Help a guy get dialed

farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
MyxtLyte said:
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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I'd go with it on the outside rather than inside because I like the how reflective the gorilla tent interiors are. I've got a 4 x 4 and I was amazed at how well it reflected the light back into the dark spaces of the tent.
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
farmingfisherman said:
I'd go with it on the outside rather than inside because I like the how reflective the gorilla tent interiors are. I've got a 4 x 4 and I was amazed at how well it reflected the light back into the dark spaces of the tent.
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solid advice, I just opened the box and it looks like HQ material. If on the exterior, it'll do a nice job of keeping the UV off the black canvas which would probably go beige in a season haha
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
MyxtLyte said:
solid advice, I just opened the box and it looks like HQ material. If on the exterior, it'll do a nice job of keeping the UV off the black canvas which would probably go beige in a season haha
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Most definitely would protect the outside of the tent and extend it's life.
 
manfredo

manfredo

Well-Known Member
As someone else mentioned a HPS light would warm it up nicely in there and they are pretty cheap...600 or 1000 watts, and maybe a small oil filled electric heater for nights if needed, just so you don't have huge temp swings

Probably the best thing you could do is to start a IPM to make your plants strong, so you won't be having issues with bugs and mold down the road...Something like Regalia for PM and Venerate for bugs. Probably cost a few dollars a week and save you thousands down the road!

Good luck!!
 
A

Ayokiwi717

Well-Known Member
MyxtLyte said:
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).
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First part you messed up on is buying the spiderfarm. I would have bought two kingbright 320w on alibaba. I think its a little cheaper even for both. Love them lights
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
manfredo said:
As someone else mentioned a HPS light would warm it up nicely in there and they are pretty cheap...600 or 1000 watts, and maybe a small oil filled electric heater for nights if needed, just so you don't have huge temp swings

Probably the best thing you could do is to start a IPM to make your plants strong, so you won't be having issues with bugs and mold down the road...Something like Regalia for PM and Venerate for bugs. Probably cost a few dollars a week and save you thousands down the road!

Good luck!!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I think I'm gonna see what I can do with LED's and heat mats for the first one

Ayokiwi717 said:
First part you messed up on is buying the spiderfarm. I would have bought two kingbright 320w on alibaba. I think its a little cheaper even for both. Love them lights
Click to expand...
I saw those but wanted the samsung diodes and meanwell driver :)
 
TintEastwood

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
You mentioned the rigid foam.
I considered surrounding a tent with it for better insulation.

Ended up doing it without a tent. This is in my uninsulated attached garage.
20190419_075949_HDR.jpg
 
still_smoked

still_smoked

Well-Known Member
Are you considering of taking the tent canvas off during the day to supplement UV? Wouldn’t it be easier just to buy a light for $100 then having to take the canvas off?

I think since your in a huge permanent green house, I’d build a smaller structure to house the tents like the other guy said. Give you a smaller space to manage.

I agree on 5x5 for veg dues to in flower you will need space for growth but also give you a lot more room to run more plants during flower after taking cuts from veg.
 
twentyeight.threefive

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
MyxtLyte said:
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).
Click to expand...
Whatever you decide on lighting, if you go the LED route you should be aiming for about 35 watts per sqft of space. That's 875 watts and 1575 watts respectively for the 5x5 and 5x9 tents with quality LED lights. Good luck
 
JimmiP

JimmiP

Well-Known Member
MyxtLyte said:
Woops, I should have mentioned I'm not worried about RH because I have an overpowered dehumidifier!
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Meeeee tooo!!! It takes a little of the worry away, in a greenhouse. And it helps with keeping it a little warmer.
 
HomegrownGenetics420

HomegrownGenetics420

Well-Known Member
Garage tends to be problematic with seasonality. Spring and Fall are fine, but Summer and Winter are brutal. Bedroom with AC exhausting at the window is fine, but don't plan on running CO2 in that setup.

I have a 5x9 Gorilla Grow Tent with two HLG 550 V2 Rspec but my ideal setup would be two HLG Diablo Spider in a 5x9. 1000USD roughly per fixture but this is where you want to spend the money
 
M

MyxtLyte

Active Member
TintEastwood said:
You mentioned the rigid foam.
I considered surrounding a tent with it for better insulation.

Ended up doing it without a tent. This is in my uninsulated attached garage.
View attachment 4738828
Click to expand...
That's a great way to do it, I just sealed the small cracks in my floor with quickrete, then applied a couple more coats of water based concrete sealer(highly recommended to keep the cracks from growing). I considered building a small room, but the modularity of the tent is a nice luxury since i'll be taking it down in the spring every year. The foam would just get hammered, and at $25/4x8 sheet, that's ~$250. Now i'm considering that mylar coated bubble wrap, which is roughly half the cost, and I can buy it on amazon. I like the idea of a thermal air layer too, so we will see how it performs.

still_smoked said:
Are you considering of taking the tent canvas off during the day to supplement UV? Wouldn’t it be easier just to buy a light for $100 then having to take the canvas off?

I think since your in a huge permanent green house, I’d build a smaller structure to house the tents like the other guy said. Give you a smaller space to manage.

I agree on 5x5 for veg dues to in flower you will need space for growth but also give you a lot more room to run more plants during flower after taking cuts from veg.
Click to expand...
I am, but after installing it, not looking forward to it... We have pretty specific ordinances for running mixed light/dep, so a light rigged to the greenhouse frame isn't a current option :(. I'm def considering insulating the tent, after seeing the fluctuations. Not too bad in the day(almost ideal), but at night i'm seeing 30 F regularly.

twentyeight.threefive said:
Whatever you decide on lighting, if you go the LED route you should be aiming for about 35 watts per sqft of space. That's 875 watts and 1575 watts respectively for the 5x5 and 5x9 tents with quality LED lights. Good luck
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yeah it's gonna be a slow process to fill the 5x9.

JimmiP said:
Meeeee tooo!!! It takes a little of the worry away, in a greenhouse. And it helps with keeping it a little warmer.
Click to expand...
I remember when I didn't have one and how much of a struggle it was!
HomegrownGenetics420 said:
Garage tends to be problematic with seasonality. Spring and Fall are fine, but Summer and Winter are brutal. Bedroom with AC exhausting at the window is fine, but don't plan on running CO2 in that setup.

I have a 5x9 Gorilla Grow Tent with two HLG 550 V2 Rspec but my ideal setup would be two HLG Diablo Spider in a 5x9. 1000USD roughly per fixture but this is where you want to spend the money
Click to expand...
Yeah, those look like great lights, but $$$$. Can't do it right now, but someday yes. I really like the components they build as add-ons(like the UV light bar).
 
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