Tent or Closet DIY?

It's legal to do so, so I thought why not grow! I've quickly found out there is an overwhelming amount of info/opinions. The only thing I've done so far is buy a HGL 200 Diablo LED light (mostly because it was on sale haha).

I'm unsure if I should go with a tent in the chosen closet, or to DIY the closet into a grow room. Some dimensions of the space:

37" W x 17" L x 66" H

There is a shelf I could take out to get the height to 8 feet, but I would prefer to keep it and mount the fan+filter and store materials. I don't need to keep the closet door closed (it's in my gym) so I could position a tent half in/half out.

I think some of the appeal of a tent setup is easier ventilation with some sort of tent+fan+filter package. There's an inch and a half gap under the door (45 sq in) and I could cut a hole in the drywall above the door for the exhaust of the fan+scrubber (mounted to the shelf). This would require extending the shelf to the door, but should save me some money and look cleaner.

Would that be enough air movement for the space?
66" sounds like a limitation, but I'm also more concerned with quality than quantity. How limiting is it?
Was thinking two 5 gal buckets for the pots but that may further limit my space. Should I use different pots?


Interested to hear your thoughts and anything I'm missing - thank you for the help!

I did my first grow in a closet, I left the shelf, it came in handy.
Plus the pole was perfectly centered to hang my light from.
If you're going with photos then a tent would be better.
My closet door isn't the best and light would get in and that
was also my ventilation.
Small fan will move plenty of air around. Pot size is different
for everyone. I used a 2 gallon, doing a solo cup grow for fun now

Thanks for the feedback! Was going to put weatherstripping/foam on the door jamb to block the light air. Still haven't figured out how to stop the light at the bottom tho

Are you team tent or team closet for my first grow?

17" width is a little too narrow for my liking, and with good tents being under $150 I would ago ahead and grab a tent.

You could grow in that closet, but might as well have the extra space if you can afford it.

If I had a closet I would use it, mostly because the grow would be out of sight. Nothing wrong with a tent grow wise.

Your closet is a little narrow for my liking, but you could make it work easy. Height is not a problem with leds. Just train the plants short.

YnotHomegrow said:

Thanks for the feedback! Was going to put weatherstripping/foam on the door jamb to block the light air. Still haven't figured out how to stop the light at the bottom tho

Are you team tent or team closet for my first grow?

Click to expand...

i’m team tent but if you’re gonna put up a tent in your closet why bother also you can use something like this to stop the light coming from the bottom

I'd get a 2x4" and move the shelf up high enough to just fit a filter/fan on top. Hang the light from the shelf. Leave the existing 2x4" for a mounting point in case you need to tie some girls plants up. Could also hang a scrog net there using ratchet hangers for adjust-ability.

Use the closet without a tent. Your dimensions are extremely awkward but you can make it work if you have to. Size your light appropriately. If you can I suggest venting into the area above your closet. Your gonna have to exhaust that room.

Cut a hole right into the ceiling. As far as light leaks you should be alright if you weather strip. Ive never had issues with the little bit of light coming unbder the door

When I started, I was growing in a file cabinet stealth grow that was only 15” wide and something like 40” tall. Where there’s a will there’s a way. It’s a weed, it’ll grow almost anywhere.
Obviously in a space as cramped as that your yields won’t be huge, but it was still fun.

Your preference on if you want to spend more or save. But one thing to keep in mind is light leakage when in flower if doing photo. If you’re doing autoflower it wouldn’t matter

Your also going to need a lightproof intake of some sort. going to be a tight fit.

I'm not aware of ANY tent that'll fit in 17".

Mars recently added a 20" width 4' tent but even that won't fit in your space.

the door on your closet shouldnt leak crazy light. the issue is the bi-folding doors youll never get the light tight

The tent is going to piss you off the closet is a perfectly suitable frame to start with.

crimsonecho said:

i’m team tent but if you’re gonna put up a tent in your closet why bother also you can use something like this to stop the light coming from the bottom

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MSM6G9R/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_CC3FDPVYGSVX4W8618PA

Click to expand...

Bought it just now lol

This seems like a pretty good grow closet, but as others have said, you'll need to worry about exhaust more than intake. Venting into the crawl space above seems smart but do keep an eye on it since you'll be venting warm, humid air up there. The bottom door gap is great, put a brush strip over it on the inside and that will allow clean air to enter while keeping most of the light out. I use a cheap tower fan in my drying closet, laid across the bottom door gap, to keep the air moving. You could do the same to suck air into your closet, just elevate all the plants so that the air isn't blowing directly onto the leaves of young ones.

My current grow closet isn't really an actual closet, rather it's a small area of unfinished basement originally intended for storage. Instead of adding sheetrock & floating/painting, I opted for the plastic light-block tarps you can get at just about any local grower's supply shop. I then installed some of that thin bubble-like, mirror-ish insulation, followed by the tarp. My growspace doesn't fill the physical space entirely, so the outermost "4th wall" is only the tarp with one of those light-blocking zippers (again, the grow shop) for access in/out and no worries of light pollution. Maybe this helps with more ideas around perfecting your available space as best can be. Oh, and copious amounts of white duct tape to seal everything up nicely!

the pothead ingenuity. I've done the same before. Everybodies situation is different. A trip to a big box hardware store can do wonders.

riuTEMPriu said:

This seems like a pretty good grow closet, but as others have said, you'll need to worry about exhaust more than intake. Venting into the crawl space above seems smart but do keep an eye on it since you'll be venting warm, humid air up there. The bottom door gap is great, put a brush strip over it on the inside and that will allow clean air to enter while keeping most of the light out. I use a cheap tower fan in my drying closet, laid across the bottom door gap, to keep the air moving. You could do the same to suck air into your closet, just elevate all the plants so that the air isn't blowing directly onto the leaves of young ones.

Click to expand...

@craggin Make sure you vent all the way out the roof. Fuck didnt say that. DO NOT vent into the attic. Itll be mold paradise if you dont.

I'd go with a tent for maximum area and maybe use the cupboard for seedlings/clones etc.