Help a guy get dialed

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MyxtLyte

Active Member
Hey everyone, first time posting. I had a really bad full term season here in Ca, and pretty much harvested a few oz after 6+ months of veg/flower when I should have yielded WAYYYY more. This was due to my own massive error and changing a system that was already working for me in the pursuit of progress...
MOVING FORWARD-
It's finally worth it for me to grow indoors. So far, I've got a 5x9 gorilla tent and a spiderfarmer 4000. I'm setting it up on a freezing cold concrete foundation(sealed).
PLAN- Laying out pallets to create a false floor. Onto the pallets, I'm laying mylar covered particle board to create a more "even plane". Finally, a thick tarp covers this entire "floor" assembly in the hopes of maintaining the thermals inside the tent a little better(tent on top of tarp). Temps rarely dip below 30 degrees, and I plan on using heat mats on the tent floor to supplement as needed

For lighting, I know a spider farmer 4000 is way underpowered for a 5x9, but rather than buy another $500+ fixture, i'm reading up on building my own board fixture to my size specifications. I think I can finish filling the 5x9 with a ~600 watt fixture. For veg, i'm considering an additional 5x5 OR should I use the 5x9 for veg and the 5x5 for flower in a perpetual harvest scenario?? Depending on what I end up doing, I may just move the spider farmer to the 5x5, and build a 1000-1200 watt fixture for the 5x9. Any suggestions? I have personally only had a single indoor plant in the past. It did exceptionally well under CFL's and I harvested over 2.5 oz trimmed(college years 15 years ago).
 
buyyouabeer

buyyouabeer

Well-Known Member
I think you will struggle with temperatures cold and hot. My friend tried the tent in the garage thing (northern OR) and finally gave up on the moldy crops. It is now in a nice warm bedroom with AC for the summer.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
I would keep your first grow small, since you have so many unknowns, like the temp/humidity in your grow space. Just do a few plants under the light you have, work on the fundamentals of proper watering/fertilizing, training, harvest/curing while maintaining the correct temp humidity. Don't overextend yourself before you get your first healthy harvest in.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Congrats on being able to start such a large grow. Only advice I can offer would be to keep things simple as possible. Do you have all the needed environment equipment already. For a large tent I'd think at least two filters, 2- 9 inch blower fans 3 circulation fans, dehumidifier, humidifier, many timers, humidity/temp controllers, light hangers, pots, plant risers, drain trays, nutrients and on and on..
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
buyyouabeer said:
I think you will struggle with temperatures cold and hot. My friend tried the tent in the garage thing (northern OR) and finally gave up on the moldy crops. It is now in a nice warm bedroom with AC for the summer.
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Dang. I am planning on running the system for a few days to see what my realistic range is before starting seeds or introducing clones, but i'm hopeful that because the tent(s) will be in a controlled greenhouse, that daytime temps shouldn't be too bad. The added benefit of being in the GH, is the ability to remove the tent top during flower to allow tons of UV light in, which my fixture doesn't provide.
My biggest concern is cold, but I'm not worried about RH. I fore-see having to add a temperature controller with more supplemental heat for the tent(s) if/when things start to get too cold. Bringing the tents into the house is not an option unfortunately, but that would be the most cost effective.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
MyxtLyte said:
Dang. I am planning on running the system for a few days to see what my realistic range is before starting seeds or introducing clones, but i'm hopeful that because the tent(s) will be in a controlled greenhouse, that daytime temps shouldn't be too bad. The added benefit of being in the GH, is the ability to remove the tent top during flower to allow tons of UV light in, which my fixture doesn't provide.
My biggest concern is cold, but I'm not worried about RH. I fore-see having to add a temperature controller with more supplemental heat for the tent(s) if/when things start to get too cold. Bringing the tents into the house is not an option unfortunately, but that would be the most cost effective.
Click to expand...
Not worrying about humidity is a sure fire way to end up with mold issues.
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
Rurumo said:
I would keep your first grow small, since you have so many unknowns, like the temp/humidity in your grow space. Just do a few plants under the light you have, work on the fundamentals of proper watering/fertilizing, training, harvest/curing while maintaining the correct temp humidity. Don't overextend yourself before you get your first healthy harvest in.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I'm going to keep it super simple in the flower area for the first run and prob just use that one light, but I'm thinking about staggering my veg cycle so I have plants to mess with. Medium will be ultra light and basic. Nutrients will just be fundamental, minimally applied, and mineral based although I prefer organic methods mostly for the end product. I definitely agree on finding a good baseline reference point in a given environment,
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
farmingfisherman said:
Congrats on being able to start such a large grow. Only advice I can offer would be to keep things simple as possible. Do you have all the needed environment equipment already. For a large tent I'd think at least two filters, 2- 9 inch blower fans 3 circulation fans, dehumidifier, humidifier, many timers, humidity/temp controllers, light hangers, pots, plant risers, drain trays, nutrients and on and on..
Click to expand...
Thanks! I have 6" in line fan with a 400 cfm rating for the 5x9. I may try to add in ducting for the 5x5 eventually when that comes in. I added a carbon filter for the neighbors consideration, even though i'm 100% legit.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
You mentioned this will be in a green house. What type of house is it and what size? Someday I hope to have one myself but likely will be on the smaller side.
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
buyyouabeer said:
What does this mean exactly? You said the floor was freezing concrete and I bet in the summer it will be hot as in California hot. I think this plan needs some serious re-evaluation.
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Indoor tent is only intended for off season colder months. The GH is controlled, but not heated.
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
farmingfisherman said:
Speaking of building, with the temps you are saying are likely I might consider building a small frame structure and buy some insulation sheets and then put the tent inside that. Nothing fancy but the extra insulation might really prove to be important.
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If I were to source insulation and didn't have odds and ends laying around from previous projects, that mylar covered foam insulation is awesome and really effective. I think it's just called 'rigid foam insulation' and comes in something like 4x8 sheets if I remember correctly.

Edit- probably wouldn't be that hard to insulate the actual tent either, and you'd just be placing mylar over mylar so no PARS lost
 
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