There are LOTS of options you can choose from when it comes to indoor grow tent kits. I recently purchased the top brands of kits and reviewed them all to compare them and figure out which one I liked best.
I found the Vivosun 2×4 grow tent kit on Amazon for about $150 off the normal price. It runs at about 2/3 the price of other comparable tent kits, so I was skeptical about the quality of each component.
The less expensive grow tent kits you can find at major online retailers have been known to fall apart after just a few uses, but Vivosun seems to get decent reviews from the indoor growing community. So I wanted to test this out for myself and see if their reviews were based on facts or just thrown out there by people who haven’t actually tested the product.
In my 2022 Vivosun Grow Tent Kit review, I spent over 26 hours and ran quite a few tests to put this grow tent kit through the wringer. Here are some of the ones things I looked for:
- Looking for light leaks when all the vents and zippers were closed
- Measuring the noise the inline fan and grow light puts off
- Wattage usage for the grow light and inline fan
- Measuring how hot the grow light gets after being on for 24 hours
- PAR tests at various heights to see how well the grow light worked inside of this tent
- Is the grow tent durable enough for long-term use?
Let’s get into it and find out how the Vivosun grow tent kit stacks up to the competition.
Do I Recommend It?
I recommend the Vivosun grow tent kit to beginner and intermediate growers who need something to grow in for a few years. It’s pretty easy to set up and is durable enough to handle the SF2000 grow light, as well as inline fan and carbon filter.
If you’re going to be growing larger plants (like tomatoes or vining plants) or need a taller tent to add shelves, you might want to look at taller grow tent options.
The Pros & Cons of the Vivosun Grow Tent Kit
I summarized what I liked and what I thought was missing from the time I spent reviewing this Vivosun grow tent kit. I’ll get into more detail on each of these later in the review.
Pros:
Easy to set up
Lightweight
Minimal light leaks
The included VS2000 grow light is great
Cons:
Not as tall as other tents
Didn’t feel as durable as other tents tested
What’s in the Box
The Vivosun grow tent kit comes in a mostly discreet box. The shipping box it came in did have one small sticker on the side that tells what it is – but I purchased this one from Amazon because it was on sale.
Buying directly from Vivosun, I don’t think that would be there, so if you’re going for the discreet box, buy it directly from Vivosun.
The Vivosun 2×4 grow tent kit is sold as a complete grow tent kit, which typically means it comes with the tent, a grow light, carbon filter, inline fan, and ducting for the fan.
The Vivosun kit also includes items like trellis netting, pruning shears, grow bags, a timer, and a humidity monitor.
- 2×4 grow tent
- VS-2000 LED grow light
- Grow light hanging straps
- Grow room glasses
- Carbon filter
- 4-inch inline fan
- Ducting for the inline fan
- Straps to hang the fan and carbon filter
- 3×3 trellis netting
- Vivosun pruning shears
- Removable spill floor tray
- Digital light timer
- 5 grow bags
Vivosun Grow Tent Kit Assembly
The assembly was pretty easy as all of the poles click-lock into place. It took me 24 minutes to put it together by myself, including a small delay because I used the wrong holes in the corner pieces to attach the tent together.
Assembly Time: 21 minutes
The green poles have a click-lock mechanism in them, making it super easy to fit each piece together. While the poles were a little wobbly before putting the canvas on, once the entire thing was together it felt much more sturdy.
For this being the first time I put together a grow tent, 21 minutes seems like a super-fast installation – which I was definitely happy with.
The Grow Tent
Specs
| Weight | 19.95 lbs |
| Dimensions | 48″ x 24″ x 60″ / 4ft x 2ft x 5ft |
| Outer Material | Oxford Fabric |
| Inner Material | 98% Reflective Mylar |
The fabric of the grow tent is decent enough, and will be great for hobby farmers or indoor home growers. The reflective mylar is great and does its job of keeping the light in while assisting the VS2000 grow light in being as bright as possible.
The grow tent comes with 7 ventilation holes of various sizes that allow you to put wires or ductwork through, making it quite versatile in terms of how you can set it up.
It also comes with 2 vents at the bottom of the tent, and one 12″x12″ observation window for viewing your plants without having to open the tent.
You can zipper off both sides if you need to access the tent from the back for some reason. This was mainly because to install the grow tent, you have to zipper around the bottom and the back, but it is nice if you need to get in the back for some reason without moving it.
Here is my full Vivosun grow tent review.
Light Leak Test
I wanted to test for any light leaks to see just how well this tent holds in the light given off by the grow light inside.
While the stitching around the zippers is double stitched, some of the other seams are single stitching, and this is where I found quite a few pinholes of light coming through.
The zipper has a back canvas piece to make sure light doesn’t come through. In theory, this is great, but parts of this flap were wrinkled on my tent and did allow some light to come through.
While I’m sure this can be fixed by ironing it out, or just over time as the tent is out of the box, it’s kind of annoying that this happens.
Score: 8 out of 10
VS-2000 Grow Light
I put together a full review of the VS2000 grow light for you to check out, but here are some of the basics starting with some of the tests I ran.
The Vivosun VS 2000 is a 200-watt light, perfect for the 2’x4′ grow tent size. The light is made up of Samsung 301H diodes, some of the best in the market, which make this light energy-efficient and BRIGHT.
Note: some of the grow tent kits come with the VS1000, so keep that in mind when shopping if you want this particular light.
Hanging this grow light is super easy too, as it comes with 2 convenient ways to hang the light inside of your grow tent:
- Ratchet Straps
- Bar Hook Setup
Ratchet straps are nothing new when it comes to hanging grow lights. They are an industry standard of sorts, and these Vivosun straps are great for being able to raise and lower your lights to any height.
But the bar hook setup is something a little different. Vivosun includes 2 bar hangers that have a notch perfectly sized to fit on top of the center bar in the middle of the tent.
My only concern with this is the heat the light will give off. Since it’s only a few inches from the top of the tent, if the light were to get too hot, this could spell trouble for the grow tent ceiling. While the light only ever got to around 115 degrees Fahrenheit, it still concerns me in terms of melting the upper fabric.
Even if you don’t want to use the light that high up in the tent, you can still use these hangers to connect the ratchet straps and give yourself the ability to adjust the height as plants grow.
The PAR Test
PAR stands for photosynthetically active radiation and measures how much of the light the plants are able to use.
I tested this grow light at 12 inches, 18 inches, 24 inches, and 30 inches. Here are the PAR charts of each respective height.
These PPFD readings were all taken inside of the 2×4 grow tent, taking advantage of reflector material on the inside of the tent.
I have the data aggregated here, and the PAR charts are down below.
| 12 inches | 18 inches | 24 inches | 30 inches | |
| Average PPFD (μmol/m2/s) | 788.7 | 675.0 | 599.4 | 546.0 |
| Test Area (m2) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Total PPFD (μmol/s) | 567.8 | 486.0 | 431.6 | 393.1 |
| Wattage (watts) | 202 | 202 | 202 | 202 |
| Efficiency (μmol/j) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| Uniformity | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
The Vivosun 4″ Inline Fan
The Vivosun 4″ inline fan is made of black plastic, and while it sounds cheap, it actually feels quite durable when you get it in your hands.
Inline fans are great for air circulation, and being able to lower the humidity in your grow tent. But they can be extremely noisy, and they’re running almost constantly, so I wanted to test how loud this inline fan was.
I did a sound test to help you in determining if the noise is going to be too loud for your growing space.
The Sound Test
I used an app on my phone to test out the noise (in decibels) that the grow light and the inline fan gave off.
The VS2000 light makes hardly any noise, but as you probably guess, the inline fan put off quite a bit of noise (as they do).
I tested the inline fan on 3 speeds to give you a better picture of what to expect:
- High – 51.4 dB
- Medium – 44.7dB
- Low – 38.1dB
- Max: 61.8dB
The max sound happens when you first turn the fan on, or when switching from a lower speed to the highest speed using the fan speed controller.
After the fan settles down, it keeps the noise level in the 51.4 range.
This wasn’t super loud, but it’s not completely silent either. Although with a fan putting off that much power, there is going to be some sort of noise.
Inline Fan Wattage Usage
Since the inline fan is something that is usually running most of the day, I wanted to see how much energy it was actually using.
I used a wattage meter to test how much energy the inline fan uses on each setting. Here are the results of my test:
High – 51.8 Watts
Medium – 33.7 Watts
Low – 24.2 Watts
Not bad results at all, but something to keep in mind for sure.
Vivosun Carbon Filter
The carbon filter feels very sturdy and ready to handle the task. By spraying a pretty noxious air freshener in the grow tent, I can tell you that this does work.
Not exactly a test I can prove results for, but I couldn’t smell anything, so your smelly plants should hide well in the grow tent. 🙂
Grow Glasses
Listen, if you’re not wearing grow room glasses and you’re in the grow tent regularly, you’re going to regret it by the time you’re 50.
I love that Vivosun includes grow room glasses in their kit. While they aren’t the best grow room glasses ever, they got the job done and my eyes thanked me.
You aren’t going to be picking up a date with these on, but at least you’ll be able to see who you’re talking to in 25 years because they protected your eyes.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Vivisun Grow Tent Kit
What Grow Light Does the Grow Tent Kit Come With?
This particular kit came with the VS2000 LED grow light.
Some previous kits they’ve sold included a CMH metal halide grow light, or HPS (high-pressure sodium) light. I prefer an LED as the heat it puts off stays low, and it’s more efficient energy-wise.
Of course, you can use any grow light you want inside the tent as long as you’re keeping the heat circulating around. CFL shop lights can work, but again they get really hot.
Can You Grow Hydroponic Growing in a Grow Tent?
You can absolutely grow with hydroponics in a grow tent. Some companies even have specific packages for hydroponic growers that have growing medium, setups, and hydroponic nutrients included.
The Vivosun Grow Tent Kit Review
I actually liked the Vivosun grow tent kit when you think about everything. While the tent itself isn’t as sturdy as some others, it’s perfect for growing a variety of plants like flowers, vegetables, fruit, and even herbs 😉
The grow light was really easy to use and didn’t put off a ton of heat, which is great as you raise the lights up towards the top of the tent.
I also liked all of the little components that came in the kit, like the grow room glasses, and grow bags.
Overall, it’s perfect for a beginner to intermediate grower. If you’re a year-round or commercial grower, or just need something taller than 5 feet, you might want to check out one of the more “premium” tents like the Gorilla grow tent kit.
