First time attempt

Hey all. Ive been reading a lot on this forum for a bit and now that my wife is onboard, and its getting closer to being legal here in NY, I’ve ordered up the bulk of my indoor setup. Plan is to hopefully be successful at getting 4 plants started next month to be transferred to outdoor, and start up 4 more when they are moved out to live life as indoor plants.
What i have coming is a Vivosun 4x4 tent, AC Infinity cloudline 6" w/ carbon filter, HLG 260xl ( will add another sooner than later ), FFHF medium, and all the other misc for ph, etc. Havent decided on nutrients or oscillating fans quite yet but will prior to needing them
Ideally I’d like this in my basement for these first 4 plants. However, my concern is how cool it stays down there which is right at 60 degrees and around 35% right now. Do you think the LEDs will warm the tent enough or will I need another source of heat/ put it on the 2nd floor? Will the carbon filter system draw enough fresh air through the intake or do i need a separate fan on the intake side? Do you feel that carbon filter will eliminate the smell enough not to smell it in the house? Thats important. I don’t want any guests to know. I can vent it out a dryer vent in the basement if need be and thats where I setup.
Thanks a lot for all the great info and any advice you may have.

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I can only relay what my experience has been regarding heat from the lights. I am growing in Ohio in winter and can’t stomach the idea of dumping all the exhaust outdoors. I routed the tent exhaust into the same room the tent was/is in. The whole winter season I’ve been fighting high temps - like 76-78 degrees in the bedroom. I had to add a dehumidifier to the space early on, and it controlled humidity but also added to the temp issues. Short answer is, I think you’re going to be ok for temps in the basement. If anything, your problem will be where to dump the heat come April.

The carbon filter will completely resolve the smell issue. If it doesn’t you need to look for a better filter.

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Thanks for sharing your experience! That makes me happy it sounds like temps wont be an issue in the basement for the plants.
My basement stays around 60 degrees all year. Its an old stone foundation. The biggest change will be humidity. It gets high down there. My thought was to move it into my garage once outside temps allow and this first batch gets planted outdoors

Hi @Khaos850 welcome to the neighborhood. I have kinda the same tent fan setup and it was good with passive intake (no fan) when I had a couple smaller lights in it but once I upgraded I had to run the exhaust much higher to keep it cool and I was afraid the tent was going to implode :laughing: the 6" up high would suck the sides in real bad and I’d seen other tents with the poles mangled I decided to get two of the 6" booster rexial fans from ac they’re like 30 bucks to use for intake now I can blow the tent up like a balloon :laughing: I think a couple 4" rexial fans would be plenty… I don’t think your light alone will keep your basement warm enough and i would recommend a humidifier and you might need a dehumidifier. You’ll find that you spend the 1st half of your grow trying to get the humidity up then the second half trying to keep it down, I live in the desert and can get away without having a dehumidifier because our rh is below 20% a lot of the time… I also recommend putting something under your tent because the cold floor will probably be an issue keeping your soil to cold and affecting your grow…

I grow in living soil using Earth Dust it’s a premixed product of dry organic amendments you simply mix into the soil then top dress twice for flower other than that you water no need to ph the water as long as you have decent water source. Thegreensunshineco dot you know what is where to find more information on it if you are interested in it. It’s the easiest cheapest way to I’ve ever grown weed.

Hope this helps you out, Good luck :+1:

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Hey @Khaos850. I am battling the cold temps down here in Texas. Not so much as you up in NY. Because of our summer heat I’ve been only growing indoors during the winter months. And to keep temps warm at night my lights go on at midnight and off at noon. Regulating temperature in my tent.


I use my 6” exhaust with carbon filter inside the room that the tent is in. Because the outside temps are currently at or below freezing. I draw air from around my windows and vent on the other side of the room about 7 foot down the stairs. Once outside temps go above 45 deg. I move my vents and pull air from outside window.
If you are preparing for a summertime grow you might clone your mother plants over the next month or two. Since you are vegging your plants adding a humidifier can help increase your temps inside the tent. Keep and eye on the VPD so your plants stay healthy.

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Great info, thanks! Thats a good point about the floor! Ill definitely get it up off of it a little ways.
I already have a humidifier. As for a dehumidifier, I plan to put a unit in the basement this year to try and control the rh in the house so I’ll wait and see what that does to the tent before I add one inside.

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Thanks @LateNightGardner! That temp/ rh chart is a great reference point. I think I’ll fire everything up while they are germinating and try to dial it in before they go in.
I don’t think I mentioned feminized WW and AK47 from ILGM will be my first strains.

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I wouldn’t add a dehu until you’re sure you need one. You can get one and install, all in the same afternoon - so no need to get preemptive.

MeEasy is right about the slab insulation. One or two 4x8 sheets of foam board below the tent will do wonders for the temps inside the tent. There’s a world of difference between the growth rate below 70 and at mid-70’s. Humidity is nice, but mid to high 70’s temps are the bomb.

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@DrWoo the reason I mentioned getting a dehumidifier was for reasons other than my tent. The moisture gets pretty excessive in summer and makes things swell/ move in the house. But maybe the tent will help that from its intake?

Doubtful. If you have a humidity problem in the basement exhausting doesn’t help that much. Trust me, it’s what I do for a living. Get yourself a 50-70 pint dehumidifier, set to 45%, and drain automatically into a floor drain or sump pit. If you don’t or can’t set it to drain itself don’t waste your money. You’ll never empty the bin frequently enough.

I give that same advice several times a week, but always having been in the basement. It holds true for 90% of basements. Let me know if you think yours is particularly out of the norm and we can discuss different options.

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@DrWoo that was my plan, right into a floor drain. Thanks again

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Welcome to your new happy place :blush:
I also live in ny and with the crazy weather I had to get dehumidifier and humidifier.
Fill one empty another. I am not in basement anymore, but cut a hole to exhaust to the basement. I wish ny would get the ball rolling on legal grow.
Good luck. Have fun

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I don’t know what kind of seeds you intend to plant, but I’ve found that for my autos, the best way to control the heat is by doing my lighting 6/2, 6/2, 6/2 on/off schedule. Still 18/6 but just spread out. It made a huge difference in climate control for me.

Also, for nutes I’d recommend Grow Dots. They are pretty new, but everyone I’ve seen using them have great success. So that’s what’s in my grow. I’ve currently got one plant in coco and perlite only - and that’s what she’d “eating”. (Plus microbial stuff - Recharge and Fish Sh!t, and some MagiCal.) She is 3 weeks old and going gangbusters.

Good luck on your first grow! I have the opposite humidity problem - I’m growing in a bedroom and have three humidifiers going around the clock.

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I didn’t even know you could do this with the light schedule… mind blown :exploding_head: lol thanks for sharing… I am also in the basement in NY with a similar setup… currently I just have 1/2” interlocking mats on the concrete and they seem to be working well so far… I also have space heaters if needed

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Yeah, I picked the schedule up here - I was complaining of having trouble controlling temperatures. So far my girls are really happy, and I’m not getting ridiculous temps any more.

I do not think this would work for photos, but I have no experience with them. It just seems logical seeing as how they want a 12 on/12 off for flowering - like would happen outdoors.

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@beachglass thanks! Yes it would be nice to see some movement towards becoming legal. It would settle the nerves a tad.

@SnkeyezCobra nice to hear from someone in a similar situation! Great idea of the mats! I think they will be sufficient for my basement. Ill start with them before spending a bit of money on 2" board. Crazy how expensive it is. Although I will need to get some anyways as i use it to winter over my bees.

@Fiz thanks for the info! My WW and AK47 will be photo seeds and will be transplanted into the woods during veg hopefully in late May if weather cooperates. Then I plan to move my tent into the attic of my garage to start another grow immediately after.

Yes I agree it’s nice to meet people in similar situations… I have my laundry downstairs so I bought a bunch of them to warm up the floor last year and had extras and they worked great… yes I’ve been trying to keep my wallet in check also… but I want the best for them soo… lol it does add up quickly haha… also I have the sour D seeds not used them yet… I have the ak47 photo right now you can check my log if you like

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Heck yeah! Ill check yours out for sure. Thanks a lot

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