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

S

Sergeant Pepper

Hello
 
I wanted to start my first grow tent setup so I can bring my pepper indoors over the winter.  I live in NJ so I think I have to do this pretty soon before I lose them.  
 
I wanted to get a 2x4x5(or 6) grow tent.  I probably got a little carried away trying to look at grow tents and understanding what lights etc I need.  In fact, after reading around the pepper forums, I perused the weed forums to check out what those are doing because they take this extremely seriously.  I'm pretty sure their setups are at minimum mid to high hundreds of dollars but that's for cash crop.
 
So now I'm back to earth looking at what I'll actually be growing... peppers (yum).  But I did take away lots of interesting stuff about lights and ventilation from those guys and I was looking to validate it with you folks.  I was thinking about going with these lights:
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kits/products/horticulture-lighting-group-135-watt-quantum-board-led-kit?variant=28609484030004
 
I've owned some other grow lights in the past to grow peppers but I never got them to actually fruit indoor.  Flower yes... fruit no.  So this time around I didn't want to go ultra cheap then wind up with garage laying around the house.  Are these a good bang for the buck set of lights for growing peppers?  
 
Also those guys have ventilation system blah blah blah.  Is that necessary or desirable for peppers?
 
Is there anything else I need to get started?  I would love to do this in the garage so my wife doesn't scream but our garage is not climate controlled so it can get pretty cold in there over the winter but I'm not sure if the lights and/or a heating mat would be enough to make that happen.
 
Thanks!
 
Hey Sam
 
Nice light, but prob a bit of an overkill for a 2x4 (I'm assuming this is ft and not m)
All I have in my 4x4ft tent is a 120W Quantum Clone and a circulating box fan.
Heat from the light is sufficient to keep temp at about 22C.
Only issue is humidity spikes a bit when you have just watered and temps start dropping.
Otherwise it works just great
 
I will post some pics from Tapatalk later
 
China of course. Just do a search for lm561c or lm301b or quantum on Amazon or AliExpress.

If I had a choice Id get HLG without question but shipping to NZ makes it a no go for me.

To keep things really simple I work on 13W/sqft so in my tent (13 x 4 x 4 = 208W max)

Plants in the photos below all grew at 160W or less with the Quantum Clone.

Here are some pics of my setup

5785198ca161d9c68db7df5d6b834135.jpg


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82d285dcc4363ece1a978034a3f6b5b4.jpg


4abbfd7cb6f0d26a559f8098315b36a9.jpg


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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Pretty cool. Are you happy with the results? I generally dont trust buying on Ali* but I did a quick search and surprise surprise the results where all weed forums which pointed me to a trusted seller. After shipping its not much cheaper than an authentic HLG QB but it appears as you can get two boards about the same price as one QB through HLG.
 
I have not had the opportunity to test a HLG and it would be my first choice if $$ was not an option, but here are some numbers to consider (from a comparison I did)
 
Finally did some testing.
Compared this to a Hipargero and a SMD5730 test light I built.
Measurements were done at 50cm.
SMD5730 - 5700lux at 90W (63lux per W)
Hipargero - 15900lux at 200W (80lux per W)
Quantum - 15600lux at 120W (130lux per W)
 
w1.jpg

 
Forget for a minute the 5630 unit ... the Hipargero is a well reviewed light and the Clone was easily 60% more efficient.
Granted my instruments are not NASA grade, but it is a comparison using the same parameters.
Also this is the LM561c unit and the LM301b should be slightly better.
 
Overall yes I am happy. All the plants in the photos were grown in the tent under either a LM561c or a LM301b (I have a couple of units of varying spectrum)
 
Just to clarify the photo with the double White/Red is a LM301b 4000k and is rated at 240W (will push to 300W), but I ran it typically at 120W-160W in the tent.
Only reason is if you under-drive the Samsungs you get better lm/W so lower power bill (and they run much cooler)
 
KAOS said:
Just to clarify the photo with the double White/Red is a LM301b 4000k and is rated at 240W (will push to 300W), but I ran it typically at 120W-160W in the tent.
Only reason is if you under-drive the Samsungs you get better lm/W so lower power bill (and they run much cooler)
Click to expand...
 
KAOS,
can you possibly link to your quantum clone? I have been scouring the internet for data. Like the OP , I too want to get into this now. I am buying a 4x4 tent and cant decide what will be sufficient for growing fruiting peppers. I like the spider farmer lights too, but they arent cheap either and I doubt a spider farmer SF 1000 would be close to enough for peppers/lettuce?
 
I have used three variants 3000k / 3500k / 4000k. No particular reason except for testing.

All three worked equally well and currently I’m using the 4000k to see if I can improve on veg growth.

If had to make a choice for all year round growth I’d go with either the 3500k or the 4000k.

Granted most of the grow this season was with the 3000k it did result in slower initial growth and robust compact plants (woody stems at 8 weeks). Not great for starting plants but when the Amarillo started flowering it bust out really nicely. Had five pods formed when I moved plant out the tent.

I’m an outdoor fella so only tent for 4 months hence preference for higher spectrum.

1 x 240W 3000k / 660nm
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/trrIHiA8

1 x 120W 3500k (LM561C)
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/3cvOAscC

2 x 120W 4000k / 660nm (LM301B)
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/sao70vQs

Hope that helps a bit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Not sure on your question.

1. Do I know if theres a performance difference between a unit with 660nm and one without ... Cant say without a side by side comparison over a full season. If its a choice to buy one with or without Id buy one with 660nm or go down a notch on the K value (4000k to 3500k)

Or

2. What is the purpose of the 660nm in the first place ... If you after a light that will promote blooming then its a must. Either that or buy a light with a lower K value and live with a slightly slower more compact plant growth. This is my experience with these lights to date.
 
KAOS said:
Not sure on your question.

1. Do I know if theres a performance difference between a unit with 660nm and one without ... Cant say without a side by side comparison over a full season. If its a choice to buy one with or without Id buy one with 660nm or go down a notch on the K value (4000k to 3500k)

Or

2. What is the purpose of the 660nm in the first place ... If you after a light that will promote blooming then its a must. Either that or buy a light with a lower K value and live with a slightly slower more compact plant growth. This is my experience with these lights to date.
Click to expand...
Ah cool. HLG has “Rspec” lights. I was wondering what the hell those are in relation to K value. I thought maybe it was just 660nm.
 
Here’s are some photos of the Amarillo when I took it out of the tent. Light I was using prior to blooming had the 660nm chips.

73b737178bb887d8a3feca1bcb1a1e3f.jpg


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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
What you will notice with that plant is its loaded with flowers and pods if you zoom into second photo. Not bad for a gal thats never seen a bee. Just gave it a shake every other day. Also and more importantly are the leaves. They should be about 50% bigger, shiny and lush looking yet they arent. Having grown Amarillos for a number of years now I can only contribute that to K value being too low (hence opting for the 4000k which Im playing with now). I know the 4000k will be less successful at pushing flowers but thats not what Im after personally. Plants belong outside so for me its really just for a winter start and veg is more important than bloom.
 
What would be really neat on those Rspec lights is if they had a seperate driver for the 660nm so that you could bring them in when buds start forming - ie simulation of summer/late summer.
 
Sergeant Pepper said:
Hello
 
I wanted to start my first grow tent setup so I can bring my pepper indoors over the winter.  I live in NJ so I think I have to do this pretty soon before I lose them.  
 
I wanted to get a 2x4x5(or 6) grow tent.  I probably got a little carried away trying to look at grow tents and understanding what lights etc I need.  In fact, after reading around the pepper forums, I perused the weed forums to check out what those are doing because they take this extremely seriously.  I'm pretty sure their setups are at minimum mid to high hundreds of dollars but that's for cash crop.
 
So now I'm back to earth looking at what I'll actually be growing... peppers (yum).  But I did take away lots of interesting stuff about lights and ventilation from those guys and I was looking to validate it with you folks.  I was thinking about going with these lights:
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kits/products/horticulture-lighting-group-135-watt-quantum-board-led-kit?variant=28609484030004
 
I've owned some other grow lights in the past to grow peppers but I never got them to actually fruit indoor.  Flower yes... fruit no.  So this time around I didn't want to go ultra cheap then wind up with garage laying around the house.  Are these a good bang for the buck set of lights for growing peppers?  
 
Also those guys have ventilation system blah blah blah.  Is that necessary or desirable for peppers?
 
Is there anything else I need to get started?  I would love to do this in the garage so my wife doesn't scream but our garage is not climate controlled so it can get pretty cold in there over the winter but I'm not sure if the lights and/or a heating mat would be enough to make that happen.
 
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Q.B.'S a Great light , I recommend a dimmer with it ,,  
 
great information posted up here! Still cant pull the trigger. Its stressing me out lol. What makes the recommendations here better than say the Spider Farmer and Mars hydro QB lights on amazon?
 
why does this seem like such a good deal? What am I missing here? its $150 each after shipping..   https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQXhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQXhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQXhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQXhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQXhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQXhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Amazon-bestseller-240w-3000k-3500K-301b_60794318590.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.5098795b1CvFQX
 
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Nice lights Lama. From the reviews you might be lucky to get drivers that are adjustable. If thats the case then start out at 60W each. Should be more than enough to get started. You may want to get some pc fans on the heatsinks even if they run efficiently since a lower temp will only prolong the life.

Have fun and post some photos.
 
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