Grow tent

[Pilot]

I have no photo updates but I do have a textual update-- plants have been in the tent for a few days now and I can report a few things:

1. The zippers are good on the tent but annoying because they aren't designed for you to go in and out of the tent frequently. I have attached Velcro along one of the flaps I use to go in and out of the tent and it seems to work well.
2. The tent keeps humidity stable and temps don't swing-- my humidifier is very strong and can humidify the tent in no time and so much so that I thought I'd have a puddle under the tank most of the time. This does not happen, though. The tent keeps humidity up and the humidifier runs for only short, infrequent periods. The temp hits 82 and a low of 68. If you're a Phal grower you should know what that means... Yep... Spikes! Very good news on that front.
3. Wire racks are ok but something made special for the tent will be needed-- I knew going in that I'd Ike to build my own tables and I now know I must. The inside of the tent is a tight fit with these racks and there is a loss of space as a result because you can't fit those four foot racks in perfectly. I will make two benches that are as wide as the tent and two feet deep and another bench that will span those two that will fit those as well and two feet deep and likely make one more for future use or expansion. Setting it up this way will require me to use both sides of the tent with the tent entirely filled with benches.
4. I knocked over a bucket of water-- I can now confirm that this tent is water proof and will hold a large amount of water spilled!

I still need to set up my auto misting system for my vandas and will need to do that soon. Still need to figure out how I'm going to collect run off from misting and watering, though... Stay tuned.


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[seaj]

Thanks for all the updates and info. I think a grow tent will be coming my way in the future, even if it displaces everything in my room. What is the temperature range of the room the tent is in? I guess it would be hard to fit two 48" racks side by side in that tent then?

[JungleMel]

Originally Posted by Pilot

Also, I'm using this tent wrong.... It dawned on me whilst thinking about the tent and the shelves I hope to custom build that it has zippers everywhere and you aren't meant to go inside the tent, rather, fill it with shelves and unzip the parts you need to service. I'm a little embarrassed I didn't realize that but oh well. Maybe I'll still use it this way but for now the plants ended a home and now.

There's no "wrong" way to use these tents. Mine's filled with shelves too. I didn't want to waste space leaving room for myself to walk into mine, so nothing to be embarrased about for sure. If it's easier for you to leave room for yourself, go for it. There aren't any "rules" for setting these up.

[Pilot]

I've made some changes to the tent. I have redesigned the humidifier mostly because it spews water so much that it ends up flooding the floor. I bought a deep, square container and installed the float switch much lower so the US discs can erupt and spew water all they want, it shouldn't flood the floor. The issue now, however, is that it still creates such a tremendous amount of fog that when it turns on and I'm in the tent, it's very difficult to see. It also results in an almost sudden dew on the area near the humidifier. So I need to be able to tone this thing down. I'm thinking of Saran wrapping the top and restricting the air exchange. I'd rather have it run longer than flood the room with fog suddenly. Although, perhaps this is actually a good thing? It easily replicates the fog layer of a rain forest. It's a little ridiculous, though.

The second change I'm about to make are the tables. The wire racks I have now are insufficient and rusting. The new tables I needed to design because I could not find anything on the market both affordable or that would fit the space of the tent. I chose 1.5" PVC pipes to do the trick. Designing the table was a little annoying because I don't have much experience with these pipes and their fittings. I had to re do a few cuts and measurements to ensure the end result would fit the tent. I will make two of these tables for either end of the tent and then custom make two more to fit between them. For now I don't need all four tables but will probably still make them since measuring and building them months later will require me to re learn the process again. I have chosen egg crate for the table top for lighter orchids or where most orchids hang like vandas. For the heavier potted plants, I have metal mesh that I will put on top that is much stronger and is coated to prevent rust. These plants will have auto misting too so I have devised a way to using plastics drop cloth to catch the water draining from the plants and table and have it empty into a bucket. I can then empty it as needed. I wish it would go to a drain but I don't want a pipe or hose laying across my floor.

Pic of the table to come.



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	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Pilot]

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[seaj]

What a bummer about the wire shelves. I'll have to rethink my plans now. Have you had to repot any plants now that your humidity levels are much higher?

Flood tables seem like a good (and expensive) option for trays that can have drains installed. I like the Sterilite 1996 underbed storage containers too, but have just been discontinued recently. I saw some at my last trip to Target though. Gardeners.com carries jumbo plastic boot trays that also look like they'd get the job done.

[Pilot]

No bummer. It's all working out. I got this first table in the tent and placed a clay pot in the center of the plastic that catches all the water run off. Worked exactly how I'd hoped. I also placed a misting bar in the center of the table so it ejects a fine mist upwards and it "rains" back down nicely. It drenches the plants and drenches the vandas which I really wanted to happen. I will complete the second table tomorrow.


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	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[naoki]

Ryan, is your grow tent located on a floor which can't be damaged by water? Mine is different from yours, but I've been using it about 2 years. It is mostly water tight (I usually don't have a paddle of water, though), but occasionally, small amount of water started to leak out (probably through the seam).

I also can maintain 60-90% RH in the grow tent mostly passively (outside is 10-30%RH). I have a feed from one humidifier which is controlled by humidistat (Zoo Med Hygrotherm), but I rarely need to add water to the humidifier.

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by naoki

Ryan, is your grow tent located on a floor which can't be damaged by water? Mine is different from yours, but I've been using it about 2 years. It is mostly water tight (I usually don't have a paddle of water, though), but occasionally, small amount of water started to leak out (probably through the seam).

I also can maintain 60-90% RH in the grow tent mostly passively (outside is 10-30%RH). I have a feed from one humidifier which is controlled by humidistat (Zoo Med Hygrotherm), but I rarely need to add water to the humidifier.

It is on a cement floor, so yes, it can leak all it wants, though I would prefer it not! The tent is suppose to hold water but it also has a separate "pan" or slip that the entire tent sits on that is several inches deep, which I guess is their way of ensuring its water proof.

I fight chronic dry air in my state and even with a super humidifier I'm also battling high altitude, which presents its own issues-- thin air just doesn't hold much water! I have a humidistat too, which is great-- but it seems a little wonky to me-- I wish I could calibrate it.

I will swing by the hardware store tonight to get the remaining pieces I need to finish the second table. woohoo!

[Kino]

I may be looking for a tent as well. Hope I did not already screw things up for myself.

I have two growing racks on the way. They are:

48" X 18" X 77"

I hope they are not too high for a tent. Is there any wriggle room height-wise with these tents?

Thank you.

PS: Everyone's set ups look great. Wish everyone luck with theirs!