Here’s everything you need to know to select the best 3×3 grow tent kit. Learn features to look for, the top brands to consider, and which accessories are included in 3×3 grow tent kits. You’ll be growing great weed in no time!
A complete 3×3 grow tent kit like this Vivosun LED kit contains everything you need to grow weed.
Most 3×3 grow tent kit packages contain everything you need to get started growing weed, including:
Grow light ballast, reflector hood, and bulb OR LED light
Inline fan for ventilation
Carbon filter
Clip-on fan for circulation
Hanging straps for light (2) and filter (2)
Flexible ducting
Thermometer/hygrometer with probe
Programmable timer for lights
There are also different types of 3×3 grow tent kits that contain only some of these items, such as just the tent and ventilation. Others also contain additional products such as hydroponics systems, grow bags, screen of green nets, nutrients, etc.
If your kit doesn’t have everything listed you can buy the remaining items separately. Try to get the best grow light you can afford, and watch out for LED lights that make amazing promises at prices under $200.
Find the best 3×3 grow tent kit
Spider Farmer 3’x3′ Grow Tent, Fan and Filter Combo ($280)
There’s an advantage to buying the light separately and not being tied down to whatever grow light a retailer decides to include in their tent kit. Try to buy the best light you can afford, it will be worth the investment. Cheap LEDs produce skimpy, wispy buds.
It’s pretty easy to grow high-quality weed weed in a 3×3 tent, but not if you buy a low-budget light. With grow tent lights — especially LEDs — quality matters.
Tent construction
The Spider Farmer 3×3 tent measures 36″x36″x72″. It is lined with reflective mylar interior and a 1680D Oxford cloth exterior. It uses SBS zippers and a steel frame. If this 3 x 3 tent is slightly too big for your grow space, Spider Farmer also makes a 27″x27″ tent kit with LED light ($429).
Two ways to set up a carbon filter on a 3×3 grow tent.
This tent has two vent openings on the top, a pair on the sides to accommodate a separate fan to air-cool lights, and a low duct opening towards the bottom for air intake. There’s an observation window on the front of the tent, and two zipper access panels on the sides. Spider Farmer’s construction feels a lot sturdier than lower-priced alternatives we’ve tried in the past.
Fan and carbon filter
The 4″ inline fan draws 59 watts and puts out 200 CFM at 35DB, and comes with a variable fan speed controller that you can change speed easily. Fan is ETL, CE certificated, plug is UL certificated.
The carbon filter uses RC412 activated carbon layer that is 38mm thick and comes with a pre-filter. This kit comes with 32 feet of flexible ducting made of aluminum and PVC with stainless steel clamps.
Additional equipment needed
If you’re a new grower and considering this Spider Farmer 3×3 tent combo kit, you’ll need some additional equipment to complete your setup: a grow light, a clip-on fan for circulation, a light timer, and a thermometer/hygrometer.
If you plan to use a 6″ air-cooled HPS/MH light fixture you can cool it with this kit’s included 4″ inline fan using a metal 4″ to 6″ conversion adapter, preventing the need for a separate inline fan. See how here.
The total electrical draw is 474 watts, approx. 3.95 amps at 120 volts. All included pieces plug into standard-household grounded power outlets.
Tent construction
The AgroMax grow tent is 39″ long x 39″ wide x 85″ high. This extra height comes in handy when plants stretch unexpectedly in flowering, so when selecting a tent try to get one as tall as you can fit in your grow space.
HPS grow light
This HTG 3×3 tent kit includes a 400 watt HPS bulb, which provides decent but not optimal light coverage for a 3×3 grow tent.
400 watts works well for buds directly underneath it, but buds at the corners of a 3′ x 3′ tent don’t get enough light from a 400 w. In a small tent your goal should be to have every inch of canopy space packed with buds to maximize yield.
Note that it isn’t an air cooled fixture, and temperatures in a small tent like a 3×3 can rise quickly. You’ll need to make sure to turn up the exhaust fan as needed to keep temps in line, and you might need a small 4″ duct booster intake fan to bring in cool air. Intake air flow is very important in flowering, when you’ll need to close off the mesh air intake screens on the sides of the tent.
Note that the grow light includes the high pressure sodium (HPS) bulb only. While it’s acceptable to use HPS lighting throughout the entire vegetation and bloom cycles when growing weed plants, most growers prefer to use metal halide (MH) bulbs during vegetation and HPS during flowering.
I prefer to use dimmable 600 watt HPS and MH bulbs in a 3×3 tent. This provides stronger light intensity at the edges than a 400 w, resulting in better bud development. . But it requires more effort and equipment (including an air-cooled lighting hood and air conditioning in the surrounding room) to keep temperatures inside the tent below the max target range of 80° F. Beginning growers should stick with a 400 w, but if you’re confident you can keep temperatures in check then a 600 w with air-cooled hood will increase yield.
If you’re buying an HPS light, consider upgrading to a dimmable model (which lets you reduce heat in a pinch and provides less intense light for newly rooted clones or seedlings). Using a cool tube or air-cooled hood connected to an inline fan will further reduce tent temperatures.
DWC hydro system for 3×3 grow tent: pros and cons
This HTG Supply grow tent kit comes with four 3.5 gallon Bubble Boy Single Shot deep water culture (DWC) buckets that allow you to grow four small plants hydroponically. Clay pebbles and rapid root starter plugs are included.
New growers considering a hydro setup inside a 3×3 grow tent should be aware that while there are great benefits to growing weed hydroponically, there are some potential drawbacks as well.
Keep in mind that this is an entry-level DWC hydro setup and the included air pumps aren’t as powerful as they probably should be. But this kit includes four hoses, so you can put two tubes each in a two-bucket setup to get double the air. Two plants is a comfortable number to grow in a 3’x3′ space. If you want four, you can buy an additional air pump unit for the other two buckets.
Another problem hydro growers deal with is water temperature. You have to always keep the water in these hydroponic systems cool enough or you risk root problems that will kill the plant.
Water chillers solve this problem, but they’re very expensive. To get the benefits of hydroponic growing without the need to cool the water temperature, consider growing in coco coir in fabric pots.
This 3×3 grow tent kit from Vivosun contains a 3 x 3 ft. grow tent with observation window and floor tray, 4-inch inline fan with carbon filter, VS2000 LED grow light, temperature/humidity monitor, 3 x 3 ft. elastic trellis netting with hooks, 5-Pack of 5-gallon grow bags, 6.5-inch gardening pruning shears, and 7-day programmable timer.
Tent construction
The grow tent measures 36x36x72. Like most fairly cheap grow tents there will be light leaks around the stitching that you’ll need to cover with black gorilla tape. Tape around the observation window too. Use extra caution when flowering and try to keep lights off in the surrounding room during the 12 hour dark period.
The zipper is of moderate quality, but doesn’t appear ready for many years of daily use. Light does make its way in and out of the zipper holes, but this is common in other tents we’ve used too. Not much you can do about that but either keep the surrounding room dark, tape it up each day you open (royal pain in the ass), or hang a long thick beach towel over the top and down the front to cover as much of the zipper seam as possible.
LED grow light
The VS2000 LED grow light consumes only 200 watts and isn’t a true 2000 watt HPS equivalent as advertised. Light intensity is much lower at the edges of a 3×3 tent.
This 3×3 LED grow tent kit comes with a Vivosun VS2000 LED grow light (sold separately for $260, so it accounts for half the cost of the entire grow tent kit).
The VS2000 claims to be a 2000 watt equivalent, but that’s absurd. It’s not going to provide the yield and bud quality of two 1000 watt HPS bulbs. It consumes only 200 watts. Like most LED manufacturers the smell of bullshit permeates the product description.
The VS2000 grow light uses Samsung LM308H diodes with 2.9 umol/J. The dimensions are 23.5″ x 11.8″ x 2.4″ and the power cord is 6 feet long. It comes with a pair of adjustable light hangers and LED grow room glasses to protect your eyes.
The Vivosun VS4000 LED grow light ($439) uses 400 watts for better bud development and fits easily in a 3×3 grow tent.
This VS2000 LED grow light is great for vegetation of cannabis plants, so it’s perfect if you’re looking to use your 3×3 grow tent kit to keep mother plants or to use with young seedlings or clones.
If you’re looking to grow using a screen of green (ScrOG), be aware that the VS2000 light coverage won’t be as strong at the edges of the tent.
There are much stronger LED lights out there that would provide better returns for ScrOG grows, but the price point rises quickly as quality improves.
Consider the Vivosun VS4000 LED grow light ($439) which consumes 400 watts of energy, and at 27″x27″ it can easily fit in any 3×3 grow tent.
Inline fan
The 4 inch Vivosun inline fan has a speed controller with a max airflow of 190 CFM. It comes with flexible ducting and two clamps, but you’ll need to buy aluminum tape separately to seal the connections.
The five gallon fabric pots are perfect if you plant to grow in soil or coco coir.
The POTLAB 3×3 grow tent kit isn’t a complete kit. It contains a 3’x3’x6’ grow tent, floor liner, light timer, fabric pots, temperature and humidity meter, rope hangers, gloves, trimmers/snips, hanging herb dryer, and extra tent poles and fittings.
You’ll need to buy two additional things: lighting and a ventilation system.
Tent construction
The tent uses 3/4” diameter poles that fit into nylon corner fittings to build out the frame. It’s pretty solid compared to other cheap 3×3 tent kits. It says it can support 300 pounds, much more than you’d need.
The cover flaps for the air vents and observation window are entirely detachable. Not a problem in vegetation. They need to be installed carefully and tested to ensure they are light-proof for flowering. Sealing with Gorilla Tape is recommended.
The tent has a pair of 8″ vent openings on the top sides for air cooled lighting, and another 8″ opening on the roof for a separate exhaust. Two 8″ lower vent openings allow you to set up air intake. The two screened vent windows are 11″x7″.
Overall it’s a pretty good tent for the money. And the flexibility to get your own grow light is nice. A bit scary maybe for new growers seeking a complete grow tent kit, but it’s not that hard to find a nice LED that will work.
As one Amazon review stated, the POTLAB’s quality is “better than Vivosun, a little behind Mars hydro, and a lap and a half behind AC infinity.”
In addition to what’s included in this kit you’ll also need a grow light and a system for air circulation (typically an inline duct fan, ducting, and a carbon filter).
The included one layer drying rack is a bit absurd, not nearly big enough for the 12-16 ounces you can expect to harvest in a 3×3 tent if you use quality lighting and maintain a proper environment.
Adding lighting
The 400 watt draw from Vivosun’s VS4000 LED light allows for better light coverage than lower-powered LEDs.
The advantage of buying lighting separately is you can get the right light based on your cost and budget. If you want to grow dense, high-quality cannabis then get a quality LED light with proper light coverage for a 3×3 space.
Don’t take manufacturers’ words on that either, many lights show light coverage as a PAR lighting grid. You don’t have to understand what PAR is to see how much light intensity is lost at the edges of your tent when you look at those grids. You don’t want to have flowering bud sites in areas of the tent that aren’t adequately lit or you’ll lose out on yield.
Crappy LED light manufacturers won’t show you the light coverage, they’ll just talk about how wonderfully efficient their LEDs are (since they barely draw any energy) and how their 100 watt LED can replace a 1000 watt HPS (it definitely cannot).
You’ll need to buy a 4” inline fan, 4” carbon filter, 4” aluminum ducting, and aluminum tape to set up the ventilation system. If you are using air-cooled lights, go with a 6″ fan and filter.
You can buy the fan, filter, and vent separately. There’s also a few combo kits available:
The Vivosun 4×3 grow tent kit may be the answer if you’re looking for a single grow tent that can handle cannabis propagation, vegetation, and flowering all at once. Multiple chambers allow for all stages of growth so you can set up a perpetual harvest and always have a small amount of weed flowering.
This 4×3 grow tent kit contains a 2-in-1 48 x 36 x 72-inch grow tent, 4-inch 203 CFM inline fan, carbon filter, 8 feet of ducting, 2x stainless clamps, VS1000 LED grow light, grow room glasses, 2-ft. T5 grow light fixtures, rope hangers, 3 x 3 foot elastic trellis netting, five 5-gallon grow bags, temperature humidity monitor, pruning shears and digital timer.
Tent construction
The main tent chamber is 3×3 feet, and the proportion side is 1x3x3 feet with two levels. A removable velcro divider separates the two sides. It also comes with three floor trays and a shelf.
Note that if you’re using the large side for flowering marijuana plants you’ll need to use black Gorilla tape to seal all the edges around the divider, otherwise there’ll be too much light leakage. You’ll also need to seal the pinhole light leaks around the seams, there’s a bunch of those in nearly all brands of grow tents.
The tent is made of 600D canvas and lined with reflective mylar. The ABS zippers on this tent don’t seem all that solid, so be careful as you open and close the tent and that should extend the zipper life considerably. You’ll need to use your fingers to flatten the inner lining of the zipper with your fingers to block out light leaks, like on many tents it tends to bunch up which defeats the purpose.
The included 3×3 elastic netting is perfect to set up a screen of green so you can train a flat, even plant canopy that maximizes light exposure for increased yields. The 3×3 chamber holds 2-4 weed plants in 3 or 5 gallon pots.
The tent has multiple vents for fan and filter ducts: four 4″ round vents, five 6″ round vents, and 3 rectangle mesh vents.
LED and fluorescent grow lights
This grid shows the VS-1000 PAR levels for a 2×2 foot grid. This light isn’t strong at the edges of a 3×3 chamber.
The included Vivosun VS1000 LED grow light is for the large vegetation chamber. Two 2-foot T5 fluorescent grow light fixtures have two bulbs each to power the propagation and vegetation chambers.
The VS1000 LED light uses quality Samsung LM301H Diodes, and has high-energy efficiency with 2.75 umol/J. It uses only 100 watts of power though, and is a bit underpowered to reach buds the corners of the 3×3 foot flowering chamber. For comparison, the regular 3×3 Vivosun kit comes with a 200-watt VS2000 light, and even that isn’t ideal for reaching the corners.
If you plan to flower using this full 4’x3′ tent, you’ll need a much more powerful LED grow light or a 600 watt HPS/MH light setup. With 33% more canopy space then a standard 3×3 tent, if you increase the lighting you should be able to get 33% more weed with each grow. This is a big plus for this tent.
The VS1000 light uses 100 watts and is a bit underpowered to reach the edges of the 3×3 flowering chamber.
The two T5 fixtures are perfect for germinating seeds and rooting clones. Two 2-foot long fixtures are provided, each containing two 24w 6500k lamps. Keep in mind the tent is 3′ long, so the 2-foot fixtures don’t provide a lot of light to the ends.
Inline fan and carbon filter
The 4″ inline fan is plenty powerful for this small grow tent kit. The speed controller lets you adjust airflow as needed. It runs at a 49 dB noise level on the highest setting.
Note that this kit doesn’t contain small clip fans for air circulation within the tent. You’ll need to get at least one for the larger flowering side, and you may want to get a second for the medium-size vegetation chamber.
The 4″ carbon filter uses a 1050+ RC 48 Australian virgin charcoal bed. It comes with 8′ of air aluminum ducting, which isn’t a lot so you may need to buy more. You’ll also need aluminum tape to seal up the connections when you set it up.
This Mars Hydro 2.3′ x 2.3′ tent kit is a bit smaller than 3×3 tents. Less size equals less yield. This tent has 5.29 square feet of canopy space, vs the 9 square feet of a standard 3×3 foot grow tent. That’s just over half the yield. It’s best for small grows of one plant, and is perfect if you need a tent for mother plants.
The included LED light uses 150 watts and is perfectly sized for this tent’s dimensions, unlike what is often seen in other grow tent complete kits. It has thicker tent panels and more solid construction.
But the smaller tent size is a drawback. It measures 27x27x63 inches, so it’s not very tall either. It’s meant to grow one plant or maybe two small ones. It takes just as much effort to grow weed in a 27×27 inch tent as in a 36×36 inch tent. So if you have the space, get the largest tent you can fit if you’re looking to harvest more weed with the same effort level.
Make sure you look for these tent features when choosing a 3×3 grow tent:
Duct and cord openings:
Make sure the tent you choose has enough duct openings. You need one for your exhaust duct, and two more if you plan on running air cooled lights with a separate fan.
Note: it is possible to use a single duct opening for both light cooling and exhaust on the same fan.
Ventilation panels
Panels with sealable velcro flaps at the bottom are important for air intake, you should have at least two
Zipper panels
Zipper access to the sides is needed to allow easy access to maintain plants
Quality zippers
Zipper quality really matters. Look for heavy duty zippers that will hold up after years of daily usage. When the zipper breaks the tent is junk, so it’s worth the extra investment.
Sturdy tent poles
Thick poles provide a firm structure to support heavy grow light hoods and carbon filters.
A viewing window
Helpful, but not essential.
Other considerations for 3×3 grow tent kits
When you buy your 3×3 grow tent kit, try to get as tall a tent as you can fit in your grow space. Make sure to take into consideration the 6″ vent width if you plan to run exhaust out of the roof of your tent.
When choosing the best 3 x 3 grow tent kit package, pay attention to tent quality. Cheaper tents are fine for vegging plants since they don’t need to be lightproof, but you don’t want to risk light leakage in flowering.
The second biggest factor in picking the best 3 x 3 grow tent kit is the quality of the light. You need powerful light to yield quality weed, but you also need to control the resulting heat.
Watch out for cheap kits with low quality LEDs in particular. The diodes alone used by a quality LED usually cost more than entire cheap LED fixtures. But you’re paying for quality, so getting the best light you can afford will ensure many years of happy returns.
We hope you found this info helpful when trying to pick the best 3×3 grow tent kit for your needs. Now grow some killer weed and roll some fatties!
Find the Best 3x3 Grow Tent Kit (Reviews and Tips)
Description
Here's everything you need to know to select the best 3x3 grow tent kit. Learn features to look for, the top brands to consider, and which accessories are included in 3x3 grow tent kits. You'll be growing great weed in no time!
The HTG Supply 3 x 3 grow tent complete kit comes with everything you need to grow weed hydroponically. It includes:
HPS grow light
This 3×3 grow tent kit from Vivosun contains a 3 x 3 ft. grow tent with observation window and floor tray, 4-inch inline fan with carbon filter, VS2000 LED grow light, temperature/humidity monitor, 3 x 3 ft. elastic trellis netting with hooks, 5-Pack of 5-gallon grow bags, 6.5-inch gardening pruning shears, and 7-day programmable timer.
Inline fan
The POTLAB 3×3 grow tent kit isn’t a complete kit. It contains a 3’x3’x6’ grow tent, floor liner, light timer, fabric pots, temperature and humidity meter, rope hangers, gloves, trimmers/snips, hanging herb dryer, and extra tent poles and fittings.
The tent has a pair of 8″ vent openings on the top sides for air cooled lighting, and another 8″ opening on the roof for a separate exhaust. Two 8″ lower vent openings allow you to set up air intake. The two screened vent windows are 11″x7″.
You’ll need to buy a 4” inline fan, 4” carbon filter, 4” aluminum ducting, and aluminum tape to set up the ventilation system. If you are using air-cooled lights, go with a 6″ fan and filter.
The Vivosun 4×3 grow tent kit may be the answer if you’re looking for a single grow tent that can handle cannabis propagation, vegetation, and flowering all at once. Multiple chambers allow for all stages of growth so you can set up a perpetual harvest and always have a small amount of weed flowering.
The tent is made of 600D canvas and lined with reflective mylar. The ABS zippers on this tent don’t seem all that solid, so be careful as you open and close the tent and that should extend the zipper life considerably. You’ll need to use your fingers to flatten the inner lining of the zipper with your fingers to block out light leaks, like on many tents it tends to bunch up which defeats the purpose.
This Mars Hydro 2.3′ x 2.3′ tent kit is a bit smaller than 3×3 tents. Less size equals less yield. This tent has 5.29 square feet of canopy space, vs the 9 square feet of a standard 3×3 foot grow tent. That’s just over half the yield. It’s best for small grows of one plant, and is perfect if you need a tent for mother plants.
