I coyld use some advice on my indoor grow tent that I'm trying to get set up & running. I first posted over in the LED forum & got some great advice on LED lighting. So far I have purchased a 4'x4'x80" Vivosun tent & have it set up, also purchased (2) HLG 320 watt QB288 Rspec slate 2 triple combo kits with drivers & have assembled them. Also have purchased (2) of the 6" clip on fans / temp & humidity meter. I think the next step is ventilation / exhaust system along with humidity control. The tent will be indoors in a spare bedroom of the house which has central ac/heat. I'd really like to vent back into the room itself with a carbon filter if that's possible with a carbon filter. Any suggestions on what else I need to finish my setup would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Guys !
Newbie Indoor Setup Questions
- Thread starter TokenTex
- Start date
This is a really effective filter for cheap,
This is a good quiet fan
This is a good quiet fan
You'll need a pH meter, and an EC meter if you're doing hydro. You should also purchase your desired mix of nutrients before you start; you don't want to run into a situation where you're scrambling when you need them, because you forgot to have them on hand.
A loupe and magnifying glass for easier identification of when to harvest (especially useful for your first few grows), a few hygrgrometers for your jars when curing (I've always used Caliber III units), and do yourself a huge favour and get a bag of Boveda 62% humidity paks, also for curing.
You're also going to need a good pair (or five) of trimming scissors; I prefer Fiskars above all others. A sizable amount of 99% isopropyl alcohol is a requirement for keeping tools clean.
A loupe and magnifying glass for easier identification of when to harvest (especially useful for your first few grows), a few hygrgrometers for your jars when curing (I've always used Caliber III units), and do yourself a huge favour and get a bag of Boveda 62% humidity paks, also for curing.
You're also going to need a good pair (or five) of trimming scissors; I prefer Fiskars above all others. A sizable amount of 99% isopropyl alcohol is a requirement for keeping tools clean.
Okay, will get the above items ordered tomorrow, I appreciate all the advice ! 6"Carbon filter & 6" fan should arrive today. Need to pick me up a coupled of extension cords & power strips form the local Home Depot. Slowly making progress & cant wait to get my first grow started.
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Don't get just humidity control. Get one that does both heat and rh. I have one that uses a bathroom humiduty sensor and a 120/240v heat/cool thermostat wired on the cooling side. Can buy a pre-made combo unit for less than building your own like mine but I'm an analogue kind of Boomer. lol About every 3 or 4 years I have to replace either switch but I make sure to keep backups that I buy when they are on sale. $20 each at Canuck Tire. 10 min to swap one out.
On the left is my DIY speed controller made with a ceiling fan controller and NOT a light dimmer. I just ordered a new exhaust fan and 6-8" adaptor for it. I'm planning on doubling the grow space down there so why not get the bigger fan now. The 6" VivoSun was $80 at 390cfm and the 8" was only $104 at 720cfm and they have a built in speed controller. Good old amazon . ca
A remote temp/rh sensor is nice to have too. I have the monitor readout on the wall above this monitor so I can keep a close eye on things. Temp too low in the morning? Maybe the light didn't fire up. Getting too hot? Maybe the cooling switch is dead. Go look!
I too love my Fiskars but while trimming I just scrape the blades with a small penknife for good scissor hash and every 3rd scrape or so wipe then down after with a bit of paper towel that has a light smear of coconut oil on it. Slick as bat shit and much faster than soaking in ISO tho if done that way the ISO can be evapped off and some fine oil results. I cut a strip of paper towel about 4x1.5" and fold it twice then dip my finger into the oil and do a light wipe on the insides of the fold.
I recently got some 62% Integra BOOST 2-way packs. 10 - 8g ones for small jars and a couple of 67g ones for larger containers with up to an elbow of bud. I am not impressed and think they are crap tho the grow store guy said they are better than Bovedas. I go by feel and if the jar doesn't have a moisture pad like most of the plastic tobacco cans I use to store pot in then I make one. Same idea with the paper towel bit folded into a pad then use a bit of Scotch tape to hold on the inside of the lid. Few drops of water and that crunchy bud is back to good to go overnight.
I fresh trim off the plant and then use doubled paper bags to hold around 100g of wet pot each then keep them in my cool basement. Dump out into a clean tray once a day for the first few days to bust up the big clump gently then lengthen the time as they dry and clump up less. Can go 4 weeks before dry enough to put into the cans and burp for another month before dry enough to smoke. The cure is amazing. It's the slo-dry that really does the trick for smooth smoking, sweet smelling bud. Hanging to dry in a few days gets you harsh bud lacking in those subtle odors that us oldtimers love so much. They need to stay evenly moist during the whole process so the chlorophyll and starches break down biologically. Once in a long while I'll forget a can then get some mold so that goes into the oil pile for extraction. No biggy.
Not many people have the patience for it but it's worth the effort and I always have lots of cured bud to keep me happy while waiting.
Good luck and good growing!
.Smoke
Well-Known Member
Looks good
Looks awesome. If those are the straps that came with the filter you should change those out for nylon cord. Mine broke in half from the temp and humidity, JMHO. Maybe they make them better now though, lol
Well received my Fox Farms Nutes & Ocean Fresh Potting Mix, what I didnt receive was my Happy Frog potting mix. Fuckin Walmart online you suck !!! On the bright side I did locate a local Hydro company that carries a Full line of Fox Farm products & cheaper than I can order them on line !
Still trying to think what I might need to do about humidity in my situation, tent is inside the house that has central air & heat. Humidity is currently hovering at 52-57%, plan on exhausting & drawing air into the tent from the room thats its in. Do I need to buy a dehumidifier to control the humidity at flower & place it in the room, or in the tent ? Just trying to think things through before they pop up & I'm unprepared ?
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Nice that you have your tent in a room.
Most exhaust outside, not into same room.
Are you using an inkbird temp controller with your S6?
More vegetation in tent = more humidity.
Maybe wait and get dehuey if/when needed.
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.Smoke
Well-Known Member
I would give it a shot without it first, but you might end up needing one.
I exhaust the same way (HPS light though) in a large basement. My tent is always 3-4% higher than room RH since the ladies are "breathing". In fact when I was in soil I could tell when they needed watering because my tent RH would drop, sometimes even below room RH. **edit. For those in soil, I found out the hard way, that is too dry...***
I never ran into a problem, but my RH never gets above 50% even during veg.
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Little update here, been trying to get my tent dialed in. It appears that exhausting the tent back into the room that's it's drawing air in from is not going to work. Running it that way the temps in the tent & room get into the mid to upper 80's which is going to be to warm I think ? And that's with the door to the room closed & the central AC running. I'm think i'm going to have to change things up a bit, going to try to vent the tent out a window in the room & maybe try leaving the door open as well. Thinking by doing it that way it will keep my temps in the room down some ? RH in the room is 50-55% for the most part.
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
For sure. Vent the tents old stale hot air out the window.
One more question, on my lighting set up (2) HLG 320 watt QB288 Rspec slate 2 triple combos that I plan on running a 4'x4' tent, I checked the wattage at the wall with a kil-o-watt meter & one is pulling 288 watts & the other is at 278 watts, I haven't made any adjustments to them yet. From what I have read I should need 30 watts per square ft for the 4x4 which is 480 watts. Should I dial each one down to 240 watts each to give me the 480 watts needed for the area or run them maxed out ?
Definitely not.