hi there.i am new here and have picked up a lot of handy information.but the problem i have is i am wanting to know if anybody out there could tell me if the grow tents i see on sites are any good for growing?i am not very good at d.i.y and think this would be my best bet to get started.i think that i would be as costly buying a grow tent as would be with a making one.also are these grow tents durable to hold light and fans?i guess i am looking for reassurance or horror stories.thanks for taking the time to read.any help would be appreciated

hi elvie, welcome to the site. in answer to your questions - click me

if your new to the whole game the best advice i could give you would be to read carefully and think throughly before taking actions. asking questions is great and many have been asked before. this is why the search tool is your new best buddy. ask it anything

my own 2p would be start enjoying building. my biggest regret with my grow is getting a tent, but they do a job...

all the best with it

i definatly wouldnt mind knowing who makes the best ones, as ive got to buy one for when i move house and dont wanna end up with a shit one

in my opinion the new bud box range are the best probably followed by darkroom then homebox! just my 2p worth

cheers smokie,

no prob's. if you go for budbox make sure its the new design. good quality! otherwise go for darkroom. only go for homebox if its cheap enough. similar to bb but quality is better on new range of bb

Ive just bougt and put togther a DR60 , its only the small one but I guess it would be a good indicator of quality of the bigger ones , IMO its perfect . Its complety lightproor and the material is really thick , all the poles are metal aswell

would you suggest the one with mylar inside?

Not sure about mylar ones , heres some piccies of the one I got , its sort of dimpled silver reflective stuff The bottom has a removeable insert and 4 large passive intakes which can be rolled up or down to suit (velcro - obviously these passive intakes arent light proof if you roll them up), there is also 2 sock type vents for a inlet fan if you want active intake - these are draw string closures which seal in the light quite well. There is a cable inlet at the top (again drawstring) and an exhaust vent (again drawstring) dimensions of the DR60 are 60x60x142 , it is abit on the small side (footprint) but I only use mine for bringing my clones on befor flowering em. Getting the cover over the framework is a bit on the tight side but can be done without damging anything

Incidently , its the only one I own or have owned so cant comment on how it compares to others , but im well happy with it

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

note:- after looking on greens they appear to make a cheaper one aswell , personally The DR range look much better than the DRS range thankfully i didnt know of the DRS when I got my DR

i have saw this 1 and was thinking of purchasing it Click to view attachment do you think this would be ideal? shall be using 600w hps also mh.it would be better if the sites gave better details and things.let me know what you think

just find out if its one of the new design and they are using an old picture! the new design is slightly different to one shown

Just had one of there new one's here and sent it back think the home box is still better build quality but i guess time will tell , has taken bud box a long time to come to the same quality of these home boxes i guess there due for a new overhaul as well.

Only thing i liked with the bud box etc was all the little attachments you could have for it , but then home box is German engineered and made bud box is made in china ain't it ?

Homebox is also made in china, thats what it says on the label, though they are a german firm.
from the different tent brands ive seen i get the impression there all made in the same place.

having had both still stick with new budbox better than homebox. still have a new homebox 1.2 thats never been used. will still use it if i ever get space but if i was buying now it would be budbox! only good homebox i think is the clonebox! but each to there own. and yes there all made in china. but zips etc are slightly better on bb

Cant really comment on the other brands tbh , just putting over my opinion of the Darkrooms , from just looking at piccies on the net you cant tell a thing (quality wise) , you really need to get to a grow shop that has some setup and have a good grope of it , the shop I got mine from had no problem with me grabbing his tents and giving em a shake and stuff to see how well they went together, But he only had darkrooms out on display.

Well you get 1 year guarantee so hopefully if any problems manifest then you can send/take it back and get another or a different make.

Strange that a bud box costs less than a home box but its better quality but then sometimes maybe price don't = quality.


And at 100 quid for 1mtr/1mtr/2mtr tent its not the end of the world if it does fall to pieces in 1 year's time.

i also have the darkroom tent, its the 1mx1mx1.8m i have a 4" carbon filter and fan, 400w hps lamp and it has been the best investment ive made so far.

the temps are pretty much spot on, ive added a greenhouse heater at the moment because outside temps are really low.
it has good reflection from the walls but it isnt mylar,

the vents and windows are good with zip ties but aren't 100% light proof

the zips are heavy duty and will last a while but again not 100% light proof, im sure light cannnot get into the tent but tiny specks gleam out.

ive got 4 dutch passion skunk#11 LST'd like a mofo, theyre 5 weeks into flowering now.
the tent has provided me with a perfect and controlable enviroment to grow in, it took me 2 attempts to build it but thats what happens when you light a doob before you start!! it went together pretty well, i just didn't unzip it enough which would have helped a lot!
ive spent about £300 on everything i needed inc, soil, nutes, seeds,hps,fan,tent,filter,timers,relays,ph stick etc etc....
but im going to easily grow that value, (i usually buy that much in a couple of months) which kinda pays itself off, and then its just free buds, only price is your electricity.

im that impressed ive just ordered the darkroom dr60 to use as a mum/clone room so i can become entirley self sufficent.

i haven;t seen any other tent but i am impressed by the darkroom range.

i will be posting pics of the girls soon!

this could be a very handy thread
could the folks with growtents please post us a few pics of the stitchings and zips, fastenings, structure poles etc etc, so we can get an idea of the differences between the different makes, i know that would help me decide with abit more of an idea of what im getting

many thanks in advance

Ill et me camera out tomorrow

I shall post some tomorrow of the homebox.

this have been very informative.when i posted the question i never thought for 1 minute that i would have had such response,thanks,and look forward to your pictures

you need a air cooled shade wight Mylar is rubbish all my plants got sick silver is better
buy tents ok but don't over crowd it if you have any prob its hard to get to them

"wight Mylar is rubbish all my plants got sick silver is better"

Er yeah the next time i look for mylar which btw is silver and not white unless its reflectagrow in which case its white backed with a mylar silver cover as for your plants being sick ill put that down to the person growing it as white or silver wont kill them just one will reflect light a little more.

this is my darkroom dr80, its running 400whps 4"fan and filter, its 26-28 degrees 35-45% RH lights on and 18-22 degrees 55% RH lights off, it has 4 6" drawsring vents and 2 windows, the zips are pretty tough and it has flaps to cover the zips, but this still doesn't make it 100% light proof, but the leakage is so minute i dont worry at all. it is very airtight too, im running negative pressure which keeps the smells to a zero, be warned once you open it up it stinks your house out!
im running some dutch passion skunk #11 fem as a test grow before i chuck in my mandala beans.



4 weeks flower

1st week flower

descrite looks with very low leakage,

good silver reflectivity(sp?) nice support bars can take a 33lb load apparently.

heavy duty zips keep everything in!

over all very happy with this tent, ive got a dr60 on the way to use as a mum/clone room too.
will post some more pics if peeps want once my lights come on?

bhuda-master

bump

cheers bhuda-master for the pics, much appreciated

could the other folks with growtents please (whenever possible) post us a few pics of the stitchings and zips, fastenings, structure poles etc etc, so we can get an idea of the differences between the different makes, i know that would help me decide with abit more of an idea of what im getting, as i need to buy mine soon


many thanks in advance

as i just put on another thread, the homebox zips are shit!!

2 of mine have burst off, so i'm getting some velcro to fix it untill i can afford a new one or build myself a new room which would be cheaper!!

however i have got a mini bud box and the zips on that are the dogs dangelies!!

T1

More,more,more.....

Excellent thread,please keep the pics coming.

Have decided that a growtent is the way to go.

Please,keep posting,the more info the better!

Budmum.

the other thing i am wondering is that would a 600w hps light be enough for this tent.as think i shall be going for this one.it measures 1.2x1.2x2m

How much is that going to cost? A few threads down you could see the one I built with nothing more than a hand saw and a cordless drill and cost about $100 CDN.

hi mate the price of the above budbox xl is £100 on ebay.if going get from there get it sent to somewhere other than the grow location.
i have also saw it on various other sites a bit more expensive.

thanks mate.great help.appreciated

hi all.now i know what my set up is going to be.could some one please help with what fans and filter would work well under the 600w light in the above space?and any ideas on what would be a good begginners seed to buy.theres just so many to choose from.any help be appreciated in full.you guys have been great,cheers

5" extraction
4" intake

if you try less you'll be fukked come summer

i would go 6 inch l fan for extraction. 5inch a fan for intake!

yes set up be indoors.dont trust my area that much to put outdoors.where is best place to get the fans from an cheapest? have had a look at the seedbanks and still theres a lot to choose from.any ideas what would be easiest to grow for beginner and hopefully get good yeild from.thanks again

[quote name='elvie' date='Jan 9 2008, 04:21 AM' post='1194374']
hi all.now i know what my set up is going to be.could some one please help with what fans and filter would work well under the 600w light in the above space?

personally would go with 150mm intake and 200mm outtake simply because in the summer you may need it, bit of an overkill for me at present and keeps temps fine, using same space and same light in a tent that size.

Come summer better to have overkill and keep the fans running low than have then not powerful enough to cool the tent come summer, also if you are flush pick up a primair controller or some form of fan controller save having them on max perminatly, will save money and will be not as loud this way. Most of the time RVK's on 20% of the maximum output is sufficiant for any grow in winter from what iv found.

One thing of interest, some 200mm extraction fans, ducting wise will not fit in the normal tent holes, well mine didn't had to make a slit in the extraction slot on tent, check that before anything unless you don't mind making a slit in the tent so it fits.

Im not sure have never grown in summer but two x 150mm assuming you have controller would be ok, as you could set the intake and extraction on fan controller to have more extraction that intake, come summer you could use more of the intake and extraction have two fairly powerful fans but not over kill like the 200mm in that space. It would also fit the tent no problem assuming you don't have a tent with 200mm extraction ducting holes, most are for 150mm extraction max without cutting the tent material.

An Rvk 200mm in that space sucks the tent right in on full power and damages the seems of the tent slightly, have lots of little holes showing around the zips. When I first built the tent it blew the tent up like a ballon as i had extraction plugged into intake, wrong way round and gee wiz what a site, richard branson hot air balloning, eat ya heart out .

Would not get two x 150mm unless you are using a fan controller as air distribution will be even which is no good.

Just something to consider.

great pics mate.i have emailed the seller to find out bout the budbox being the new design or the one pictured as dont think like the sound of the old one and would prefer the new one.do i need to obtain a different light for the siids after i have germinated them or can i use my 600w up hogher in the budbow with them planted in a propogator?

personally, i would have very strong reservations about purchasing any tent from e-bay.

better off, imo, with a proper shop. this way you can check it before you buy, or at least reliably return it if its guff...

it is an ebay shop mate.that has very good feedback.and it be getting bought from a very different home and pc for bit of added security.

have taken onboard the statements about ebay.shall be ordering it from greens,thanks again for help

hi tsk.do you think it would be cool to buy my light from ebay? or is is far to dodgy.would be getting mate to purchase it aswel as get it sent to his house.any help with this would be helpful

hi all,just an update on my purchase of the budbox xl from greens instead of ebay,had taken into account the information recieved on here regarding the integrity of ebay and decided to body swerve it.still not sure as to buying my light from there.it shall be not to the grow address so am not sure if that is a safe option or not.dont want to end up

Wheres the tent whazzup? cant see nothin growing.

hi elvie

you can try buying your light off e-bay if you want, but e-bay, in my humble paranoid opinion, is just too much of a risk for anything grow related. you dont know who your buying from, what there motives or what they may do with the information. even if your mate buys it for you, nothing to say the seller is totally depnedable, if its a dud you gotta hope they replace it and hope they do it quickly etc etc - and all that risk for a possible saving of what usually turns out to be a few quid.

i personally buy as much as i can in cash from the local grow shop. it ends up costing me a few quid more, it takes up a large ammount of time, requires several train and bus and bike rides and no small amount of sweat (soils gotta come from somewhere )

but for all this i earn peace of mind that goes a long way in this hobby of ours. i have the goods in my hands before i buy them and i have a rapport with the person who sold me them. i know they are trust worthy and their discretion is good for business. this goes for most grow shops, but its not assured its the same for e-bay sellers.

i do use mail order for seeds and small goods, but i use places that are obviously sound (i.e - they have a physical shop front somewhere and a telephone number) and have had no difficulty with any of them at all to date. if i was on uk main land id be using the greens shop sweat free. adn like wasabi says, if you bought lights at same time youd save on postage.


ramble ramble blah blah blah. sorry elvie. ive never used e-bay and for all i know it might be sound, im just not into gambling.

Hi there,

I'm about to buy myself a growntent set up, I was planning to use rockwool, however the set-up in the pics above looks very interesting! Could someone please explain (or give me a link to a thread) the grow method to me, it looks like a bucket full of plants which would be great!

Cheers, and great thread!

hi mate after a bit of research i have found out that greens shop above also are an ebay store.just thought i would put this in,
i have already ordered my budbox from them through the link at the top of this page,only to realise that they sell on ebay aswel.now not sure if that it been a safe bet.

No worries with Greens, have been buying from them since day one, good service and good prices!!

ive got the 1x1x2 homebox, run a 5" extractor/filter & a 400w hid, passive intakes.
its got a good sturdy frame, thick black & white covering, good self vent flaps, shite zips !





wee tip if your putting it together, if you can, put it together laying on its back, the covers easier to slip on.

just a quick question folks

what size are the holes for extraction/ducting etc on the tents
thanks in advance

many thanks for the reassurances about greens.many thanks you lot.could someone please tell me the name of the light that you just change the bulb from metal halide to high powered sodium ive read bout it on here somewhere but cant find it anymore.many thanks