In this post we’ll help you choose the best 2×4 grow tent kit for your budget. You’ll learn about the equipment you’ll need, tent features to look for, and how to evaluate the grow light options available in tent kits.
It can be confusing (and expensive) to buy everything for a 2×4 grow tent. 2×4 grow tent kits contain nearly everything you need to start growing weed. But included equipment in 2×4 tent kits varies by brand, so there are a few additional things you may need to buy that are discussed below. Learn more about 2×4 grow tent setup.
Most kits will include the tent, ventilation system (including inline fan, carbon filter, and ducting), and grow lights with hangers. Many contain a light timer, thermometer/hygrometer, and grow bags.
Some 2×4 grow tent kits contain just the tent and ventilation system, allowing you to buy the light separately. To keep costs down, 2×4 LED grow tent kits usually contain less powerful LEDs. Buying LED grow lights separately upgrade to more powerful light to increase yield. Tent and ventilation-only kits are also helpful if you want to use air-cooled HPS/MH fixtures, which can really reduce initial costs compared to LEDs.
The Mars Hydro 2×4 grow tent kit includes a 300 watt TSL 2000W LED light that has 704 LEDs. This light is a good choice for cannabis vegetation or flowering.
Features include:
TSL 2000W LED grow light light consumes 300 Watts a PAR/LUMEN output 1505 umol@12″
4” ventilation fan Kit, which has 4″ inline fan with 3-setting speed controller that moves 200 CFM and runs at 25 DB
Includes 4″ carbon filter, 33 feet of flexible ducting, and duct clamps
Humidity thermometer, timer, four 5 gallon grow bags, and adjustable rope hangers
Made with 1680D canvas and a frame strong enough to support 110 pounds from the ceiling cross pole
If you want to maximize yield you should upgrade your grow light.
For a little more money you can get this 2×4 tent kit with SP3000 LED light. The SP3000 consumes 300 watts with 960 pieces of Samsung LM301B LED diodes, 256 more than their TSL2000 light. It is the best LED tent kit in the 2×4 tent size.
They advertise that this light is 2000 watt (it isn’t) and that it yields 2.5 grams per watt (it won’t). Temper your expectations, a 200 watt LED at this price point is not going to actually yield almost 18 ounces of weed per grow in a 2×4 grow tent.
We’ve used a bunch of Spider Farmer products over the years and they are of good quality for the price.
Vivosun 2x4x5 grow tent kit
Best 2x4x5 grow tent kit
Vivosun makes two 2x4x5 grow tent kits with LED lights. The better choice of the two for flowering is Vivosun 2×4 tent kit with VS2000 LED grow light, which uses 200 watts.
A cheaper option is the Vivosun tent kit with VS1000 LED grow light. This is a less powerful light that would be better suited as a propagation, vegetation, or mother tent. The VS1000 doesn’t have enough light intensity for good bud development at the tent edges.
Features:
Dimensions: 48 x 24 x 60 inches
The ventilation system includes a 4″ inline fan with controller that delivers 190 CFM, carbon filter, and ducting
Includes thermometer/hygrometer, light timer, five 5-gallon grow bags, and elastic trellis, and grow light sunglasses.
Try to get the tallest tent your space will allow. 2x4x5 grow tents are best for vegetation, but the 60″ height doesn’t leave you a lot of room if your plants stretch unexpectedly during flowering.
The VS2000 LED light is the cheapest LED that you’d want to use to flower weed. It consumes 200 watts and uses quality Samsung LM301H Diodes. It offers high-energy efficiency, but it’s slightly underpowered to flower cannabis at the edges of a 2×4 tent. It’s best if you’re looking for a vegetation tent.
The Vivosun VS4000 LED is a 400 watt grow light that provides 2x the output of the VS2000. If you can afford it, the extra investment up front will pay for itself grow after grow in terms of flower quality and quantity. The VS2000 just doesn’t have enough usable light at the corners of your tent to flower weed properly.
Grow tent kit equipment checklist
Make sure your 2×4 grow tent kit has the following items, if it doesn’t you’ll need to buy them separately.
Grow light ballast, reflector hood, and bulb OR LED light
Inline fan for ventilation
Carbon filter
Clip-on fan for circulation (these aren’t included in 2×4 tent kits)
Hanging straps for light (2) and filter (2)
Flexible ducting
Thermometer/hygrometer with probe
Programmable timer for lights
Some kits contain additional items such as grow bags, trellis netting, scissors, glasses, etc.
The thing to focus on when evaluating grow tent equipment is the quality of the grow light. If you buy too cheap a light you’ll end up having to upgrade a few grows later. If you want to grow top-quality bud and you can’t afford at least a $500 LED you should consider a much cheaper 600 watt HPS/MH lighting with an air cooled lighting hood.
2×4 grow tents kits contain inline fans for ventilation but they don’t usually contain fans for air circulation, so you’ll need to buy those separately.
Ideally you’d set up a small clip on fan above the canopy, and a second clip fan or air circulator fan below the canopy. This allows you to keep a gentle flutter on your weed plants and to avoid moist pockets which can lead to mold issues.
The 6″ Hurricane fan is our favorite clip-on fan for above canopy circulation. It’s cheap and moves plenty of air for 2×4 tents, using 14 watts.. The 6″ Genesis fan works well too.
In an almost Alanis-level irony, duct tape isn’t used for connecting duct work. A roll of aluminum tape provides a much better seal to connect flexible ducting to your carbon filter, inline fans, or air cooled lighting fixtures. Aluminum tape also is good for sealing pinhole light leaks in the flexible ducting.
Black Gorilla Tape
Black Gorilla Tape is very useful when setting up your 2×4 grow tent kit. It is thicker and much stickier than regular duct tape, so it sticks very well to the canvas on the outside of grow tents.
Even the best grow tents have small light leaks around the seams. Stand in the closed tent inside a well-lit room to locate leaks, and then cover them with Gorilla tape. You can also use it to seal the edges around the screened ventilation windows when you close them for flowering.
Features to look for in a grow tent
When cheap 2×4 grow tent zippers break the tent will no longer be lightproof enough for flowering. Zipper quality matters.
Here are the tent features to evaluate when buying a 2×4 grow tent kit:
Zipper quality is very important
Duct and cord openings
Thick, sturdy tent poles and connectors
Quality outer fabric and inner lining
Since you can easily reach the back corners of 2×4 tents from the front door, access panels on the sides and back of your tent aren’t all that important.
2×4 grow tent lighting
There are a few LED lighting options available in 2×4 grow tent kits. If you want to use HPS/MH, you’ll need to buy your tent equipment separately. Ventilation kits contain an inline fan, carbon filter, and ducting. Buying the tent and ventilation set separately allows you flexibility to upgrade to a higher-quality LED, or to lower costs by using a 400 or 600 watt HPS/MH fixture. The best option for you depends on your budget and how you intend to use the tent.
LED lighting
The Spider Farmer SF600 LED grow light uses 72 watts and is an inexpensive choice for propagation, vegetation, and mother plants.
LED grow lights for 2×4 tents are more expensive than other options. They provide powerful, efficient lighting but they’re not ideal if you’re trying to outfit your tent without spending a lot. LED technology has come a long way over the past few years, and prices keep dropping while quality keeps improving. But good LEDs aren’t cheap.
The best LED light for 2×4 grow tent use will be able to provide enough light intensity at the far edges of the tent to ensure strong bud development. LEDs consume less energy and produce less heat than HPS/MH lights, which is helpful in a small space.
Be wary of inexpensive LEDs if you’re looking to flower weed plants. Pay attention to energy consumption and be skeptical of manufacturer’s outlandish claims. A $200 LED labeled as a 1000 watt HPS replacement won’t deliver a canopy of fat colas as advertised.
Many 2×4 tent kits offer lower quality lighting to keep prices down. But if you’re looking to boost yield and flower quality, you’d be better off upgrading to a better LED light.
High pressure sodium (HPS) and metal halide (MH) lighting is a great choice for a 2×4 grow tent if you’re looking to start growing as cheaply as possible. Use HPS for flowering weed plants and MH for vegetation. If you can just afford one, get HPS.
The biggest drawback of HPS/MH lighting in 2×4 tents is heat. Get an air-cooled lighting hood and ensure adequate ventilation and air intake to maintain the proper temperature range.
We have flowered weed plants in a 2×4 grow tent using both 400 watt and 600 watt HPS/MH bulbs. The 600 watt HPS delivered the most yield, with dense, frosty buds at the sides of the 2×4 tent and strong light penetration. Get a dimmable 600 watt unit which lets you reduce the amount of light (and heat) when needed.
For best results, use high quality grow bulbs which deliver more usable light across a bigger light spectrum. Quality bulbs make a noticeable difference in bud development and quality compared to a cheap $15 bulb. You need to change HPS or MH bulbs annually, which along with the along with the increased energy consumption adds to the long term ownership costs of these lights.
The best 2×4 grow tent kit will provide a quality tent, a powerful grow light, the ventilation system, and extras such as thermometer/hygrometer, light hangers, etc.
2×4 grow tent kits should contain nearly everything you’ll need to start growing, but you may need additional things such as circulation fans.
Pay attention to light quality if you are considering an LED tent kit. Cheap LED lights won’t produce dense, high-quality buds.
In this post we'll help you choose the best 2x4 grow tent kit for your budget. You'll learn about the equipment you'll need, tent features to look for, and how to evaluate the grow light options available in tent kits.
