closet cfl grow auto strains

Hello all, this is my very first attempt at indoor cultivating, and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this site for all the use full knowledge. This will be my grow journal. I started researching roughly about 4 months ago to start growing my own medicine. After all the stuff I read, I found that a CFL grow would be the only feasible method of growing IMO. As its a closet grow, I only have a 2X2X3.5 area to grow in. I chose autos for my first time cuz I read they are very fast, and pretty resilient to alot of operator or environment errors. I started off by setting up all the lights, I have 3) 100W equiv., 1600 Lumen cfls @ 2700K for budding; 2) 75W equiv., 1300L cfls @ 5000K; 2) 20W 24"fl tubes, 1125L @ 2600K; 1) 15W 18" fl tube, 825L @ 2600K; and lastly 1) 15W 18" fl tube, 700L @ 6500k. I picked up a bag of FFOF soil, and added a little more vermiculite. As its pretty hot, and doesn't quite drain like I want. I bought fox farms trio soil pack bur haven't started using any yet. I bought the following seeds online from bonza. Bomb Seeds' Cherry Bomb auto fem, Female Seeds' Northern Lights auto fem, Auto Seeds' Diesel Berry auto fem,
Big Head Seeds' Freeze Berry auto fem, 00 Seeds' Bubblegum auto fem,
And lastly a regular female strain from Female Seeds called Bubblegummer.
I haven't received them yet but they'll be here shortly. I do, however have 2 plants already going, just from some good nugs I've accumulated over the years. They're about 1.5 tall. In 2.5 gal pots. There's two fans, one from an old computer exhaust at the top of the canopy at the 18" tubes, and one from WalMart, just a cheap $5 throw away fan to help with the little heat this setup puts off blowing on the plants. As far as ventilation, I dont have any, other than the fans inside the closet (so circulation rather than ventilation). With no outside air going in or out. Other than when I open it up only when the lights are on. I've had a few hiccups along the way, trying to figure it all out, but I'm extremely happy with how my setup/startup has been thus far. And i couldn't possibly begin to thank the plethora of people on here with the knowledge that indirectly or even directly lent me a hand with my op enough. Happy growing!

So I decided to remodel. I added a few lights, took some away cuz they weren't making a difference at such a low output. And built my own reflector/cfl housing. I was not disappointed at it before, I just thought I could do better, after doing more research. So I Google'd DIY cfl reflector and found a step by step how to guide that was perfect. To put it gently, I did not have enough lights before making this fixture to produce a mediocre yield, at best. So here it is, broken down. I got 12 CFL's; six 19w (75 equiv) 1300L @ 5000k, five 23w (100 equiv) 1600L @ 2700K, and one 40w (150 equiv) 2600L @2700K. And two 15w 18" regular florescent tubes one with a 6500k bulb putting off 700L the other @ 2600k putting off 825L. I got rid of the 24" ones cuz they were too big to hang sideways in my area and upright, I wasnt utilizing all of its lumens towards the plants. They were just too long for the cab I made. All in all I'm consuming 299 watts and the plants have approx 19,925 lumen now. A significant increase from before at 171w @ approx 11,175 lumen imo. I upgraded the ventilation system as well by cutting two holes in the door (piece of drywall) to fit a couple small computer fans. But theyre not strong enough alone to regulate temps where they should be. So when the light cycle trips, I open the door and use a box fan on low. It keeps the temps at about 80, but humidity drops to around 25%. So I have to upgrade to higher output fans before my seeds arrive. I upgraded my reflective material on the walls from aluminum foil to a space blanket as well. Which is alot higher quality imo than foil. I dont want to spend a bunch of $ on mylar sheets for such a small area. So for the purpose of reflecting light, the space blanket is just fine. All in all, I'm 100X happier and more confident than before with this setup. When seeds arrive, I will start with just two plants. One bubblegummer feminized which isn't an auto, and one freeze berry auto fem. I decided to commit to a regular strain as well as an auto since autos prefer veg light cycle for theyre full lifespan. So I can keep her in veg till she's good and plump and still have bud to smoke in half the time it'll take her to mature. Oh, if your wondering why the plants in the pics look so despicable, just remember this is my very first attempt at cultivating. I used recycled soil with them, and didn't have a ph meter to check it before growing, wasn't using nutes only water, very poor lighting, and an unregulated vent system. So basically a worst case scenario for these girls. But I've worked the kinks out, invested into it what I need for when my ordered seeds arrive, and am as previously stated 100X happier and confident in it producing a decent yield for a closet cfl grow. Research says on average, when using CFL's, your yield is approx .25 grams per ACTUAL watts used. So if that's the case, I should have approx 2 1/2 oz best case scenario. If I get a half a plant I'll be happy since they're autos, and its my first grow. Happy growing!

Here's the current pics

So basically I remodeled the hell out of my grow cab. Stripped some.lights nut added even more. I Google'd DIY CFL reflector and found a step by step guide that was perfect. All in all, I'm running 12 cfls, and 2 18" tubes. Breakdown as follows; 6 x 19w (75 equiv) 1300L @ 5000K, 5 x 23w (100 equiv) 1600L @ 2700k and 1 x 40w (150 equiv) 2600L @ 2700k. The tubes are 15w (60 equiv), one with 700L @ 6500k and the other with 825L @ 2600k. Added a few fans for circulation by cutting holes in the drywall door just big enough for them. And attached some pipe for flow direction. But they're not strong enough alone so I have to upgrade to higher power fans. For now I prop the door open and use a box fan on low, keeps it at 80 easily. Stripped the alum foil wrapped walls down and put up a space blanket. And that's basically it. I'll add pics, but for some reason, it wont let me. I've added this post like 3 times now and when I go back to check it, its gone. Like it didnt even exist. Weird. Anyway, happy growing!