Setting up my first Tent....and need advice.

As the title says I am setting up my first tent and need some advice. For the most part I think I understand most of it, here is the confusing part for me.

1. I will be exhausting out the top of the tent, where should I exhaust too? Really my only options are into the room the tent is in or out the window. If i vent out the window, is that a problem when winter comes, what would be the best thing to do?

2. I bought a humidity controller a Inkbird IHC-200, where would be the best place for the monitor reading probe to be located? Also the best locations for the humidifier and dehumidifier, one on each side, both in the center, side by side? Does it matter?

This is a start, I am sure I will have more questions tomorrow as I get further into the set up.

Thanks in advance!

Hot exhaust....Out the window is common.

Dehumidifier....often works best plugged into wall power, using its humidistat/settings.

Tent size?

5x5 tent.

OK out the window it is, what about when its winter and -10f outside?
Thanks for the reply Tint!

Glad to help. I'm not a pro, Just hobby.
What are your plans for lighting and cooling?

Common issues with outside exhaust are noise and odor.

I am starting with 1 315 CMH, for the first grow maybe 3-4 plants. Then going to add another 315 CMH, with the 2 I feel I can maximize my space. For cooling I got a 6in inline fan motor, I bought it locally at a grow shop, I can't think of the name but its rated at 400 cfm. Also have a 6in Hurricane clip on fan. I hope I answered your question

Thanks again.

Nice setup.
Temperatures, and humdity levels.
For me, managing and maintaining both can be a challenge.

My 3.5x3.5.

Clean setup Tint!

I also am concerned with temps and humdity. I am in Michigan and the weather here gets really stupid, really quick. Tomorrow after I get more put in I'll take a pic so you can tell me what you think.

Thanks.
At least you don't have blistering summers there....like I do here in
NorCal. Huge outdoor temp and humidity swings...110+ in summer. Winter a frigid 50 degrees. (sarcasm!)

Pop into the Michigan growers thread. See how others are setup in your geo area.

I run a $sealed$ room.

Hybrid 'tent' / room.

Thanks Man, I didn't know there was a Michigan growers thread!

Flatrate said:

Thanks Man, I didn't know there was a Michigan growers thread!

Click to expand...

This is what I had seen ....

https://www.rollitup.org/f/michigan-patients.105/

Flatrate said:

I will be exhausting out the top of the tent

Click to expand...

You reminded me that I was exhausting out the top of my tent ever since I got it but just recently changed it to exhausting out the side, eliminating one 90 and one 45 degree bend. It ran more than five degrees cooler at the top of the tent but a degree and a half (centigrade) hotter at the floor due to better mixing of the exhaust with the intake. Now I am trying to use a fan to bring cool air from outside to the intake. I am running 400w in a 2x4 with a 4in inline fan so ymmv.

Basically what I am trying to say is make sure to play with things because what works best for you is not always intuitive.

Well I made some progress today. Got the filter and inline fan motor set up, was going to hang the light, but didn't like the hangers I have so bought something else. Placed an Amazon order for the hangers, a fan controller, and light timer. Tomorrow morning after I get out of work I am going to go to Lowes and grab some supplies to vent out the window. Speaking of venting out the window, I found a 6" inline spring loaded damper, should I consider this? If so where should it be placed in the venting loop?

Since we are talking about fans, as said before I have the 6" Active Air (thats the name I couldn't come up with earlier) inline sucking thru the filter and out the top. I have the 6" Hurricane clip on going at the top of the tent blowing down, what should I do about intake? Just place a 10"-12" fan by one of the bottom vents?

Sorry about the rookie questions, I just decided to start growing 3 weeks ago. I was at work and out of the blue I thought "I should grow some bud", 2 hours later I was researching and looking to buy genetics.

Thanks again!

Flatrate said:

5x5 tent.

OK out the window it is, what about when its winter and -10f outside?
Thanks for the reply Tint!

Click to expand...

I'm growing in 5x5 tent in Alaska. I use dual bulb 2x315w cmh. Exhaust always out the window. Just a piece of useful info i learned tho: if you dont have an intake fan, make sure your intake air comes from opening at least 3x the size if exhaust fan. i had all bottom vents open after using 6inch intake passive (no fan) with 6 inch exhaust fan from AC infinity. Passive did great in cold months with 6 in 6 out, but nowthat its getting hot out i finally couldnt use multiple intakes anymore and added another 6 inch fan to my controller.
When lights are off, you could set a small space heater on low setting with a timer to run for a couple hours in the dark for added warmth if neeced.

Thanks AlaskaRob!

No problem. I saw you had cold climate also with similar setup, so i thought id chime in.

OK, a few more questions please?

I just did my first test hit with the light hanging, works good. Question. My ballast is on the outside of the tent, what is a safe surface to place it on or mount too? Damn thing got pretty hot. I was planning on utilizing a small wood end table I have floating around, just want to make sure what is safe.

Second, I just got a humidifier and tested it outside the tent, have yet to install it. Today I got to wondering about the mist getting in contact with the exposed CMH bulb?

Thanks again!

The ballast will definitely get warm for sure. The vibrations from the ballast can make noise if you put it directly on the floor also, letting anyone in an apartment or such know what you're doing. Something to keep in mind if it applies. The fact that you have a ballast that won't be in the tent is a great start tho! They generate extra heat that you'd have to control. A small wood table would be fine but put something under the legs of the table to dampen vibrations.
For the humidifier, don't worry about vapor getting to the bulb. Just don't have the humidifier spraying right at it and you should be fine. A humidifier shouldn't raise the humidity to a level over 50 - 55% relative humidity. Over 60% can cause roots to rot or buds to mold. Do you have a humidistat built into it? If so, just set it to 55 and you're good to go.
Funny thing is, in veg state you'll be fighting to keep humidity up, but in flower stage you'll be fighting to keep it down. Lol
That's my experience tho so far. Just had to get a dehumidifier finally because levels spike to 70% in my tent and can't afford to lose this crop. During veg, even with humidifier, I was fighting to keep it above 40%.

Adjusting the distance of your light from the tops of your plants will beimportantif you plan on not having it all the way at the top of the tent from the start. Having it at the top the whole time will make the plants stretch alot but less messing with it. Having it too close will increase intensity but can burn the tops of your plants with a quickness if you forget to raise it.
If you're going to have it lowered, cmh lights are different than other lights. Give a little extra room. Shoot for around 2 feet above the plants and hold your hand an inch or so above the tallest part of your plants. Wait 30 seconds. If it too hot for the back of your hand, it'll be too hot for them also. Instead of contstant raising, find where it gets a bit too warm on the back of your hand and then raise the light about 6 inches. That'll give them 6 inches to grow into before you have to raise the light again. Does that make sense?

Thanks AlaskaRob!

After running the light for a bit I checked on it and the ballast was hot, I just don't want any hazards with it sitting on the wood table. Also the ballast is dead silent with no vibration so I guess I am good there. The two most important people in my life live in this house, so safety is very important to me.

I bought an Inkbird IHC-200 to regulate the humidifier and dehumidifier, I just haven't got the dehumidifier yet, will get within a week or so. When summer hits here the humidity is 70%+.