The plan is to get a 2(wide) x 4(long) x 6-foot-tall grow tent from Gorilla. I'll likely end up with LED or Fluorescent so too much heat shouldn't be an issue however I am concerned about how I will actually heat the tent as temp in the closet is normally around 65 degrees. How do I control the climate in such a small tent? Humidity? Seems like a heater/humidifier/dehumidifier and what not is going to really cramp the space. Any thoughts?"
As this is your first? ...let be nice, the rule with tents is the more space the better, so go 4ftx4ft like this: http://www.amazon.com/Aviditi-PTU-66-Reflective-Hydroponic-48-Inch/dp/B004U6XSRC/ref=pd_sim_lg_2/186-1433666-7723462 and a compatible light for it http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YXDHX6/ref=twister_B00EUMEJRO good luck
Go LED, not fluorescent. HID of "equivalent rating" is still better than most LEDs, for various reasons (fall off of light intensity, gaps in useful wavelengths), but LEDs are good enough, and getting better. Fluorescent are just plain too weak in intensity. And even less efficient than HIDs (though cooler, so can be hung closer to plants, if overhead space is an issue and LED isn't doable). I SWEAR by Gorilla tents. Strongest seams and zippers in the industry, and that's where tents fail, usually. Climate control....are you kidding? Where do these plants grow naturally? Tropics, from lowland jungle to desert. As in Forrest Gump's description of 6 months of "there was little stinging rain, big fat rain that fell off leaves, rain that fell sideways, even rain that came up from underneath!". It doesn't rain unless RH is between 75%-80% and there's a pressure change to cause it. Or over 90% in consistent pressure. Desert...ranges from "monsoon season" of 4-6 weeks of "They call this a fucking desert? Find me a surfboard, I'll surf to India from Afghanistan in the wadis!" to 10.5-11 months of "What is this "humidity" you speak of?" as spit evaporates before it can hit the ground. Humidity is only a worry because of fungi. Too dry, you get dry mold, some mildews, a couple other fungi. Too wet, you get white mold, other mildews, bud rot, leaf rot. Buy some Greencure and a 1 gallon pump sprayer, and spray your plants, top and bottom, every couple days. spray your tent walls when you do it, too. Problem solved. Worried about taste on the buds? make a little "bud cone" of paper when flowering, and use it to shelter the bud while spraying around it, switch to a little spray bottle for more precise application. Problem solved. Heat? "75 to 80 degrees" is a rule of thumb for constant temps. What's the reputation of British Colombian or Washington State outdoor grown bud? I know for a fact it's world-wide, as I've had friends from the Netherlands try to convince me to ship them some from here. We don't get above average low of 50 until April, above 60 until July, drops back below 60 by September, and below 50 by the end of September. We don't get above an average high of 60 until May/June, and don't top 70 as an average except in July and August. By Croptober, we're in the 50's as a high, usually. In nature, they grow in places like the 'Stans, where daily temp ranges vary by up to 45 degrees, sometimes topping 110 just to drop down to 65 overnight. They can handle heat and cold, just not CONSTANT heat over 80-85, or CONSTANT low below about 60-65. By nature, they want a cycle, too, if you can manage it. Your grow medium has to be kept colder than the air. In nature, the top 2 inches of soil will stay within about 10 degrees of air temp...but a foot down, 55 degrees F is normal. 2 feet down, 50 degrees is. And it's stable. For heat control if you find you have heat issues, passive intake negative pressure system that has the intake of the fan ducted, and the end of that duct set up to suck air directly over/around your primary heat source, before blowing it out of the tent. Compression makes heat, expansion cools. Spray a can of "canned air" computer duster, it gets cold as hell...as it releases the compressed air, the remaining air inside expands. Which cools the can. Air motion is a function of higher pressure moving to lower pressure. The fan compresses air at its outlet, causing it to push out into lower pressure outside air. That means it creates lower pressure at the intake, so higher pressure air moves in, to BE compressed...which cools the area affected better than blowing air over it. A passive intake means you're not blowing directly on the plants (even a 14" oscillating fan creates winds of about 30MPH in its main cone--that's a windstorm...any plant under it is under a constant windstorm...not happy-making for little Leafy, is it?), Higher pressure air from outside is being pushed in BY that higher pressure through any crack it can find. Which also means that it expands as it comes in, cooling the area more effectively. If your issue is too LITTLE heat, reverse this...blow your air over the heat sources, go to passive exhaust, but DON'T direct any "wind" onto the plants...keep it as far from them as you can.
I have a 2 x 2 with a 150hps, 4 inch hurricane fan and carbon filter with the fan casing mounted on top of the tent monitored with a hygrometer temp guage. A small 10in circular clip on for my small room as well as keeping it clean has worked out well. Night time humidity and temps would be what I think is you be most concerned about. http://www.just4growers.com/ Check this site out.
Run lights at night to warm up. Off in the day. Should balance temps a bit. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Id recommend an HID light, probably 400w for a 2x4 area. You'll save money and it wont produce too much heat with proper ventilation. I think LEDs still have a ways to go before they become economically feasible. Sure they will work just fine but save your money for one in a couple years when the diodes are twice as efficient and half the price.
Keep in mind, it isn't always about what your temp is, but that there is at least a 10 degree swing between night and day. Of course above 85 they straight up shut down (without a ton of CO2) so you should keep them below that temp. Try it out and see what your temps will be and then trouble shoot (ie adding intakes, heat, humidifier, dehumidifier, etc. Trial and error initi.ally will tell you what you need as everybody's climate is different. Gorilla tents are nice, but they use the exact same poles as Agromax tents. Is it worth the extra money initially, probably not. Spend the money you save on better lights/hoods. Sweet tents for sure, but they are like a 5th or 6h harvest purchase IMHO. When you have a solid 4+ ounces per plant, then buy your Ferrari tent.
With Gorillas, it's the thicker and hardier fabric, seams, and zippers used that's what has me swearing by them.
I'm sure the Gorilla is sweet, but you could buy 3 Agromax tents for the price of one Gorilla. Considering that you need a solid four tents (if you wanna mom and clone) to keep things under a constant cycle. I would say five total tents. One mom chamber (3x3 or 4x4), one nursery (a short 3x3 or 4x4), one veg room (3x5 or 4x8) and two flower rooms (4x8). I would love to buy all Gorillas but it is just too much money. Secret Jarden makes a nice once too and not quite as expensive.
I follow...though my circumstances remove any worries about smell and such, so my cloning is normally done in the open, and I take the clones about 3 weeks before flowering, from heart of the plant trimmings. No motherplant, simply successive generations that are all clones pre-flower, so lose no potency. Works the same way...a clone of a clone, both taken pre-flower, is still exactly the same plant as the original plant <shrug>. For all intents and purposes, it is the same plant. So during one session's flowering, I'm vegging tiny clones to short bushes, then moving them to bigger, more controlled environment (tents) when I move crop to dry-hanging. But yeah, I know most people can't do it that way...and I AM planning to buy another 5 by 10 by 10 later this coming year---after Christmas and birthdays around here are out of the way.