2 tent setup, whats would recommend?

[Jams67]

Alrighty folks, im currently in 4th week of flower of my very first grow. Started pretty bad, got a lot better with the help of the forum and through my diary. It’s not been ideal but I went expecting that as I find that its not a bad way to learn. Anyway I’m now looking at how to best utilise the equipment I have (Spider Farmer SE3000 in Mars Hydro 100x100x180 tent & Mars Hydro TS1000 in a Mars Hydro 70x70x160 tent) I currently have 4 15l Autopots in the big tent and I find it really awkward if I need to do anything further back, already snapped a tip of one my colas stretching into the tent

 

I had originally been thinking to use the big tent for the majority and use the small tent would be used for starting out seedlings beginning of veg, and also for drying the big tents harvest. Just try and time everything so that new plants will be ready for autopot planting in time for the current crop to be harvested. This could still be an option but im thinking maybe using both tents at the same time and split the autopots, either 2 in each tent or 3 in the big tent and 1 in the small tent, the later would give approx 100w per plant. It would also make working inside the tent a lot easier, although I have a few ideas to make working at the back easier. 

 

If I go 3&1 I think I would run both at the same time from start to finish, and use the 1 reservoir. If I go 2&2 I would maybe look at splitting them so i could hopefully get a harvest every 4-6 weeks (wishful thinking?) I would probably just buy another reservoir so that the feeds could be suited to the stage they are at.

 

Another point im not sure would be how to set the tents up for maximum efficiency. I have a 4” Mars Hydro inline fan and a Spider Farmer 6” inline fan. Would it be best to run 4” ducting to link the tents both top and bottom or just at the top. The other way which I think is probably going to be the better option is have both tents with passive intakes and their own extraction. I guess it will depend on what method I go with as linking the tents wont be an option if im running 2&2 at different stages.

 

Any thoughts, opinions or advice would be very much appreciated folks, ATB

[MindSoup]

With 2 similar size spaces I'd definitely go with running them both as their own separate grows, either staggered or not. You'll probably get more out of them than using one for seedlings and drying and one for flower plus you take out all the awkward timing which can get totally fucked up if you have a failed germination or some other set back. I doubt wether you go 2 and 2 or 3 and 1 will really effect your yields too much, with 2 and 2 you'd have more similar veg times but that wouldn't really matter at all. I suppose 2 and 2 could be seen as better in the fact that if you had a plant die/hermi  in the single plant tent not all would be lost 

 

Tents that size should be absolutely fine with a passive intake so again I would keep them both separate with their own extraction. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by MindSoup

[MonkeyBlazed]

I would use one for reg seeds and the other with seedlings and a few autos

[Jams67]

@MindSoup Cheers bud, good point regards the 2&2 and keeping the grow going even if 1 dies. I just chopped down one of my girls tonight so I can imagine if that was the only one going it would have been pretty heartbreaking after all this time, thankfully i have the other 3 to concentrate on and learn from it. I know most people say to stick with photos but im thinking of going with autos for the next grow which will mean I shouldn’t have to worry about working around different lighting schedules etc. 

 

@MonkeyBlazed Cheers bud, Thats similar to how I was first planning on doing it, I had thought to do regs in the bigger tent and try autos in the smaller tent but im now swaying towards doing  2&2 both with autos, at least to give it a try anyway, ive got some auto seeds anyway so no harm in trying them out.

 

Appreciate the replies folks

[MindSoup]

4 hours ago, Jams67 said:

I know most people say to stick with photos but im thinking of going with autos for the next grow which will mean I shouldn’t have to worry about working around different lighting schedules etc. 

 

 

I really don't get along with Autos myself, unless they're from an elite breeder I find them to be a real gamble, lots of them end up runty or just crap smoke. If you do go that way I'd make sure you have some really good quality genetics and to swat up hard on how to keep them happy, every mistake/ set back adds up and effects the final yield. Personally I'd rather just change the settings on a timer every now and then but other people do get good results from them. 

 

You never truly know until you find out for yourself.... 

[Jams67]

Just now, MindSoup said:

 

I really don't get along with Autos myself, unless they're from an elite breeder I find them to be a real gamble, lots of them end up runty or just crap smoke. If you do go that way I'd make sure you have some really good quality genetics and to swat up hard on how to keep them happy, every mistake/ set back adds up and effects the final yield. Personally I'd rather just change the settings on a timer every now and then but other people do get good results from them. 

 

You never truly know until you find out for yourself.... 

Yeah mate when I was getting started and jumping in without doing proper research I had assumed Autos were easier and I ordered the seeds already (this is the same gun-ho attitude that led me to having 2 tents, lights and inline fans, and the downfall of my first seedlings) Then pretty much everyone told me to go with photos  

 

It wasnt so much changing the timer settings I was worried about - more about access to get in and out of the room and do what I need to do, Ive been really paranoid about letting light into the tent during lights off since I got into flower, so my thinking was  if both tents were running autos I wouldnt have to worry so much compared to if I had photos in 1 tent in flower and the other tent running autos or photo in veg.

 

I have 3 x auto wedding cake and 3 x auto gelato from RGSC so I think I will give them a try. I know I should probably wait till im more experienced and less accident prone (wishful thinking ) but they are sitting in the fridge so not much too loose, still got some jiffy plugs to start them in too. 

 

I was thinking this morning as I was cleaning up the Affie’s autopot and aqua valve that I am now pretty much ready to go 3&1 so might try that and start one of the autos in the wee tent. Maybe germinate 2 seeds and if both are looking good do 2 seeds in 1 pot, this also led me to looking at the xl pot with the round bottom so if I could split that it would give 12.5l to each plant. Although that might be going against what im trying to achieve - make the tents less full and easier to manage. Being able to turn the pot would make life so much easier though its a shame they dont do that for the regular autopots.

 

I’m going to leave it this week anyway as im away for the weekend so that means I will be coming into week 5 flower on Monday, it could be pretty good timing to get another grow - started if it takes another 7 weeks or so before the big tent is free again I could be a little over halfway of the auto. I do have some subbie seeds too but going to stick to fems or auto’s until I have built up a good reserve of jars and I am able to tell if they are turning into boys or girls. 

 

Plenty to think about anyway, will do some research over the weekend if I get the chance.

 

Cheers, J

[MindSoup]

RGSC autos are pretty good so you should get on alright with them. I understand the whole light issue but its really easily solved, both my tent and veg box leak light like a sieve, so I just bought some cheap blackout curtains to drape over them, simple and effective. 

 

Have to say your probably the only person I've seen wanting to fill their tents less .

 Most people are trying to maximise yield and empty canopy space is definitely not the way to achieve that, each to their own though, not everyone is worried about that kind of thing.  

 

2 seeds in one pot is a bit of a weird idea, that's normally reserved for large beds.. I'm not saying it won't work, but its not how people usually do things and there may well be good reason for that. 

[Jams67]

Good call with the curtains mate might just look into that. I made some covers to go over my passive intakes out of some fabric temporary and going to do a proper job when I get some proper filter material (cooker hod filter or something along those lines) But the curtains might give me the confidence to turn the lights on in the room, at the moment im using the 2 furthest away spots lights dimmed and on a green light if i need to get anything out the room during lights off and with my eyesight its not really ideal.

 

Not so much less just more manageable (I really wanted a 240 x 60/70 sized tent but went for the 100x100 just because of availability and timing of sales - if I had spent a bit more time researching I would have done a lot of things differently and also used the site sponsor) The problem I have with the 100x100 tent is im finding it near impossible to get anything done at the back without damaging the girls at the front. A longer thinner tent with 4 plants in a line would have been a lot better for me. Dont get me wrong I want as big a yield as I can get but id rather have a smaller yield than fuck up some good plants by leaning over them and being my usual clumsy self  

 

I had thought of some ideas to make things easier next time, like running twine round the back and sides  to make a sort of net then for training and adding supports I can make lines of twine on a tensioner with hooks and I will have plenty of options where to hook on to. I’m going to make or buy individual scot nets for each pot so that if I need to take the girls out for any reason it will be a lot easier (this would have been good for the affie on this grow)

 

The thing is as this is still my first grow it could just be that LDs got too big and gangly, so my mistakes could have led to this, if they were a little shorter and less gangle I might find working at the back of the tent less troublesome. The 2 seeds thing just came to mind as I seen you can get a pot divider, but yeah probably be a stupid idea  

[MindSoup]

I can fully relate to the difficulty of working in small spaces, getting to the back of my 60x60cm tent is never easy . I'm a pretty layed back grower, I gues that comes with experience, If I snap a branch, no stress, can't get to something I want to trim off, just leave it alone etc etc.  My veg box is even trickier I've got about an 8-10 inch gap between the door of that and my flower tent, to I can only really get my head and one arm in far enough to work in there. I look forward to the day I can have a big tent with a nice space round each side so I can just peel back the walls and get to wherever I need to. 

[Jams67]

Haha glad its not just me. Thats what I'm aiming to be “laid back grower” and i would say the difference in my thought process has changed a lot already since day 1, like you when I snapped the tip of my cola last week I wasn't beating myself up about it, if that was in the first month I would have been raging with myself. But trying to reach in with one hand and attempting to get the twine round the tent poles  and tying knots while so close to the lights and sweating my balls off was like a skit out of chewing the fat  Your veg box sounds like my nightmare I get frustrated quite easily when im forced to work in small awkward spaces, end up loosing the head  

 

My 4x4 tent can be unzipped at the bottom and definitely helped me get to the back left hand side but it was still awkward with space restrictions inside and out, and was only able to unzip the door and 1 side as the back is against a wall and I couldn’t pull it out without a lot of arsing about. The chicken wire scrog was great for a quick solution but not being able to move the plants individually makes things trickier sometimes. Again most things can be addressed with better planning and preparation, so I guess it will be trial and error to see what works and what doesn’t while I learn and gain experience as I go.

 

I have found myself day dreaming about how I build a dedicated room with plenty space to walk about inside, like you say, one day mate