tent 6" or 8" ventilation?

I have a 3' x 5' x 7' tent I am interested in eventually running a 600w hps and 400w mh in a large dual lamp air cooled reflector.

Silence and stealth is a factor and I will need a good amount of airflow to cool the 2 lamps. So I am planning on using insulated duct, a duct silencer at the end of the run, and a diy sound box for the inline fan.

I can't decide if I should go with 8" or 6" ventilation though. I think with 8" I could run the fan at a lowerand quieter speed than a 6" and move the same amount of air. But that seems like way over kill for a tent.... however I don't want a 6" running on medium high howling like a blow dryer.

Also, can anyone recommend a dual lamp air cooled hood about 2' x 3'? The hydrofarm 8" raptor seems like the only choice pretty much.

i run a 1000 watt in a 3x5 with 6" 440 cfm fan running 75 degrees with insulated ducting.. i wld think you wld be fine with 6"

I have a 1000w hps in my 5x5 tent with 6" xxxl magnum hood and 6" ducting. I have a 6" hydrofarm fan cooling the hood and pulling air through the filter. I also have a 4" fan w/ speed controller blowing fresh air into tent. I run the light at night to have super cool air cool my hood down. My whole hood stays cool and I am able to put it around 14" from the canopy (outside temps here at night range from 30-45 currently). Temps never rise above 75 degrees at canopy level. As for noise, it was a bit noisy until I got the speed controller for the 4" fan and now it's not so bad since I was able to turn it down(the tent is in my room fyi). I feel like the hum of the fans actually helps me sleep harder at night now.
Can't really help you with the dual bulb raptor however I have read mixed reviews about it. I love my 1000w Magnum XXXL hood.
Hope this helps you with your decision.

colorado wat size carbon filter u have? looks way too small for the size fan you need too cool a 1000 watter.. theres a chart somewhere for cfm of fan to size of filter.. jw dont want your hole house to reek when they start buddin good. also using fan for intake kinda defeats purpose because air can find its way out of the room if your not using negative pressure to suck the air into the room.. just my 2 cents..

A good 6" fan would do the job but I would go with the 8". Better to go ahead and get the bigger one, imo... it won't work as hard and you'll have more power there if you need it later. The price is not that much more either.

Thanks, are you guys putting the 6" inline on a speed controller or running it full blast... what speed do you run your fan at?

I guess I would be pulling air through about 10 feet of 6" duct with 270* of bends... 80-82* would be a more realistic temp for me to shoot for. I would hope to be around or below 50% power on the inline I suppose.

There is also a 6" raptor dual lamp reflector... there is another version by hydrofarm too but it is a smaller hood.

i agree with evlmunkee

i currently have mine runnin full power through about 15' total duct.. little noisy but i do have a fan speed controller in the mail.. im not sure how the mh run but like i said i stay at 75 with 1000 watt hps.. but like evlmunkee said better safe than sorry and go with the 8" and a controller that way you can dial that baby in where you need it

Right on... I can't really think of any reason not to go with the 8" other than cost and size. Would also be interested to know if the power draw of an 8" on a speed controller is less than a 6" running faster. My ambient temps are 75ish so it would be impossible to get lower than 78* or so.

Also, I couldn't imagine getting bigger than my current tent... I just grow for me and my girlfriend. Eight DWC buckets in flower is more than we can smoke. I am pretty much planning for my ultimate finished setup for the 2 of us which will be nothing more than a small hempy bucket mom/veg/clone tent with T5s... and my current tent will be an 8 bucket DWC flower tent running the 1000w of hps/mh combo. So, future expansion will not be needed; I'm already planning on the "finished" product I guess you could say.

Malevolence said:

Thanks, are you guys putting the 6" inline on a speed controller or running it full blast... what speed do you run your fan at?

I guess I would be pulling air through about 10 feet of 6" duct with 270* of bends... 80-82* would be a more realistic temp for me to shoot for. I would hope to be around or below 50% power on the inline I suppose.

There is also a 6" raptor dual lamp reflector... there is another version by hydrofarm too but it is a smaller hood.

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yeh, that's a lot of bends. I pull 530 cfm with a 6" duct and carbon filter thru a 6" cooltube. Mine runs about 78-80 18 inches away from the tube and I only have 1 90 deg bend and about 12 ' of duct. I wish I had a 8" fan already.

I use this one. set the day and night temps and leave it alone. it adjusts speed
http://www.ebay.com/itm/C-A-P-VSC-DNE-Fuzzy-Logic-Hydroponic-Day-Night-Variable-Fan-Speed-Controller-/230924074287?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c425bd2f

good way of thinking always gotta be thinking ahead!! not sure on the power draw i dont think it would be much of a difference..

Not sure what size filter I have; it was given to me by a friend. I do plan on upgrading filters as soon as I get some more cash. The setup I have has been working great for me so far. I can put my hand anywhere on the hood and it is cool to the touch. I have the intake fan running on a low speed and the walls of the tent are still getting sucked inwards so I know the air is being sucked out through the filter if that's what you're wondering.

evlmunkee i wish i woulda seen those before i just ordered my speed controller! damit lol o well ill just manually adjust it to where it reduces noise but doesnt make me nervous about temps.. mines already on its way

colorado have you gone through a harvest in there yet? just wondering because your temps might be fine but it doesnt have enough surface space nor time to scrub the air efficiently.. just wanted to give u heads up so u dont hit 6-7 weeks and like o fuck i can smell bud outside the house!

bluedreamzy said:

evlmunkee i wish i woulda seen those before i just ordered my speed controller! damit lol o well ill just manually adjust it to where it reduces noise but doesnt make me nervous about temps.. mines already on its way

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it is really nice not to have to adjust it and watch the temp all the time (I watch it anyway tho).
@Malevolence I'm not an electrician but the way I understand it... the ac motor controller varies the amps to slow the motor so a 8" fan running at 2/3 speed should use the same amperage as a 6" fan at full tilt.
btw Mal, here is a very good fan with a high cfm rating at a good price. Made in USA.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Inch-Inline-Exhaust-Cooling-Duct-Fan-Vent-Blower-Cooling-Heating-Air-Vent-M-8-/270988028310?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f18252996

bluedreamzy said:

colorado have you gone through a harvest in there yet? just wondering because your temps might be fine but it doesnt have enough surface space nor time to scrub the air efficiently.. just wanted to give u heads up so u dont hit 6-7 weeks and like o fuck i can smell bud outside the house!

Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying. I put everything I had into the setup so had to work with what my friend gave me for the filter. I'm not super worried about the smell outside our house. I live in Boulder and it already stinks from every other grower on my street (not to mention it's legal). Just to think it's really going to stink this summer/fall when my outdoors starts budding in the backyard haha.

ColoradoHighLife said:

Not sure what size filter I have; it was given to me by a friend. I do plan on upgrading filters as soon as I get some more cash. The setup I have has been working great for me so far. I can put my hand anywhere on the hood and it is cool to the touch. I have the intake fan running on a low speed and the walls of the tent are still getting sucked inwards so I know the air is being sucked out through the filter if that's what you're wondering.

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I mean how fast is your 6" inline fan running?

EvlMunkee said:

it is really nice not to have to adjust it and watch the temp all the time (I watch it anyway tho).
@Malevolence I'm not an electrician but the way I understand it... the ac motor controller varies the amps to slow the motor so a 8" fan running at 2/3 speed should use the same amperage as a 6" fan at full tilt.
btw Mal, here is a very good fan with a high cfm rating at a good price. Made in USA.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Inch-Inline-Exhaust-Cooling-Duct-Fan-Vent-Blower-Cooling-Heating-Air-Vent-M-8-/270988028310?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f18252996

Click to expand...

Pretty good price... I like watching youtube reviews on stuff I want to buy. There is a good one showing side-by-side comparisons blowing a ball up a tube and shit.

That's awesome Colorado! Was just lookin out for ya bro!