Hi, I’ve been lurking around for a while and mostly doing outdoor grows. I do have a custom setup in the garage which is okay, but lets a lot of light in which is a problem during flower…*
Bottom line, I’d like to get something that can grow two plants and is a little more professional than what I have. I’m not super handy or mechanically inclined, so I think I’d like a complete kit that is relatively easy to put together. Finally, Black Friday is almost here so perhaps a good time to buy?
One kit I had my eye on was: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B088STYP1X?th=1
MARS HYDRO 3x3 Grow Tent Kit Complete 150W TS1000 Dimmable Full Specturm 2.3x2.3x5.2FT Grow Tent Complete System 27"x27"x63"Grow Tent 1680D Indoor Grow Kit with 4" Inline Fan Filter Kit
It’s $293 which is a little more than I wanted to spend ($200) but perhaps that’s the best I’ll do. I’m certainly not wedded to this kit. I got the idea from from @Eastbound_E on another thread. In his defense, he was advocating for the Mars Hydro lights which is what we were talking about at the time, not necessarily the complete tent kits. So, certainly interested in different brands, price points, etc.
So my question is: Any recommendations for complete tent kits (<$300) that can handle 1-3 plants and are on Black Friday special right now?
Thanks!
P.S. Here’s my current setup for your amusement. As I said, not exactly light proof when you have to use a cooler, a box of firewood, and a box of Cat-5 wire to block off the holes. I suspect not being light proof is not a huge deal during veg, but you risk re-vegging the plants during the flower phase. The garage could be completely dark, which would solve that problem, but I can’t keep the wife and kids from entering and turning on the lights (and leaving them on :)).
That mars hydro 3x3 is a reputal brand and great price. Im running the ts600 in my 2x2 and just ordered the ts1000 to go with the 600w i have in the 4x4. Other brands like ac infinity are great but pricer although they may have black friday deals going on for there sets. Ive heard good things about spider farmer but havent tried the brand myself yet and may not try as im liking mars hydro for now lol
I have an ac infinity 5x5 and love the tent. I also have a ton of their other products and zero complaints from seedling heat mat to the exhaust fan. I don’t know if they have any deals but I would think they would. I also have their light for a 2x2 space and it honestly isn’t bad for a cheaper light. I’ve heard good things about Mars too. My only thing against them is I’ve heard their customer service can be an issue. But that was 2 years ago when I was shopping to be fair. I think as long as you stay with mars, ac infinity, or any of the big names I truly think you’ll be happy. Just know the upgrade bug is real, no matter what you get you’ll want to go bigger lol.
I just bought a spider farmer kit 2x4 tent sf2000 light I believe a couple months ago. So far I’m happy with it. The fan is quiet, the light covers the grow area well and provides adequate ppfd throughout. Material is thick with sturdy zippers. I never checked for light leaks… but I assume there aren’t very many… idk My plants are happy with it!
Fyi. That mars-hydro 2.3 tent kit you posted above is slightly cheaper on there website. Listed at $289, and if you add icanthc promotion code itll go down to $281. Its not a huge difference… but its something.
Also…I found out that if you find one on Amazon you like and the seller is selling it cheaper on their site , there’s a real good chance they will match it. I’m just putting it out there because you’ll get it faster and usually better tracking through them. I just went through it with Vivosun on my new tent. Not sure about the entire kit , but I got the 5x5 w/ peak and very happy with the size and room it provides.
I have more than enough room inside for the three plants I plan on starting after this harvest. There’s room for more but I’m weird and don’t like having things scrunched together.
I should mention I reached out to Amazon before buying from them about the price difference. I didn’t need to use it because UPS magically found it after filing a claim:rofl:. But you’d be better off ordering through Amazon in my opinion.
I am cheap but find the best deals on Amazon.com i bought 4x4x80 tent huge great quality no leaks awesome tent i use a 4in intake fan with carbon filter for intake air i am in basement so i dont nesd to worry so much about exhaust. Not worried about smell . I bought a bestva 3000 watt veg/bloom light that is plenty of light dor the 6 plants i have i also have a 400w led seperate for another grow area with no tent. I purchased a vivosun 4x2 by 60 inch but it is way too small to hang light and tobbe honest way to much comparison to this one i had to buy the 80 inch one and its 4x4 not 4x2 and 1/3 the cost. I am going to use the vivosun 4x2 for drying only
@Shepbigems
Just a recommendation…
I would start using an exhaust fan , even if you don’t run it with the filter(?) .
It helps control temp and humidity by the speed of the fan. If you want just use the one you have now as an exhaust and just have a passive air intake. With the size of your tent it would be enough air coming in , you can put the filter outside your tent if you wanted for room inside.
My new one is a 5x5x72 and using a 4 inch 230 cfm fan for exhaust and a 4 inch 195 cfm for intake.
I’ve been able to maintain temp and humidity within +/- 4 pont range doing it this way…plus they always have fresh air circulating.
I have this outside as intake clean filtered air then it blows over my plants i also have a standing oscillating fan on low the walls are blowing out but not too much pressure i was going to open the lower vet windows but dont want it to get too cold in there since we dont have heat in the basement the light warms it up perfectly its the rh that i need to dial in and will purchase my next grow
This is mine its in my basement also , I have 8 lights which put off heat so helps there. I use my exhaust to filter the smell ( I have none outside the tent ) . The pic outside gets hooked up to my dry box when in use , but always have the intake on and able to maintain a temp between 73-77 degrees and with my humidifier my RH sits at 50% but can go higher or lower depending on fan speeds.
If you want you can get something like this and place it outside your tent next to where your intake is which will help with the heat. I’m on concrete floors with just a piece of carpet over part of it , the back 1/4 of my tent floor sits on the concrete itself.
Just wanted to chime in a bit. 1 it’s much more important to exchange the air in the tent with negative pressure than it is to filter the air from your house before it hits your plants. If you really want an environment the plants will thrive in I’d exhaust before worrying about intake. It enables you to ensure only fresh air is in the tent. Prevents pockets of stagnant air. And allows you to regulate temp and humidity much easier. 2 those lights from home depot are honestly a waste of $ and electricity. They don’t add anything to the tent except on a very narrow spot that they are aimed at. And in my previous experience with them they need to be less than a foot off the canopy to provide the dli/ppfd needed by the plant. Even when I use those lights for seedlings at less than 12" the seedlings will still stretch, that’s how underpowered those lights tend to be.
Thanks for the advice im going to use them to point at rhe lower canopy areas i wanst relying on those and your right qnout electeic waist i added another 3000 watt shulz led to the 3000 bestva already there
Also i put my huge females in with the autos that have started flowering gonna run 12/12 for a bit then run it 18/6 after several weeks into flowering. I added the other 3000 watt light now i have 6000 watts lighting in this tent i think it will suffice… lol
If the female you put in there is a photo and you flip it to flower on a 12/12 schedule you need to keep it there until the photo is harvested.
If you start a 12/12 light cycle on a photo and switch it to an 18/6 during flower it will go back into veg… someone knows how to explain the results better but it’s not good. If it’s a auto just do an 18/6 schedule the whole time no need to change it with autos.
You can run autos on a 12/12 cycle almost daylight hours anyway and be fine…you can even run autos under a 24/7 cycle if you wanted. But you’ll be fine.
I’m gonna veg a photo and start 2 autos in mine starting around March then move the photo outside in April to finish up.
. But you’d be better off ordering through Amazon in my opinion.
