"Which Tent" Setup Question

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BoneMan1000

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Hey good people, it's been awhile since I last posted. I still haven't gotten my grow adventure off the ground. I still plan on vegging under T5s and blooming with HPS.

A couple options I'm exploring are a 4x4 tent under a 600w HPS or a 5x5 under a 1000w. Would there be an obvious advantage in yield and quality to go with the bigger setup? If not I'd rather go with the smaller tent and less powerful light for reasons of economy, or would it absolutely be worth my while to go with the 5x5 and the 1000 watter?

Lastly, I was planning on buying through Grow Box: hxxp://www.buyagrowbox.com/. Does anyone have experience with this outfit? They sell 4x4 and 5x5 tent systems but a 400w light comes with the 4x4 and 600w for the 5x5. I haven't contacted them but I wonder if it would be a problem to upgrade the light wattage, with whatever system I chose, to 600w for 4x4 or 1000w for the 5x5, whichever way I went?

So what would you do in my shoes: the 4x4/ 600w or the 5x5/ 1000w? TIA!
 
IMO the 1000 watt in the4 x 4 tent wouldbe the way to go.
 
ozzydiodude said:
IMO the 1000 watt in the4 x 4 tent wouldbe the way to go.

Thanks for the quick reply. That's an option I never considered. For the space I have, a 5x5 tent would be a tight squeeze, but I could live with it if it would mean potentially a greater yield. Anyway, maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of an extra foot of space. Anyway, it looks like I'm on the right track as far as wanting to up the wattage of the tent packages offered. Thanks again!
 
I checked out the site. Make sure you know EXACTLY what you are buying. I am not sure about someone who sells a 4 x 4 tent with a 400W HPS and says you can grow pounds...

When you get something picked out, run it by the good folks here to make sure that you have what you need and are not getting ripped off. Your yield is more a factor of your light than the size of your space. In other words, you are probably going to get about the same yield from a 1000W light whether you put it into a 5 x 5 tent or a 4 x 4 tent.
 
Thanks THG, nice to talk to you again.

Great tip about yield and tent size. I might as well go 4x4/ 1000w that being the case, and as mentioned by Ozzy too.

Here's a link to all the stuff that comes with each Grow Tent Kit:

hxxp://www.buyagrowbox.com/comsystems.html

He doesn't get really specific with description like brand names and so forth. As you mentioned with his "grow pounds" comment, he strikes me as someone who's trying to move as much inventory as he can as quickly as possible. I think it might possible, from what I've read, to possibly grow a pound or two with a 1000w 4x4 tent setup though. If he meant the 400w 4x4 then he might be a slippery character (to put it nicely). I'll give him a call and feel him out. Thanks again.
 
I have a 4' 9" x 4' 9" x 7' growlabs with two 600's in it and it has served me nicely so far. Also remember the smaller the tent the fewer the plants. I have 4 in mine right now and its pretty packed. Here's a grow journal I am doing with some pictures if you are curious.
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60192
 
Hey Herm, nice setup and nice grow there. I hope to be able to do that well. I learned here that more plants don't necessarily mean more yield. How much yield did you get with that grow, if I can ask? Also, what size pots are you using?

I was curious, I was looking at seeds at Attitude, in the White Strain section, since I've been interested in growing White Widow, but there are so many options and prices how does one go about making a choice? Are seeds a case of you get what "you pay for" or are there bargains to be found that are just as good as the more expensive seeds? I'd hate to spend more than I have to get some good seeds.

Thanks for linking me to your grow! Very very nice job you did. Thanks again.
 
Yes, a pound or more is way doable with a 1000W in a 4 x4 or 5 x 5 tent. Your ventilation is also almost as important as your lighting, so pay attention to the fans offered. You are going to want a centrifuge type exhaust fan that will exhaust 450 cfm or so. The duct booster fans that are part of the packages have very limited uses. The cfm will drop to virtually nothing if there is any resistance, like a filter a few bends in ducting.

Also take a look at the entire package and decide whether the things they are offering along with the tent, light, and fans are products that are suited to your grow. Some of the hydro units were simply too small to really do anything. It is sometimes cheaper to go ala carte.

Any particular reason that you picked white widow? No, seeds are not necessarily a case of more expensive is better. There are some very good genetics out there that are really reasonably priced. Go with a reputable seed bank and a reputable breeder and you should be fine. I am quite impressed with Mandala's genetics, especially for the price.
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
Yes, a pound or more is way doable with a 1000W in a 4 x4 or 5 x 5 tent. Your ventilation is also almost as important as your lighting, so pay attention to the fans offered. You are going to want a centrifuge type exhaust fan that will exhaust 450 cfm or so. The duct booster fans that are part of the packages have very limited uses. The cfm will drop to virtually nothing if there is any resistance, like a filter a few bends in ducting.

Also take a look at the entire package and decide whether the things they are offering along with the tent, light, and fans are products that are suited to your grow. Some of the hydro units were simply too small to really do anything. It is sometimes cheaper to go ala carte.

Any particular reason that you picked white widow? No, seeds are not necessarily a case of more expensive is better. There are some very good genetics out there that are really reasonably priced. Go with a reputable seed bank and a reputable breeder and you should be fine. I am quite impressed with Mandala's genetics, especially for the price.

Great info as always THG, thanks.

The only reason I gravitate to kits is because I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't have the confidence and knowledge to put something together myself. If I had a list of separate items I needed to order to make everything work I would most certainly go that route, but I can't seem to find that information anywhere (believe me I've searched) and I surely wouldn't expect anyone to do it for me, so it looks like I need to go the kit route to get my foot in the door.

Anyway, thanks for the great info!
 
multifarious said:
One thing i noticed about the tents youve been looking at is there ventilation/intake duct holes, which i consider to be completely inadequate, for your purpose.
There is also no mention of cable/cord points

Venting a 1k in a 4x4 with just x3 4" duct holes will be a challenge

I personally like the Secret Jardin range

Thanks for the heads up multifarious. It looks like I have a lot more legwork to do before getting started.
 
BoneMan1000 said:
Great info as always THG, thanks.

The only reason I gravitate to kits is because I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't have the confidence and knowledge to put something together myself. If I had a list of separate items I needed to order to make everything work I would most certainly go that route, but I can't seem to find that information anywhere (believe me I've searched) and I surely wouldn't expect anyone to do it for me, so it looks like I need to go the kit route to get my foot in the door.

Anyway, thanks for the great info!

It is only a good deal if the person selling/putting the kit together knows what they are doing and is honest. Many of those selling growing products are neither--just wanting to jump on the growing bandwagon and make money without any regard to whether what they are selling will work. A perfect example is HTG Supply selling a 6" carbon filter that requires a min of 220 cfm to run (you really need a centrifuge fan), but pairs it with a weak duct booster fan that they know is totally inadequate for the job.

I'm just saying, when you have picked out a "kit" run it by the peeps here to make sure what you are wanting to buy is what you need. Part of not going with a kit is that each grow space is unique. Let us know what you decide on.
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
It is only a good deal if the person selling/putting the kit together knows what they are doing and is honest. Many of those selling growing products are neither--just wanting to jump on the growing bandwagon and make money without any regard to whether what they are selling will work. A perfect example is HTG Supply selling a 6" carbon filter that requires a min of 220 cfm to run (you really need a centrifuge fan), but pairs it with a weak duct booster fan that they know is totally inadequate for the job.

I'm just saying, when you have picked out a "kit" run it by the peeps here to make sure what you are wanting to buy is what you need. Part of not going with a kit is that each grow space is unique. Let us know what you decide on.

Well, I was planning on the Mother's Keeper tent kit with T5s from HTG for vegging/ cloning and then going with either the 4x4 or 5x5 tent kit, substituted with a 1000w HPS, from GrowBox (links above). The second link I provided from GrowBox has a list of everything that comes with their kits. At this point I don't know how much more specific than that I can get.

I have a spare bedroom I'll use to place the tents in and vent either into the attic or out a window. Since this bedroom was used as a wet photographic darkroom, prior to the advent of digital photography, I have a sink installed in a pretty large closet off the bedroom which should come in handy. I'm thinking about using the closet as a drying/ curing space. I'm willing to spend as much as I have to do this the right way without cutting corners.

I was all set to go this route but I'm hearing that it might not be adequate, so I'm not sure how to proceed from here. Thanks, as always.
 
The vegging setup looks pretty good. The tent is almost the exact same size as my vegging space. I have very good veggy growth with the identical light. While the fan is only a booster fan, T5s don't put out much heat and it will probably do the job just fine.

The other setup really looks to be priced quite high. Let's see if maybe we can come up with something a little better priced.

Here is a 5 x 5 tent--$139 shipped hXXp://www.ebay.com/itm/MYLAR-INTERIOR-GROW-TENT-BOX-HYDROPONICS-5-X-5-NEW-/230760135945?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35ba603d09

Here is a 1000W air coolable hood, dimmable ballast, light hanger, and timer--$235 shipped hXXp://www.ebay.com/itm/1000-Watt-HPS-MH-Grow-Light-System-1000w-Digital-Dimm-/160635877904?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item2566a4fa10

A 6" 530 cfm fan and filter combo $167 hXXp://www.ebay.com/itm/6-CARBON-AIR-FILTER-COMBO-INLINE-FAN-EXHAUST-inch-SIX-24-HOUR-SHIPPING-530-CFM-/170798818597?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c4672525

I found these all on E-bay in about 5 minutes. If you shop around you may find better prices. Those are the big things--around $550. You will need a few other things: a better timer, insulated ducting, duct flanges, pots, an oscillating fan, maybe another exhaust fan.

Let's look at the kit from Growbox: The 5x5 tent package with a 600W in a cooltube is $800. One of the fans is a duct booster fan, the other is only 206 cfm and the filter is a 4" filter. I don't think that you will be happy with a cool tube in a 5 x 5 tent and I can guarantee you that you will not be happy with a 600W in a 5 x 5 tent. I think we can save you some decent money and/or get you bigger better quality equipment going ala carte.
 
I wld stay away from package deals and buy everything you need a la carte...I hve bought 3 tents off ebay at three different times and all 3 of my tents still work fine. My flower tent is a 4x4x6.5 no name brand and I got it for like 125 US shipped to my door. First grow in it I started out with one 600 Watt HPS in a cool tube and quickly realized I needed more light to cover a full tent adequately. I added a 400 watt HPS in a standard reflector and it has been doing the job ever since but in reality two 600 watt HPS in air cooled hoods wld be the best fit for the tent. Cool tubes are good but I don't like the light spread on them. Next purchase will be an air cooled hood. I hve not run a single 1000 watt HPS in it but I worry about the foot print of a single light. Two 600's wld give better coverage and get you more lumens per watt. Anything you buy off ebay make sure you research the seller. You can get good tents off there but you can also get stuck with garbage. jmo
 
THG and HL, thanks for sharing your hard-won experience. I have a much better idea now how to proceed.

THG, glad to hear that the Mother's Keeper is adequate. I'm thinking that I can order that first and get some seeds and get started right away. I won't need a blooming setup until I've grown some plants anyway, so I can work on putting that together while I'm waiting for my plants to veg.

I have a clearer plan now on how to proceed, plus I never considered Ebay.

You guys are the best! Thanks again for all the help. This site is a real oasis.
 
You may want to check out other places also. I buy a lot from both E-bay and Amazon.
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
You may want to check out other places also. I buy a lot from both E-bay and Amazon.

I'm doing exactly that Goddess. I'm looking at a GrowLab GL120 tent and searching for the best price; $216 seems about it so far. I could use that 1000w light you found on Ebay to go with it. Once you freed my mind from thinking only about kits the options are really opening up. Then I might want to look for a couple good quality duct fans: one for the light and one for a carbon filter setup. I'm still not sure the best route to go for filtering, ventilation, and cooling the light, but I'm working on it.

BTW, lots of great information on the Mandala Seeds site. It looks like they're meticulous about ensuring good quality seed too. I think I'm gonna order from them.

Thankyou!
 
I will let you know about the yield in about 3 weeks ;)
 
:clap: Sounds good Herm. :clap:

In my travels on the Net looking for individual components for a tent setup I stumbled upon a kit setup. I was just wondering what you guys thought of this (its strengths and weaknesses):

hxxp://www.greners.com/i/packages/grow-room-packages/grow-room-packages-5x5.html

Thanks.
 
That is still incredibly overpriced. It has everything I mentioned above plus a duct booster fan (I find these almost useless), a Suncourt Temperature switch (around $35), and a fan speed controller (around $25). If you really really want to buy a set up, I would be happy to put one together for you (I could use $400 in my pocket). I figure that there is probably around $400 (or more) of "gravy" in that setup. The price tag is $1164 (St Paddy Day special) plus shipping which looks to be $70 or more. You can probably get everything you need (everything in that package) for around $700 including shipping. So, I guess that it all really boils down to how much money you have and whether it is worth hundred and hundreds to have someone else put these things together and send them to you.
 

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