I’m in the process of starting up an indoor grow and I have a few questions I would like to ask you if some of you I have some spare time.
I would like to grow in a 4’ x 4’ tent. Can you recommend a brand?
I have several years of outdoor guerilla growing in swamp tubes and therefore I would like to go the “No till” route for indoors as I think it would be the closest to the swamp “plant and forget” easy grow. I don’t mind learning indoor with liquid chems and water R/O and pH and what not if it is easier than the no till method. I know about soil mixes and the “Coots” mix for indoor tilling. Is there an easier recipe I can get my hands?
I want to grow in one big pot for the no till. Do you know which dimensions I should get? Especcially the height. For example, the smart pot is shallower than the air pot I think. Which size would be ideal? I wold like to grow 4 feminized plants per grow.
I plan on using leds, do you have any recommendations for a plug and play light. I really don’t have the time and skills for building my own lights. What power lamp do I need? What brand? I was looking into King Brite (Alibaba), Mars Hydro etc… I am in Europe.
Can you recommend a inside fan brand?
Can you recommend a carbon filter brand?
Do I need a “fire ball” (for safety)?
Am I missing anything else?
Hey bud. There are many lights that will work in a 4x4. I use and HLG 600 Rspec and it does amazing in that space. There are cheaper ones that will get the job done. I have used Viparspectra and Mars, both get you to your destination. What kind of budget you looking at?
Hey Doug, thanks for your response. I am looking for something that is solid but not the most expensive, probably mid range or a little above, thanks. I don’t think HLG ship here. I can get Lumatek which seem to be rather high end. Thanks
I have not used those so can’t say. I have HGL, Mars and ViparSpectra and all 3 have done a good job for me. The ViparSpectras are nice, something along these lines might be a good starting point for you.
Older generation Viparspectra blurples do the trick and are cheap.
But the fan is rather loud. Get passively cooled ones if that would be an issue.
There’s strains that don’t smell so if you don’t have a preferred strain yet then you can choose one that you don’t need a filter for and save some money.
I made a thread here: Non Smelly Strains
I have a tent from this company, very pleased with it and they blend in nicely with the interior. The bottom is definitely waterproof, I had it filled with water for months during an experiment. So you can bottom water by just pouring water on the floor if you wish to. You could just pour soil in it too and have a giant no-till bed.
I have Mars Hydro tents and AC Infinity tents.
The AC infinity tent has some nice features, the door zips all the way around the tent, so if you need to get access to the back you can, mount points for the fan controller, etc. But if you just need a tent the Mars Hydro does the job and you can sometimes find it much cheaper.
If you want to go true no till you might want to look at a raised bed instead of smart pots. Living soil works fine in 15gal+ pots but that’s not no till.
Build a soil sells premade coots mix and your local hydro shop may have some other options if you don’t want to cook your own soil.
LEDs have improved so much there are many good options on the market. You should be looking at between 300-600 true watts from the wall. Personally I’d avoid the alibaba and amazon no-name lights.
AC Infinity makes good fans and controllers. They have carbon filters too but I prefer Can-Lite or KFI filters.
Thanks Doug, i’ll check out the lights you cited.
Hi Rogue, ok thanks I’ll look into home box. Interesting idea to use whole tent as raised bed!
Hi Doglog, ok thx for tips on tents.Thanks for heads up andn recommendations on gear. Yeah I was thinking bigger smart pots or air pots for the no till. My main question is what size raised bed would fit in the 4 x 4’. I’m hesitating between
Smart pot junior – 50 Gallons (36″ x 12″) Holds 5.9 Cubic Feet, 7.1 Square Feet of Growing Space
OR
Airpots which come in all sizes, which would you recommend to fit and get best results? Would 3 ft diameter x 2 feet height work in a standard 4x4 tent,
What height tent should I look into for a big no till pot?
About the lights, i’m checking out the HLG lights, I can get this one, the 600 rspec, a bit pricey but seems worth it, whaddya think? 960€ any similar options? I prefer investing in good stuff but do want the best bang for my buck.
Any no till peeps before I start cooking that soil and buying one mega bed / pot?
Or anyone got a good easy nube free " traditional" method to get a decent harvest. I am worried about pests etc with the no till way. I prefer organic but an easy traditional bullet proof way would suit me to start with. Any threads you know of for beginner old school indoors? Thanks a bunch y all.
I use the same light in a 3x3 and it works great. It doesn’t have the deepest penetration but I’ve never had problems. Any buds roughly 14" below the top of the canopy ends up larfy so I remove everything below that.
This is the light I would recommend for most first time indoor growers. The cost vs output is very reasonable. Whenever I upgrade I’ll likely get this one:
I do as well, my HLG 600 is amazing and the UV bar attachment works well. That light is sitting in the closet right now while I test a Mars FC6500 and so far it seems like a good light. Will have to see how the plants feel but I am pretty confident it will do well.
If you want real organic soil, make sure to read every letter on the packaging, especially the small print, regular soil contains synthetic fertilizers. Look for a certification logo, like you find on organic food packaging.
That, mixed with amendments like basalt, seaweed powder and malted barley will do the trick. A cup of each per 10 L of soil is a good start. Many would add perlite or something similar as well. I think it’s a waste of space for nutrients if you’re not in a very humid area. When going no-till, the roots from the previous grow will provide aeration along with worms and insects.
You can use vetch as cover crop. Sow one bean along with every plant.
Dandelion, thistle, nettles, grass, tree leaves, kitchenscraps, etc can be cut up and mixed with the soil too. Especially banana peels (potassium & phosphorus) and dandelion (10% calcium) are great.
Inevitably you’ll get insects, no matter what method you use, it’s all part of the game. Back off on the watering, it’s a mistake most new growers make. Water less than you think it needs. Don’t water every day. I only water once a week or so.
I have Mars Hydros (TSL’s & Reflector series), Spider Farmer, and No-Name full spectrum & blurple’s.
MH (TSL200) = Fav design, great quality of light. I have the older version with no dimmer knob but I got em cheap! MH (Reflector48) = Blurple and it’s been in use since 2017. It’s a tank and is currently over 2x pollen producing plants. I’ll retire it eventually when I get “can’t beat this price” deal on another quantum board fixture of better caliber. SF (SF2000) = best quality of light for the 3 non blurples, wish it was longer rather than boxy. NN-Full Spectrum & Blurples = gets the job done, now for non cannabis over wintering plants.
With the exception of the cheap no names; all these fixtures have IR, Deep red and 730nm leds in them.
Tents = Mammoth, AC Infinity, Fusion “aka: slap a brand name on in generic brand”.
Mammoth = 2x2x60"; best build. Have had this thing since 2017 and it litterally looks like when I set it up the first time. Not a single light leak, ever. AC Infinity = 2x4x60", favorite build and ease of set up with great doors and a wrap around zipper design. The thing DOES leak a bit, but it’s only noticeable when I have lights on full blast and it’s in a dark room. Fusion (Aka: cheap): for what I paid for this 4x4 I have no complaints. After using it for a solid year I took it down and set it up in another spot of the house. No damage but it’s clear that the seams are not as good as they could have been (hence the price point). I keep my grow space in the dark when I’m not in there doing stuff and the 4x4 glows like a starry sky along the zipper’s & seams. None of this has ever been an issue the way I grow and set light schedules.
I got the fusion because i needed a 4x4 for the money I had, I had saved up $ to afford the Mammoth as my first tent, and the AC infinity was an impulse after reading up a few reviews and then seeing the price for the 2x4 with free delivery! (It was a great impulse; only regret would be having the taller version than the one I got).
Thanks for advice! Unfortunately, I can only buy things sent from Europe to Europe because government will tax 30% . The ROI light is sent from USA I think.
I’ll check out the tent and the fan you quoted thanks. If someone knows of things that are available for us Europeans . Mars hydro ain’t bad and good priced it seems several growers use em or no?
Thanks again for your time!
I have a mars hydro tsw2000 and been plenty happy with it. The light you referenced is much better, I would love to have that here… But all in all, a decent product from them…
any similar options? I prefer investing in good stuff but do want the best bang for my buck.
. The ROI light is sent from USA I think.
. Mars hydro ain’t bad and good priced it seems several growers use em or no?
