Introduction Ok, so I was hoping for a little input on the design of my new grow tent. My 4th grow and 4th completely different setup (I like to learn things the hard way and waste money, yay!) This will primarily be for flowering with a subcool wanna-be grow. Soil with about 4 or 5 plants in 7 gallon pots. I'm gonna throw out some bonus information, that may help. Link to 6.5'x6.5'x6.5' tent: Amazon.com: Large Grow Tent 78"x78"x78" Hydroponics Grow Tent 6.5'X6.5'X6.5' 100% Reflective Mylar: Patio, Lawn & Garden I will have the following equipment: 6,000 BTU window air conditioner: Amazon.com: Frigidaire FRA065AT7 6000-BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner: Home & Kitchen Light Hood/Reflector: Amazon.com: Maverick Sun Magnilume Pro Reflector Air Cool 6-Inch Duct: Patio, Lawn & Garden Ballast: Amazon.com: Lumatek LK1000 Lumatek Dial-A-Watt Dimmable E-Ballast: Patio, Lawn & Garden 400cfm Hood Vent Fan: Amazon.com: Hydrofarm Active Air 6 inch In-Line Fan 400 CFM: Home & Kitchen CO2 Regulator: Amazon.com: Co2 Regulator & Valve: Patio, Lawn & Garden Feedback I'm Looking For Ok, so fyi, feedback on anything in this setup is much appreciated. I realize that it's not the 100% most ideal equipment, so please understand I have a limited budget and I'm working with some equipment that I simply had available to me. Maybe I'm looking for a little approval or someone to point out a major issue their experience tells them I might run into. I'm concerned mostly with the climate control aspect of this setup. Outside Climate The tent is in a basement room that is well insulated. We have hot summers ~90 degrees with very low humidity, and our winters are pretty cold ~20-30 degrees from mid November to early April. In general the basement is 65-72 degrees with 25-45% humidity. Current In-Tent Climate Right now I have a 5 26w CFL lights and a blackstar 240w flowering LED light running 24/7 in the tent and the temperature range is a steady 70-75 with a humidity range of 44-60%. This is with a cloner bucket going and 8 1.5 gallon potted 1 week-old clones. Very little ventilation other than a 6" fan next to an intake area blowing towards the lil guys. AC That large side vent is where I want to try and rig up the AC unit to cool the room. I realize that the AC unit is designed for a window and that it could add a decent amount of heat to the rest of the room outside of the tent. I will likely try to create an enclosure around the AC unit that has cool air circulate through it. Ghetto as that sounds, the only other option I see is just cutting a hole in the tent where the window is in the outer room and having the AC unit recessed from the tent wall by about a foot. **From previous experience this will probably screw with the temperature reading on the AC unit and will also be spitting the cold air out from the very top corner of the room, also less than ideal. Hood Vent See image from above 400cfm fan pulling air from outside (bedroom window) through the hood and straight back outside again in a loop through the upper vents in picture. Is 400cfm enough to keep the hood pretty damn cool even at 1000w hps? I think it'll be more than ideal with the cold winter air, but are there concerns with pulling too much cold winter air? CO2 Release Concerning CO2 release and a sealed tent, would I want to fill the room with adequate CO2 and only vent the room every once in awhile (refilling the room with CO2 after each venting), or should I have a low cfm ventilation fan running constantly with regular CO2 releases? Combo of those ideas? I have found CO2 information but there's a lot of mixed opinions on this so hopefully someone can get me a little clarification specific to my setup. Other Information <> I will have oscillating circulation fans probably in each corner. <> Potentially deploying a space heater if necessary in the winter. <> Additional light-proofing of the tent will be done with precautionary black-out drapes. I probably overlooked something, maybe not. Cheers! Looking to get my soil legs after dabbling in hydro for about a year. It's weird, I go into my tent as it is right now and I get all confused when everything is going well and I don't have any levels to check. Mother plants of Chernobyl, Big Bud #2, Super Lemon Haze, and Lemon Skunk, but focusing on Chernobyl because it just hands-down outgrows the others in every aspect. Haha
Personally, i would get a carbon scrubber and another inline fan. i'd keep one fan on your light going all the time (except dark cycle) and have room exhaust fan for whenever you want to purge your room of CO2. fyi unless your AC unit has no negative pressure (rare except for mini-split systems and high end portables) you AC exhaust might smell like marijuana.
Ok, I did forget to mention that I have a scrubber. That does remind me that I will want to purchase another fan for the scrubber. AC exhaust smell is something I was aware of, but I guess I forgot to factor it in when I came up with the idea of the enclosure ventilation. I can work around that easily enough though. This is helpful for my thought process thank you!
...I'd forget the co2 in a tent and just run fresh air...after you aircool your light, if heat becomes an issue, run the a/c on the outside of the tent in the window of the basement (if needed, or even possible)
Just to be clear, you're suggesting to forget CO2 and forget AC, unless heat is a problem after testing with just the light cooling? Is there any reason you suggest forgetting CO2 in particular? Many people agree it has a fairly big impact on final product, especially in weight. While I am not selling any of this, I am also still interested in optimizing what I can. Considering most soil and organic grows are generally thought to fall short of hydro/aero grows in weight. Also, subcool is my new hero right now, and he uses CO2. Haha
...to do co2 the right way you'll need a co2 monitor, co2 regulator, co2 source, and a near hermetic room....the problems your going to have are heat and humidity. ...co2 in a hermetic room really brings on the humidity so you'll need a dehumidifier running constantly (which brings heat). Your a/c may help bring the humidity down while it's running, but when the lights go out and your room temps are below a/c settings, the a/c stops the condensing/evaporating and only the fans run, leaving your humidity on its own to raise....so, you must have a dehumidifier running. ...imo, I wouldn't attempt co2 in a tent....I can pull 1lb with a 600 watt hps with fresh air only in my cab....no dehumidifier, no co2, no a/c. Fresh air is your friend, the more air you move the better off you'll be! ...hell, I'd save the electric from the a/c, dehumidifier and get another light!
these are the babies at 5 weeks into vegging under an 18/4 cycle. 1. (4) bertha 2. (3) Big Bertha 3. (6) multiple plant view 4. (3) Sassy 5. (3) XXX/God's Gift
Good things to consider. I guess I'll just have to run a few tests in the next couple of weeks. A few of these things are still needed in my other grow room. Harvesting soon!
I have a 5x5 tent with a 1000 watt light and I use a 440 cfm fan on the light and a 170 cfm fan for an exhaust blowing all the hot air into the attic. I run the lights at night and have stable temps 75. You should be ok with what you have maybe another fan for just exhaust of the tent.
Honestly, as the weather temp. starts dropping, I'll be running an average of 32 degrees straight from outside into that light hood. At 400cfm I think that'll be nice and chilly. I have a 150cfm fan I will probably use to exhaust. The AC may just be overkill during the winter.