Hey there all. Starting a thread open to everything because i have question and do know a few things.
My set up is a 8x4 tent in a back room in the basement, 2 1200w equivalent led COB that pulls 258 from the wall each, 2 6 inch clip fans, 1 16 inch oscillating fan, 1 20 inch box fan, 6 inch inline fan 400cfm, 6 way t5 with agromax 6500 bulbs for veg and i use roots organic soil and foxfarm nutrients. i am sure i am forggeting a few things.
Currently 7 plant in there. About 7 weeks along, still waiting to see sex on some of thenm.
I ran into some heat issues when i switched from the t5 to the leds. It went from 75is to 77-78. I like to keep the temp around 75. So i installed my exhust fan and it helped a degree or two. I know we are coming into sumer and i may need an ac, or some form of cooling. Right now i run 18/6 from afternoon to morning. Maybe if i change to a later time so it is cooler in the house when the lights run.
I did notice some stress from the plants in the form of leaf curling and drooping. i know i still have a few degrees before it is a big problem.
R/H is around high 50s so i shouldnt be to bad there.
Seed are unknown from a friend could be master kush.
I am not using a filter as of yet i dont know if i really want one. It is legal to grow where i live so i dont think i really need it.
This is just a start the plan is to expand in to the room over. However i will be building a room there not a tent. Maybe use the tent for clones and veg.
Well i guess that is what i got for now. Let me know what u think, or questions comments.
Welcome to ILGM! It sounds like you have a pretty decent setup, You may need more lighting if you’re planning to use the whole 8 x 4 area. 78 is a pretty reasonable temperature, especially with LEDs. They might actually grow better a little warmer, even. The optimal canopy temperature is a little higher with LEDs vs. other types of lighting, so you’re probably okay. You could change the lights on time to help with the temperature. If you anticipate it becoming an issue, I’d switch it now before they’re flowering and will react more to such a change. I’d just leave them on longer when they’d usually shut off, then change the lights off time to where you want it. If you’re not worried about smell, you can go without a filter, but it’s more smell than you think. Just a single plant can be pretty funk-a-riffic, if you’re doing it right!
You’re in good hands. There are plenty of friendly, experienced growers here, all just looking to help others out, so don’t be afraid to ask any questions you have!
Ok so here it is, i have always had the tent open because i never had the vent installed till a few days ago that is when i switched the lights. The temp spiked about 5 degrees. My plan was to put the veg next to the tent and cool both with one fan. With the temp spike i had to change how i planned to have the vent set up.
I can move the veg to a different part. Or do i test it with the tent closed and see what happens. I just hate stressing plants like this, i know they need it to a certain degree but it pains me to see leaf curl or even droopyness. Cheesy i know lol
Nothing cheesy about wanting to take good care of your ladies. Can you post pictures of the curl you’re talking about? It may not have anything to do with the temperature.
Besides the lights, another contributing factor to your heat issue might be your exhaust fan. Most people use a 6 inch fan on a 4x4 tent. I imagine a 4x8 tent would benefit from an 8 inch fan or dual 6 inch fans. Someone on here who owns a 4x8 tent (I don’t) can comment on that…
Yep, but most people run a 6 inch with a 4x4 tent - obviously some situations require less and some even more.
It looks like most 8 inch fans put out around twice the CFMs as 6 inch fans, so that would probably be a good size to use in a 4x8 tent. @Rjr568 you can always use an adjustable fan controller to slow it down if you want - better to have too much and slow it down than to have to little and no way to speed it up.
Or, you could keep your 6 inch exhaust fan and just add a 6 inch inlet fan with a speed controller.
Your fan needs to be able to change yhe air in the room every 5 min i think. 8x4x8 is 256ft^3 my fan is 400 cfm so it isnt the fan. It maybe how far i am ducting out the heat. Also another factor could be that the room my tent is in is 75° so that isnt helping. Dont have money for AC right now either, ice packs and frozen water behind my intake fan(regular box fan).
As far as lights i had no idea that it would dificult to pick up a decent light for a decent price. Regardless prolly have to stick it out till next year with these ones sadly then. The reviews and pics i saw werent bad but who knows.
Ok i would love some input on better lights. Wont beable to get them for a while. Also would putting my t5 in the tent help with the lapse in watt/sqft?
Right now since i looked and did the math i am at about 16.3w/sqft with my current set up. Suggested is 32w/sqft, or at least what i have read
That is a pretty big investment. I will have to look more into building the lights.i know a little about wiring and soldering but i just dont know if i have the fineness to get all to work right. That os like a 1000 bucks tho
It is a big investment. No doubt there. That’s where the decision needs to be made on whether this is a passing phase or if you plan to do it forever. For those of us depending on it for meds it is a easy choice. But you can buy good stuff once or buy cheap stuff multiple times. But also just understanding the needs of plants and the lies of the cheap light manufacturers helps. There’s no such thing as comparative watts. So them saying it’s a 1200 watt light but only pulls 250 watts is a flat out lie.
If like most of us you can’t afford a bunch of lights all at once you should limit your plant count to what you can correctly light. Then add more plants as you get more lights. It’ll save you lots of frustration in the end.
