Grow tent Setup - Ventilation + 600W HPS ?

Hello everyone,

For those who don't know me, i could say i already have enough experience in growing both indoors and outdoors.

Im used to growing inside a grow room, but since im going to be flying to a new country soon, my whole setup is going to be all new.

I always used a 600W HPS from Lumatek, but never in a tent.

I was wondering if the setup i drew is enough for the ventilation to be able to extract the air efficiently while lowering the temps inside the 2x4x6" (60x120x180cm) tent that ill be purchasing.

Im going to be connecting a carbon filter with a 150mm (6inch) opening to a duct reducer of 150 to 125mm (6 to 5inch) , then to a soundproof duct tube of 125mm (6inch) leading to the first 125mm (6inch) hole of the air cooled reflector , then another 125mm (6inch) soundproof duct tube leading to the entry point of a 200mm (8inch) fan : 690-840m3/h (406-494cfm). Both ends of the fan will have size reducers from 200mm (8inch) to 125mm (5inch). Then the air will exit the tent through the 125mm (5inch) duct tube.

At the bottom of the tent , there will be a 100mm (4inch) inline fan blowing air through the bottom. Inline fan specs : 145-187m3/h (85-110cfm).

My question is , would this setup be enough to ventilate and keep temperatures regulated during the lights on period of the 600W HPS light ?

Thanks for the help guys,
Would be much appreciated.

Should be fine as long as the ambient (intake) temperatures are low enough, thats always the case. You can't cool a tent with hot air. So if you exhaust the heat into the room your tent is in, gradually raising the intake temperatures then that could become an issue.

You probably don't even need the intake blower, a passive intake of 2 - 2.5 x the area of the exhaust would likely suffice as it does for most people, again depending on the ambient temps.

Renfro said:

Should be fine as long as the ambient (intake) temperatures are low enough, thats always the case. You can't cool a tent with hot air. So if you exhaust the heat into the room your tent is in, gradually raising the intake temperatures then that could become an issue.

You probably don't even need the intake blower, a passive intake of 2 - 2.5 x the area of the exhaust would likely suffice as it does for most people, again depending on the ambient temps.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. What im afraid of when using passive intakes is the light that could easily get into the tent.

You're right about the intake , i forgot to plan for that. Ill make sure the intake comes from outside the window.

I've been running 2 600 watts in a 4x8 China tent for 5 years now only using the passive vents at the bottom for intake. No light problems, 6 inch fan made one hell of a vacuum though, so I had to upgrade from the shotty tubes to wood frame.

Lean something over them if it worries you. One side of my tent is almost against the wall, the other has a half sheet of drywall leaning against it which happens to stop light from getting to the vent but leaving it open for air.

RevRico said:

I've been running 2 600 watts in a 4x8 China tent for 5 years now only using the passive vents at the bottom for intake. No light problems, 6 inch fan made one hell of a vacuum though, so I had to upgrade from the shotty tubes to wood frame.

Lean something over them if it worries you. One side of my tent is almost against the wall, the other has a half sheet of drywall leaning against it which happens to stop light from getting to the vent but leaving it open for air.

Click to expand...

Im going to give the passive intake a try. But there would still be the problem of hot air stagnating in the room and re entering the tent . Where is your tent located and what are the approx temps that you have during lights on ?

My exhaust runs out of the tent to another room. I actually just started venting my veg area into the room for winter to try to combat the cold though. I was getting way too cold last year during lights off.

I honestly don't know my temps, I don't have a thermometer anymore. This summer I finally made the switch to vented hoods though, and it's made it noticeably cooler. I should probably get another thermometer to see if it's worth keeping vented hoods over the winter.

When I still bothered tracking temps, I had unvented hoods and was seeing 80ish between the lights during lights on. 6 inch exhaust fan, passive intake, and one of those 2 sided window fans for circulation below the canopy.

The problem with a 2x4 and a single 600hps is the center will be lit up and the outside foot on each end will be dim with air cooled hood. Ive done it before and its not ideal with a hood having to be turned so air ducts can flow correct. So don't go with a 2x4, you want a 3x3 or something wide enough to fit hood in correctly and get a better use of all the light.

RevRico said:

My exhaust runs out of the tent to another room. I actually just started venting my veg area into the room for winter to try to combat the cold though. I was getting way too cold last year during lights off.

I honestly don't know my temps, I don't have a thermometer anymore. This summer I finally made the switch to vented hoods though, and it's made it noticeably cooler. I should probably get another thermometer to see if it's worth keeping vented hoods over the winter.

When I still bothered tracking temps, I had unvented hoods and was seeing 80ish between the lights during lights on. 6 inch exhaust fan, passive intake, and one of those 2 sided window fans for circulation below the canopy.

Click to expand...

I see . If you have an air cooled hood you could just open the glass compartment in the winter and let the heat go inside the tent while extracting the air directly from inside the tent.

booms111 said:

The problem with a 2x4 and a single 600hps is the center will be lit up and the outside foot on each end will be dim with air cooled hood. Ive done it before and its not ideal with a hood having to be turned so air ducts can flow correct. So don't go with a 2x4, you want a 3x3 or something wide enough to fit hood in correctly and get a better use of all the light.

Click to expand...

Interesting point. Ill look more into that. Thanks for the tip

Eliehabib said:

Interesting point. Ill look more into that. Thanks for the tip

Click to expand...

Yeah think about the hoods flanges with hose connected to them how wide that will be so the hood needs turned sideways making the bulb sit sideways throwing light directly into walls at center of tent. You want the bulb to sit so it throws light towards ends of 2x4 but isn't possible with width of hood and hoses connected.

I get better results with 3 HLG 65 boards in a 2x4 i use for testers then I ever did with 600hps because of the issue of bulb placement and wasted light.

booms111 said:

Yeah think about the hoods flanges with hose connected to them how wide that will be so the hood needs turned sideways making the bulb sit sideways throwing light directly into walls at center of tent. You want the bulb to sit so it throws light towards ends of 2x4 but isn't possible with width of hood and hoses connected.

I get better results with 3 HLG 65 boards in a 2x4 i use for testers then I ever did with 600hps because of the issue of bulb placement and wasted light.

Click to expand...

But doesnt this also depend on the dimensions of the hood ?

Here are the specs of the one im buying :

Length: 445mm (17.5inch) with flange
Width: 461mm (18inch)
Height: 183mm (7.2inch)
Max Power: 600W
Flange: 125mm (5inch)

Could depend also on the height of the light

Eliehabib said:

But doesnt this also depend on the dimensions of the hood ?

Here are the specs of the one im buying :

Length: 445mm (17.5inch) with flange
Width: 461mm (18inch)
Height: 183mm (7.2inch)
Max Power: 600W
Flange: 125mm (5inch)

Click to expand...

Can you post a link to hood? I'm pretty sure you will still have trouble fitting it in there correctly with hoses on each end. I have a storage of hoods all different sizes, probably 10 different kinds besides all the ones I still use and non of them fit correctly, I tried.

booms111 said:

Can you post a link to hood? I'm pretty sure you will still have trouble fitting it in there correctly with hoses on each end.

Click to expand...

Eliehabib said:

"Prima Klima"

Manufacturer of air filtration, ventilation and lighting products for the use in greenhouses. Since 1996

www.primaklima.com

Click to expand...

Figure around 6 inches on each end for pipe/tubing so end up with 30 inches wide. Also with exhaust running tent will suck walls in some and if you have pipes against walls it will possible push them closed some.

booms111 said:

Figure around 6 inches on each end for pipe/tubing so end up with 30 inches wide. Also with exhaust running tent will suck walls in some and if you have pipes against walls it will possible push them closed some.

Click to expand...

should it be placed horizontally or vertically to get the most out of the light ?
Bulb facing the zipper or facing the length of the tent ?

Eliehabib said:

should it be placed horizontally or vertically to get the most out of the light ?
Bulb facing the zipper or facing the length of the tent ?

Click to expand...

Ends of bulb don't give off light. A 3x3 tent is way to go and 600 fits perfect in a hood with a good spread of light in a square tent of that size.

booms111 said:

Ends of bulb don't give off light. A 3x3 tent is way to go and 600 fits perfect in a hood with a good spread of light in a square tent of that size.

Click to expand...

Okay will look into it ! Problem with a 3x3 is the arrangement inside the house . The 2x4 is easier to place next to a 2ft wide closet or something

Eliehabib said:

Okay will look into it ! Problem with a 3x3 is the arrangement inside the house . The 2x4 is easier to place next to a 2ft wide closet or something

Click to expand...

if thats the case then maybe time to switch light source to quantum boards. They run much cooler and barely need exhaust compared to hps. Half the wattage with better light distrobution. 3 or 4 boards in 2x4. You can buy 4 board packs off amazon and a driver from Aarow or somewhere similar. Ive personally ran 4 132qbs in there but backed off to 3 120qbs now and plants are kicking awesomely.

Nice ! Never heard of them before , what is equal to a 600w hps ? Ive used LED panels in the past but nothing works well compared the hps lights , atleast for me

Need to 24 hours open exhaust？