Growing cannabis plants is quite rewarding and satisfying, especially when you do it yourself. But before you plan to grow cannabis at home, you need to have a grow room with air circulation, accurate temperature, humidity levels, and enough space to let your plants grow and breathe.
The space should also have adequate grow medium and grow lights to produce the expected results and quality.
If you don’t know how to do a weed grow room setup then this guide is for you. Dig in to explore all the steps required to set up a space to grow your own cannabis without any hassles.
Choose the Right Grow Space for Cannabis Plants
So, how to start this adventure? Indoor growing of cannabis plants can be quite challenging, especially when the growing area is limited or lacks the optimum conditions required for an excellent harvest. Therefore, your first mission should always be to select an appropriate grow space for this task.
Here are some essential factors to consider.
Size
The size of your grow room should be spacious enough to provide shelter to your plants and your weed growing supplies. However, it shouldn’t be an unnecessarily large room, making it tough for you to manage the environment.
Even if you lack a perfect space, don’t fret. Get yourself a grow tent, there are different sizes and construct a custom space for your plants. But before you buy a tent, find an answer to how much space is required and then make an investment.
Plant size Tent size | Small (1 sq ft) | Medium (2 sq ft) | Large (4 sq ft) |
2' x 2-25' | 4 | 2 | 1 |
2' x 4' | 8 | 4 | 2 |
3' x 3' | 9 | 4 | 2 |
4' x 4' | 16 | 8 | 4 |
5' x 5' | 25 | 12 | 6 |
4' x 8' | 32 | 16 | 8 |
10' x 10' | 50 | 24 | 12 |
Flooring
If your grow room has a carpeted floor, we won’t recommend you grow your cannabis on that. This is because carpets can hold water and spread bacteria and bugs.
Use a reflective material to cover your floor. They are easy to manage and help growers benefit from their light sources.
Humidity
Your cannabis won’t grow until you have successfully maintained the perfect humidity levels in your space. So, as you build an indoor grow room setup, ensure to install a system for proper air circulation.
Manage the circulation of hot air and cool air through an exhaust fan. You can get both small and big exhaust fans, so buy those that can accommodate the entire room.
Also, get intake fans to pull the air inside the grow room. These fans are specifically useful for big spaces.
One of the most important grow room components is a humidifier. It helps raise the levels of humidity in your indoor grow room.
If you have a small grow tent, a small and low-budget humidifier may work perfectly. But for commercial or big-scale grow spaces, only ducted humidifiers may prove useful.
You can also install a humidity controller in your DIY grow room. It works with an intake fan, exhaust fan, dehumidifier, and humidifier and can help you monitor and adjust levels of humidity according to your requirement.
Temperature
Successful plant growth requires optimum temperature. Cannabis plants require specific temperature ranges during their different growth stages.
For instance, in their vegetative stage, the temperature range should be between 68 and 77 degrees. During the flowering stage, the temperature should be between 65 and 85 degrees.
Cannabis can’t bear extremely high temperatures. Therefore, when setting up a grow room, install air conditioners to control the temperature.
If you want to get a weed grow kit, know that these kits already have a ventilation system to control the heat. It works as an excellent air exchange system, ensuring your own indoor cannabis grows as quickly and effortlessly as possible.
LED lights in your setup also help maintain the room temperature. Grow room lights with high power can increase the temperature. In that case, replace them with LED lights.
Ventilation
To create a healthy environment for your plants to grow indoors, invest in a proper ventilation system. Install an oscillating and extractor fan to push the hot air out. Moreover, invest in intake fans to pull the air in.
A well-made ventilation system is imperative to the levels of CO2 at optimal levels. The grow room needs a consistent flow of fresh air from outside to maximize its growth.
Discretion
If you plan to set up a grow room, take discretion as a vital factor. You need to consider key elements like the noise of the fans, the buzzing of the light, light leaks, and odor control in order to maintain the space running for long.
Safety Precautions: Electricity and Fire Prevention
Accidents can happen. So, to make your grow area safe, follow strict electricity and fire prevention measures.
Electrical devices in your grow room increase the risk of fire hazards. The interaction of water and other electrical devices can pose a huge risk, so ensure to keep all your equipment above ground level to stay safe during water leaks.
A fan in your grow area prevents all machines from heating up. So, make sure to keep one too.
A disastrous fire episode may also wreak havoc in your grow room. To avoid it, keep a fire extinguisher close to or inside the grow space, saving your plants from any damage.
If possible, invest in a fire alarm, too, so you get informed as soon as the fire breaks out.
Clean Space
Your grow room should always be tidy and clean and create a dedicated corner for all the devices and their wires. Make sure to fix all exposed or damaged wires immediately.
Your right grow space is spick and span before and after a harvest. Clean the floors and walls with soapy water. Moreover, clean your equipment with an alcoholic mixture to remove any residual matter from the soil.
A grow room is a safe space for cannabis to grow and flourish. So, ensure to set it properly and give the plants their optimum deserving home.
Common Household Grow Spaces
Growing indoor weed yourself means you can have a continuous supply of buds and use it however you like. However, when growing cannabis at home, you must have enough room to accommodate all plants under one roof.
Many household growers often choose the locations below to set their grow spaces. If you have any of these, don’t hesitate and start growing.
Basement
The basement is a favorite location to build a grow room. This is because it stays cooler than the top floors, especially during summer. Cooler temperatures help to control light usage from grow lights in an effective way.
Garage
Your garage is also an excellent household grow room. It is cooler than other spaces during winter. Plus, you can ventilate the garage using fans and can easily create a small space into a home for your plants.
Grow Tent
Many household growers also use grow tents as their grow room. You can easily fit them in tiny spaces, making it convenient to utilize the given space.
In addition, a grow tent supports a smooth circulation of air. you can easily install a carbon filter and fans to allow fresh air circulation.
The size of your tent can easily give you an idea about the amount of light required for your plants. It can also tell you how many plants may easily fit in the given space.
Mites, pests, and other animals can easily enter grow rooms without boundaries. However, they may find it more difficult to enter a grow tent.
Finally, these tents are easy to set up and are easily assembled within a few minutes, making them perfect grow rooms for busy growers.
Wall Cabinet or Closet
A cabinet or a closet in your home can also work as an excellent grow place. It is an easy area to control light, temperature, and humidity.
To build one, spare a closet, then install the required equipment like fans, lights, timers, and reflective sheets. Also, insulate the walls by using mylar sheets.
Make sure that the cabinet or closet used is away from the reach of pets and children.
How to Build Grow Room
Are you up for growing your cannabis indoors? If yes, here is a plan for you. Follow these steps below and start growing!
Make a Complete Floor Plan of Your Cannabis Grow Room
Once you have selected the space for your grow room, design a floor plan. Get graph paper and make an outline of your space. This exercise will help you determine the number of plants you can grow and all the equipment required.
When preparing a layout, ensure that a full-grown plant canopy can get very tall. So, ensure that your grow room has enough area to accommodate it.
Also, spare some room for your equipment so they are accessible. If you want to maximize the given space, go for a tent rather than your garage or cabinets.
As long as your plan is well-detailed, you will find it easy to use the area practically.
Frame
You can build a frame from your plants or get a tent; the choice is yours. If you want to build one, ensure that there is enough gap between plants. This is imperative for cannabis to grow and expand.
Choose a solid and sturdy material to build these frames so they don’t collapse or break easily.
Closing and Light Proofing
Your cannabis requires a certain amount of light to grow. However, with light leaks, it may get tough to achieve.
Once you have installed the frames, look for ways to create excellent light proofing. To prevent light leaks, use blinds or blackout curtains. In the case of a grow tent, your plants may already be lightproof.
You can also use white paint and mylar sheets to reflect light and maintain optimum darkness for your plants.
AirFlow, Ventilation, and Air Movement
Consistent airflow and ventilation are ideal for an optimum environment. Ideally, your grow room should have an adequate ventilation system with components like inline fans or oscillating fans. A duct system may also prove helpful here.
A filtered ventilation system is always the best. It helps remove pests and other bacteria present in the environment. Install HEPA filters designed to work effectively against all types of contaminations.
Installing activated carbon filters will help you to avoid unwanted odors when growing cannabis.
Climate Control: Temperature & Humidity
An optimum climate-controlled environment is necessary to grow cannabis as expected. In a grow room, temperature and humidity may fluctuate. But you can prevent that by using caulking or weatherproofing around windows and doors.
In addition, a door sweep may prove helpful in sealing any gaps.
One of the best things about a tent is that you don’t have to worry about any of these things. This growing area is already airtight. But before you use it, ensure that all seams are well-stitched and there are no holes.
Cleaning Your Grow Room
You may not like growing cannabis in a dirty grow room with pests and all the filth. Therefore, to keep it clean, install appropriate insulation. Insulation keeps all kinds of pests at bay, making your grow room clean.
A wise option is to go for spray foam insulation that keeps the heat, light, and pests away from the grow room.
To maintain your grow room spick and span, make sure that your pots, tools, and tubes are all free from dust. You can use isopropyl alcohol to disinfect all the tools, dry them and then use them for a real purpose.
As stated above, your grow room may need air from outside to accomplish its goals. However, this air may bring in dust, bacteria, and grime inside. In that case, HEPA filters may ensure appropriate ventilation.
After the harvest, don’t forget clear all the surfaces and tools for any dust or grime particles. This is imperative to eliminate fungi and pathogens. Use a disinfectant to clean everything to prepare your grow room setup for the next batch.
Choose the Right Kind of Grow Light
You must have a correct light system for your cannabis. This means that you should install a grow light in your grow room setup.
There are different grow lights available for varying growth stages. For instance, a metal halide lamp is perfect for vegetative growth. High-pressure sodium light is helpful at the flowering stage.
Many experts also recommend Dual Spectrum HPS lights for vegetative and flowering phases. LED lights can be perfect for the entire growth process, while fluorescent lights work great during propagation and are a good alternative to natural light.
Here are more details on the light options available.
Fluorescent Lights
Incredibly less costly than LED lights, fluorescent lights are a good option for grow rooms. They are perfect for small rooms and help produce sufficient light to promote photosynthesis. Besides, since they produce low light, they allow cannabis to gain more height.
For best results, it is essential that you mount your lights correctly. To maximize light usage, hang these lights at least six inches above the canopy of the plant.
High-intensity Discharge Aka HID Lights
The high-intensity discharge lights are quite common among cannabis growers. They produce more than average yield and are perfect for illuminating all types of plants.
However, there are some apparent downsides. The HID bulbs produce an orange light which can be very stressful for the eyes. They lose a good amount of output before burning out.
For best results, place these lights at least 30 inches above the canopy.
LED Grow Lights
LED or light-emitting diode grow lights are one of the most common lights that can be used for 24 hours straight. They are quite fast and efficient, helping growers achieve many harvests within a year.
What’s more, since they have a comparatively low-temperature output, they can strive longer than other sources of light.
An excess amount of ultraviolet light can be very dangerous for plants. This is what LED grow lights are great at.
They produce ultraviolet rays, but not as many as other sources. This makes them safer for healthier plants.
That said, LED lights have some downsides. They are quite costly and are also quite sensitive to extremely high temperatures. To prevent the lights from burning, place a fan to cool them down.
To benefit from this light source, place your bulbs 18 to 24 inches above the canopy of your plant.
What Grow Light to Choose?
When choosing a grow light, decide whether you need high-intensity lights, or the LED ones will do too. Then measure the space available to evaluate the number of lights required, and finally, analyze the consumption rate of the light source to make a valuable investment.
Also, consider your budget. Since LED lights are expensive, they may not be a suitable option for low-scale growers. Additionally, evaluate other factors such as humidity and temperature requirements.
When setting a room for optimum light, you can paste reflective materials on walls for excellent exposure. This material reflects light, allowing plants to absorb a maximum amount of light produced by grow lights. Plus, they keep natural light at bay, preventing it from ruining the light cycle of the plants.
Many grow tents are already lined with this material, saving you money and time.
Whichever light source you go for, ensure to replace it as soon as it starts burning or stops working. Opt for high-quality bulbs or tubes to avoid a light disaster.
FAQ,s
What is a grow room?
Also known as the growth chamber, this space is built to help plants grow under strict and controlled conditions. For instance, a grow room for cannabis has this herb growing under controlled temperature, humidity, and light.
What do I need for a small grow room?
Some essential components of a grow room are: A frame, light proofing material, grow lights, fans, carbon filter, climate control equipment, and growing medium.
How much does it cost to build an indoor grow room?
The cost can depend on the size of the grow room and the quality of the materials. However, generally, the price is almost $100 per square foot. The price is prone to fluctuations in the inflation rate and the availability of the major components.
Growing indoors is much more expensive than outdoor cultivation.
Is a grow room better than a grow tent?
A grow tent is a grow room with a small surface area. Any other typical grow room might be larger than a tent, allowing higher yield in one go. You can grow different batches of cannabis in a household grow room such as your garage or basement.
How much weed can I grow in my room?
As long as your process is right, you can easily grow two to four weed plants at the end of three months. You can yield more depending on the space available in your room.
What size grow tent do I need for cannabis?
It is hard to predict. However, by providing ten liters of soil for a single plant, you can measure the space required in the tent. Ensure to also add some space between the plants so they can breathe.
What is the ideal height for a grow room?
We recommend you invest in a grow room with a height of at least 2 meters. This will allow the full growth of the mature plant. It is best to learn about your chosen cannabis strains and their sizes to evaluate the dimensions of your grow room.
How do you make a grow room smell-proof?
There are many ways to do that. Install a carbon filter while setting up a room, so the air remains odor free at all times. You can also use neutralizers and odor cover-ups to make the room smell good. Additionally, exhaust fans do wonders and create a ventilated environment.
You are Ready to Build your Grow Room
While an indoor grow room setup requires time and investment to make, once it is ready, no one can stop you from cultivating your own cannabis.
But before you start growing cannabis successfully, ensure to control the temperature, humidity, and air ventilation to achieve maximum output. It is all about creating a perfect ecosystem, so your cannabis grows and thrives.