aluminum foil instead of mylar

Have a little starter grow room to start my plants before i take them outside for the summer. Would it be alright to use aluminum foil around the sides rather than mylar as a reflective material?

ram21r said:

Have a little starter grow room to start my plants before i take them outside for the summer. Would it be alright to use aluminum foil around the sides rather than mylar as a reflective material?

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no it is not ok

foil has more reflective of heat (it reflects it along with absorbing and radiating it own )

flat white paint ....is a safer choice

here is how it breaks down from worst to best
black walls.........worst aborbs all light and heat ...no reflection
foil on walls..........bad due to the heat reflection /retention /radiation
flat white paint .......standard reflect (white reflects all colors )
mylar /panda film ....the mylar reflects heat and light but does not absorb it so correct venting controls the heat...panda film is white side and black side
tent mylar .......this is the best due to the reflection and the mylar is normally laid in a pattern so this reflects and defuses the light in all direction

i am not currently sure about mirrors they were used in the original phototrons back in the day ........never done experiments with it

Save the foil for your hat. Oh, and wrap your cheap ballasts in it too, it'll keep the rf from screwing with your neighbors TV.

after years of growing, I tell all people starting out the same thing...

Do it right, or don't bother doing it...

In the end, you WILL end up doing it right... and if u start off trying to do it budget, and ghetto-rig fashion.... you will end up with a lot of spare parts in the end... and a lot of wasted money... (Ask my wing reflectors, booster fans, and zippers)

Go panda film, mylar, or just some flat white paint... foil will make burn spots, reflects too much heat with the light...

Get Panda film. That shit is dirt cheap.

Don't use foil.

If you googled "Can I use aluminum foil cannabis" you could have found out the answer was no in less than half the time it took to make this thread


That being said panda film is the best way to go.

Easy to set up, 100% light proof, 90%? reflective, easy to clean, and durable af..

Bad idea creates hot spots in your room and reflection sucks Google it I think even flat white paint is better.

I built my whole 2x4x5 grow tent using PVC and black and white poly film (panda film) for under $80 and when you do it this way it can be assembled and disassembled in 5-10 minutes. There is no reason to use aluminum foil for anything when that stuff is $25 for a 10x25 roll.