Tent setup and lighting help

[OS420]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm doing my first grow operation on a very tight budget and I'm trying to figure out the best possible way to go on about this.

I've sourced a dual spectrum 600w Sylvania HPS (I believe it's 2000k), with a digital dimmable ballast with 250, 400, 600 and 660 watt settings.
Now next in line is a tent since the last grow (my first ever) I did it in a random room I had some spare space in but that caused all kinds of trouble.
I'm trying to find a tent but since where I live (3rd world country) there's quite terrible selection to choose from. Also my budget is extremely tight.

I managed to find a Tomax tent that's 24" x 48" x 70" for around 60 bucks. At first I was looking for a 40x40x80 but the cheapest one of those is 150 yet I was told that since it was some kind of a Lite version, that the tent walls would actually leak the strong HPS light from the inside which i find unacceptable. So I'm thinking about getting the smaller one and when I eventually upgrade to a bigger one, I will use this one as a veg room.

Now, onto the question. How would I run the light in there? I believe as far as light distribution it won't be really that bad since the HPS lights are longitudinal with an open winged reflector.
BUT, the heat is what is worrying me. Would I need to run the light at 400w throughout the whole cycle? What kind of an exhaust inline fan should I start looking into? What amount of CFM would do the job? Would just exhausting the hot air from the inside be enough to keep a somewhat optimal temperature? (The room in which the tent will be is a constant 68-70 in summer)

Oh, and I'll be growing 3 plants in there, 2 durban poison and 1 blueberry photoperiods. I'll be LSTing the fuck out of them to fill the tent but I'm worried that the sativas might stretch quite a bit more once flowering starts. It's my first go at growing sativas so I'm a bit unsure of how much to veg them in order to not end up with massive space issues in that narrow tent.

I'm willing to hear all kinds of opinions and advices. I'd like to hear if any of you have had experience using a narrow tent like that, how tricky will it get?
Also, I'm sure the obvious advice here is "just save some more money for a bigger tent or get an LED light with 6" exhaust fan and an AC unit and what not", but hey, broke boys growing here, this is where I'm at right now and I'm trying to make this work to hopefully upgrade all of this in the near future.

Have a nice day all of you and happy growing ☻

 

[Pondracer]

I managed to find a Tomax tent that's 24" x 48" x 70" for around 60 bucks. At first I was looking for a 40x40x80 but the cheapest one of those is 150 yet I was told that since it was some kind of a Lite version, that the tent walls would actually leak the strong HPS light from the inside which i find unacceptable.

If light leaks out it will leak in, ruining your ability to create a proper environment for flowering.

 

[LexLuthor]

Is it an air cooled reflector? Either way, it would be best if you could exhaust the hot air from the tent and/or reflector into a separate room so the intake air remains a cool 68-70 degrees. You would need either a 4" inline fan or a 6", bigger is better cause you can always dial it down, but whichever you can afford.

In regard to growing sativas, they probably will stretch alot more than the indicas. You can top and train them or supercrop to keep the canopy level, but it is doable.

 

[OS420]

@Pondracer Yeah, that's a total problem that's why I'm not gonna be getting that tent. The alternative is the 60x120x180cm that I mentioned, which I'm worried how I'm going to keep cool with an HPS light.

@LexLuthor It's not an air cooled reflector, your basic open winged reflector. I know that the 6" fan is always the go-to option but that would be a bit of stretch on the overall budget.
I'm also worried that EVEN if the fan manages to keep the tent cool, how long will the turbine actually last when sucking 30+ degrees C air for 16-18 hours a day?
Then again, other than the noise factor, what other benefit would I get with a 6" fan with such a small tent, if I run it at full speed it will create a massive negative pressure. It will be exchanging the air more than 3 times per minute, which I believe is pretty unnecessary.

So, any guesstimates on what kind of temps will I be dealing with running the HPS at 400W in that tent with the room which it will be in is at 20-22 degrees C?
And how much plant growth will I be leaving on the table when running it at 400 instead of 600W?

 

[LexLuthor]

I think a 4" fan would work for the size tent you have. You will lose approximately 1/3 yield because you are using 1/3 less light, that is just an estimate. If you have temps at 30C+ you will want the RH to be higher than the ambient humidity of the average house, at least between 60-70% in early to late veg then around 40-50% during flowering. The cheapest way would be to get a small humidifier for 30 bucks and put it next to the tent intake outside of the tent.