First Grow Tent Setup

[Mollisol]

Hi all! I definitely made some mistakes with this setup. Which I will share with you.

SF 35X47X70 tent
SF1000 lights
AC Infinity 6 inch Variable speed exhaust fan
Two AC Infinity 6 inch oscillating fans

The tent frame assembly is simple and quick. Sliding the framing inside the fabric was terrible. The instructions are vauge at best. This is definitely a two person job. Even then it was a hassle.

I tried to use 6 inch aluminum flexible duct at first. Similar to clothes dryer vent. Dont do this! The duct barely fit through the tent ports and it kept tearing and seperating. I was also worried the sharp edges would cut my tent fabric. I ended up using regular HVAC 6 inch insulated duct. I had to pull the fiberglass insulation out of ducting to make it fit through the tent ports.

I bought some fiberglass filter media cut it to size and taped it over all three intake vents. Looks a little trashy but hopefully it will keep the tent clean. I also dropped the intake vents low in the tent. My thought was since the exhaust fan is mounted high it will have to draw air up from the bottom of the tent. This should improve circulation.

I placed the tent on top of a piece of 3/4 '' Styrofoam insulation board. I'm in a basement and the floor is concrete and cold.

All three of the plants are starting 12/12 light schedule tomorrow. I think it's going to get crowded in the tent. I hope to control it with LST and supercropping if I have to. We will see! filedata/fetch?filedataid=162492

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[golfnrl]

Looks good to me. Nothing wrong with some DIY engineering. Drawing air down low is good, it's better if you can get an intake on the opposite side of the tent from the exhaust, or have two openings down low on opposite sides. If not, go with what ya have. Good circulation is critical.

 

[Mollisol]

Hey thanks. The two intakes on the back of the tent are on the opposite side of the exhaust. But your right I might be able to move the bottom side intake (right under the exaust fan in pic) if there is a port on the other side. That would be an improvement for sure.

 

[Mr.furley]

I have that same (sized) tent and been using it for years, love it, and think it's the perfect size for many applications. If you put the top on first with all the zippers undone then slide the bottom under things go smoothly one person style.

 

[changeofpace2014]

looks like my old setup....nice and tall....this time around I had my tent setup like you have in the pic, however had to extend the exhaust vent to another area to keep the RH and temps down...and that was with door open because a 4" fan is not enough...waiting on grow to complete so I can install a 6" fan...

 

[Mollisol]

Hi all. Thanks for all your comments. With my exaust fan running at about 25%. And all the lights set to 80%. The highest temperature I've recorded in the tent is 68F. And RH is around 35 -45 %.
Its still cold in the Midwest. And I'm in a very old home. Lots of air leaks in basement windows ect. I have a basement dehumidifier running set to turn on 50% RH. This time of year it barely runs because the humidity is so low.

 

[Bluey]

You will need to work out how best to raise your RH. Ultrasonic misters work well. Under 40% can be problematic for a plants health and you should be up around 60% at that stage of growth.
You can probably drop your exhaust fan down to its lowest setting. That should raise temps and RH a little too.

 

[Mollisol]

Thanks. I've been fiddling around with the fan setting as you suggested. When this March cold snap ends my ambient humidity and temperature will rise. They will just have to suffer through it until then.

 

[Mollisol]

Hi all. Is it common see a few small light leaks around your grow tent zippers? I'm a little irritated. Spider Farmer tents aren't top end but not cheap ether.

Secondly, I'm adding a forth SF1000 to the tent. I've been very happy so far with them.

 

[Mr.furley]

Haven't met a tent yet that doesn't have pin holes, cheap, spendy doesn't matter.

 

[golfnrl]

I can only speak for Gorilla tents...Yes, a pin hole or two around a zipper...usually covered by a flap or zipper cover. But there nonetheless.

 

[90Gizmo]

My tent said guarantee no holes. Shipped with a roll of black electrical tape!

 

[Mollisol]

The observation windows are velcro and light leaks around all three of them. I taped them all shut.

 

[Mollisol]

Forth SF1000 hung in tent. I could have saved some cash if I had ordered an SF4000 or equivalent.