Grow tent

[Pilot]

Does anyone have any input or experience with this: Earth Worth 96"X48"X78" Mylar Hydro Shanty Hydroponics Indoor Grow Tent - Earth Worth Quality
http://amzn.com/B005EG3FFM ?

I'm sick and tired of trying to come up with a suitable structure for growing my plants inside.


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[billc]

Hi Ryan, I don't have any experience with that particular tent but I recently purchased a 48X48X78 Aviditi tent. I had 2 Metro racks back to back wrapped in plastic sheeting for several years and while it was OK for growing it was a pain in the butt getting access to the plants.
I've had my new tent setup for only 3 weeks and I'm still tweaking some things but so far I really like it.
I have 2- 4 bulb T5HO units and 2- T8 units and in an unheated basement the temps get to 74-76 when the lights are on. Temps go down to 50-52 when lights are off, I'll probably have to dig out a small heater and set it to 55 if we get a prolonged cold snap.
The reflective mylar really seems to spread the light around and I have my lights approx 4" higher than I used to and I am still getting more than enough light.
Humidity control is much better with a tent. I have a cool mist unit on one of the shelves and where I used to have to fill it 2-3 times a week to struggle to 65%RH, I'm filling it once a week now and maintaining 65-75%RH.
The one you linked to seems to have enough access ports and exhaust ports. I will say the only issue I've had so far is trying to squeeze the 48" Metro racks I have into the 48" tent. They fit but I had to put the support legs of the rack on the bottom supports of the tent. I will probably fabricate some sort of base to rest the racks on.
Now that I have the tent I'm wondering why I didn't get one years ago.

Bill

[My Green Pets]

Tents are awesome for plants but when they're all zipped up, you cant see them! Also they are not particularly nice looking things to have in your home, but if the priority is just the plants, they work well.

The model you have linked to is a monster! You'd probably need a mh/hps setup to get all the light you'd need. Luckily I can see there are ventilation holes to run an exhaust fan.

Keep in mind these tents have been used by marijuana growers for decades, and forums dedicated to indoor cannabis culture are chock-full of excellent information that could be very useful to orchid growers!

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by CambriaWhat

Tents are awesome for plants but when they're all zipped up, you cant see them! Also they are not particularly nice looking things to have in your home, but if the priority is just the plants, they work well.

The model you have linked to is a monster! You'd probably need a mh/hps setup to get all the light you'd need. Luckily I can see there are ventilation holes to run an exhaust fan.

Keep in mind these tents have been used by marijuana growers for decades, and forums dedicated to indoor cannabis culture are chock-full of excellent information that could be very useful to orchid growers!

It's ok that you can't see them when it's all zipped up-- I don't see them now living in the basement now! But I do enjoy going in to the enclosure-- it's a sort of an oasis for me to "get away" even if it's just for ten minutes.

I have racks and lights already so I don't think I need any more than I already have-- this tent will just give me more room and flexibility to move around and control the humidity more easily.

---------- Post added at 11:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 AM ----------

Originally Posted by billc

Hi Ryan, I don't have any experience with that particular tent but I recently purchased a 48X48X78 Aviditi tent. I had 2 Metro racks back to back wrapped in plastic sheeting for several years and while it was OK for growing it was a pain in the butt getting access to the plants.
I've had my new tent setup for only 3 weeks and I'm still tweaking some things but so far I really like it.
I have 2- 4 bulb T5HO units and 2- T8 units and in an unheated basement the temps get to 74-76 when the lights are on. Temps go down to 50-52 when lights are off, I'll probably have to dig out a small heater and set it to 55 if we get a prolonged cold snap.
The reflective mylar really seems to spread the light around and I have my lights approx 4" higher than I used to and I am still getting more than enough light.
Humidity control is much better with a tent. I have a cool mist unit on one of the shelves and where I used to have to fill it 2-3 times a week to struggle to 65%RH, I'm filling it once a week now and maintaining 65-75%RH.
The one you linked to seems to have enough access ports and exhaust ports. I will say the only issue I've had so far is trying to squeeze the 48" Metro racks I have into the 48" tent. They fit but I had to put the support legs of the rack on the bottom supports of the tent. I will probably fabricate some sort of base to rest the racks on.
Now that I have the tent I'm wondering why I didn't get one years ago.

Bill

Thanks for your review, Bill! I appreciate it! I really want to get this tent now-- I'll have to save my pennies!

[Pilot]

Order my tent. I'm done with my current grow space!


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[billc]

Originally Posted by Pilot

Order my tent. I'm done with my current grow space

I think you'll be happy. It gives me better control of humidity and temperature.

Bill

[JungleMel]

Go for it! My husband recently bought me a grow tent for Christmas, and it's finally all set up with ducts, fans, lights, etc. GrowLab GL80L Portable Grow Room

Solved my problem of dealing with dragging all my cold sensitive orchids inside and back out again as the temperature really fluctuates during the winter here.

My only issue was blowing off heat. The lighting fixture he bought me is the Quantum BadBoy T5, 8 bulb.
Quantum T5 BadBoy Fixtures - 4 Foot - 4,6,8,12,16-Tube
Glad he went with T5 and not HPS, though because we had to really work on the fans and blowing off the heat it created in there, it would've been worse with HPS. I was albe to get away with a cheap inline booster fan and that saved a bunch of money after all spent on the tent, shelves, and lights.

Put everything on manual timers! Everything set to go on and off (manual vs. digital timers: manual is safer for the ballasts long term, as it physically shuts off the electricity, no leaking anything into the ballast.) With everything automated, the result is less effort on your part.

[seaj]

I 'm really excited for you! I want to the same thing, but I'm not prepared to artificially light all my plants. I hope you post a bunch of pics as you get everything set up.

[Leafmite]

Someday, I'd like to grow my plants and orchids this way. Ohio weather is so unpredictable that I am constantly dragging my plants in and out or, at the very least, worrying about them. The grow tent seems like a perfect solution. I hope you will share pictures when you have it all set up.

[Pilot]

Got my tent today.



Will post pics when it's stocked and how I want it. The plants are already inside but I need to custom make shelves with water catches so I can have auto misting etc without worrying of flooding the floor.


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