Advice on number of plants per tent

[SmokingWings]

Some of the math is wrong. Or, some of the messages have the wrong math. It is common and I remember the same mistakes myself.

How many square feet of floor space if the tent is a 5 foot by 5 foot?
5 feet X 5 feet=25 square feet.
A common foot print per plant mentioned earlier was 2 square feet. How many plants will fit at 2 square feet per plant?
25 sq ft divided by 2 square feet = 12.5

If we change the thinking to saying each plant should have a footprint of 2 feet on a side, or 2 feet squared, then it makes more sense.
2 feet X 2 feet = 4 square feet per plant.
25 sq ft divided by 4 square feet = 6.25 so up to 6 plants in the tent.

I had also considered getting a bigger tent and later thought about 2 smaller tents instead. Using some of the sizes already mentioned...
8 X 8 = 64 square feet.
64 divided by 4 square feet per plant = up to 16 plants in the tent.
Another thing I have done wrong before is thinking that I could substitute two smaller tents without doing the math.
Substituting 2 tents of 4 foot by 4 foot equals 16 square feet each and the two tents combined would be 2 X 16 =32 square feet total or half of the original square footage of floor space as 1 tent that is 8 feet by 8 feet.

If the grower is going to substitute two tents instead of one large 8 foot by 8 foot then we are back to considering two of the 5 by 5 tent size or two 6 by 6 size or two 4 X 8 size.

I am sure that most of us would have figured out the 'numbers of plants per tent' in the long run but newer or first timers might not and get in some real trouble a couple of weeks into their grow.

This was basic math but I still started up the calculator so I have to figure the answers are right. Looking at the floor footprint in the diagrams supplied by Mars Hydro will help explain.

 

[Regrowth]

An 8x8 needs quite a bit of lighting and it's not going to be in the 1k dollar range you mentioned.
You would need like 4 FC4800s to cover that space, or whatever other lighting choice you choose.
8x8 is huge... do you really need an area that size? Like others mentioned, you're better off starting small and working your way up from there. For instance, start with a 4x4 or 5x5 and buy another when your budget allow for it. Don't over do it, you want to enjoy yourself.

The number of plants you can fit depends on how long you veg for. One large plant in a 4x4 can yield just as much as 4 could if you're willing to take the time to fill the tent. 16 plants in a 4x4 can also yield just as much if you do a SOG. I think you should be asking 'what sized area do I need?' instead, and to help answer that question you should know how much cannabis you consume and how often and go from there.

 

[Skunksta]

New users reading this dont be scared to ask a question.
Not everyone will give you a page of text to read so early in your growing journey.
It can be very overwhelming.
Op you have had some great advise.
Dont know if your understand it all but its all spot on.
Also thanks for dropping in mars you kinda answered it all.

 

[SmokingWings]

Ideally I should probably look at a tent twice this size then too fit my harvest needs (desires!), unfortunately where I am there doesn't seem to be a great deal on offer in regards to tents and MH is the best/biggest I've found.

With all the math out of the way I have a few suggestions. Two years ago I went through all of this sort of panning and trying to figure out tent size and plant count. I will be using feet and inches so just substitute in metric if it is easier.

If you are going to use a 5X5 tent mark the floor or put something where the corners be and imagine the tent being there. How much room is left around the tent. Imagine what to do if you need to run an intake or exhaust hose. Does the tent block anything. Example if the tent blocks one or more electrical outlets and has to be placed 6 inches away from the wall. Now 6 inches of room space is lost just for a couple of wires so it might be better run the electrical from another wall. Or easier to put the tent in another area. If the tent is going to be near a door, will it be easy to open the door all the way. Same sort of thing goes for the ceiling so check that nothing is being blocked. It is easy to forget about the ceiling light until you realize the tent does not fit under it.

Measure the tent to be sure it matches the specifications. A lot of time what are called 5X5 tents are not 5 foot on a side. One that I looked at was 55 inches and not 60 inches on the side.

That is the basics of getting the tent into the room. As for the number of plants everyone is coming up with good points to think about. Some other things to keep in mind. If there are to many plants in the tent then they will be pushing up against each other. That will make it harder to move them around without the branches getting tangled. Plants to close together makes it easier for molds, mildews and insects to jump from plant to plant and harder to move the plant around to spray, trim or otherwise try to get rid of or manage the pests. Imagine if something were to go wrong with the rDWC system and the problem is in the corner opposite the door.

 

[Bill284]

With all the math out of the way I have a few suggestions. Two years ago I went through all of this sort of panning and trying to figure out tent size and plant count. I will be using feet and inches so just substitute in metric if it is easier.

If you are going to use a 5X5 tent mark the floor or put something where the corners be and imagine the tent being there. How much room is left around the tent. Imagine what to do if you need to run an intake or exhaust hose. Does the tent block anything. Example if the tent blocks one or more electrical outlets and has to be placed 6 inches away from the wall. Now 6 inches of room space is lost just for a couple of wires so it might be better run the electrical from another wall. Or easier to put the tent in another area. If the tent is going to be near a door, will it be easy to open the door all the way. Same sort of thing goes for the ceiling so check that nothing is being blocked. It is easy to forget about the ceiling light until you realize the tent does not fit under it.

Measure the tent to be sure it matches the specifications. A lot of time what are called 5X5 tents are not 5 foot on a side. One that I looked at was 55 inches and not 60 inches on the side.

That is the basics of getting the tent into the room. As for the number of plants everyone is coming up with good points to think about. Some other things to keep in mind. If there are to many plants in the tent then they will be pushing up against each other. That will make it harder to move them around without the branches getting tangled. Plants to close together makes it easier for molds, mildews and insects to jump from plant to plant and harder to move the plant around to spray, trim or otherwise try to get rid of or manage the pests. Imagine if something were to go wrong with the rDWC system and the problem is in the corner opposite the door.

Thanks Smoke.
Don't forget a little room for a smoke detector and fire extinguisher.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[SmokingWings]

Thanks Smoke.
Don't forget a little room for a smoke detector and fire extinguisher.

Stay safe
Bill

I was hoping you would stop by. I thought about you when I mentioned the little thing about whether the tent will be blocking wall outlets. Plugging lights, fans or whatever into the outlet and then pushing the tent up against the wall ends up meaning that it becomes hard to get to the plugs if something back there starts to overheat.

Same with locating a tent to close to ceiling lights or ceiling outlets.

 

[Bill284]

I was hoping you would stop by. I thought about you when I mentioned the little thing about whether the tent will be blocking wall outlets. Plugging lights, fans or whatever into the outlet and then pushing the tent up against the wall ends up meaning that it becomes hard to get to the plugs if something back there starts to overheat.

Same with locating a tent to close to ceiling lights or ceiling outlets.

Every suggestion we can make to people will help.
Should we drop a link to the safety thread?
It's in my sig but hard to see.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[SmokingWings]

Should we drop a link to the safety thread?

Go for it.

One of my main concerns with location of electrical switches and outlets is "no electrical below my waist and no water above my waist" and so I leave electrocuting my heart up to the cardiologist.

 

[Bill284]

Hope everyone is having a great day.
Here is a fire safety thread that's a good idea to read.
Hopefully you can use some of the suggestions to keep yourself and your grow safe.
Thanks

Stay safe
Bill

Fire Safety: How do you prevent a disaster?

Hello everyone. Here is my question. How do you prevent a grow room fire? Do not let this happen to you. For those of you who don't know I had a horrendous fire in my grow room. For those that do know, Thank you for all your love and support. Everyone here has been a godsend of love and...

www.420magazine.com

 

[Delps8]

I cannot cite the source but I believe it to be correct that the number fo plants in the tent do not matter. The issue is how much canopy do you have to absorb the food (light) and the nutrients.

The best guide I've seen on this topic and I respect it because it's based on what would seem to be a very basic question - "how do you intend to grow your plants?

My grow is just a 2' x 4' tent and two autos pretty much fills the tent.

 

[013]

One can do most anything but that doesn’t make it wise to do so. How many people will fit in a phone booth? Or a VW beetle? So what if 11 people fit in a Volkswagon - now drive cross country with them all… that changes the equation a bit huh?

yes plants need elbow room….. as a kid I put about dozen catfish fingerlings from minnow trap into an 10 gallon aquarium….one by one they died off even tho I had water charges & filter going etc. As a child I couldn’t understand why but now it’s so easy to see - environment is everything. A 10 gallon aquarium isn’t big enough to support 1 catfish, heck a kiddie pool isn’t big enough for 1 catfish

an organism can’t exceed the size of its environment…. look at it this way… a 4X4 tent can only grow so much weed so yields will be about the same whether you have

2 well trained monsters
versus 4 large plants
versus 8 medium sized plants

for now don’t worry about yields that comes with practice, worry about keeping them green…

perfect trifecta = great genetics, great light, and a great enviro