10 Easy Steps to Set Up a Perfect Indoor Grow Tent

August 19, 2020

Indoor gardening, an excellent idea! Many outdoor gardeners are turning into indoor gardeners because there are many factors don’t have in your hand when you are gardening outdoor. But, if you have enough necessary items & tools and if you can use them correctly, it can be said the success should come. Indoor grow tent is such an essential item for your indoor garden. But, you should know how to set up a grow tent.

Some people use a grow box instead of a grow tent, but they don’t have a good experience. That is why a indoor grow tent is much time better and useful than a grow box. Only a good quality grow tent can make a potent environment for indoor plants and let them grow proportionately. We recommend you to buy an indoor grow tent kit.

Step 1: Hydroponic Vs. Soil Systems

This is the very first step and you should be able to make a decision on the method that you choose to cultivate your plants. Whether you choose the growing tent of a soil system, each will need some specific set up mechanisms. It is highly advisable to have a clear mind on the type of growing method that you feel would work for you. Ideally, the right size hydroponic tent has the advantage of taking up very little space. You will also need to have the right tools to control the environment for the grow tent.

Step 2: Space to Set Up

Another significant issue that you will have to settle before you can continue with the setup is the space. You have to make your buying decision based on the available space in your room.

You do not want to build your indoor garden and then have to move it to a different place. You may also be shocked to realize that the framework does not fit through your doorway.

It is vital to have the number of plants in mind when setting apart space for your garden. Generally, I advise growers to work with the rule of one plant per square meter, for bigger plants, or 25 smaller plants.

The issue of having control over the environment should not be ignored, and you will need to have access to your grow tent without a problem. You need to have adequate space for all the accessories and also have room for maintenance and cleaning.

Step 3: Assemble the Frame

Without further ado, when you have the space and the items in place, you can now start by setting up the frame for your indoor grow tent. In most cases, the ones that are bought will come with easy to click poles with metal connectors that you can use. If you are building one from scratch, you need to attach the frame and set a structure that looks like a tent. It is imperative to ensure that the frame is stable and sturdy enough. Include the support bars when you are assembling the tent.

Step 4: Placing the Cover

When you have the frame in place, the other bit will be placing the canvas on to cover the tent. This is one of the stages that you may require some help so as to ensure that all the parts of the room are well covered. The top rated grow tents will have corners that are designed on the canvas, which can serve as a good guide on the specific parts that will go into a frame.

Step 5: Install Reflective Walling

Reflective walls help direct as much light as possible onto your plants, resulting in big, potent yields of delicious buds. This essentially allows you to increase the power of your lights without driving up your electricity costs.

In fact, reflective walls can increase the power of your lights by up to 30%. Best of all, installing reflective walls is actually really simple.

There are a few options for installing reflective walls in your grow space:

Grow tents: Grow tents are a very popular option among indoor growers. They feature reflective walls which are specially designed to deal with medicinal plants grow lamps. This means they won’t melt due to the heat of your grow lights and offer the best levels of reflectivity out of all the options listed here. Grow tents are also very easy to set up and usually come complete with everything you need to create a great harvest. Just look out for any bubbles or pockets forming in the tent walls, as these will bring down the reflectivity in your space.

Flat white latex paint: Flat white latex paint is available at all paint shops and offers great reflectivity (between 85-95%). It is also really easy to apply and doesn’t create pockets or bubbles (like grow tent walls) which can lower the reflectivity in your grow space.

Panda plastic: Panda plastic is a kind of plastic which you can easily install along the walls of your grow room using nails or velcro. It also offers great reflectivity levels similar to those of flat white latex paint (85-95%). Panda plastic, however, can get expensive, especially if you need a lot of it. Plus, the plastic can also melt should it get too hot from your grow lights. Like with grow tent walls, you’ll want to avoid the plastic forming bubbles or pockets.

Step 6: Install exhaust fan and carbon filter

A carbon filter is optional. If you want you may use, not mandatory. But, it’s better to use it. Set up the exhaust fan at the top as the hottest air rises to the top. Use the carbon filter at the side of the air intake end of the exhaust fan. Then hang the exhaust fan facing its exhaust end towards the opening of the grow tent.

Step 7: Install ventilation

After figuring out the best place(s) to have the filter and fan, it’s time for installation. Start by hanging the carbon filter from one of the tent’s crossbars using the hanging equipment provided. Then hang the exhaust fan so the intake is pointed towards the carbon filter and the exhaust is directed towards the grow tent ventilation opening. Measure the distance between the carbon filter flange and the exhaust fan intake, then using the box cutter and wire cutters, cut ducting at the desired length. Install ducting between the filter and the fan, and then from the fan exhaust through to the ventilation opening in the tent. Run power cords through the nearest power cord hole in the tent.

Step 8: Install A Grow Light

A grow light is the center of an indoor grow operation. After all, medicinal plants need plenty of light to grow and produce delicious buds.

Grow lights should be installed so as to cover as much of your plants as possible. You’ll probably want to experiment with the positioning of your plants to ensure all of them get good light coverage.

Remember that grow lights can get hot and should be kept away from any possibly flammable material.

There are hundreds of grow lights available to you. Choosing the right one really depends on the size of your grow room, your experience with medicinal plants, and your budget.

Here are some of the most popular lighting options used to grow medicinal plants indoors:

Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs): These are probably the most popular lighting option among beginner growers. They are fairly inexpensive, but lack the power of professional grow lights like those mentioned below.
Fluorescent Lighting (T5 / T8): T5 and T8 flourescent lights are typically designed to be used with plants that require lower light intensities than medicinal plants. Hence, they usually need to be installed very close to the plant tops to be efficient. Nonetheless, some growers still get good results using these lamps.
LED grow lights: LED lighting is much more expensive than the fluorescent options we mentioned above. However, they are also much more powerful and can provide your plants with a lot of light as long as you use them properly. If you decide to go down the full spectrum LED grow lights, remember to research your specific light model to make sure you install it properly.
Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS): These are the best grow lights for medicinal plants. They are very powerful, relatively cheap, and especially easy to set up. Most indoor growers opt for either Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium lights.

Step 9: Environment Control

The indoor tents allow you to control the climate and there are a number of accessories that can be used for this purpose. The main factors to control include carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity. These climatic factors will vary depending on your location. If you choose to use a humidifier, you need to have plans to have it cleaned regularly. As a matter of fact, you should change the water in the humidifier daily. Failure to take this precaution and start breeding pathogenic microbes. It will be affected your plants. You may also include temperature control tools that will help in maintaining the right atmosphere. Fans are essential and you can as many fans as you choose, depending on the climate that you wish to have for your plants.

Step 10: Dialing In & Safety Scan

After your grow tent is setup the most important step is dialing in. Dialing in is about figuring out a balance between your environmental factors, like airflow, humidity, heat and so on, and between your equipment in order to keep your grow tent running a constant environment.

This is also the time to test your equipment and run it for a while, make sure you put your environmental meters in your grow tent even without any plants just so you can get a feel of how it’s running and keep an eye on those numbers.

Make sure everything is securely fastened and not prone to fall, give you tent a slight shake to check if everything is safely placed. You don’t want your whole setup dying from a slight bump, do you?

Remember that when running a grow tent, you’re the weather. Find the settings you can most easily keep stable and work from there!

Final Verdict

Many people can become a successful indoor gardener, and many others fail? A great portion of them don’t know how to set up a grow tent? And many others use unreliable and cheap grow tent. As a result, they can’t go ahead. So, set up the grow tent perfectly and make sure everything is working. Just wait and see the output.