indoor First Grow Tent Setup: Lights and Ventilation for 2x4

Do some more research Sergeant. You may be surprised at the performance of the next gen LEDs.

Got the plants below ticking away nicely at 100W (6W/sqft). Growth is steady and plants are thriving.

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Not at all. Most of the new LED chips are pushing out higher lumens at the same rating. Easiest way to explain is the comparison I did with the Hipargero. The Samsung chips had 60% more light output at same power draw so instead of using a 200W light a next gen 120W will do the same job. Not sure on what chips the Mars are using , but Id be surprised if they not similar tech to the Samsung.
 
They quoted their grow areas as 2x2 and flowering as 1.5x1.5 on the amazon link that was in this thread. Thats where I got those numbers from. I doubt they would under advertise in this case.
 
Much of the space advertising is geared to cash crops that need much higher PPFD for a descent haul. Chillies require far less and Im fairly certain than running say 200W in a 4x4 will scorch leaf tips and leaves will show signs of sunburn.
 
This is why I say do some research. Someone may have real experience with these units and growing chillies. I have found they use Epistar chips and although not as good as the HLGs they are actually better for growth due to superior light spectrum.
 
Sergeant,
 I bought 2 of those lights for a 4x4 tent. I think it will be good to go. KAOS inspiration got me to pull the trigger and it was kinda proved in this thread that you can do a lot with lights that may be slightly underpowered. The pictures posted here are great results and very excited. I will post some of my own soon. 
 
KAOS said:
Much of the space advertising is geared to cash crops that need much higher PPFD for a descent haul. Chillies require far less and Im fairly certain than running say 200W in a 4x4 will scorch leaf tips and leaves will show signs of sunburn.
 
To Kaos point, im sure this will probably be true and that I overbought. I wasnt sure, but I figured I could use it outside the tent for more lettuce and things if need be. What I did know is that I only had one shot with the wife "signing" off on it, so it was tactical for me to end up with more than not enough :)
 
Kaos: this is a RANDOM question, but do you know the dimensions on the container you are using to grow the pepper i circled in RED? I ask because that plant size is what I envision for my pepper seedlings I will start over winter prior to transplanting to beds outside in the spring. I just bought 90 of the 3.5"x3.5" containers and now second guessing that I should have gone with the deep version (3.5"x5"). Thus my curiosity of the pepper container circled in your picture. Also, clever call out on the 2liter bottle that appears to be serving as a propagation dome!
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I hear you on the ‘doors open ... time to bolt’ lama. Good thinking.

Pot is 3x3x4(h) and plant is around 7” wide but note that roots are pretty full up in there

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With the ‘incubator’ it’s 2ltr top and bottom so wet and forget. Hydro solution and coco perlite. I see a purple reaper has just popped which is just great.

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that looks awesome!!! So do you use coco and perlite for all your growing in there? Then soak or water with hydro solutions? Im kicking around the idea of splitting my tent in half by making a shelf and separating it top and bottom since I bought 2 grow lights. This would essentially double my area, but not sure it would work as I hope. My thought is for pepper starts, lettuces, cooking herbs, and some overwinters. Thoughts on feasibility? I dont see images on the internet of people doing this really which makes me wonder if there is a reason not to....... My tent showed up today! Lights are still 2 days away though thanks to UPS :(  
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A bit of a wait gives time to plan (exactly what you doing).

Coco perlite only gets used for experiments or lightening up a heavy potting mix. I’m very much a dirt guy.

Your concept is feasible (I’ve considered it myself). Things to consider are your 1) distance from top of tent to light. You will need to reduce as far as possible without reducing cooling for light. 2) Distance from light to top of plants. Any less than 50cm and you going to have sunburn issues. 3) Getting the first two done and having enough space for the bottom tier. 4) Access to far corner of tent if it’s in two tiers. Last thing you want is to battle every time you water 5) On watering remember that by doubling your effective grow area you also double your soil surface are so humidity with be very high (like over 100%) after every watering.

It’s a good concept if you can get over a couple of issues and remember that plants grow so that 50cm headroom will very quickly disappear and you back to sunburn challenges.

I’m hoping your drivers are the adjustable ones (two small black grommets on the bottom). This will give you more options as far as setup, etc.

Good luck and post pics when you all set up.
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Sergeant Pepper said:
I wound up with a kingbrite led setup from Alibaba which wasnt much more than any of the Amazon lights. Waiting on delivery.
 
Nice. Did you go for Quantum boards or COBs?
 
I got these QBs:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Kingbrite-2019-hot-sale-Samsung-lm301h_62123272895.html

My peppers need to be transferred to bigger pots. I think Im going to grow them in coco instead of soil to avoid bugs.

I also picked up a fan so I believe I have everything in place ie lights, tent, fan, temp/humidity gauge, hangers, etc. I am worried my outdoor plants might have already gone dormant but I mean not much I can do there until everything is set up.

What I havent chosen is location!! Id love to put this in the garage instead of the basement but my garage can really dip in temp to the teens or single digits on bad winter days. I dont think the heat from LEDs or a mat will be able compensate enough for that.
 
Well I havent figured out how I will separate my tent yet, but I am still plenty excited. KAOS was right about the wait giving time to plan. I actually ended up sending my mars hydro lights back to Amazon. I ended up getting this one instead:
 
 https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Farmer-Samsung-Dimmable-Spectrum/dp/B07TS82HWB/ref=pd_cp_86_3/140-6064977-3507427?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07TS82HWB&pd_rd_r=a49e69e4-17ad-472c-bbcb-fa745237d886&pd_rd_w=Qo9ls&pd_rd_wg=EAVrB&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&refRID=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&th=1  
 
It wasnt cheap and probably not the best bang for the buck, but it seems very well made and the driver is a quality dimmable driver. The LED's are the Samsung LEDs. It seems to give out some pretty decent light, though I am not sure its sized well enough to utilize a 4x4 space, but the edges are just going to be for overwintering. I will have more to come, but here it is in usable form finally :)   (just in time too, my plants were dying in the cold outside)
 
setup.jpg
 
Well I havent figured out how I will separate my tent yet, but I am still plenty excited. KAOS was right about the wait giving time to plan. I actually ended up sending my mars hydro lights back to Amazon. I ended up getting this one instead:
 
 https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Farmer-Samsung-Dimmable-Spectrum/dp/B07TS82HWB/ref=pd_cp_86_3/140-6064977-3507427?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07TS82HWB&pd_rd_r=a49e69e4-17ad-472c-bbcb-fa745237d886&pd_rd_w=Qo9ls&pd_rd_wg=EAVrB&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&refRID=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&th=1  
 
It wasnt cheap and probably not the best bang for the buck, but it seems very well made and the driver is a quality dimmable driver. The LED's are the Samsung LEDs. It seems to give out some pretty decent light, though I am not sure its sized well enough to utilize a 4x4 space, but the edges are just going to be for overwintering. I will have more to come, but here it is in usable form finally :)   (just in time too, my plants were dying in the cold outside)
 
setup.jpg
 
Well I havent figured out how I will separate my tent yet, but I am still plenty excited. KAOS was right about the wait giving time to plan. I actually ended up sending my mars hydro lights back to Amazon. I ended up getting this one instead:
 
 https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Farmer-Samsung-Dimmable-Spectrum/dp/B07TS82HWB/ref=pd_cp_86_3/140-6064977-3507427?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07TS82HWB&pd_rd_r=a49e69e4-17ad-472c-bbcb-fa745237d886&pd_rd_w=Qo9ls&pd_rd_wg=EAVrB&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&refRID=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&th=1  
 
It wasnt cheap and probably not the best bang for the buck, but it seems very well made and the driver is a quality dimmable driver. The LED's are the Samsung LEDs. It seems to give out some pretty decent light, though I am not sure its sized well enough to utilize a 4x4 space, but the edges are just going to be for overwintering. I will have more to come, but here it is in usable form finally :)   (just in time too, my plants were dying in the cold outside)
 
setup.jpg
 
Fatalii_Llama said:
Well I havent figured out how I will separate my tent yet, but I am still plenty excited. KAOS was right about the wait giving time to plan. I actually ended up sending my mars hydro lights back to Amazon. I ended up getting this one instead:
 
 https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Farmer-Samsung-Dimmable-Spectrum/dp/B07TS82HWB/ref=pd_cp_86_3/140-6064977-3507427?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07TS82HWB&pd_rd_r=a49e69e4-17ad-472c-bbcb-fa745237d886&pd_rd_w=Qo9ls&pd_rd_wg=EAVrB&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&refRID=GGB6V6VFMBTC17WT05GQ&th=1  
 
It wasnt cheap and probably not the best bang for the buck, but it seems very well made and the driver is a quality dimmable driver. The LED's are the Samsung LEDs. It seems to give out some pretty decent light, though I am not sure its sized well enough to utilize a 4x4 space, but the edges are just going to be for overwintering. I will have more to come, but here it is in usable form finally :)   (just in time too, my plants were dying in the cold outside)
 
setup.jpg
If youre going for those you might want to have a serious look at the ones I purchased.
 
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