12 Top Tips for Setting up an Indoor Grow Room

Calculate the Power Consumption

Knowing exactly how much electricity your indoor grow room will consume is essential. This will allow you to budget each month when paying an electric bill and prevent power cuts. All you need to do is add up how much electricity your grow lights, in-line fan, extractor, and oscillating fans will use. Nothing is worse than a power cut because your equipment has maxed out the electricity potential.

Set Up a Hygrometer

Once your tent or room is complete, ensure the air quality is spot on. Use equipment to check the temperature and humidity levels. The easiest way is to set up a digital hygrometer with a sensor. Ensure you can see the screen of the hygrometer to keep the environmental conditions optimal for the different stages of the cannabis plant's life cycle.

Leave Enough Space for Your Equipment

Calculating how much space your carbon filter, ducting, extractor fans, and grow lights will take up is essential. Creating an indoor grow space or having a tent where everything is tightly spaced together is not the best way to grow and will limit how much room you have to move around inside. In an emergency or when replacing your equipment, the more space you have, the better!

Grow Light PPFD 

When buying a grow light, checking the number of lumens was once the way to check how intense a grow light was in the old days. Nowadays, it is necessary to check the photoactive radiation (PAR) or PPFD. Check what the light manufacturer states as the PPFD levels, as this is the most crucial factor, and ignore lumens. Auto-Seeds advises that Low PPFD during flowering leads to weak bud development and lower yields.

Make a Floor Plan in Advance

Calculating your floor plan in advance is always a great idea, so you know how many plants you can comfortably grow. Doing so will also give you an advantage when deciding whether to produce a Sea of Green set-up or make a Screen of Green, as well as how big the pots will be and the exact amount of soil you need to buy. A floor plan will make your room much more organised and allow you to be as efficient as possible, avoiding overcrowding.

Noise Levels

How much noise your grow tent makes once everything is fired up will determine how stealthy or loud your produce is. This is particularly important when living in a residential building or near a neighbour. Extractors and oscillating fans running 24 hours a day can be loud and annoying. There may be a giveaway that you are growing cannabis, which may warrant a neighbour to complain or even attract the authorities. Using silencers and acoustic ducting is an excellent way to reduce the noise and vibration sounds an indoor grow room may create.

Airtight Fittings

Connecting your aluminium ducting to your carbon filter and extractor with an airtight and firm fit is one of the most essential parts of growing cannabis indoors. Make sure you connect the ducting using thick duct tape or metal clips to seal it. Double-check that the aluminium ducting has no holes or has been pierced and that the airflow is as efficient as possible. Loose fittings can allow air to escape or for ducting to slip off.

Use Oscillating Fans

Providing plenty of fresh air and ensuring the grow room is well-ventilated pays off massively as an indoor grower. Fungi thrive in moist and humid environments with stagnant air. Royal Queen Seeds recommends using fans to keep the air moving around your grow tent to decrease the chance of mould formation. I recommend using at least two fans inside a grow room; oscillating fans are optimal.

Beware of Light Breaks

A grow tent or sealed grow room is meant to keep light inside. However, an external light source can cause light breaks. This may be a street light, bedroom light or the sun shining through the window. Light breaks will not only disrupt the light cycle, but they can also cause plants to hermaphrodite during the flowering stage. Make sure that there is no way light can enter the grow space, and if using a tent, close the side vents when the lights are off and the plants are in darkness.

Keep Ducting Straight

Ensure your aluminium ducting is firmly connected and straight when setting up an indoor grow room. Do not let the ducting droop downwards to create the most efficient ventilation possible. Use cable ties or hooks to keep the ducting as horizontal as possible between the carbon filter and extractor. Doing so will also increase the space you have to work around and help keep the room neat.

Invest in a Quality Carbon Filter and Extractor

Setting up an indoor grow room can be an expensive project. You can convert a spare room or install a grow tent indoors. The best advice I can give a first-time grower is to allocate a good portion of your budget and buy a top-quality extractor fan and carbon filter. Indoor cannabis plants will produce a pungent odour, especially during flowering, and a sound-quality ventilation system will keep your grow room discreet and well hidden from nearby neighbours.

Keep your grow room clean and tidy.

A Clean and Tidy Grow Space

You would be amazed at how many grow rooms I have visited over the years, and I was shocked by how dirty they were. A clean and tidy grow room will ensure that pathogens and pests are not a concern. All you need to do is keep a sweeping brush and dustpan close by and remove any soil, debris or leaves off the grow room floor. Cleaning up as you go is best, and make sure that you give your tent or grow room a deep clean between harvests using bleach or hydrogen peroxide. 

My Final thoughts

• Check how much power your grow room will use in advance to prevent power cuts.
• A hygrometer will let you see the temperature and humidity of the room.
• Avoid letting equipment become crammed together and reducing the workspace.
• Use PAR and PPFD to determine the grow light potential when purchasing.
• A floor plan created in advance makes life easy and avoids overcrowding.
• Try to make your grow room as silent, soundproof and discreet as possible
• When connecting aluminium ducting, ensure a firm and airtight fitting.
• Don't allow an external light source to enter the grow room when the lights are off.
• Straight ducting will improve the efficiency of your indoor ventilation systems.
• Oscillating fans will ensure the airflow around the plants is optimal when growing.
• Spend your money on a well-known extractor and carbon filter when buying equipment.
• Keep your grow room as clean, tidy and sterile as possible between each harvest.