Indoor grow tents can be an indispensable piece of equipment for hydroponic growing. They allow a grower to partition off an area where he can create an ideal growing environment for his plants.
An indoor grow tent fills a void between a stealth grow box and a regular grow room. Although they are not exactly stealth they do enclose a grow and keep its lights from shining out and attracting unwanted attention.
They also allow for larger grows because a stealth growbox is pretty much limited in size by the lockers used, while hydroponic grow tents can be anything from small to full room size.
But, there seems to be a lot of confusion and misunderstandings about how to set up an indoor growing tent and what indoor growing systems can and can not do for your hydroponic grow.
Many people think that a hydroponic grow tent is some kind of magical piece of equipment that will boost their yields. This is simply not true.
All a tent can do is help you control your environment and nothing more. You could get the same yields growing in an open room if temperature, humidity and light are equal in both grows. To understand the advantages a growing tent offers we need to look at some basic Ag 101 stuff:
Indoor Grow Tents And Liebig’s Law Of The Minimum
As you can see from the image on the left, it doesn’t matter how much of anything you put in the barrel because you can never fill it above the lowest stave. You can read more about this law here
What does this have to do with hydroponic grow tents? Plenty!
The example only shows nutrient levels but we can and should add environmental factors like temperature, humidity and light intensity. Whatever is in shortest supply will limit your production. Pour on all the fertilizer you want but it won’t and can’t make up for a lack of light for example.
So using an indoor grow tent to increase yields will only work if the plants growing environment is the limiting factor and if it provides the correct growing parameters.
In most cases the plants nutrient requirements are fairly easy to meet with today’s modern nutrient formulations. The strain chosen will also have a major effect on yield.
I don’t know how many times I have seen growers buy a good grow tent and try to grow using CFLs, expecting a bumper crop, only to be disappointed and blame the strain or the growing tent.
I get asked a lot how much a given size grow tent will yield. The answer, all things being equal, is the same amount as a space without one.
So, sorry, there’s no magic here. But in the hands of a skilled grower having an indoor grow tent is a definite asset and a tool that can be used to maximize yield. So now that we got that out of the way we can actually look at finding the best grow tent for our situation.
Setting Up Indoor Grow Tents
Here is a video that will give you an idea about what to expect when setting up a grow tent.
You may not be buying an AC Infinity grow tent but they are the best grow tents available. So watching can give you an idea what to look for in any grow tent kits. Grow tent setup is really pretty easy to do.
What Size Indoor Grow Tent To Buy
One of the first considerations many growers have is what size tent to buy. But this is really going about things backwards. Instead of buying something and trying to make your grow fit inside it is better to first decide how you will grow and how much room you will need to accommodate it.
Of course some of us have size restrictions because of where we live and we have to work within those guidelines. But we should have an idea if we are planing to grow in buckets or tubs and how we will train our plants. Then we need to make sure we buy a tent size that we can fit it into with some room to spare. Personally, if you can fit it, I think a 4×4 grow tent is the ideal size because it fits the footprint of a 1000 w HPS light very well.
In order to have a successful grow it is best not to over crowd things. You can yield more with fewer plants in a small grow tent if they are well cared for than you can in a large grow tent that is too full to manage.
Ventilation is a critical factor in hydroponic growing. Overcrowding can lead to problems with mold and mildew. It is very hard to get adequate air circulation deep inside a dense canopy even with fans blowing.
Hydroponic Grow Tent Lighting
Lighting is a complicated subject but all growers would agree that without proper lighting yields will suffer. However lighting creates a secondary problem in the hydroponic grow tent and that is heat build up.
If you are growing with LEDS this is not so much of a problem. But if you use HID lighting you will need adequate exhaust fans and/or a vented hood.
Ideally your hood should be vented separately from your exhaust system. That will enable you to turn off the other fans and use CO2 injection in your grow while your lights are on.
Plants need not only the right amount of light but also the right spectrum of light.
If you are using LEDS to flower you will want a good deal of red in the spectrum. That is why most growers chose HPS lighting for flowering and find a way to deal with the heat they create.
I like LEDS and many people have successful grows using them. They are still a developing technology and getting better all the time. But they cost a lot more and still can not match the yield of HPS lighting.
Regardless of what type of lighting you use, you will need to obtain adequate light levels inside your grow tent.
With LEDS manufacturers usually will tell you how large an area their lights will cover. Take these figures with a grain of salt because sometimes they are exaggerated.
There are many rules for HID lighting including lumens per square foot or watts per square foot and growers argue over the best amounts. The sun produces 10,000 lumens per square foot at the equator. A 1000 watt HPS produces about 130-150,000 lumens.
To keep it simple a 1000W HPS will cover roughly a 4×4 foot area, 600W about 3 square feet and 3 to 400 W about 2 square feet.
Other factors come into play here including the type and quality of the reflector used and its shape. Some reflectors have a square foot print and some are rectangular. You want to try and get uniform light levels across your entire grow area and this can take some trial and error.
Nowadays double ended HPS is used with a built in reflector. LEDs have advanced to the point where they are cheaper and comparable to HPS.
One final thought about hydroponic grow tents is how the heat from your lighting will affect your reservoir temperatures.
If they get too high you can have problems with algae and root rot.
Less of a problem with LEDS for sure, but you may want to look at keeping your reservoir outside the grow tent if possible or you may need to use a chiller.
Indoor Grow Tent Yield
It is not possible to give a definitive answer as to what a given size grow tent will yield. There are so many variables that come into play.
The strain chosen can have a profound affect on yield as they don’t all yield equally well.
Training can have a major affect on yield also. A scrog will usually yield heavier than plants in tubs or pots because it maximizes the light for your plants.
If you grow hydroponic weed your yield will usually be higher than in soil and with a hydroponic system it will also mature faster.
The best way I know to estimate grow tent yields is by the lighting provided. A good grower will average a half gram per watt. An exceptional grower , who has everything dialed in my reach a gram per watt.
Usually they have been growing the same variety for a while and run CO2 and know exactly what their plants need. Some growers even exceed a gram per watt but this is very rare.
So assuming you have a 4×4 foot indoor grow tent with a 1000 watt HPS you could expect about 500 grams or about a pound. If you are new and just starting out your yields will likely be lower but this is a good goal to aim for and is entirely doable.
And Finally, What To Look For In An Indoor Grow Tent
Here is a video that covers many of the important points in setting up your grow tent. This one is a 2×4 gorilla grow tent kit from SuperCloset and it’s a beauty. You can find out more about this complete grow tent system here
Now you don’t have to buy this expensive of a grow room system to have a good crop but if you can come close to duplicating what you see here you will sure be on your way.
Recommended Indoor Grow Tents
If you watched the video you hopefully picked up some good pointers. I personally believe AC Infinity grow tents are the best around. They are expensive though.
If you are willing to take the risk a cheaper tent may be worth it. Maybe you are just starting out and dont know how long you will be growing.
I think Secret Jardin DarkRoom grow tents are a good second choice for growers on a limited budget. They cost less. I don’t think the quality is quite as good but buyers have given them very good reviews so if you’re on a budget they should work fine.
DARKROOM 3.0 DR150W, 59″ x 35″ x 79″
I want you to have a safe and successful growing experience. I think you will be wasting your money buying a cheap grow tent because they won’t stand up and many are unsafe.
I know some folks balk at the price of good indoor grow tents and do one of two things, either try to build their own or look for a cheaper alternative.
DIY Grow Tents
Yes you can build your own indoor grow tents using panda film and PVC pipe or lumber for a frame. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that will show you how. I built one and it worked, but it is a challenge to make it light tight and the panda film gets holes in it sooner or later.
Cheap Indoor Grow Tents
I have looked at cheap grow tents and have not found anything I can wholeheartedly recommend. Believe me I have looked at a lot and still not found a really decent quality cheap grow tent.
They all seem to fail in the same ways too. Many get good reviews at first, but later, after a bit of use, the bad reviews start flying in. So looking at where they fail will help us learn what to look for and what to avoid.
The most obvious problem point is the frame. Some cheap grow tents use plastic for the frame. Some others use metal posts but use plastic fittings to hold the posts together. Over time the plastic degrades and breaks bringing your grow light and fan crashing down on your plants. This is dangerous and poses a fire hazard too.
So look for a frame that is all metal and is strong enough to support the weight you hang on it. If you are going to buy a cheap grow tent you had better be prepared to reinforce the frame. If you buy a Gorilla grow tent you will avoid this entirely.
Grow tents also vary in the weight of the fabric used and how loose or tight it fits the frame. In fact some people have bought economy grow tents that didn’t fit on the frame at all and had no assembly instructions.
I have noticed there are significant differences in the quality of the Mylar reflective coating that is used. So look for heavy fabric with strong stitching and a good Mylar backing.
You will want indoor grow tents that are light tight. Vent holes and corners are trouble spots as are zippers without a flap over them. Unfortunately the only way to find out if your tent leaks light is to test it in a dark room with the grow light on. That means you are taking a chance with cheaper grow tents because you will have to buy them and set them up before you know if they leak.
Another thing to look at is the quality of the zippers. They all need to zip up in order to be light tight and a grow tent with a broken zipper is about as useless as tits on a boar. I have a farming background so you’ll have to excuse me, but I got your attention, didn’t I?
Grow tents are easily copied and there are a lot of brands out there. I suspect there are a few big Chinese manufacturers and a lot of rebranding is going on.
It is hard to tell when buying online how good the quality of some grow tents are. Unless you actually see one set up in a hydro store buying a grow tent becomes a big guessing game.
That is why I recommend buying a known quality brand like Gorilla Grow Tents. Yes you will pay more but your tent will last for many seasons and won’t fail on you in middle of a grow.
Whether you decide to buy an AC Infinity tent, build your own or take a chance on a cheap grow tent, good luck and happy grow tenting!
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