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 beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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 Building own tent 
#832079 - 03/06/18 05:37 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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Hi there. New to the forum. I've ordered some seeds and I wanna build my own grow tent. What is the best fabric for it and where can I get it?
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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 Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832081 - 03/06/18 06:54 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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Well after some serious search I found dubious quality material in ebay/AliExpress, some of which is announced as reflectors for photographic setup. I found here Mylar where you may order some but not to Portugal.
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 Deadkndys420
Registered: 08/28/12
Posts: 8,703
Loc: █████
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832082 - 03/06/18 07:11 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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I built one for a grow once. I just used black tarp covering from Home Depot. And i also just built a simple frame. Mylar would be a good addition to get maximum reflection. You're definitely gonna want to use an air cooled hood. And also some holes for your ducting.
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Data
That Guy
Registered: 08/12/08
Posts: 4,035
Loc: Southwestern US 
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I've seen a lot of people build frames from 2x4 lumber. You can build the frame to support heavy items like the lights, fans, filters, etc...and then use roofing nails or staples to affix mylar to the inner surface of the frame.
PVC frames can also work if you are looking for a small tent. You'll probably have to rely on tape in order to attach the mylar, as the curved surface of the PVC pipe can be a bitch to nail/staple into.
One important thing to keep track of is that this tent needs to block all outside light. Light leaks can fudge up your flowering period. When using nails/screws/staples/etc. to attach the mylar, you'll be poking holes in your light barrier. Some metalized ducting tape from your local hardware store can help patch these holes. You can find these holes by turning on a bright light in your tent, closing up all openings, and looking for light leaking through from the outside.
And like Deadkndys said, make sure to leave holes for your ventilation ducting, and an air-cooled hood is well worth the cost.
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“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you” -NDT
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: Building own tent [Re: Data] 1
#832089 - 03/07/18 05:19 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
 Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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yoosername
Strange
Registered: 06/09/17
Posts: 770
Loc: Somewhere under the Sun
Last seen: 8 hours, 23 minutes
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Re: Building own tent [Re: phychotron]
#832096 - 03/07/18 10:40 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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I built a 4x8x7 tent a while back.
2x2s for the frame and 2x4s for the edges. Sealed hoods and scrog net.
Get black and white poly to wrap it, easy to clean and quite reflective. You can get a 10x100' roll for $70 on amazon. Secured with staples, sealed with tape. Furnace filter intake, taped in place on one side. Plastic flaps and tape for any light leaks.
You can get zippers in the paint section of hardware stores, you may want to reinforce the adhesive with epoxy/tape.
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: Building own tent [Re: yoosername]
#832100 - 03/08/18 07:40 AM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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The problem with poly is that its a bit too thin and needs support like cardboard backing. Staples end up ripping out and needs patches. The link I posted is mylar over bubble wrap for support. Its a bit more rigid. The garden usually will be under negative pressure and the walls sucking inward is not ideal.
BTW a cheap 4x4 grow tent is only like $80 on ebay. thick black cloth outside, mylar inside, light proof, zippers, windows, vent holes. All the bells and whistles. 4x8 is like $200. Just gotta shop around and make sure they didn't go full cheap (some are not light proof around the zipper, small vents, etc)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LAGarden-4x4x6-5Ft-100-Reflective-Mylar-Window-Grow-Tent-48x48x78-Hydroponic/381832672731?hash=item58e70035db:g:uK0AAOSwubFaXm~p
Cheap tents can be a bit flimsy for really heavy equipment, so if you started with the shell and reinforced the frame with 1x1's in the future as needed you'll save a bunch of money than if you buy a tent for 3-4x the price with thicker poles. My $200 4x8 help up for about 4 years with a bunch of heavy LED's at the top. The only reason I got rid of it was because a dog peed on it. The poles get slightly bent over time but that was never an issue.
https://www.growery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/824904
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: phychotron]
#832108 - 03/08/18 08:08 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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The place I wanna squeeze my tent into is 5.3 feet high. I am thinking about 6 feet in both lengths. The scaffolding will be PVC tubes. Would 1-1/4 inches diameter tubes suffice?.
To cover light I am gonna use a rain protection for garden tools.
I want to use permaflect but it's too expensive. About that reflectix it seems similar to the heat reflecters house insulators I have seen in local stores. Is it identical to mylar? Also where I live most US sites don't ship.
So I need to poke a couple of holes in the ceiling to support the apparatus. I will need to get busy.
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832116 - 03/09/18 09:03 AM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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I've never used PVC but that should work. I've wanted to build a dome out of 1" pvc, the stuff is pretty strong. Wood might be easier to mount things to. Lumber is pretty cheap.
You should be able to just put an L bracket on the ceiling with a few wall anchors and work with that for mounting a pole. OR get a 2x4 screwed to the ceiling as your bracket to screw more stuff into. It puts less holes in the ceiling that way.
The reflective stuff I posted is mylar over bubble wrap. Its house insulation. "emergency" blankets are mylar sheets (aluminized polyester) but are really thin and need a backing (glue to cardboard?). Might be the cheapest way to go.
You'll want an instrument/control panel for all your power outlets and switches and stuff. Best to have that outside the room for easier access.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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PotsandPans
Stranger
Registered: 03/11/18
Posts: 10
Last seen: 6 years, 5 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: phychotron]
#832137 - 03/11/18 01:39 AM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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Hello everyone, looks like i found one of the places i was looking for. I know absolutely nothing.
I'm wanting to do the same exact thing, home made small tent, build it being frugal but thinking long term (and hopefully disassembly / reassembly in mind, i have a move coming up and possibly a few after that). I'm good at building stuff.
So - i can build a wooden frame, like a 4x4 or 4x8 tent.
On the frame i can wrap reflective Mylar around the inside stapling it to the wooden frames. I can cover these staple holes with reflective tape by placing a light inside and closing tent and looking for holes.
I can mount lights and what not by screwing through the mylar into the supports.
What's a hood? What kind of ventilation do we need so i can determine my holes size and locations? What about humidification (requirements and setup)? filtration on the ventilation? etc etc
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Deadkndys420
Registered: 08/28/12
Posts: 8,703
Loc: █████
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Re: Building own tent [Re: PotsandPans]
#832140 - 03/11/18 12:32 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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I would look into drilling some holes and use some bolts instead of screws. Just seems more feasible if you're looking into reassembling it. And a hood is a light fixture. How big is up to you. I know a 400 watt has two 6 inch holes usually. You'll have a fan sucking out the hot air and blowing it outside the tent. If odor is an issue you can use a carbon filter as well.
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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So i made a lot of research and finally found a good supplier near me. I am not building the scaffold in pvc but in wood. I already made a wood scaffold cube 1.7x1.7x1.7 feet, to harbour the seedlings. still need to cover it. I ordered a 125 watt fluorescent bulb 6500k for the incubator. I am going to cover the cube with thin prensed wood, covered with reflective surface. Need to drill a hole in the top and in the side to have some ventilation, in a way that no light will get in at night. The seedlings will be exposed to a normal 18/6 vegetative cycle. Going to dilute the nutrients 1/4 of recommended normal vegetative growth. I have ordered sensi growth for coco.
The main tent will be 4.7 long, 5.4 tall and 3.3 feet wide.
Going to start with 3 seeds of critical auto, with a 250 watt, 6500k MH lamp. The supplies should arrive next week. When i can i will post photos.
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832353 - 03/31/18 05:41 PM (6 years, 7 months ago) |
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I got my seeds on the jiffys and the incubator is almost finished. covered thin wood boards with silver light reflective paper and nail them to the cube. I tested temperature with a 25 watt lamp and it remains to roughly constant around 25 celsius. Humidity around 48 %.
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832367 - 04/02/18 04:51 PM (6 years, 7 months ago) |
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My first seedling is popping up. I filtered the water with a pro gardening filter, but still waiting for the pH/EC measurer, which i bought in groho,a local supplier. Now i need more prensed wood boards to go for the main tent. Still need to work on the ventilation of the incubator, which will be essential when seedlings show a couple of leaves.
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832372 - 04/03/18 09:51 AM (6 years, 7 months ago) |
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Got some pics of my progress so far
  
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beadyeyes
Stranger
Registered: 03/05/18
Posts: 15
Last seen: 6 years, 6 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832389 - 04/05/18 04:35 AM (6 years, 7 months ago) |
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After much consideration decided to buy a stealthy pure tent, 80cm×80cm×180 cm. A lot of problems arised when i was planning the tent in the paper, also the cost was much higher. I did bought the wood for the scaffold and half the plates to cover it, now i must cut my losses. I can use the stuff to repair the shed in the garden. Anyway the incubator was a sucess, my two seedlings are sprouting, the third remained silent. Since this is my first grow two de dlings are easier to manage. I will start with a 250 w hd lamp when i transfer them to the tent.for now they are in the incubator.
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PotsandPans
Stranger
Registered: 03/11/18
Posts: 10
Last seen: 6 years, 5 months
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Re: Building own tent [Re: beadyeyes]
#832487 - 04/11/18 06:50 PM (6 years, 7 months ago) |
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I did the same, I was looking at how much it would cost to build a stealth collapsible one, all the while not knowing $100 goes a loooong way on a vivosun tent. Can't build one that light and easy to set uo for that price
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BrewsnWeed
Stranger
Registered: 04/28/18
Posts: 4
Last seen: 6 years, 1 month
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Re: Building own tent [Re: PotsandPans]
#832867 - 04/29/18 03:41 AM (6 years, 6 months ago) |
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Can you add a step-by-step tutorial?
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