Not every grow tent needs a humidifier.
Cannabis plants only need high humidity as seedlings and most growers keep their seedlings in a separate location.
As a result, you probably only need a humidifier for your grow tent if you live in an especially dry climate.
But if you do need one, you want to make sure you get one that is actually suitable for the purpose.
Keep reading for a comparison and brief reviews of the best humidifiers for grow tents, in several sizes and price ranges.
Contents
- 1 Best Humidifiers For Grow Tents Compared
- 2 Best Humidifier For Grow Tent: Reviews
- 3 Grow Tent Humidifier Buyer’s Guide
- 4 Best Grow Tent Humidifier: Final Thoughts
Best Humidifiers For Grow Tents Compared
Best Humidifier For Grow Tent: Reviews
The following humidifiers are the best options available for use in a grow tent. The first one is our top value choice overall, but any model below will do the job better than the rest of the competition.
Best Overall: LEVOIT Humidifier
- Affordable
- Great brand reputation
- Set and forget operation
- Safe plastic BPA-Free tank
- Quiet operation
- It may be a bit large for a tiny grow tent
The LEVOIT humidifier is a 2.4-liter humidifier that produces an ultrafine mist that won’t drench the surroundings. It is not expensive and is one of the most loved humidifiers in this price range to use in a grow tent. It is a larger capacity humidifier than many other similarly priced models.
Features
- Micro mist technology: produces a super-fine nearly invisible mist, making the moisture stay in the air instead of settling on nearby surfaces
- Great for babies: in addition to being our favorite choice for grow tents, if you have a little one at home you may want to buy an extra one; the plastic tank is BPA free and very quiet when in operation; it also has a night light which is helpful in a baby’s room
- Adjustable mist: allows you to direct the mist spout wherever you want, and it has a dial to choose your mist level as well
- Large tank: the large size tank is bigger than most humidifiers in this class; you can fill it and forget it
- Auto shut-off: when the tank is empty, the humidifier will shut down on its own, freeing you to not worry about it
Highest-Quality: Honeywell Top Fill Cool Mist Humidifier
- Great value for size: can humidify a larger grow tent and still maintain a fairly small footprint
- Attractive: it is a sleek black matte finish machine that looks good in nearly any situation; looks right at home in a grow tent, on a table, or in a corner
- Excellent value for money: you can pay more for smaller units that do not fill as much space as this unit does; some models cost more that do not have many of the features this one has, like adjustable mist or auto shut off
- Highly rated by customers: this unit gets great reviews on online marketplaces where it is sold
- Has plastic construction that may not survive a bad fall or accidental kick; you will need to be careful with it, but this is the same with all humidifiers these days
The Honeywell Top Fill Cool Mist humidifier is a sleek, modern-looking humidifier designed for medium to large-sized spaces.
It has a 1.25-gallon tank which allows for 36 hours of continuous operation. It also has an automatic shut-off feature as the LEVOIT does.
It has a slightly smaller footprint than the LEVOIT model because it is more of a narrow, rectangular shape than a large, square footprint.
It is the best grow tent humidifier available regardless of price, and my personal favorite on this list. But overall, we consider the one above a slightly better value.
Features
- Adjustable: allows you to aim the mist where you want it; the nozzle can also rotate during operation
- Fine mist: can produce a very fine mist which is not something all humidifiers in this price range can do
- High quality: Honeywell has an excellent reputation for making high-quality humidifiers and other home technology products; they have been making humidifiers for many years
- Ultra-quiet: nearly silent operation when compared to other humidifiers; most produce an audible hum that some customers find irritating, but the Honeywell Cool Mist is much quieter
- Filter-free: does not require a filter, which saves money over the long term; it can be expensive to constantly have to buy replacement filters for your humidifier, so this one saves you a recurring expense
Best Budget Humidifier: SmartDevil Small Humidifier
- Inexpensive to buy and operate
- Small and versatile enough to use anywhere in the tent
- Fairly quiet operation
- Can use intermittent mode on wet or humid days to conserve the water in the reservoir
- Small with a small capacity, which means you have to add water more often
The SmartDevil is a small desktop-style humidifier that is meant to be used in a home office or bedroom. It is not a high-capacity unit like some other humidifiers reviewed here.
It sits at just under 4 inches tall and about 5 inches wide and has a cylindrical shape with the water reservoir on the bottom and the spout on top.
Despite the small size, it is a good deal for the money and should handle most small grow tents with no issues.
Features
- Fine spray: produces very fine water particles which help to humidify the entire area, instead of larger water droplets settling in one corner or the other; the fine mist is good at making sure the entire tent is being treated
- Silent operation: although the manufacturer calls it “silent operation”, this is not true; it is very quiet at just under 30dB but that is not silent; this claim is a bit misleading but not a big deal for a grow tent; 30dB is about how loud a computer fan is; it is quieter than a normal conversation, but it can be irritating if you are easily irritated
- Low water shut off: when the water level becomes too low, the unit will turn off to avoid causing any damage to the unit or becoming a safety hazard
- Two spray modes: it has continuous spray mode and intermittent spray modes; this comes in handy when the weather changes; for example, if it is humid outside you can set it to intermittent mode, so you are not wasting water; if it is extra dry you can leave it on continuous mode
- Night light modes: there are two different light modes: constant light, and intermittent light, which they call breathing light mode; this is not particularly useful for a grow tent, but it may be a nice bonus; if you have to fumble to find your light switch this could help you see it better
- Service: the manufacturer provides free online customer service, which is not anything special if they want to stay in business, but it is worth mentioning because they use it as a selling point, and many Chinese brands do not offer this
Best For Small Grow Tents: Pure Enrichment MistAire Humidifier
- Compact size allows for placement anywhere
- Ten-hour operation
- Comes with a five-year warranty
- Not expensive
- Attractive design
The MistAire Studio is a mid-sized to small humidifier with a modern sleek style that kind of resembles a beaker you may have used in science class. It has a 0.7 liter capacity which is just about 3 cups of water.
This is not a high-capacity unit, but it is bigger than some other compact options. It will run for about 10 hours on 3 cups of water. It weighs just over a pound and does not take up much space, which is why it is the best option for small tents.
Features
- Compact sleek profile: at 9 inches tall and 5 inches wide it can fit anywhere; it is an attractive modern-looking unit as well; it will service a grow tent or room up to 175 square feet
- 10 Hour run time: will run on low for 10 hours, which allows you to leave it all day in your tent; will only go for 8 hours on high, however
- Quiet operation: like the other units in this roundup, the MistAire operates quietly at under 32 dB, just loud enough to hear while having a conversation; I don’t think the quiet factor is a big deal for growers since they already have loud fans and air filters running all day
- Auto shut off: will turn itself off when the tank is empty; this is a good feature to have since running it empty will ruin it; however, every single humidifier seems to have this feature, so it is not a unique selling point
- Night light: like many other similar models, it has a soothing light that provides a small amount of light in case you need it
- In the package: you will get the unit, AC adapter, manual, cleaning brush, and a five-year warranty; the warranty is not something you see on these units, so it is noteworthy here
Best For Large Grow Rooms: Aprilaire 500 Whole-Home Humidifier
- Powerful enough to keep a large operation at optimal humidity
- Easy to understand with the digital panel
- Made by the inventor of the evaporative cooler
- Large capacity means less time messing with it
This is an outlier compared to the other units on this list, but it is worth featuring because many people have large grow rooms.
Many small growers start with premade tents and graduate to a full-on commercial operation. This unit is for when you are ready to expand.
The Aprilaire 500 is designed to service an entire home up to 3000 square feet. This is more than enough power for most medium to large grow rooms. It is made in the USA by the company that invented swamp coolers, so you know it is a high-quality unit.
Features
- Large capacity: can pump out up to 54.6 liters (12 gallons) of humidity a day in a 3000 square foot space; this is more than enough for most grow rooms or homes
- Responsive: automatically responds to outdoor humidity and indoor humidity via the settings; a set it and forget it solution
- Digital control:Â the digital screen shows the percent humidity, when to change the water panel, when it is on or off, and when it needs to be serviced
- Moves a lot of air: with an airflow capacity of 200 cubic feet per minute, this will always keep the moist air moving in your grow room
Grow Tent Humidifier Buyer’s Guide
All humidifiers will do the job of adding moisture to the air in your grow tent, but how they do it, how well they do it, and several other factors come into play in deciding which one is best for your needs.
Let’s take a look at the features that make the biggest difference.
Size
This is perhaps the most important factor in determining which model is best for you. If you have a large grow tent or room, you will be able to accommodate a unit with a bigger footprint, which means it also has a larger capacity.
However, if you are operating out of a small tent that only fits a handful of plants, you will need a humidifier with a small footprint. In small tents, every foot of space is valuable, so the smaller the unit, the more plants can fit on the floor.
Output
How much moisture the unit puts out, and for how long, comes into play as well.
Since every humidifier has a finite amount of water it can hold (unless you have an industrial unit that has a direct line to your water supply), you will have to pay attention to how much it puts out and how many hours of the day it can run.
You may be able to turn it off from time to time, depending on your moisture needs. But if you have a larger tent, you will want to make sure your unit can operate for several hours before needing a refill.
Capacity
Much like output over time, capacity has a direct relationship to the size of your tent and the amount of water you will need daily.
A smaller reservoir will require you to add water more often, but will also result in the unit taking up less space, so there is an upside to a unit with a very low capacity.
Larger humidifiers with higher capacity reservoirs will not need to be filled as often, but they will take up more space.
Most humidifiers that are optimal for small to medium grow tents hold less than a gallon (around 4 liters) of water and will need to be filled once or twice daily.
Noise
Most of the humidifiers here are fairly quiet. Many of them are just a little louder than a whispered conversation, which is not nearly as loud as the fans you probably already have in your grow tent.
Noise is not a huge factor when purchasing one for a grow tent, but it may be important to some people who are sensitive to noise. In general, these units are not going to be loud enough to cause a problem.
Price
How much money you spend on one of these humidifiers depends on the features you need. Nearly every humidifier in the under fifty bucks range I checked out had a quiet operation, under a gallon capacity, some kind of lighting, and a way to adjust the mist.
When nearly every unit has similar features, you will look more closely at the price. In this case, you should be looking for warranties or brand recognition as a means to justify paying a higher price.
Best Grow Tent Humidifier: Final Thoughts
Before you buy a humidifier for your grow tent, make sure you even need one. Weed needs about 40% humidity during the vegetative and flowering stages of growth. It only needs a higher humidity when seeding.
Since you are probably seeding in a special seeding box, it is unlikely you need a humidifier in your grow tent, unless you live in an especially dry climate.
If you do need a humidifier, any of the models above work great and give you the best value for your money on the market. Get the one that best suits your grow tent size and your humidifying needs.
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