DIY Grow Tent: How to Build the Best Grow Tent for Marijuana
One of the most important investments to make when growing marijuana, both for indoor and outdoor growers, is a grow tent. Grow tents are designed to simplify grow processes for hobbyist cannabis growers, not much so for huge marijuana grow operations.
These tents aren’t the cheapest products to buy. The good thing is that you can make your own DIY grow tent to get the very same perks that a fully-assembled tent would give. So, get out the hand saw and follow this guide on how to build yourself a nice marijuana grow tent. But first:
Why Use Grow Tents?
If you need about 1-5 ounces every month, a grow tent will give you the best yield for the least amount of investment. Besides, a tent keeps bugs (mostly spiders and carpenter beetles) at bay without compromising air supply for the plants. And because grow tents have high-intensity LED grow lights, most cannabis pests are unable to withstand the heat.
What Is the Perfect Size Grow Tent?
You can make a DIY grow tent of whichever size you have in mind. If you want to assemble it in the kitchen, make sure to do some kitchen remodeling to ensure you have enough space. Commercial tents also come in a variety of sizes. However, if you have a small indoor space, a 2’x4′ and 4’x4′ are your best choices because most grow lights will fit in either of the sizes perfectly. Also, the space is sufficient for decent yields.
Steps for Building Your DIY Grow Tent for Marijuana
Step 1: Build up a base & cover the tent
The base needs to be strong enough to make the grow tent stable and strong. Every other addition to your tent will be sitting on the base you make. Most people use PVC pipes to make the frame. So, cut using a hand saw about four 5’ PVC pieces and another 16 pieces of 2’ each. Note that the sides of the tent needs to be inward bowing so that when you turn on the fan and close the tent door, the marijuana smell will not leak into your living spaces.
You will need white and black panda films to cover the walls of your tent. The white panda film will go on the inside to reflect light while the black one goes on the outside to absorb light. Cover three walls of the tent, leaving one to act as the door. You will need a duct tape to secure the film to the frame. For the door, hang a panda film from the middle of the roof, let it run all the way down to the floor of the tent. Use a duct tape to secure it to the roof and on the sides. Use Velcro or cable ties to secure it on the bottom side.
Lastly, check inside the tent for any light leakage. Use a duct to seal any leakage that you find.
Step 2: Hang grow lights
There are tons of options when it comes to growing lights, but it is important to choose LED grow lights because they are long-lasting, they save energy, and they aren’t expensive to maintain. How do you hang your grow light? The best way is to use rope ratchets because they are easy to set up, they are affordable, and they make your job incredibly simple whenever you need to adjust the lights.
Step 3: Install fans and air filters
Fans are important because they provide your plants with constant airflow and protect them from suffocation. Carbon air filters, on the other hand, are attached to an exhaust fan and help clear the strong cannabis scent from the tent and the home. For every LED grow light, you will need a 4-inch air filter. Ensure that the seal between the carbon filter and the fan is strong enough so that no air escapes without being filtered and completely scrubbed of weed smell.
Note that hanging the fans instead of letting them sit on the floor significantly lowers the noises the fans make. Also, you need to keep the fans clean at all times to keep unwanted noises from generating.
Step 4: Install fabric pots
Your cannabis is technically an indoor plant when grown in a tent and like any other indoor plant, it will need pots to grow in. Although the common hard-plastic pots would work, fabric pots create a better growth environment for the marijuana plants to thrive. By being breathable, fabric pots drain water better than other pots and allow better circulation of oxygen to the roots.
Even though fabric pots fairly drain water better as compared to other pots, it still maintains a little wetness at the bottom. Sitting on stagnant water for long can easily cause root rot and diseases. To prevent this, place a pot elevator under the pot to raise it a bit.
Step 5: Put the soil
Some people buy hydroponic systems to grow their marijuana in, but to save on budget, soil is also okay. You will get a good potting mix if you buy the best quality of soil, which is fundamental for healthy plants.
Step 6: Install water pumps
Place the water pumps on a hard surface, e.g. a piece of wood as opposed to the ground in order to muffle the vibration and eliminate unwanted noises. Your tent needs to be waterproof because a cannabis plant needs a lot of water to blossom, and lots of water means there could be runoff or spills. You don’t do any damages around the tent.
Step 7: Safety check
Check to confirm that everything is secure and ready for respective tasks, in and around the tent. Make sure that all electronics are well secured and installed, and that there is no smell or sound leaking from the grow tent.
Conclusion
Marijuana grows best under high-intensity light, so you need to be very careful when choosing the grow lights to install in your tent. You must also figure out ways of keeping smells and sounds at bay. Besides that, growing weed in a grow tent is effortless and fun.