I've got a bottleneck; options????

Hey folks,

I'm just wrapping up my 1st grow tent and I've hit a bump in the road. When I was going through all my planning, I made a small oversight and now that I think about it, it ain't that small. See, my grow tent has openings that are 7.5" for ducting.
My inline fan is a Vortex 10" (VTX1000). The outlets on both sides of the fan are 10". So, as I see it I either have to get a few of those duct adapters (I.E: from 10" to 8", then 8" to 7", etc.) OR I have to try to cut my tents inlet holes a bit bigger.

I'm afraid to do the latter because then the tear/cut might get bigger than I want it to. If I go with the duct adapter idea, then I'm creating a bit of a bottleneck in the airflow.

Am I screwed here or can someone help me out with an idea?

You can get a "Y" adapter and run 2 7 inch to it.

Get an 8 " fan if it is sufficient for ur grow...cutting can turn out to be a bad move. U can buy a kit that will make expansion of the holes easy but I'd still try to use the 8" if it will be enough air flow.

I use a reducer connection for my 5" exhaust fan to make it 4", havent noticed a big reduction in airflow. If you reduce from 10" to 7" you might loose cfms. Also that connector may be harder to find.

I use a 5" exhaust for my 1x1x2m tent, 10" does seem a bit excessive

Y-Splitter is by far the best option I've heard so far. Next would be to cut it. Don't reduce it if you don't have to. Any other method is superior to keeping the bottleneck.

Looks like it might cost a pretty penny, but totally worth it... this is actually 8" to 10"... can you get away with 8" or does it really max at 7.5?

http://www.ecoheats.com/_102757932.php?utm_source=googleFeed&utm_medium=Google&utm_content=757932

Although Ive never used a tent before, personally, if I were u I wouldn't make any cuts on the tent itself... It sounds like yer on the right track with using a "Y" adapter to fit the factory-made inlet hole... It should move enough air just fine... And If you DO any "field adjustments" on ANYTHING, I'd try it on the 8" "Y" reducing connector(IF u can't find one in 7.5"), because if itz made of sheet metal, it'll probably a fairly easy adjustment to make with a good ol' pair of tin snips and a little bit of good, old-fashioned creativity/ingenuity, which we growers tend to have alot of...lol... I'd imagine it'd be cheaper to buy another fitting, than a whole new tent, and definately alot easier than having to repair a mistake on the tent itself... Just my 2 centz, for what itz worth, which is probly about 2 centz...lol...

Ilovebush said:

Get an 8 " fan if it is sufficient for ur grow...cutting can turn out to be a bad move. U can buy a kit that will make expansion of the holes easy but I'd still try to use the 8" if it will be enough air flow.

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Switching to an 8" fan (at this point) is not an option. I ordered this by mail and it was quite pricey. I could barely afford it, never mind the cost of shipping it back.

Coho said:

You can get a "Y" adapter and run 2 7 inch to it.

Click to expand...

Not sure I understand what you mean by 2 7 inches to it. To give you a better understanding of what I'm working with, check out the link.

http://growgreenbox.com/reflective-hydroponics-mylar-grow-box-x-large

Hope this helps.

Does it have a vent in the top? I was thinking of two 7" going in. Say top and side. You running a cool tube?

Coho said:

Does it have a vent in the top? I was thinking of two 7" going in. Say top and side. You running a cool tube?

Click to expand...

This is the lighting system I bought. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270927267649&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:CA:3160