Growing in a tent without A/C

NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
Im new to this forum and this is my first post, so thanks in advance for any help. Ive recently invested in a 4x4x6'4 grow tent, a 1000w dimmable lumatek ballast, a 600w ushio hps bulb and a 240 cfm exhaust. Ill be using a soil medium, comprised of FFOF, perlite, vermiculite, and Happy Frog Fertilizer. I also have FFHF potting soil for my vegetative stage. I have my tent set up in a shed outside, and I was hoping to have a couple successful grows before I build an air conditioned grow room in my garage and buy a c02 generator. It is July right now so as expected, I can't keep my temperatures low enough for a successful setup. I know Ill probably have to wait till it cools off to start a grow, but I was wondering how many people grow in a tent with a fresh air intake, and what is the best way to maintain an environment in these conditions? Problems I expect to encounter are fluctuating humidity and temps. I don't think I'll have a problem with heat in the fall/winter because my fan is pretty oversized for my grow space. Im hoping I will be able to maintain a fairly consistent growing environment with a dehumidifier and a heater set up to a temperature and humidity monitoring control switch. Once again thanks for any help
 
ZOMBIESxWEED

ZOMBIESxWEED

Active Member
The only thing fans do is move air. It may lower ambient air temp 2-3 degrees but it wouldn't be enough to combat the heat an HPS puts out. Seeing as you're in the Southeast I'm assuming it's pretty humid where you are. Personally I'd try to invest in a cheap portable AC that doubles as a dehumidifier. Even if you were to use LED your temps are still going to be above 90 in a small tent (roommate experienced this). If your temps remain in the 85-90 range your plants will either be seriously stunted or they simply will not grow.
 
NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
Yeah that's the answer I was expecting. I've pretty much drained my bank account for now, so if I was to wait till the temp cools off outside, how hard is it to keep temps up with a heater?
 
NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
Its sounding like Ill have to move my set up into my closet till I can save up for a a/c unit, co2 generator, and lumber/insulation. If I was to move to my closet, would my plants be getting enough fresh co2 to grow?
 
G

Grown ups

Member
i wouldnt worry about keeping temps up in the winter much as plants can withstand sum cold as long as roots dont start freezing, i would keep pots off the floor and lay carpet down upside down on the ground and bubble wrap your pots they keep heat in. i wouldnt worry about plants til the temps dropped into the 40's it's colder at night so run your lights on in the night and the sun should keep temps up in the day. GL bro
 
NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
Well that's good to hear. If I was to move into my closet until the heat goes down, would I run into problems with air/C02 circulation? I would like to avoid cutting an exhaust hole in the ceiling if at all possible
 
ZOMBIESxWEED

ZOMBIESxWEED

Active Member
Don't worry about CO2 for your first grow, or until you have enough money to buy the CO2 setup. I did but then again I had some extra income. CO2 PPM in the regular atmosphere is enough for a good healthy harvest. CO2 is really only used to beef up yield for greedy bastards like myself. Your main concern should be temperature, humidity, and SPACE FOR GROWTH. Learn from my mistake on the adequate space part. Also, I'm not sure about a 600w, but my 1000w HPS in a 5x5x8 tent will raise my ambient temp from 75 to damn near 100 without the help of an AC.
 
beardo

beardo

Well-Known Member
Just put some gatorade in your nute mix so that the plants get their electrolights that way the heat doesn't affect them
 
ZOMBIESxWEED

ZOMBIESxWEED

Active Member
Seriously, quit trolling. It's bad enough that newbs like New Green and myself stress over every little thing when it comes to our first grows, to have shit advice given by a "Marijuana EXPERT" is completely uncalled for and it shows no class.
 
ZOMBIESxWEED

ZOMBIESxWEED

Active Member
NewGreen92 said:
If I had a sealed room with a/c wouldn't I need some type of co2 generation though?
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My tent remains sealed when lights are on and I only run CO2 for half that time (bottled CO2 every week ain't exactly cheap). Even when CO2 is not running my PPM stays at a steady 350-400 which is enough for your plants to maintain healthy growth.
 
ZOMBIESxWEED

ZOMBIESxWEED

Active Member
Are you going to have the A/C unit sitting directly inside your tent? I'd try to find a unit that sits outside your tent and duct it inside. Your A/C will be pulling air from outside the tent, cooling it, and blowing it in cold with plenty of CO2.
 
beardo

beardo

Well-Known Member
ZOMBIESxWEED said:
Seriously, quit trolling. It's bad enough that newbs like New Green and myself stress over every little thing when it comes to our first grows, to have shit advice given by a "Marijuana EXPERT" is completely uncalled for and it shows no class.
Click to expand...
Actually I am an expert, I know a lot, like that it's bad and none of you people should be doing it, so I'm here to give advice that will kill or ruin crops to help keep people from growing this stuff and discourage them from doing it, I am doing my part to keep people from doing weed
 
NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
Im sorry if my posts are confusing my mind has been all over the place with ideas. I could set up in my closet and vent exhaust into my attic, which would pull in enough fresh air, but idk if that will be an option. Plan B is waiting until it cools down and seeing how well I can control my temps at night. My plan for the long run is building a 10x16 room in my garage, insulating it and buying a window unit(cheapest option). I understand that a window unit doesn't bring in fresh air, just cools the sir in the room, so I was assuming I would need some type of c02 generation. Please let me know if I'm on the right track with this or if my thought process is flawed. Most of my "knowledge" is just based on forum surfing so Im sure I could use all the advice I can get from experienced members
 
E

Edgar9

Well-Known Member
1000 watt dimmable ballast dimmed down 50% with a 600 watt bulb won't get you the full spectrum out of the bulb.
 
NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
I was planning on cooling the whole room outside the tent and using my fan to circulate the air, but I didn't think about ducting the ac to the tent
 
NewGreen92

NewGreen92

New Member
My ballast has a 240w, 600w, 1000w and "super spectrum" settings, so I plan on setting it on 600w to keep the spectrum right.
 
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