I am looking at getting an actual grow tent so I can get set up with a filter and such. I have 2 450w viparspectra reflector series lights. I know a 2x4 grow ten to would probably be best. Can I get by in a 4x4 tent. I could use the extra room. Do I need to have the light reflecting off all 4 walls? I would like to veg 5 non female plants later on. And would only flower 3 plants max at any time. I would like to put them against one wall and have the extra room to possibly grow later on if I get the hang of this.
This is what I am looking at. Which would be best for me?
Thanks
I’d almost always go with the bigger tent if you have room for it. I started small, then ended up buying a second tent. This hobby is so addictive and I don’t think I will ever have “enough” space lol
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Thanks. I had even looked at the 5x5. I just wasn’t sure if I needed the light to reflect off all 4 walls at once. If not, I can always add more lights down the road. I have a complete empty room to use. I would rather go bigger now than wish I did later. Just to make sure though. If I go bigger. I can still use my lights in just one part of the room for now?
Thanks
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Yeah and you can section off part of your tent with Mylar and just use the space your lights will accommodate
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Thanks @MattyBear, You seem to always bail me out 
I am going to get the 5x5 then. That will be more than big enough for me,even down the line.
For starters those 2 lights only give you 25 watts/ft² in a 4x4 tent which is not enough, but just because your tent is that size doesn’t mean you have to use all of that square footage…
I have a 5x5 tent with 3 of those lights your talking about. Plant and lights only take up half the tent…
Ironically enough, the buds are growing just as heavy on the side without the wall as compared to the ones with the wall
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@TDubWilly, That is a sweet looking plant.I haven’t seen one done like that before. I ended up ordering a 4x4. I thought about the fact that I would only be doing a 3 plants at a time for the most part. A 2x4 would have done me fine. I am going to do as @MattyBear mentioned and use Mylar to divide the tent for now. I am still super new at all this and finding I need more and more as I go along. I didn’t want to get a small tent and then find I really like growing. Then would have wished I would have just got bigger than I needed to start. I really liked that I can get to the sides too. More than likely I will have to put a small heater in there real soon. We went from our normal mid 40s to low 30s.
This is what I decided to go with. I was looking at tents that had different sized holes in them since I haven’t looked to see what size I will need for a charcoal scrubber or fans. I did check this tent out on youtube. It looks to be made pretty well from what I can tell.
https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Hydroponic-Observation-Window-Growing/dp/B01731MNJE?tag=greenrel-20
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I have that same tent in a 3x3. I have very few pin holes. Very happy with it for the price. I would suggest you go with a 6" exaust fan/filter for a 4x4.
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If you are growing in a cold climate (I’m in MA) in a basement style setting you will need a way to manage the temperature (heater) as well as the relative humidity. Be prepared to invest in both a humidifier and a dehumidifier. When you get to the point of purchasing these things, ask, because most of us have failed a few times so our trial and error can help you pick the right appliances for your grow. 
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Thank, both of you. I was going to ask about a fan/filter since I am just starting to smell the plants a little. Normally. Temps are not an issues here in Cali. It has just been the past 2 weeks. I do have a small heater but am going to look at a smaller one for in side the tent. I saw where others use a reptile heat controller to regulate heat. I am on a budget again since this ended up costing way more than I planned. Not a bad thing. Just un expected. I was looking at small dehumidifiers on amazon for about 35.00Do you guys think that would get me by for this first grow. I plan on getting a dehumidifier for the room before the next grow. Just seems all my bills come at the beginning of the year. This is what I was looking at. I have never used one so I have no idea what to look for. I am setting the tent up when I get it in a room that has A/C if needed once the weather gets warmer. Also, for fans. Any recommendations there?
I almost forgot. I can’t run an line out side for venting air where I am at. Is it bad to just have it exit out in the room? My hopes are to get the tent set up as correct as I can from the get go.
Thanks
I ordered the vivosun grow tent. it looks like I may have one issue. Most of these tents look as though they were designed a long time ago and for HID lights. For LED lights it looks like I may loose half the use of the tent since the exhaust ports are in the middle of the tent where my lights need to be. There is one port of the top of the tent. How ever, I can’t cut a hole in my roof to use that one. I really need a port in the rear side so I can have the exhaust exit directly out the side. So, How do you guys work around this? I will only have about 4" between the top of the tent and my roof. I get the tent thursday and am trying to figure every thing out now so I can have it set up and ready to use by friday if possible
I have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M9E10HP?tag=greenrel-20
…it has the following port configuration:
I also have this tent:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H9O6UJ0?tag=greenrel-20
Which has the following tent configuration:
The first one is like $80 bucks and was a super PITA to put together - a lot of the rods had too heavy a coat of paint so they wouldn’t fit together easily. They required a lot of force. It also has zippers that bind up on the seams a lot. Super annoying.
The second was like $110 bucks. It has a little more flexibility in the ports, was super easy to put together with no issues, and the zippers are bomb proof on it. In retrospect I wish I hadn’t tried to save $30.
In both my tents I have intake on the bottom front (veg tent on the left, flower tent on the right). In both tents I have my exhaust fan going out of the corner ceiling ports on the opposite side of the tent.
On my veg tent I didn’t have any real room for duct work above the tent so I actually have the fan sitting in the actual port sleeve with no ducting at all. I have one of those in-line Vivosun 230cfm fans in there. On flower I have top rear corner ports on both sides, so that tent is designed how you’d like it to be, I think.
I’d return it and find one with the ports you want unless you have plants that desperately need to go in there right now.
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This is the one you ordered right?
If that were my tent and I didn’t have any room above the roof of the tent I’d vent out of one of those side ports. I’d hook up my fan/filter in the center, top, back of the tent and just run flexible ducting around the back inside corner and out the hole. I’d just make sure my intake port was on the bottom opposite side of the tent and that I had my fan in the back corner on the same side as the intake port.
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Thanks @Bogleg, Yours has the same issues as mine. Holes in the center. I was hoping not to have a bunch of bends since I have read it is noisier that way. It doesn’t make any sense for all these manufactures not to include a hole in the rear side. I am probably going to try and run it to the top and see how bad it is. I saw a article where some one made a false window so their exhaust could run out a real window with out being obvious. They only had a gap of what looked like 2’ or so. I have 4" clearance on my top. If it doesn’t look like it will work. I may try your way. I would buy some hard 90s to make it easier and cleaner. I will plan on using friday to set it up. I have looked and all the tents seem to be made like this. 
I can make this work… just seems un necessary. Fortunately. I only plan on doing 2 to 3 plants at a time for now since I am still green. After this grow. I am going to stay with auto flowers for a couple rounds. I think I could get by with less space then. The fact that I don’t have the tent yet makes it hard to know exactly how things will work out. The carbon filter is huge lol On the up side. The fan is really pretty quiet, even on full blast.
2 more days to go. My plants are growing fast enough now that I am really glad I invested in a tent
There is only a 10 day difference here.
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@MattyBear, @Rugar89, @TDubWilly, @TDubWilly, @Bogleg, @1449781946-wITN
Sorry for tagging every one. I am setting up my tent and can’t proceed with out an answer. I search and could find nothing.
Can I use a vacuum to clean out the inside of the carbon filter. It came with a small amount of charcoal both in the bag and in the canister. I got what I could out but don’t want to blow the rest out in my room. With any luck I can move the plants over to the tent later tonight or tomorrow night at the latest. After the fan & carbon filter are in. The rest will be gravy right?
Thanks guys.
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I can’t think of a reason you wouldn’t be able to vacuum it out
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Sorry for the late reply’s. I figured it should be safe but with the amount of charcoal over all. I was concerned. It came to me shortly after posting to just take the assy out side and run the fan for a few minutes. I fell pretty good. So far all is good. Temps are up around 76 and humidity is way down. From around low 80s to 46 right now. I have the humidifier running direct so it can go off and on as needed. The rest is all on a timer. This is what I ended up with for right now. I can adjust things over the next week if needed. I think all the plants will be much happier now. I am also going to stop adding nutes. The leaves are getting burned like they are getting to much. I think the miracle grow perlite is the issue there. I bought some better stuff to use for the next go round.
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Looks great!
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Thanks for all the help guys. After one night. i see it is going to be a lot easier to keep the temp and humidity in check. I am going to take a chance and change my lighting schedule back to on during the day and off at night now. I will leave them in 24hr dark before doing the change. I want to do that so I can just leave the bottom air intake open all the time. As it is now. I would have to get up at 6am each morning to close the opening and then remember to open it again in the evening. I still need to make legs for the trays the plants are on. I am using a few of my qt. jars right now. All in all. I am very happy I decided to get this and every thing else. it is going to make things a lot easier. Seems I strayed pretty far from the simple CFL grow I intended.
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Addictive hobby! Glad you’re enjoying yourself bud