TFro3
Gardening Enthusiast
Staff member
DIY Aeroponic Tower Supporter
Aeroponic Assembly Guide Supporter
Super Duper Neighbor
- Growing Zone
- 7a (US)
I decided to setup a grow tent in the basement for my aeroponic towers in order to better control climate and pests. Below is a quick little write up on what I've purchased for this setup because people think this has to be super expensive which it's really not. Especially when you're planning on growing herbs and vegetables that will lower your weekly/monthly grocery bill. I've also linked the products I've purchased as well*.
Total Build Cost:
With all that being said, the total cost of this build for me was right around $279.80. It's safe to say its about 9% more than that when considering sales tax in my area that I did not factor into the figure. I also don't factor in items I already had laying around.
VIVOSUN S538 5x2 Grow Tent, 60"x32"x80" ($159.99) - I got this on sale as it’s usually $189.99, still not a bad price! Tents come in a variety of sizes so make sure you plan out what you’re planning on growing so you don’t get something way to big or small. In my basement there’s a spot right behind the door that fits the 5x2’ tent perfectly which is why I went with that. The basement isn’t very big so this is great to start out with. Anything bigger would need to go in the garage so for now this will do and if I outgrow (no pun intended) the tent then the garage it is! Originally that was my plan to just get a 8x8’ tent and put it in the garage but ended up wanting to experiment first before investing in that much space. It's also easier to control climate inside as well which was also a factor being a first time tent grower.
iPower 4" 195 CFM inline fan ($24.99) - The exhaust fan is an important/critical item for a successful grow tent setup. For this I went with a cheaper option since it had good reviews and the same build as some of the bigger brands out there. This fan will be responsible for pushing out hot air and passively pulling in cool/fresh air into the tent.
Barrina Plant Grow Lights, 4FT 5000K Full Spectrum Daylight White, 252W(6 x 42W) ($84.98) - I got these lights on a Black Friday deal but I think they’re usually $99 so it’s still not bad overall as far as cost is concerned. It’s important to note that I went with these lights because they’ll be hanging vertically along side the towers. If I was going a hydro setup such as DWC I would have went with a single powerful light. But I’ll have multiple towers so having a single light isn’t ideal since some plants would be super close at the top and lower ones wouldn’t get as much light.
Heater**($9.84) - Since my tent is on the smaller side I purchased a small desk heater from Walmart. Since my tent is inside it's unlikely that I'll need this a ton but at $10 I decided to pick it up!
Grow Tent Controller - you’ll need a controller that does, well, as the name states… controls the tent. This is responsible for controlling the climate (exhaust fan, humidifier, dehumidifier, heater, lights, etc) which is super important. You really can’t just set stuff up on a timer and leave it. Controllers can be cheap but lack cool/useful features and the expensive ones are super cool but…. are expensive.
For this I decided to build my own controller which you can see at this post. I did this because I had the stuff laying around to do it and spare time to code the solution.
But if you’re buying a controller it’s going to be the most expensive part of your build most likely and plan on spending $60-$275 depending on what you go with. Controllers themselves aren’t too bad but they also require adapters most of the time if you want to use your own components like humidifiers, heaters, fans, etc and not the branded items that you purchase the controller from.
Dehumidifier**($0.00) - I won't have a dehumidifier inside the tent (for now) since my basement already has one and is set at 50% humidity. I can set my controller to kick the exhaust fan on if humidity reaches a set percentage that I can configure. So I know air intake into the tent will always be around 50% humidity to lower overall tent humidity instead of having another appliance in the tent.
Humidifier**($0.00) - Marking this as a cost of $0.00 because I already had one of these.
Fans for inside the tent to mimmic wind**($0.00) - Marking this as a cost of $0.00 because I already had these but will update this post if I end up getting new fans down the road that attach to the tent posts.
*These links above are promotional/paid links from Amazon and will give me a small commission if purchased.
**You can find these on amazon but not going to list anything since I did not purchase from there. It's not my goal to add promotional links everywhere. I'm just adding those for items I've purchased and can honestly speak to/are using.
Total Build Cost:
With all that being said, the total cost of this build for me was right around $279.80. It's safe to say its about 9% more than that when considering sales tax in my area that I did not factor into the figure. I also don't factor in items I already had laying around.
VIVOSUN S538 5x2 Grow Tent, 60"x32"x80" ($159.99) - I got this on sale as it’s usually $189.99, still not a bad price! Tents come in a variety of sizes so make sure you plan out what you’re planning on growing so you don’t get something way to big or small. In my basement there’s a spot right behind the door that fits the 5x2’ tent perfectly which is why I went with that. The basement isn’t very big so this is great to start out with. Anything bigger would need to go in the garage so for now this will do and if I outgrow (no pun intended) the tent then the garage it is! Originally that was my plan to just get a 8x8’ tent and put it in the garage but ended up wanting to experiment first before investing in that much space. It's also easier to control climate inside as well which was also a factor being a first time tent grower.
iPower 4" 195 CFM inline fan ($24.99) - The exhaust fan is an important/critical item for a successful grow tent setup. For this I went with a cheaper option since it had good reviews and the same build as some of the bigger brands out there. This fan will be responsible for pushing out hot air and passively pulling in cool/fresh air into the tent.
Barrina Plant Grow Lights, 4FT 5000K Full Spectrum Daylight White, 252W(6 x 42W) ($84.98) - I got these lights on a Black Friday deal but I think they’re usually $99 so it’s still not bad overall as far as cost is concerned. It’s important to note that I went with these lights because they’ll be hanging vertically along side the towers. If I was going a hydro setup such as DWC I would have went with a single powerful light. But I’ll have multiple towers so having a single light isn’t ideal since some plants would be super close at the top and lower ones wouldn’t get as much light.
Heater**($9.84) - Since my tent is on the smaller side I purchased a small desk heater from Walmart. Since my tent is inside it's unlikely that I'll need this a ton but at $10 I decided to pick it up!
For this I decided to build my own controller which you can see at this post. I did this because I had the stuff laying around to do it and spare time to code the solution.
But if you’re buying a controller it’s going to be the most expensive part of your build most likely and plan on spending $60-$275 depending on what you go with. Controllers themselves aren’t too bad but they also require adapters most of the time if you want to use your own components like humidifiers, heaters, fans, etc and not the branded items that you purchase the controller from.
Dehumidifier**($0.00) - I won't have a dehumidifier inside the tent (for now) since my basement already has one and is set at 50% humidity. I can set my controller to kick the exhaust fan on if humidity reaches a set percentage that I can configure. So I know air intake into the tent will always be around 50% humidity to lower overall tent humidity instead of having another appliance in the tent.
Humidifier**($0.00) - Marking this as a cost of $0.00 because I already had one of these.
Fans for inside the tent to mimmic wind**($0.00) - Marking this as a cost of $0.00 because I already had these but will update this post if I end up getting new fans down the road that attach to the tent posts.
*These links above are promotional/paid links from Amazon and will give me a small commission if purchased.
**You can find these on amazon but not going to list anything since I did not purchase from there. It's not my goal to add promotional links everywhere. I'm just adding those for items I've purchased and can honestly speak to/are using.