So it's coming together, but I still need advice. I initially bought 248 watts of CFL lights.. 6 low spectrum and 4 high spectrum. my cabinet is 12x24x30 (dwh), and I'm still gonna seal it all up. In the mean time, I set up 4 high spectrum lights and 2 low spectrum... totalling 150 watts. I dont know if I can deal with the heat, let alone the space issue if I add the other 4 bulbs. here's a picture obviously cords and whatnot aren't going to be hanging around, and everything is going to be sealed... still have to install an exhaust system as well. I'll probably only grow one plant, and LST/top it, etc. so a few questions: 1: should I add the other bulbs? 2: what type of exhaust should I make? I need it to be VERY quiet... 3: is it gonna get too hot in there with that many bulbs? thanks
Are the lights setup so you can raise and lower them? With the CFL you will want to keep them some where between 2 to 4 inches above the plants to prevent insane stretching. Get some computer fans and a 12 or 9 volt DC power supply from Radio Shack. They are dead silent, but if you want it to be even quiter you can mount them with rubber washers.
For an exhaust you can use PC fans, they run on 12v dc. You can buy silent ones, powerful ones, ones with brushes (which are useful to stop light penetration), just search on e-bay, you'll find loads to choose from. 248w of CFL is nice, it's around 20,000 lumens which will certainly grow weed. I would however add more personally, not much but a little for side lighting. While CFLs are relatively cool, they do get warm enough to burn leaves if they come into contact with the bulbs. With a decent exhaust you shouldn't have any issues with heat. two or three PC fans in the top of the box should do the job. You could add a home made carbon scrubber too, it will help with the smell for very little cost, and also help to lightproof the exhaust. It is certainly advisable to add a small fan inside the box to move the air around and strengthen the stems.
the cabinet has a shelving system, so I can keep the plants nice and close while they're growing. if I add the other bulbs they'll be more spread out. thanks for the advice guys, I'll take a trip to radio shack.
yeah I think home depot has them... I got mine at canadian tire.. soo... might not work for you I got them cause I wanted a nice modular way of setting it up... so if I have to re-organize things or disassemble stuff it can be done quickly.
1. you can never have to many lights haha 2.for fans and such, a computer fan would work great, they're quiet and pretty powerfull(and cheap) 3. it shouldn't be because it' looks fairly big, but with a couple of cpu fans it should be good
hey dude most home depots dont have it I know mines didnt http://www.jalanes.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Shelf/ASP/Hierarchy/020B.html this is where im going