Hi everyone! I have a 2x4x5 tent, and moving from 24/0 to 18/6 in 4 days, the tent is and must stay in my bedroom, how do I cover it during dark period, when I have lights on while keeping the vents open for fresh air? I sleep from 11pm to 7ish, and was going to dark from 10pm to 4am. I know we all love pics, any suggestions are helpful. I will be moving to a 3x3x7 in a week.
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A cheap answer I heard earlier was just cover the tent
Thanks, but doesn’t it need fresh air? Covering it I get, but will the 2 -6" fans inside be enough for air?
I mean you can put a blanket over your head, you can still breathe right. You just mentioned light seeping in
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If you’re at 18/6 don’t worry too much about ambient light. The plants are still in veg.
When you flip to flowering 12/12, that’s when it needs to be 100% dark at lights out. This is where a dedicated exhaust fan with ducting through the tent sleeves, and a dedicated intake duct (with a light trap) become necessary.
@SKORPION (I thought it was funny).
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Wasn’t trying to be smart just humorous the point is covering and covering air tight are different.
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What tent is that? The passive intakes should be at the bottom, any chance you have it upside down? Cool air should be brought in bottom and exhausted out top.
Most common fix for your situation is to build a light trap around the intakes. You can get super fancy, or just make some modifications to a cardboard box. A quick Google search should paint a pretty clear picture for you.
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@dbrn32, that makes so much sense!! Walmart is where I ordered it from, vents at the top, they need to be at the bottom, no wonder I’ve been running temps in the low 80s.
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You should still have inline/duct fan exhausting the space, which would naturally bring air in those passive intakes if they’re open. But I believe if you were setup and had fresh air coming in bottom and exhausting out the top you would be in good shape.
@dbrn32 I have an infinity 4 inch exhaust going out at the top at the moment.how crazy I assembled it upside down …thank you!
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Unless the picture is upside down I think your tent must be. My eyes a not what as t they used to be.
The flaps should be in the bottom. They lift and roll up and Velcro to the top of the flap.
I took black ducting enough to make a S shape and feed it through the round holes that should be at the bottom lg for ducts small for wires. I put blue or black filter over the ends. I didn’t need a intake fan in my 3x3 just 2 ducts. In my 5x5 I have one with an intake and one without light should not go around the bends in the S. Works for me.
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You should have a couple of 6-inch passive intake holes at the bottom. I put a piece of 6-inch Flex in my hole. And put a couple of bends in it. So no light can come through the hole. Good luck.
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When they’re sleeping they don’t need nearly the volume of fresh air when the light/heat is on.
Outside, I used to cover plants directly with dark dyed sunblock polyethylene rolled plastic, once the sun was off the plants we were good to go. I see no problem just covering it with any light blocking suitable material, the only hazard is in your own punctuality removing the cover before or during the lights going on.
Isn’t the tent itself light blocking? Couldn’t you just cover any openings with passive ventilation in mind?
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Thank you everyone. It’s now flipped/correct, laughing what a newbie mistake. Dropped temp from 82 to 75! Much more confident on black out now. Yes, I looks like I just need to cover the exhaust holes now. I didn’t plan on adding a intake fan, just keep the 2-6" fans running at all times. I can add an intake, because I have a 4" and bought a 6" for the 3x3x7 that’s coming. I knew you guys loved pictures for a reason!
Just buy a package of panda film and drape it over the tent during the night.
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This is mistake in my opinion. You want to run inline fan as exhaust not intake, and have filter if growing in your house. The fans circulating sit inside won’t effectively replenish the co2 plants will use.
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You will need a inline fan to exhaust your tent and it will draw the fresh air in the bottom. The humidity levels will go way up once the plants get a little bigger. It will be ok for the first little while until they fill out a bit and then it will rain in your tent. Welcome to the forum! I just learned this lesson myself a couple months ago newbie to newbie!!
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