Grow Mediums Cutting holes in grow tents for irrigation tubing

[Animatey]

Does anyone have a way to cut small holes for 1/2 inch tubing? I'm worried I will ruin a tent, but would really like to have a rez outside the tent.

I'm thinking I'll cut a small hole with an exacto and then use grommets to give it some support. My hesitation comes from thr fact that grow tents are way thicker than regular tents, not sure if grommets will work and holes won't spread...

Thanks for any info!

 

[Simplicio]

Does anyone have a way to cut small holes for 1/2 inch tubing? I'm worried I will ruin a tent, but would really like to have a rez outside the tent.

I'm thinking I'll cut a small hole with an exacto and then use grommets to give it some support. My hesitation comes from thr fact that grow tents are way thicker than regular tents, not sure if grommets will work and holes won't spread...

Thanks for any info!

I do what you are trying to do.
My tents have small gaps at the front bottom, where 3 zippers come together.
The hoses from the external storage res to reservoirs inside tents fit thru those gaps.
It should also be possible to go thru the circular access ports that all tents have.
Make sure to use hose clamps at every junction to avoid disasters that will otherwise happen.
If you want an already made (but expensive) external res with float valve, the General Hydroponics Waterfarm-8 has them for around $100, sold separately.
I got that from ZenHydro.
The external res water level is easily adjusted to match the res inside the tent by setting the ext res on supports.

I wouldn't cut on the tent. Holes can get bigger over time.

 

[Animatey]

I do what you are trying to do.
My tents have small gaps at the front bottom, where 3 zippers come together.
The hoses from the external storage res to reservoirs inside tents fit thru those gaps.
It should also be possible to go thru the circular access ports that all tents have.
Make sure to use hose clamps at every junction to avoid disasters that will otherwise happen.
If you want an already made (but expensive) external res with float valve, the General Hydroponics Waterfarm-8 has them for around $100, sold separately.
I got that from ZenHydro.
The external res water level is easily adjusted to match the res inside the tent by setting the ext res on supports.

I wouldn't cut on the tent. Holes can get bigger over time.

Thanks much for info! I think you are right about not cutting the tent. I'm looking at grommets and the inner diameter isn't even big enough to allow tubing through.

I'm glad you reminded me about the clamps.. I'll definitely have to snag some of those.

I'm going to try to do flood and drain so I need my irrigation tubing to enter and exit the tent fairly low to the ground.

I'm thinking I'll actually cut out one of the screen vents on the back or side of the tent and tape over it, putting holes for irrigation fittings in the tape. I need at least 2 holes on the same side, one for going in and one back to the rez.

 

[Simplicio]

Thanks much for info! I think you are right about not cutting the tent. I'm looking at grommets and the inner diameter isn't even big enough to allow tubing through.

I'm glad you reminded me about the clamps.. I'll definitely have to snag some of those.

I'm going to try to do flood and drain so I need my irrigation tubing to enter and exit the tent fairly low to the ground.

I'm thinking I'll actually cut out one of the screen vents on the back or side of the tent and tape over it, putting holes for irrigation fittings in the tape. I need at least 2 holes on the same side, one for going in and one back to the rez.

Your idea of cutting holes thru screens sounds good.

Here are the clamps I got. They don't require a screwdriver.
Amazon product
I'm experimenting with some things you might want to consider:
DWC with a larger multi-plant reservoir is very easy, especially when hooked up to an external reservoir.
Gravity feed from an external res is all that's needed, other than airstones, and maybe top feed.
Such a system takes about 30 min a day to keep everything perfect, but it could be left alone for several days.

I'm experimenting with NEVER changing out the reservoir until harvest. So far so good at the 7 week mark.

 

[Animatey]

Your idea of cutting holes thru screens sounds good.

Here are the clamps I got. They don't require a screwdriver.
Amazon product
I'm experimenting with some things you might want to consider:
DWC with a larger multi-plant reservoir is very easy, especially when hooked up to an external reservoir.
Gravity feed from an external res is all that's needed, other than airstones, and maybe top feed.
Such a system takes about 30 min a day to keep everything perfect, but it could be left alone for several days.

I'm experimenting with NEVER changing out the reservoir until harvest. So far so good at the 7 week mark.

Thanks for linking the clamps, I like that they can be hand tightened

Are you running multiple plants in the same dwc container?

How does the gravity feed work?

 

[Simplicio]

At the moment, I've got two 13 usable gallon GeneralHydroponics Ecogrowers in 2 separate tents, with 4 plants in each res.
They are sold with top feed only, and no airstones.
I did a side by side grow test, and adding an airstone made no difference.

Ecogrower is a 6-site top feed system, and the top feed thoroughly aerates. I still have drippers dripping thru hydroton on any unused sites for good aeration.
I've tried as many as 6 plants in a 3 x 3 ft tent (my first grow ever), but usually do 2-4 in each tent.
The Ecogrowers come with liquid level indicator hoses that can also empty and fill the reservoirs.
I've connected those hoses to a GH Waterfarm-8 external res with float valve thru the tent opening mentioned above, using a T-fitting and straight fittings.
The float valve is 8" above the floor, so I had to sit the external res on some support to raise it a few inches.
So long as there are no air bubbles or clogging in the hoses, gravity guarantees that all 3 water levels (2 Ecogrowers + 1 external res) will be the same.

 

[Animatey]

Sounds like an excellent setup...

I've also wondered if airstones are necessary when doing top feed.

Do you grow different strains in the same eco grower? If so, do you ever have issues with rot tangling or having one plant outgrow the others?

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[STILLSMOKIN]

If you want you can cut an x in side of tent then shove hose through that, should put four triangle shaped edges leading in. Put clamp around hose and triangles to give it support and keep from ripping.

 

[Animatey]

If you want you can cut an x in side of tent then shove hose through that, should put four triangle shaped edges leading in. Put clamp around hose and triangles to give it support and keep from ripping.

Putting a clamp around the hose and tent should keep it from ripping further, that might be the ticket!

Have you tried this by chance? I'm a little worried about the hole still getting bigger somehow.

 

[Simplicio]

Sounds like an excellent setup...

I've also wondered if airstones are necessary when doing top feed.

Do you grow different strains in the same eco grower? If so, do you ever have issues with rot tangling or having one plant outgrow the others?

Thanks again for all the info!

Right now I've got an Autoseeds SuckerPunch, a Mephisto SourBubbly, and two AutoSeeds Hijack in one Ecogrower in one tent.
In the other tent, Mephisto Skywalker & StrawberryNuggets were started 7 weeks ago. An Autoseeds BerryRyder, and Dinafem OGKush were planted a couple weeks later in the same tent.
Too many plants, but I crave variety.
The biggest single tent height difference is between Skywalker (4 ft tall) and StrawberryNuggest (a 1 ft tall, wide berth plant).
Everything is thriving.
Tangled roots aren't an issue.
The main problem with light distance is that some plants get too tall, even after topping and training. The SuckerPunch was topped and LSTed, but is now almost 5 ft tall and tacoing.
My experience is that even 40" of light distance can grow excellent plants, and that's about how far the StrawberryNuggets is away.
I'm willing to give up on optimal light distances to get more variety.