height problems.

The other thought is seal the bottom from the top in regards to light, use the top as a nursery and veg space and the bottom for flower and run a perpetual cycle.
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[transcend]

Thanks Phlash yeah I just saw those the lights with the drivers separated a few hours ago! Using them would make things a bit more feasible. I have a small tent for a mother, cloning and getting a couple started. I'm not too worried about perpetual harvest yet, but I could time it to get a young plant on each level in the main tent in to veg straight after drying.