vortex Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 hi guys and gals, been thinking about trying to design a grow tent for as little as possible and had a brainwave but thought i would ask the opinion of all you pros out there before i invest .... as i allready have led lights, filter and fan allready ............i came up with the idea of using one of those el cheepo plastic build yourself greenhouses from b&q or wilcos (about a tenner or so ) as the base as it allready has a zipped door on the front and is about 5 foot high,,, 3 foot wide and 2 .5 foot deep so its big enough....it has a plastic tubing as the frame so its easy to dismantle and lightweight too ..... . i saw mylar reflective survival sheets today 2 for a quid in poundland so i could put these inside stuck on the origional plastic covering to reflect the light .... then to cover the outside, i have a large roll allready in the shed of black plastic viscreen that i could double and make a cover to slide over the entire thing to keep the light in ... it even comes with shelves so these could be modded to do a scrog grow ..... all things concidered, with the plastic etc i allready have here, it worked out to be roughly 20 quid to make the entire thing ... please let me know wat you think folks ... any problems you may see or think of? many thanks for any help 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugums Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 (edited) I'm no expert, but I'll throw in my tuppence!! So long as you can get negative pressure and your cladding locks out/in the light the only issue I can see is whether or not it will carry the weight of the lighting/filter... I've grown in a cardboard box, and I know I'm not the first to have done that! Good luck mate! Oh!! Heat is the other issue I can think of, just need to make sure nothing hot enough to melt the plastic gets too close to it... Edited December 1, 2018 by Slugums 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 @vortex hi mate, plastic poles will bend under the weight of the led and fall on your plants. Look on all the second hand sites for a tent, you'll pick up one cheap enough. Could also think of using a wardrobe , pick one up secondhand or free sometimes. Can line the inside with mylar. Look for free timber and plywood on the second hand sites and build one. Needs to be light proof tho mate what ever you choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vortex Posted December 1, 2018 Author Share Posted December 1, 2018 (edited) thanks guys for the imput , he size of it is H160xW70xD50 and i was going to pop some wooden dowels inside the top poles for extra support for the led and filter/fan etc... i did think of a wardrobe too but it needs to be dismantled if need be thats why i was looking at one of these .... the other idea was to buy pvc tubing and connectors and make one .......but it would work out a bit more expensive ( perhaps thats another project for the future ) ive never used a tent and to be honest, i know nothing about them ... can the filter and fan simply clean the air and it be sent inside the tent, ( as in to re-circulate it ) or does it have to be blown outside the tent ? also is it better to get fresh air in the tent from the bottom (floor ) or in the side? also how many autos would you recomend popping in a space this size please ?? i know i probably sound dumb as a stump, but ive only ever done guerilla grows .... thanks Edited December 2, 2018 by vortex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer budd Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, vortex said: thanks guys for the imput , he size of it is H160xW70xD50 and i was going to pop some wooden dowels inside the top poles for extra support for the led and filter/fan etc... i did think of a wardrobe too but it needs to be dismantled if need be thats why i was looking at one of these .... the other idea was to buy pvc tubing and connectors and make one .......but it would work out a bit more expensive ( perhaps thats another project for the future ) ive never used a tent and to be honest, i know nothing about them ... can the filter and fan simply clean the air and it be sent inside the tent, ( as in to re-circulate it ) or does it have to be blown outside the tent ? also is it better to get fresh air in the tent from the bottom (floor ) or in the side? also how many autos would you recomend popping in a space this size please ?? i know i probably sound dumb as a stump, but ive only ever done guerilla grows .... thanks In a tent usually the carbon filter and fan are inside, the air is scrubbed and flows out. I use passive intakes (the bottom flaps) but depending on your set up some use intake fans too. You wont need this with a small tent, but you will probably need a light baffle to light proof the intake - which is easy to make, mine is cardboard. I intake and extract from inside the same room, which is not ideal, but I have no choice. I know some the pitfalls of this (stale airflow and excess moisture), but this is the first time I used this setup, I may get future problems, not sure, its been fine in veg so far though. You can also have the filter outside the tent and push air through it too, but not many people do it this way as they are negatives too (filter life I believe). I am not qualified to answer your growing questions Good luck, Elmer Edit: I have had LEDs fall and ruin a grow due to dodgy cable ties. And carbon filter are big and heavy. I also would have concerns about the poles and the weight. Edited December 2, 2018 by elmer budd added info 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vortex Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) ok ..... quick update folks .... i got the tent,/ mini greenhouse ... assembled it today and the poles are METAL ... so should be strong enough .... its just like this one .... https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-mini-greenhouse/p/0476578?nst=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt_2xheXX3wIVDLDtCh2K9gE5EAQYASABEgLUnfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds what i have done is take the 3 middle metal shelves and put one at the top and the other at the bottom ( double thickness on top and bottom ) PLENTY strong enough ... ive got 8 of those silver survival blankets which i will spray glue to the black outer covering that will go over the top of the existing clear plastic ( hope that makes sense ) tent size is H135cm x W50cm x D45cm ( 4 foot 6 .... x 20 inches ..... x 18 inches ) i was intending putting the fan and filter on the top shelf out the way ..... ive neer done indoor growing so can someone please tell me if this would be ok? also how many autos do you think would i get in there ? thank you a friend has upgraded and said i can have his 400w hps light cheap ... but i also have a 300w led pannel and a 150w led pannel .... would t be better to use the 400w hps , or put both led pannels in there ? thanks for any help folks ... Edited January 5, 2019 by vortex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurora Ruderalis Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 On 02/12/2018 at 8:49 AM, elmer budd said: In a tent usually the carbon filter and fan are inside, the air is scrubbed and flows out. I use passive intakes (the bottom flaps) but depending on your set up some use intake fans too. You wont need this with a small tent, but you will probably need a light baffle to light proof the intake - which is easy to make, mine is cardboard. I intake and extract from inside the same room, which is not ideal, but I have no choice. I know some the pitfalls of this (stale airflow and excess moisture), but this is the first time I used this setup, I may get future problems, not sure, its been fine in veg so far though. You can also have the filter outside the tent and push air through it too, but not many people do it this way as they are negatives too (filter life I believe). I am not qualified to answer your growing questions Good luck, Elmer Edit: I have had LEDs fall and ruin a grow due to dodgy cable ties. And carbon filter are big and heavy. I also would have concerns about the poles and the weight. It wasn't dodgy cable ties that caused the led to fall. It was using a dodgy method to hang a lamp that caused that. Electrical equipment should be hung securely. Always. Cheap and fast ways to grow are cheap and fast ways to cause accidents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer budd Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Just now, Phoenix said: It wasn't dodgy cable ties that caused the led to fall. It was using a dodgy method to hang a lamp that caused that. Electrical equipment should be hung securely. Always. Cheap and fast ways to grow are cheap and fast ways to cause accidents. I take your point, but if they didn't put so much chalk in the plastic then it probably wouldn't have photodegraded to the point of failure in less than 9 weeks. Suffice to say I won't be using cable ties again, and this time everything is more than properly secured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurora Ruderalis Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 They ain't a load bearing thing. Chalk or not. They are for tying together cables. Clue is in the name. Do not hang lamps with cable ties. I'd not advise growing in a cheap repurposed green house either. It will be impossible to maintain negative pressure, not to mention how flammable it probably is. Cheap aluminium will fold quicker than plastic will. @vortex Desperate needs should not outweigh logical thinking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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