Help needed for first grow tent setup!

Hey guys,
About to move into my new place next week and got the go ahead from my landlord to start up a personal grow as long as i have everything under control. (which should be easy enough because i believe by under control he just means smell and keeping it all quiet)

What i am looking to spend is anywhere in the vicinity of 500-1500 on my tent. Ideally in the 500-1200 range but can spend more if its worth it.
As far as my experience with growing goes i have had 4 complete grows from soil only and would definitely be open to expanding my horizon when it comes to technology as i've only ever done an open air setup with a 400hps light above a plant or two.
As far as space goes (i can post exact measurements next week but i am hoping to get a head start on this now) its a large walk in closet that is if i were to guess probably 4x6x7. It could be a little more than 4 feet wide or it could be less i am pulling strictly from memory here.

As i said before this is solely for personal medical use so i am looking to produce roughly 6-8 ozs over a 10-12 week period.

I can fill the entire closeted space as i have no other use for it so i was looking at either a 2x4x7 tent or 4x4x7 (assuming it fits). I would like to have a carbon filter system in there with adequate fans (which for my small size grow i assume would just be two 100-200 fans)

For lights i'll have to take your guess on it because i am not sure if i will have to make the jump to 600hps or not.

Thanks in advance for your input, really appreciated!


Current Setup Plan: (chose to use htgsupply.com for purchasing, that isn't fixed obviously but more of a refference point)
Grow Tent: 20x36x64 tent (http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=54611)
Hydro System: 12 pot system with resivoir (will probably not start with the full 12 pots but could potentially move to that later on) (http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=53051)
Hood: SuperNova reflector (will get the twin flanges for ventilation) (http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=46369)
Bulb: Will get a 600hps or mh
Digital Ballast: Luumatek 600 watt (http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=54663)
MORE COMING SOON AS THINGS GET FIGURED OUT

Thank you everyone for your help!

you could probably go with a 600 in that space it's all about ventilation but maybe just a 400 would be a little better since your not concerned with yeild. I mean a 400 could produce plenty of buds for you but 600 is more efficient and maybe hotter. Your budget is probably more than you need and sounds like you know what your doing so you should be fine picking out the right stuff for you.

Like you said, i am hardly concerned about the yield. Though having the potential to expand given that once i have a quite regular supply coming in my usage could potentially increase but probably not by a whole lot (just because of lifestyle choices). So at most what i could really see myself at is an oz a week which would then equate to having to pull in 12 ozs over a 3 month period which is still is a small yield (respectively).

I'd definitly like to go for quality over quantity and certainly don't need to use up all the space because having plenty of space to work with is nice(i am quite tall at 6'6 so tight spaces are always inconvienent xD)


I should mention it is a closeted space and while i will be able to use vents and can for the most part leave the door open. So if that means that i should lean towards a 400 hps over a 600.


I also considered led but have never worked with them before.

ptk said:

Hey guys,
About to move into my new place next week and got the go ahead from my landlord to start up a personal grow as long as i have everything under control. (which should be easy enough because i believe by under control he just means smell and keeping it all quiet)

What i am looking to spend is anywhere in the vicinity of 500-1500 on my tent. Ideally in the 500-1200 range but can spend more if its worth it.
As far as my experience with growing goes i have had 4 complete grows from soil only and would definitely be open to expanding my horizon when it comes to technology as i've only ever done an open air setup with a 400hps light above a plant or two.
As far as space goes (i can post exact measurements next week but i am hoping to get a head start on this now) its a large walk in closet that is if i were to guess probably 4x6x7. It could be a little more than 4 feet wide or it could be less i am pulling strictly from memory here.

As i said before this is solely for personal medical use so i am looking to produce roughly 6-8 ozs over a 10-12 week period.

I can fill the entire closeted space as i have no other use for it so i was looking at either a 2x4x7 tent or 4x4x7 (assuming it fits). I would like to have a carbon filter system in there with adequate fans (which for my small size grow i assume would just be two 100-200 fans)

For lights i'll have to take your guess on it because i am not sure if i will have to make the jump to 600hps or not.

Thanks in advance for your input, really appreciated!

Click to expand...

What Im about to say, is what i tell almost anyone who is new, or grows out of an apartment.

Purchase a low odor strain like Northern Lights #5.. or else you may have an eviction notice on your door before you even realize it.

At least invest in a good carbon air scrubber.

Best of luck!

Maybe use your 400w with a conversion bulb for veg and then put a 600w for flower in 2 smaller tents? Then you could have a constant cycle going. Like Pipe Dream, ventilation will be most critical. Good luck.

I considered doing two smaller tents. Since my crop will be small since its just for me i could probably get away with doing one tent with a 400hps for veging and a 600 for flowering. Tho i think given the choice i would prefer one tent but thats just because i am interested in carbon filters and potentially co2 as well. The definitly benefit of two tents is that i can have constant crops being yielded at smaller amounts keeping me freshly stocked and also allowing me to increase the amounts of plants (or decrease for that matter) to better match my usage.

As for odor, (as i said before) i am going to be using a carbon filter. That was key in getting my landlord go ahead on the tent setup.

It should be quite simple to meet my crop yields as i am guessing at most i will ever consume is an oz a week so hitting 12 ozs over a 3 month period is quite reasonable i feel while geared towards quality over quantitiy.


Another posibility is switching from dirt to hydro also hps to led.

ptk said:

I considered doing two smaller tents. Since my crop will be small since its just for me i could probably get away with doing one tent with a 400hps for veging and a 600 for flowering. Tho i think given the choice i would prefer one tent but thats just because i am interested in carbon filters and potentially co2 as well. The definitly benefit of two tents is that i can have constant crops being yielded at smaller amounts keeping me freshly stocked and also allowing me to increase the amounts of plants (or decrease for that matter) to better match my usage.

As for odor, (as i said before) i am going to be using a carbon filter. That was key in getting my landlord go ahead on the tent setup.

It should be quite simple to meet my crop yields as i am guessing at most i will ever consume is an oz a week so hitting 12 ozs over a 3 month period is quite reasonable i feel while geared towards quality over quantitiy.


Another posibility is switching from dirt to hydro also hps to led.

Click to expand...

sounds like youve planned pretty well, imo i would go with a 4x4 flood table and do hydro. for one you wont have to worry about disposing of tons of soil every couple months. a good example of what you can achieve with the flood table is this - https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/219496-64-plant-ebb-flow-sog.html
granted he prolly has a little bit more invested then you plan to, and with bigger plants i would prolly run 16-25 plants per table

suprablaski said:

sounds like youve planned pretty well, imo i would go with a 4x4 flood table and do hydro. for one you wont have to worry about disposing of tons of soil every couple months. a good example of what you can achieve with the flood table is this - https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/219496-64-plant-ebb-flow-sog.html
granted he prolly has a little bit more invested then you plan to, and with bigger plants i would prolly run 16-25 plants per table

Click to expand...

How easy are these to build? Obviously i would prefer hydro to dirt for many of the same reasons you sugested but i have 0 experience with cloning or even hydro for that matter. I've also seen a bit of those prebuilt systems, while i am sure its cheaper to build it yourself i definitly like the professional look/organization. Know any that are worth recomending or do most end up with making it themselves. The thought of having a neat little bin inside a closet with my plants would be a nice sterile enviroment to work with.