Ghetto grow

doobnVA

doobnVA

Well-Known Member
Here are some pics of my super ghetto grow, in case anyone wanted to take a peek.


Right now I'm using a 4ft - 52W T5 and 2 26W CFLs. I started these plants in potting soil (2 of them got dropped and repotted in sphagnum/vermiculite, the two bigger ones actually) but the plants in the sphagnum mix were doing so well despite having been dropped that I decided to repot all of them in the mixture.

The smallest one was from a batch of seeds that germinated for a bit too long, so it's been stunted from the get-go. It seems to be doing really well considering the circumstances.

I've got a 14 inch fan that blows on them all day long, and the lights so far have been 24/7. I think I'm going on 2 weeks with these plants, but who knows for sure :joint: ?

Lastly, yes those are aluminum foil reflectors made out of cardboard boxes. No, I don't get hot spots and they've been pretty much a fixture in my setup since my seedlings were born. Are they helping? I have no idea, but things sure get a lot brighter in the vicinity of my plants when I hang them up....so....
 

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Green Cross

Green Cross

Well-Known Member
doobnVA said:
Here are some pics of my super ghetto grow, in case anyone wanted to take a peek.


Right now I'm using a 4ft - 52W T5 and 2 26W CFLs. I started these plants in potting soil (2 of them got dropped and repotted in sphagnum/vermiculite, the two bigger ones actually) but the plants in the sphagnum mix were doing so well despite having been dropped that I decided to repot all of them in the mixture.

The smallest one was from a batch of seeds that germinated for a bit too long, so it's been stunted from the get-go. It seems to be doing really well considering the circumstances.

I've got a 14 inch fan that blows on them all day long, and the lights so far have been 24/7. I think I'm going on 2 weeks with these plants, but who knows for sure :joint: ?

Lastly, yes those are aluminum foil reflectors made out of cardboard boxes. No, I don't get hot spots and they've been pretty much a fixture in my setup since my seedlings were born. Are they helping? I have no idea, but things sure get a lot brighter in the vicinity of my plants when I hang them up....so....
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You get better reflectivity from flat white paint than aluminum foil - Better yet, I'd try to find out if your local wallyworld has those mylar space blankets for $5 and switch the aluminum out.

Other than that, it doesn't look too ghetto, and the girls look very happy
 
erkelsgoo420

erkelsgoo420

New Member
Yes... You are getting hot spots. U may not see it or feel it and it may not be anything to worry about as ur using floros but I can tell u white paint is 80% reflective foils is good for baking.....get some white slabs of plastic or something.. Mylar the foil is not worth it imo... But on another note they don't look bad let's see some more pics. Definetly ditch the foil though
 
doobnVA

doobnVA

Well-Known Member
Green Cross said:
You get better reflectivity from flat white paint than aluminum foil - Better yet, I'd try to find out if your local wallyworld has those mylar space blankets for $5 and switch the aluminum out.

Other than that, it doesn't look too ghetto, and the girls look very happy
Click to expand...

I was reading a thread here the other day talking about aluminum foil vs mylar, etc. Apparently mylar is just aluminum sprayed onto a plastic backing.

I did paint the walls of the room with KILZ primer beforehand so the walls are plenty reflective. I fashioned the foil reflectors to hang over my strip light, like a reflective awning of sorts.
 
doobnVA

doobnVA

Well-Known Member
erkelsgoo420 said:
Yes... You are getting hot spots. U may not see it or feel it and it may not be anything to worry about as ur using floros but I can tell u white paint is 80% reflective foils is good for baking.....get some white slabs of plastic or something.. Mylar the foil is not worth it imo... But on another note they don't look bad let's see some more pics. Definetly ditch the foil though
Click to expand...
I don't know.. I think I'm going to keep the foil reflectors because they really seem to concentrate the light and direct it towards the plants. As you can see from the pictures where the reflector has been removed, it looks like a great deal of light is escaping and with the reflectors on it's beamed back downwards and in towards the plants.

EDIT: here's a pic of the setup with the reflectors on... and then off.
 

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