First timer here, critique my grow tent please!

[Stilg7]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here and I'm looking for some help. I'm about to get into the hobby of growing cannabis and right now I feel overwhelmed with all of the information! With that said I have been doing research for over a month and it seems autos are the way to go for a first timer. Now this is where I am at... I have purchased two different strains from MSNL, GDP and Magnum, both are atuos. I plan on setting up my tent in a spare bedroom closet, so I've decided on 2'x4'x6' for the dimensions. I have purchased two QB96 Elites from HLG for my light source. I plan to grow in coco plus perlite and use calimagic. Staying with General Hydroponics brand I plan to use their flora, bloom, micro combo for nutes. With all of that said here are my first round of questions.

1. Does my tent need to be 6' high? Can I get away with 5'? I say this because I have shelving I would have to move. Also, I only plan to grow autos and in the future maybe get a second tent and try photos. The second tent could be bigger for flowering stage and my smaller, first tent could be used for veg stage in a perpetual setup.

2. I plan to use Smart Pots but I'm not sure what size to buy. From what I've read it should be 3gal or 5gal. Can someone maybe give me a little more incite on this to help me decide on what pot size to go with.

3. This one ties in with #2, can I grow four autos in this size tent? Ideally I would like to grow one of each strain to get the most out of the amount of seeds I have. However being it is my first time four, two of each strain, would give me backups in case of any issues I may encounter.

4. From what I've read it's cheaper and pretty easy to make your own coco/perlite mix. But I see Amazon sells Mother Earth Coco Plus Perlite Mix for $35 and the bag weighs roughly 26lbs. This would save me having to drain and mix it. I could be wrong but wouldn't that bag cost me about the same amount as it would to buy a couple bricks of coco and perlite? And wouldn't it save me buying the calimagic as well?

Those are it for now. I have a few more but I don't want the post to get too long. TIA everyone and I can't wait to hear your guys' advise!

 

[MrOldBoy]

Welcome to AFN

Myself I grow organically so no help in pots or medium but I do suggest that a six foot tent is even short for my grows so a five foot would be a no - My light manufacture wants their lights when dealing with young plants hung four foot above you have to add into the formula distance light is from plants, container height and size of plants when finished and heat from the lights, a taller tent gives you more room - thinking you’ll need to move the shelf.

 

[Arthur]

You have spent your time well in the research.

Only thing I will speak to here is the coco.

Mixing your own can indeed be very cheap. Coco bricks can be had very cheaply.... but... with that low cost comes a lot of work. Most coco fiber is harvested and "rinsed" right there, with salt water.

The rinsing in a trash can works great, but can be a bit of a job.

My advice. Most nute companies will also either offer a coco, or recommend a coco brand for use.
(Canna comes to mind) they know how their nutes play with their coco. If your just starting, let mixing your own be a lesson for next season.

Stick with the tallest tent you can fit, you'll want it with this setup.

 

[The Bedroom Gardener UK]

If you were growing soil, in small pots, then your height may be ok. Smartpots in coco is a different matter, they will fill that space.

Not sure about the LEDs as HPS, but you'll lose some additional height there as well.

If that is your only space, then I'd look to make my plants smaller.

 

[automan2]

I use a tent bout that size...qb & cob lights...i use a forgiving medium...biobizz lite mix in 2-3 ltr pots, various autos...I like variety. And I use all the space, allowing light adjustability per plant height.
I also use a diff area for seedling/vegging for 3 weeks or so them move to the bloom tent.
Small pots allow me to grow several plants at a time perpetually for a long time now....lot of fun and lots of smoke.
It's a great hobby especially when you burn the evidence.

 

[JohnEMad]

Hi Stilg7,

4 autos in a 2x4x6 tent using coco in autopots will definitely outgrow your tent. That's my setup and I barely contained 3 plants. Next grow I will only plant 2 girls and train them to stay lower.
Welcome to the forum and happy growing.

 

[MrOldBoy]

Hi Stilg7,

4 autos in a 2x4x6 tent using coco in autopots will definitely outgrow your tent. That's my setup and I barely contained 3 plants. Next grow I will only plant 2 girls and train them to stay lower.
Welcome to the forum and happy growing.

Agree as you grow along I’m finding less is more - two plants will yield more and do “more better” than three, strain depending.

 

[Stilg7]

Thanks for all the feedback. So from what I'm gathering I should only put 2 plants in a 2x4x6 tent? How much can I expect to yield? Should I do 3 or 5 gallon smart pots?

 

[Stilg7]

Thanks for all the feedback. So from what I'm gathering I should only put 2 plants in a 2x4x6 tent? How much can I expect to yield? Should I do 3 or 5 gallon smart pots?

Still could use an answer to this string of questions please?

 

[Sabelter O Adoob]

@Stilg7 Hiya! You can try whatever you want to bud but @MrOldBoy pretty much said it, I you start with two you'll have an idea of how they perform. I just harvested 5 autos that were squeezed into a big tent with veggin photos. The nugs are good but yield was definitely affected by squeezing them in. With some strains you will definitely benefit from wiggle room. Ok gonna have a go at the Qs lol
1. 2x4x6 is better you may well need the extra foot if you get a stretchy girl.
2. Put smartpots in the search box n see what the folks are doin. I only do dwc.
3. If you start with 2 youll be ok for space. Different strains will need different space. Got wee indicas that will be a foot sq. and sativa girls that want to stretch like beanstalks so strain research helps and grow journals/blogs are full of nice pics. Training techniques are very helpful if you have a varied gro.
4. See 2
Just ma 2 bob's worth buddy GOOD LUCK :smoking: