Grow Tent- need advice

So we are in need of a grow tent. We already have a 400w HPS system. Can anyone please tell me what size tent I need for this wattage Lamp? Where is the cheapest/ best place to get these tents? Thanks in advance for the reply -

I buy my Lighthouse Hydro grow tents from Gotham Hydroponics eBay store. Very cheap and very durable.

For a 400w, you can grow in up to a 3x3' space... but I'd always go bigger if you have the space (4x4 or 5x5'). Tent prices don't rise too much relative to the size of tent. Go for height if anything.

-spek

I got mine from a "top rated seller" off eBay too. No such thing as very cheap and very durable. From what I've been reading lately, Gorilla makes the best tents right now. Mine is entry level, and I'm hoping for a year from it.

If you're getting a tent, I highly recommend getting a cool tube too.

Make sure whatever tent you buy has the holes just where you want them, and the sizes of them too.

Build your own. PVC, reflectix (mylar bubble wrap type insulation), and velcro built mine...

3x3 for a 400, unless you have plans to upgrade the light later. I have the gorilla 3x3x9 (9' with the extension) with a 600 and it works great. It's a costly tent, but VERY well made. I can't recommend them enough.

I have a couple Sercret Jardins and have no complaints.

be carefull with cheap tents or making one yourself. if you buy a cheap tent, set everything up in it and run the tent like if you were growing BUT PUT NO plants in there for the first week and make sure you have some kind of extraction fan sucking all the plasticizers out of he tent and house. I co run a small op and we discovered a few years back that most cheap tents will offgas your plants. If you take it out of the box and it smells like you stepped inside of a factory that makes plastics, chances are it will kill your plants. People try to remedy this by exhausting the tent for hours or days. This may work as long as you have low wattage lighting. We discovered that the heat put out by 1000 watt lamps would literally cook the tents from the inside out (even using AC to keep tent cool.) The infrared heat expelled by HID lighting will help knock lose additional plasticizers trapped in the materials. Why do you need a tent? I only ask because my years of experience have taught me that the only time a tent is truly needed is if you plan on vegging or mothering plants in the same room as your flower room

BigEasy1 said:

I have a couple Sercret Jardins and have no complaints.

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It's the new ones that I've heard that aren't so good, moved the fabrication plant or something.

nobody important said:

be carefull with cheap tents or making one yourself. if you buy a cheap tent, set everything up in it and run the tent like if you were growing BUT PUT NO plants in there for the first week and make sure you have some kind of extraction fan sucking all the plasticizers out of he tent and house. I co run a small op and we discovered a few years back that most cheap tents will offgas your plants. If you take it out of the box and it smells like you stepped inside of a factory that makes plastics, chances are it will kill your plants. People try to remedy this by exhausting the tent for hours or days. This may work as long as you have low wattage lighting. We discovered that the heat put out by 1000 watt lamps would literally cook the tents from the inside out (even using AC to keep tent cool.) The infrared heat expelled by HID lighting will help knock lose additional plasticizers trapped in the materials. Why do you need a tent? I only ask because my years of experience have taught me that the only time a tent is truly needed is if you plan on vegging or mothering plants in the same room as your flower room

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I did not know that. Lucked out with mine I guess, no smell. But I'm sure that I'll have to repair the zipper seams before too long though.

nobody important said:

be carefull with cheap tents or making one yourself. if you buy a cheap tent, set everything up in it and run the tent like if you were growing BUT PUT NO plants in there for the first week and make sure you have some kind of extraction fan sucking all the plasticizers out of he tent and house. I co run a small op and we discovered a few years back that most cheap tents will offgas your plants. If you take it out of the box and it smells like you stepped inside of a factory that makes plastics, chances are it will kill your plants. People try to remedy this by exhausting the tent for hours or days. This may work as long as you have low wattage lighting. We discovered that the heat put out by 1000 watt lamps would literally cook the tents from the inside out (even using AC to keep tent cool.) The infrared heat expelled by HID lighting will help knock lose additional plasticizers trapped in the materials. Why do you need a tent? I only ask because my years of experience have taught me that the only time a tent is truly needed is if you plan on vegging or mothering plants in the same room as your flower room

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Any tips for controlling light without a tent? I grow 2-4 plants at a time. My biggest issues are keeping it a bit stealthy, controlling light and heat. I guess the only other alternative is a closet with venting to a crawl space.

One option could be to use an area of your house to build a false wall with grow area behind it. Frame it up with some pine 4x2 studs, and clad the inside with whitecote masonite or mdf - which you can buy in 2400x1200 lengths, 3.2mm thick (or thereabouts). The flat white coating on that stuff is ideal for a grow room. Four plants would fit nicely into a 4'x4' area.
Or, you could opt to clad it with plywood on the inside and then put specifically designed mylar sheeting for grow rooms on the inside, or even sisalation like the kind that is used to prevent condensation build up in the roof cavities of houses and sheds because it has a highly reflective aluminium surface.
Externally, you could use whatever material blends in best with your setting, even including a set of shelves or something to make it look legit to anyone. This whole design is good if you own your own home and do not need to transport your grow area around. This kind of construction also allows you to keep the noise down because the walls are much thicker than that of a tent - you could even soundproof the cavity with egg-cartons or noise dampening foam if you wanted to.

Gorilla Grow Tents are THE BEST ON THE MARKET. I have had alot of tents, and nothing compares. its like night and day.
Remember, when its dark you want it to stay dark! Quality tent will!
Also it has a height extension so you can raise it up to i think like 12'.

that is a small light but if you plan on going bigger and dont want to have to buy another tent, I would go with the 4x4 or 5x5 and you will just have extra room inside the tent not being used which would help disperse some heat (also why the high roofs are good). But if not a 3x3 will work great for you.

Here is a tip of how to measure the watts you need for your room:

Strain x sqft = watts

Sativa 75 watts
Sat/Ind 60 watts
Ind/Sat 50 watts
Indica 45 watts

example:
Ind/Sat hybrid 50 wats per sqft X a 3x3 tent(9 sqft) = 450 watts

if your going to order anything i would go here, Healthy Harvest, its a shop i go to and they beat any deal. you can call the guys they are awesome and will walk you through anything on the phone. Tell them I sent you see if they give you a discount! haha seriously, i buy alot of stuff from them.

Im sure you have a fan, but also to help you calculate the air circulation your going to need in that room here is another simple calculation you can use:

(L*W*H) / (5-10 Minutes)

The equation gives you a range for you to pick the proper fan that fits in that range.

o If my room from the previous example had ten foot tall ceilings

(L*W*H) = (10*8*10)

(10*8*10) = 800

800 / 5 = 160
800 /10 = 80

oYour inline fan cfm’s are as follows

4 inch fan= 175 cfm ( I would choose this one, its the closest to it)
6 inch fan= 450 cfm (or this size and use a speed dial controller)
8 inch fan= 750 cfm (way to big)

sunny747 said:

Any tips for controlling light without a tent? I grow 2-4 plants at a time. My biggest issues are keeping it a bit stealthy, controlling light and heat. I guess the only other alternative is a closet with venting to a crawl space.

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definitely vent out of a closet if you can. preferably an intake coming in and an exhaust going back out. If you do not do an intake coming in, the fan will pull the air in from your room/house out the vented crawl space. The air has to come from somewhere. Most houses its coming in through the bathroom exhaust fans, gaps under entry doors, or the kitchen hood vent over your stove(if applicable). If you live in a decent climate area this isnt so bad and "may" save you on electric costs by your vent circulating the air for you. However if you live somewhere hot like florida, this would bring in hot air from outside and cause your houses AC system to run a lot more which = higher electric bills. I know someone who grows in a small space with no venting out whatsoever with just a 400 watt hps. His bill is around $100/month higher simply due to the excessive heat buildup that once again causes the AC to run a lot more often than it should. If you are in a cold area, this could simply be used as a means of heating your home. I have vented out into the attic before to drop it in the middle of the living room disguised as a regular ac vent simply exhausting heat during winter months. As in stealth, the only option is to drop down some curtains around closet so the obnoxious orange light does not escape or you would simply have to use a dedicated room

I like how you used the term obnoxious It really is... Sometimes I leave my tent open, it's in my bedroom, and I just feel irritated the whole time

Yea, I'm not sure I will grow in the summer again. It's just too much electricity to keep my ambient temps. cool.

As stated earlier Gorilla Grow tent is the way to go. Worth every penny.

Has anyone had any experience with these?

http://www.apollohorticulture.com/TB120.html

4x4..been looking at one of these for a bit now