WrinkledNugSack
Well-known member
Personally I don't like to have anything in the tent that can cause problems down the way or harbour any unwanted critters or residues.
I want everything except the absolute necessary items to lack porosity except the the soil, fabric pots, etc.
So in the effort to maintain a clean environment I coughed up a bit of cash for some of the 1/4" polyethylene Puckboard. In Canada this stuff is $120.00 for a 4x8x1/4" sheet locally, but I managed to get mine at a significant reduction because the guy didn't know what he had, and just wanted to get rid of it.
I cut off a 5' length for the floor of my tent and it has been a rather welcomed hack in that if/ when I use the plastic pot elevators that are commonly sold in the grow stores in the Prairies to place my plants on, they are much easier to slide around on the tent floor. (So just to clarify, I have the plant in a fabric pot, the fabric pot in a Dollar Store wash tub (in case something goes wrong watering), the tub sits on the plastic pot riser/elevator, and I slide them around on the floor as needed. A freshly watered plant would be similar to sliding a curling rock across the ice when you're in the hack preparing for the next shot... how's that for a Canadian comment!
In some areas of the world, you might/could for-go the riser, but here in Canada, the soil temperature can easily be effected by the cold coming up from a basement floor. The riser allows air to act as an insulator and maintains a soil temperature that is more amenable for the plant. I have used the 2" high density building insulation (cut into circles) between the tub and the floor, but they don't slide around as easily; but it certainly does insulate. I suppose a person could get a hand full of the "tack type" furniture sliders and put them on the bottom of the high density insulation and this would work just as well. Availability is key to the direction I would take... and cheaper tends to be my choice.
I'm certain that many of the readers have realized that there is a 1 foot void at the back of the tent as I have described, but it doesn't have any effect on the general purpose of this hack. I mount my fan centred on the back wall of the tent using a strip of Puckboard vertically. I also use a strip of Puckboard to hold a 4' fused light bar across the top back of the tent. All the goodies are plugged into this main light bar. So by the time, you leave an area for the fan to swing, so as to not hit the plants, and the plant canopy overhanging the edge of the pot, this 1' void in Puckboard for the floor is irrelevant.
I expect that some people use and have gotten away with using plywood, but it doesn't clean like plastic does and can harbour pets and residues. The plastic makes clean up easier and if you have ever had a male in the tent, it makes cleaning the pollen from the tent that much easier too.
But for what it is, it is an expensive hack and not for someone on a budget grow... it would be one of the very last things I would invest in.
I want everything except the absolute necessary items to lack porosity except the the soil, fabric pots, etc.
So in the effort to maintain a clean environment I coughed up a bit of cash for some of the 1/4" polyethylene Puckboard. In Canada this stuff is $120.00 for a 4x8x1/4" sheet locally, but I managed to get mine at a significant reduction because the guy didn't know what he had, and just wanted to get rid of it.
I cut off a 5' length for the floor of my tent and it has been a rather welcomed hack in that if/ when I use the plastic pot elevators that are commonly sold in the grow stores in the Prairies to place my plants on, they are much easier to slide around on the tent floor. (So just to clarify, I have the plant in a fabric pot, the fabric pot in a Dollar Store wash tub (in case something goes wrong watering), the tub sits on the plastic pot riser/elevator, and I slide them around on the floor as needed. A freshly watered plant would be similar to sliding a curling rock across the ice when you're in the hack preparing for the next shot... how's that for a Canadian comment!
In some areas of the world, you might/could for-go the riser, but here in Canada, the soil temperature can easily be effected by the cold coming up from a basement floor. The riser allows air to act as an insulator and maintains a soil temperature that is more amenable for the plant. I have used the 2" high density building insulation (cut into circles) between the tub and the floor, but they don't slide around as easily; but it certainly does insulate. I suppose a person could get a hand full of the "tack type" furniture sliders and put them on the bottom of the high density insulation and this would work just as well. Availability is key to the direction I would take... and cheaper tends to be my choice.
I'm certain that many of the readers have realized that there is a 1 foot void at the back of the tent as I have described, but it doesn't have any effect on the general purpose of this hack. I mount my fan centred on the back wall of the tent using a strip of Puckboard vertically. I also use a strip of Puckboard to hold a 4' fused light bar across the top back of the tent. All the goodies are plugged into this main light bar. So by the time, you leave an area for the fan to swing, so as to not hit the plants, and the plant canopy overhanging the edge of the pot, this 1' void in Puckboard for the floor is irrelevant.
I expect that some people use and have gotten away with using plywood, but it doesn't clean like plastic does and can harbour pets and residues. The plastic makes clean up easier and if you have ever had a male in the tent, it makes cleaning the pollen from the tent that much easier too.
But for what it is, it is an expensive hack and not for someone on a budget grow... it would be one of the very last things I would invest in.
