New 4 x 4 grow tent build

[Brett Blaze]

Bucket raisers Adjustable Height up to 5.5" Two pack

Thanks for the idea Gazoo. I'm going to go with the plastic ones though because I may just raise it 1 1/2" so I can adjust the pipe lower.

 

[Brett Blaze]

I'm changing the existing top off reservoir with a new one. I have used this same one in the past. It has 1/2 gallon increments so I can see how much water is being used. This will let me know when a complete water change is required. I bought the original because it was cheaper.

-------------Original -----------------------------New

 

[Brett Blaze]

I decided to start germinating the seeds last night.

I'm going to have just two plants. One Sativa and one Indica. I believe I will reach my goal of 6 oz per plant. I want to make sure I get a strong plant from each strain so I started 3 seeds of each strain.

The seeds are C99 (Cinderella99), a sativa, and Kosher Kush, an indica. Both have similar flowering times. The C99 is a short sativa and the Kush is a tall indica so this should be interesting. I bought the seeds last November and got 12 of the C99s and 6 of the Kush. I figure I may only have two more season before the seeds start degrading so I'm good with using half of the Kush seeds. Plus I like variety.

Please visit my grow journal to follow along.

 

[Brett Blaze]

That's what I'm coming up with. Needing to raise up about 3"-4" from what I can tell.

Did you happen to measure how far the bottom of the duct is from the floor? I tried to gage it from images and using a grid in photoshop but couldn't really get anything accurate. It looks to be about 6" from the floor to the bottom of the duct, which would mean needing the bottom edge of the pipe to be at that height.

The bottom of the hole is 7".

 

[multiVortex]

The bottom of the hole is 7".

Thanks. That's what it is on my old one too, so I would need to get the buckets 5"+/- off the floor. Not sure all of that is going to be worth messing with.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Thanks. That's what it is on my old one too, so I would need to get the buckets 5"+/- off the floor. Not sure all of that is going to be worth messing with.

I figured I would need to raise mine 6" which is too much. I received the monitor stands yesterday and will try them for a 1 1/2" raise so I can turn the pipe enough to get the top at 8 1/2" above the bucket bottom. I may need to use the 3" though.

 

[Brett Blaze]

I will also use these to control slipping. They are 1" x 4".

 

[multiVortex]

I figured I would need to raise mine 6" which is too much. I received the monitor stands yesterday and will try them for a 1 1/2" raise so I can turn the pipe enough to get the top at 8 1/2" above the bucket bottom. I may need to use the 3" though.

Mine is similar, just 2" pipe instead of 3". I'm still not sure what I want to do. 6" is probably a better estimate though. I gave the bottom of the hole for the uniseal about a thumbs width, but I don't think it's another inch to the bottom of the pipe. Maybe a 1/2", if that. I could grab some 1x4 and plywood, which would get me about 4" up with an end result in maybe a 2" bump. Still losing 4" of vertical though, so not sure I want to give that up or not. I sure don't want to give up 6".

I will also use these to control slipping. They are 1" x 4".

Excellent.

I have something similar for my air pumps. They're made out of neoprene, and reduce vibration, slipping, and noise. I think there were a dozen in a pack, IIRC, and may use those elsewhere as needed.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Here is a catastrophe waiting to happen. I have stepped on this already and tripped over it a few times. If this breaks I have a serious issue. After I raise the buckets I need to make something to protect this area. Keeping in mind it will be off the floor a few inches.

 

[Gazoo]

 

[Brett Blaze]

I should have made this hole higher since it's an inlet. Since I am raising everything I will see how it is then before I try any changes.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Today I am going to raise all the buckets 3" to allow me to turn the curved pipe to where the top of the pipe is only 8" from the bottom of the bucket. Without the risers the top of the pipe was 10" above the bottom and the reservoir would not equalize with the plant buckets. Yes I know the math should allow me to lower to 7" but there are other limiting factors. To get to 8" I had to push all the plant buckets to the back of the tent.

I bought the monitor stands described above which work great. They are fairly heavy are pretty strong. I could probably stand on it without it breaking. I put the no slip strips on one side and kept the plastic insert in to balance the bucket. It has an 1/8" lip. I only bought 12 strips and needed 20 so I would recommend 4 strips per bucket minimum so the bucket is balanced and then remove the insert. Without the strips the buckets slip a little on the stands.

The bucket fits pretty well and don't slip.

After putting the stands under all the buckets it's very stable. When I moved all 4 buckets to the back of the tent, not one moved or re-positioned off the stand.

The top of the pipe is now around 8". I filled the buckets and started leak testing.

I'll check back in later.

 

[Brett Blaze]

After getting everything in place and making sure there were no leaks I moved the top off container from the left side of the tent to behind the old grow cabinet. I removed the carbon filters from the back and taped up the holes. This made a good place to germinate the seeds. It was closer to the reservoir and made the fill-line easier to run.

I also tie wrapped the chiller return hose to keep me from tripping over it. I used one of these that fits into a 1/4" hole. I drilled the hole above any possible water line. (Or hope I did).

All the cables are marked with labels and the timers are set for the lights. I'll tie wrap a bit more tomorrow. I'm getting the water ready and doing final testing. Lights are set for 6:00 PM to 12:00 PM. That way they are off during the warmest part of the day.

I have 4 plants sprouting. 3 of the Indica and 1 Sativa. I put the 2 remaining Sativas back in the dark and the 4 that spouted are under the lights. I have the lights pretty high to start.

Here are the Indicas.

I'm going to use the back two buckets and then train them forward for ScrOG.

Just going to keep it closed by the top zippers until I get some roots growing. The room stays pretty dark during the day.

More tomorrow.

 

[multiVortex]

Yo @Dano999...
Putting mine together and I had a thought about the hump.

Turn the tent upside down?

I know you already have the stands, but for future reference or if the stands don’t work.

Doing so would make a few things awkward, but those pipes will go straight out.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Not much in the way of changes for the tent build. I just cleaned up the wiring a little. I'm not going to include all of the grow journal info here so please feel free to visit that journal for more info on the grow.

 

[multiVortex]

Turn the tent upside down?

Going back and looking at your plumbing, this probably wouldn't work as well as it would for mine. My buckets flow out to a center truck, and well, those duct ports on top are right in the middle.

Not 100% sure what I'll do yet. I have some 2x2's sitting around, so I may build stands and give up some height. Figure something like this:

Well, not adjustable, but similar pattern.

Thinking 6" legs, with the crossbars set at 5". That would give a 1" lip to keep the buckets from falling off, and works out to 4' of lumber per stand with 12" crosses. (And I have 2 8' 2x2's, so spot on.) Route out the center to join the crosses together and we're set.

 

[Brett Blaze]

I decided to change the basket to 6" instead of 8". In order to block out all the light I would need to fill the basket with clay pebbles which makes the water too high when I transfer over. Also I want more air space under the basket once the roots get developed. I only had to buy the hole saw once this time.

 

[Brett Blaze]

I installed a camera in the tent so I don't have to disturb the plants to look in on them. This will also be helpful when I travel. I have a friend that may help when I'm gone if something serious comes up. I say may because she is also the one who thought germinating meant something else. Right now I have it sitting on one of the empty buckets. I will mount it higher when they grow a little more. I looked at a few cameras and decided to add the Ring indoor security. I also looked at Wyze but didn't like the app and the fact the video icloud storage is handled by a Chinese company. I also ready the privacy policy is a joke. I already have a Ring doorbell so it was easy to setup.

 

[Brett Blaze]

A couple of camera shots with the lights on.

 

[Brett Blaze]

Latest Pictures