Dual Tent Grow - 2 x Secret Jardin DR150W

First off, I will write this post as if I have an audience. I realize nobody will even read this thread, and I make no commitment to keeping it updated, etc. I love my online community and friends, but I am not able to consistently keep up my cyber persona as life and stuff just gets in the way! I love growing medical cannabis, but she's not my only passion. Please feel free to comment. Understand I am not trying to teach or preach in this journal. It is purely for fun!!! With that in mind, please keep your comments nice and constructive. I will die learning so I am open to all ideas -- but please keep your beliefs and opinions on topic: How to Have Fun Cultivating Medical Cannabis.



While most people increase the size of their grow, I am downsizing! Haha - not really, but kind of sort of... I had an entire room of the house devoted to growing, but my situation changed and I wanted to reclaim some of the room for office space. I am going from a 10' x 12.5' foot room, with 4 x 600 lights, to two Secret Jardin DR150W tents. The DR150W tents are 32" x 60", which will make the new office grow area about a 5' x 5' (2 tents x 2.5ft x 5ft).

OK. First off, you are likely wondering why I went with two DR150W's rather than a single tent? There are several reasons:

1. I already had 1 DR150W (a couple years old, used for veg, still like new).
2. I always wanted a more scientific way to compare growing methods, and nutrient regimes. Having two identical tents equipped with the same light and atmospheric controls allows me to have a constant with which to measure the variables. I have grown in soil, rockwool, hydroton, and coco using various methods including aeroponics, nft, ebb n flo, and assorted drip scenarios. Which is best? hahaha It's a question that can not be answered, but a baseline environment in two zones at the same time gets me closer to the answer.
3. The 2.5' x 10' footprint of the two tents fits better into the 'office' than a 5 x 5 tent; giving me more usable space (I still have the full 12.5 feet of the room).

I will list my setup details in subsequent posts. Oh... you want pics too? haha OK.

I had most of these items from the previous room setup, short the second tent, the bulbs, and some misc hardware.

• 2 x Secret Jardin DR150W
• Sentinel CHHC-1
• 2 x Adjust-a-Wing, Medium, 600w
• 2 x Quantum 600
• 2 x MaxLume MH 600w (not a conversion! 60,000 lumens)
• 2 x GE LucaLux HPS 600w
• 6" Vortex
• 4" Vortex
• 4" DustShroom (UNI made, HEPA rated filter)
• 4 x 6" AirKing 2-speed

Each tent is equipped with a Quantum dimmable ballast, 600 watt light, 6" exhaust (no carbon filter), 4" intake (through HEPA filter), and 2 AirKing fans. The 4" Vortex fan intakes from outside through a DustShroom HEPA filter. The 6" Vortex exhausts up through the ceiling and out a vent to outside. I will not be running carbon filters on my exhaust; no odor control. Both the intake and exhaust sections of ducting are of equal length after the 'Y' fittings, to ensure intake and exhaust pressures are equal in both tents. The Sentinel controller sensor will hang in Tent2 (sensor is not shown in diagram).

Pics to follow...

Here are some pics of the tents setup and ducted. I used the existing position of the 6" Vortex, and moved the 4" into position for the tent setup. The AC was removed, the hole boarded up, and replaced with a simple 4" intake.

Two Secret Jardin DR150W tents offer up a little more than 5' x 5', or 25 sq ft of growing space. Each tent is about 90 cu ft.


Two medium sized Adjust-a-Wing reflectors hang in the tents. Will they be too hot with 600 watt bulbs?


The general scenario: Fresh air from outside is pulled through a 4" DustShroom via 4" Vortex fan, and split into the two tents with a 'y' fitting. Air is exhausted through 6" ducting to outside. Old school, budget nylon filters are used to keep bugs and big particles from going through the 6" Vortex exhaust fan. An eyehook drilled into the 6" 'y' fitting helps route things nicely.

The AC was removed to get back to a greener way of growin' green.


Brazil? No, just the usual maze of ducting you end up with for even the most simple of installations.


The 6" Y fitting 'all hooked up'.


An eye hook drilled into the Y fitting made for an easy installation. Go foil tape!


Have you seen these new carbon filters from BMW? They insert into your duct, don't restrict flow, come with a built-in hanger and scrub 500CFM of air in a breath....


The intake air is filtered through the new DustShroom 4" HEPA grade filter, and ends up here on the floor of your tent... cool.


I'm not sure I will be able to get away with the 600w Adjust-a-Wings; I fear the heat will be too high on all but the coldest nights. I may be able to get away with running them at 75% (about 450 watts), but that too may be cutting it close. I will have to do some tests to see how it goes, but I am thinking I will need to dig up some air-cooled hoods to run 600's in a 2.5' x 5' x 6.5' tent.

Anybody have a go with 600w wings in 2 x 4, 3 x 3, or similar tent? If so, what was your cooling strategy, and how did it work out?

I will do some environmental tests, and posts pics with the lights and fans installed and running, in my next post.

that is a GORGEOUS setup, ducting is def my least favorite thing in this world and you have givin me nothing but hope for my future grows rep bump on the sicky plannin and detail work prior to setup, just damn beautiful

Yes that is a nice set up especially since you have two tents hooked up.I will follow this...

Dick Moser said:

that is a GORGEOUS setup, ducting is def my least favorite thing in this world and you have givin me nothing but hope for my future grows rep bump on the sicky plannin and detail work prior to setup, just damn beautiful

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Thanks DM! Haha - I know what you mean about ducting... it always seems the studs don't match where you want to hang your fans and shit, the outlet is 3 inches too far away, and it's just plain hard to drill a hole through the side of your house!

Yes that is a nice set up especially since you have two tents hooked up.I will follow this...

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Thanks KK (nice screen name by you). Nice to have you along for the ride. I will try to keep this journal rolling as I get going, but I may drop off, as I often get too busy to get online. I hate to disappoint people, so I thought I would issue a disclaimer from the start! haha

I love Kush (who doesn't! haha) - OG in particular...

OG Kush - Christmas 2009


OG Kush

oh, my, weed to the sky! made my xmas just with that one juicy porn pot pic, much appreciated. i do have a few ????? if you dont mind, what set up are you planning on running??? are you going to start out with mild variables (soil vs medium vs hydro) or full on major variables (soil scrog setup vs hydro topped and lollypopped) to get max yeilds/ better qualities???? and again...amazing setup...so jelly

setup looks great. Glad i stumbled on this!
+rep

Dick Moser said:

oh, my, weed to the sky! made my xmas just with that one juicy porn pot pic, much appreciated. i do have a few ????? if you dont mind, what set up are you planning on running??? are you going to start out with mild variables (soil vs medium vs hydro) or full on major variables (soil scrog setup vs hydro topped and lollypopped) to get max yeilds/ better qualities???? and again...amazing setup...so jelly

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For sure - post em up! I love to see pics of what others are doing; inspiration!

Great question about just what we are going to grow here! haha I almost forgot about that part!

For the initial run in this system, I am going to keep it simple with a nutrient comparison in soil. I have the complete line up of the new Roots Organics Soul Synthetics line (thanks Aurora!) that I wanted to try out. I am going to run this against the Botanicare Pure Blend Pro schedule (which I am very familiar with). I will use the factory guidelines at my own PPM's. I don't have my own plant material for this round, so I will be relying on a local nursery for my genetics. I will run 8 - 10 plants per tent. Hopefully I can get a nice OG, as that is my fav, and I am most familiar growing that strain.

Grow it Organic said:

setup looks great. Glad i stumbled on this!
+rep

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Thanks, GIO!

I have yet to find the MaxLume 600 MH bulbs I intend to start with, so I used some older bulbs I had for environmental testing. Tent1 has a Hortilux HPS, and Tent2 has GE Plusrite HPS. I am aware of the incompatibility issues with the Quantum ballasts and the Hortilux EYE 600w bulbs.

My kind of XMAS lights; two tents ablaze.

Tent2 will serve as the 'master' tent, housing the Sentinel CHHC-1 sensor.

The 'slave' Tent1, will rely upon weather conditions in Tent2 for intake/exhaust control.

The Sentinel CHHC-1 is overkill for this application, but this is what I had.

The Sentinel CHHC-1 will control the intake and exhaust fans, using the 'Cooling' and 'Humidity' outlets respectively. They will be set to 'interlock' so both fans will kick in when either the humidity or cooling setpoint is reached. The 6" Vortex exhaust is hooked to a speed controller to dial in the relative pressure from the 4" Vortex intake. The tents actually seal up tighter than I realized. Much like big bags, they make it easy to visually dial in the balance of negative and positive pressures: When the tent is 'sucked in' there is too much negative pressure. When the tent bulges (like blowing up a paper bag), there is too much positive pressure. The CFM of the 6" exhaust fan vs the 4" intake fan will naturally create negative pressure. By dialing down the exhaust fan speed (and effective CFM) I can equalize the negative and positive pressures within the tents.

This tent is 'sucked in' from negative pressure created by the exhaust moving more air out than the intake can move in.

Positive pressure in my bulging tent. Did I say that?

The Master tent is in test mode, equipped with the Sentinel sensor, and 2 additional wireless hygro/thermo sensors to monitor and analyze our newly created environment. Will this be a good home? I think there may still be some issues to deal with...

I will follow up with my environmental findings in subsequent posts.

Nice. Gotta keep up wiht this if you don't mind...I was considering adding another small tent.......

Oldreefer said:

Nice. Gotta keep up with this if you don't mind...I was considering adding another small tent.......

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Nice to have you along!

As expected, there are some issues with this setup:

1. HEAT
2. HUMIDITY

HEAT: The 600 watt Adjust-a-Wings run too hot for a tent this size with just fresh-air cooling. I have a few options...

1. Actively cool the tents using AC.
2. Run my ballasts at 75% (450w), or get lower wattage lights.
3. Run sealed air-cooled hoods.

HUMIDITY: When the lights go out, humidity skyrockets (as expected). The humidity setpoint is triggered on the Sentinel and the intake/exhaust fans kick in; exhausting the humid air, but also bringing in cool, and often humid air from outside. This will not work to consistently lower humidity. This problem will be compounded with plant material. I have a few options...

1. Actively dehumidify the tents using dehumidifiers.
2. Install an elaborate secondary intake system using electronic dampers and more ducting to switch the intake air from outside to warmer, dryer, interior air -- and back again as needed.
3. Install heaters in the tents.

I need to get the environment correct to move forward. What is the best way to handle this? I welcome input. I will let you know how I leap over these environmental hurdles in future posts.

now this is only an assumption based on some negitive affects i had after breaking the glass on my air cooled. beofre it broke i had everything dialed in and AFTER my humidity wouldnt go below 60% and with the lights on temps hit 85-90 on warm days no mater how much air i could move. only replacing the screen stopped my problems and i run 600 watters in rooms smaler (or mabye as big but with stuff everywhere). so i trully believe you get a sealed light you lose your problems.

very very nice my friend.

Dick Moser said:

...and AFTER my humidity wouldnt go below 60%

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You're humidity wouldn't go below 60%... with the lights off? I am unclear why it made a difference what type of light you had if it was off?

...and with the lights on temps hit 85-90 on warm days no mater how much air i could move. only replacing the screen stopped my problems and i run 600 watters in rooms smaler (or mabye as big but with stuff everywhere). so i trully believe you get a sealed light you lose your problems.

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Yo, DM. Thanks. I was thinking the same thing. I'll see what I can find for sealed hoods... but I think I still may have humidity issues at night. One thing at a time, huh? haha

1234offgrid said:

very very nice my friend.

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Thanks!

i think the heat from the light was vapeing the water in the dirt and my WHOLE setup is on one timer (instead of having the sentinel) and my fans and everything shut off when my lights do (i use a generator and it keeps cost WAY down) so humidity and heat have to stay perfect all day and its a fun little teeter tooter i get to play on. i understand you have a much more controllable setup but those where my problems and the way i solved them, just thought it might help stay medicated

That setup looks pro!
I like your style. +rep
Cant wait to see some more pictures.

Dick Moser said:

i think the heat from the light was vapeing the water in the dirt and my WHOLE setup is on one timer (instead of having the sentinel) and my fans and everything shut off when my lights do (i use a generator and it keeps cost WAY down) so humidity and heat have to stay perfect all day and its a fun little teeter tooter i get to play on. i understand you have a much more controllable setup but those where my problems and the way i solved them, just thought it might help stay medicated

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Thanks, DM. Yes, all info helps!

alexonfire said:

That setup looks pro!
I like your style. +rep
Cant wait to see some more pictures.

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Thanks, Alex. I'll get more pictures up as I make improvements and get things dialed in. I'm probably still a week or two away from rolling, so don't hold your breath yet! haha

As I dial in my environment, I am thinking about plant numbers in the DR150W. I'm thinking 8 - 12 per tent would be a good number. Let's see how those numbers play out with some common container sizes.

I was going to simply place pots within saucers right on the floor of the tent, to maximize floor space and plant counts. I have a couple 2x4 trays I could use instead of saucers. They would reduce my grow space footprint (and plant count), but using trays would make maintenance like watering and flushing easier throughout the cycle. I can train the side plants to grow out and fill in the ends of the tent that may seem wasted by using the 2x4 tray. This may actually work nicely as it affords the 4 central plants great light too. Of course, I will need to veg a bit longer to make up for the lower plant counts. It's a balance (like everything in life!) and I have yet to make a final decision.

The final drawing shows how a Botanicare 2 x 4 prop tray fits in the DR150W--Nice and roomy. Actually... this would also work well if I wanted to have a 20 - 30 gallon reservoir at the end of a 2x4 tray for ebb and flow, or drip, etc.

I will make my final plant density selection based on the strain, the maturity and size of the cuts I decide on, and my actual start date. After looking at the relative plant densities, I am thinking I will go with 8 or 10 units per tent... If I had my own material this round, I may be tempted to go with a more dense SOG style (14 per tent).

Thoughts?

The DR150W has 32" x 60" of floor space.