ok this is my 1st attempt so bare with me -the closet will be about 2'(w)x3'(d)x6'(t) (it's under the stairs so im working on ventilation issue) -so far i have 10 lil plants that i will transplant into (aprox.) 6gal. buckets (10 plants in 6 buckets...is that ok??) -4x 100 watt cfls (so not really 100 watts) (maybe 5 of these...for sure 4) - can i use a house fan (if i keep it on low?? ....i know they need a lil breeze) - as far as the room goes...im will try to make it light proof as i can.... can i put alum. foil on the walls??? if so what/how much should i use?? thanks for any info on this.....im tryin my 1st grow, which i didnt think would be possible w/out gc
One of the things that I saw is 10 plants per 6 pots, try to keep 1 plant per pot so that the roots dont get entangled. Also, doesnt look like your going to get the 4' cfls to fit in there, unless you do a little handiwork and make yoursetup go into the walls, I would purchase a 100-400w HPS light, (less than 100bucks) if your using 4x cfls, the cost of 4 cfls is about 35 each at home depot including wiring and all. I would just buy a HPS off www.insidesun.com any kind of fan works just as long as you have some air circulation in there. Mylar or tin-foil works the best for reflectivity. Tin-foil doesnt reflect evenly, mylar does, and it easier to clean. Hope this helps some
i would also suggest hps but if your gonna go cfl i would suggest getting the 45w=150w ones. they are 45w cfls in reality.
Mylar is best for reflectivity. 2nd best is to paint the interior bright flat white. Aluminum foil actually reflects less light than flat white paint but is super-good at reflecting heat, which you don't want.
what is mylar?? i assume it's paint?? if not what?? thanks for all the help guys. and sorry for all the post's i dont know how to reply to more than 1 quote per post
sounds good. If going to use more cfls than 4 of those id strongly advise into considering HPS, more bang for less buck in the long run. More light, better light, better yield. If you absolutely cant or wont go HPS, im pretty sure CFLS will do the trick and youll learn from the experience.
mylar is the name of a shiny metallic plastic film that you can line the walls with. It's like the inside of a bag of potato chips like Lays.
maybe. but I doubt it. if you can't find any at a local hydro store or online, send me a PM and I'll give you a hook up.
With the 400 watts of fluoros you will be running, anything more than 6 females and they wont be lit efficiently. If you want to do 10 plants efficiently, consider a 1000 watt light in the future. Other than that, good luck with the plan.
i think he said his money was tight,,that mylar is some expensive stuff,,,although you do need to take into consideration,,,you are using cfl,s so light reflection ,your going to need,and the more the merrier,,,id suggest spending the money and getting it,,,,, the paint will work,,,,but id lean to the mylar for your[under the stairs] setup..
I also thought he was asking where he could get it, wanted to pass that along. "Expensive" is a relative term. You can get a roll online for $18 or less plus shipping, but unless you have a gallon of white paint and a brush laying around that will cost you as well. It's also quicker and probably easier to hang the mylar. Personally I found it a major pain in the ass to paint the interior of my already-assembled box, 2-3 coats, spread it out over more than a week to let different surfaces dry -- in hindsight I wish I had just bought a roll of mylar and tacked it up in 15 minutes. If someone wants mylar for less, I have heard you can use emergency blankets from Wa-Mart or Target, just not sure if those are real mylar and offer the reflective qualities desired, though.
I just bought a roll of 2 millimeter thick mylar in a roll that is 4 feet X 25 feet. Thats 208 square feet (much more than I need) of mylar from inside sun at about $25. That included shipping because I bought other items at the same time.