lighting help plz

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evangjames89

Active Member
Ok guys I need some help. I have successfully grown outside, but I have yet to successfully grow inside. The more I read about lighting for inside growing and all the options (CFL, HPS, LED, ETC.), the more confused I get....

First of all, let me tell you a little about what kind of lights I currently have, and the other things...

The room in which I want to grow is approximately 6 ft. long, 26 inches wide, and 4 ft. 9 inches in height.

I haven't set up any lights, because I'm not exactly sure if what I have will work. I have one 400W HPS Light, and one wide spectrum 40W GRO-LUX Fluorescent light.

What I'm needing to know is, will just one of these lights be sufficient for about 3 or 4 plants in the room size I specified above, and if not would it be enough if I combined both of them? If neither of those scenarios would be efficient, what other lights do I need to get started?

Also, I lined the grow room walls with Aluminum foil, because I've read it's a good idea to, but now I've also read to not line the walls with Aluminum foil. So, another question I have is, should I leave the foil up or remove it?

Thanks.
 
ChrisWallace72

ChrisWallace72

Active Member
that light should be enough man but id prefer a 600w or up, but should
do fine. the floro you have will be what id use in seedling stage of the
grow.

also remove the foil it will defo burn the hell outa ya plants, if you cant
get hold of mylar sheeting or anythin to that effect go with the simple
but effective flat white paint!


CW72:leaf:PEACE
 
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pabedizzle

Active Member
A 400watt hps is a great light and should be more than enough for 3 - 4 plants.

On the aluminum foil, I don't recommend it because aluminum foil is more of a heat reflector than light. Due to small irregularities in the Aluminum foil, foil can concentrate light onto small places can cause burned spots on plants . Use mylar or paint the room white.

In a 6 x 2 room, it may be hard to get the lights to the outer most plants (unless you have some very reflective material on the walls) because the room is so narrow. As to whether or not the light will work in that room I dont konw, but for a normal room, a 400watt hps light would be MUCH better than any combination of cfl's or flouros.
 
calicat

calicat

Well-Known Member
evangjames89 said:
Ok guys I need some help. I have successfully grown outside, but I have yet to successfully grow inside. The more I read about lighting for inside growing and all the options (CFL, HPS, LED, ETC.), the more confused I get....

First of all, let me tell you a little about what kind of lights I currently have, and the other things...

The room in which I want to grow is approximately 6 ft. long, 26 inches wide, and 4 ft. 9 inches in height.

I haven't set up any lights, because I'm not exactly sure if what I have will work. I have one 400W HPS Light, and one wide spectrum 40W GRO-LUX Fluorescent light.

What I'm needing to know is, will just one of these lights be sufficient for about 3 or 4 plants in the room size I specified above, and if not would it be enough if I combined both of them? If neither of those scenarios would be efficient, what other lights do I need to get started?

Also, I lined the grow room walls with Aluminum foil, because I've read it's a good idea to, but now I've also read to not line the walls with Aluminum foil. So, another question I have is, should I leave the foil up or remove it?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
That would depend on your expectations of your grow which only you can define. But in most scenarios the existing lights that you do have can be used in a grow with the number of plants that you have in mind. Aluminum foil is usually not a good choice for reflection because they cause too many hot spots. Other choices would be the following: 1) foylon ( the best reflective property out there just really expensive); 2) panda film ; 3) mylar; 4) flat white paint. Good luck
 
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evangjames89

Active Member
Ok, I definitely understand some things I was unsure about previously. I'm definitely going to go ahead and replace the aluminum foil with one of the recommendations you gave me, probably the flat white paint.

However, I noticed Pabedizzle said "In a 6 x 2 room, it may be hard to get the lights to the outer most plants (unless you have some very reflective material on the walls) because the room is so narrow. As to whether or not the light will work in that room I dont konw, but for a normal room, a 400watt hps light would be MUCH better than any combination of cfl's or flouros."

I too have been wondering about the room being so narrow, so I'm probably going to use a different room that's more squared. So, now I have a new question.... Pabedizzle said the HPS light would work in a "normal room". So, what would be considered a normal room dimension wise?

Thanks again.
 
ChrisWallace72

ChrisWallace72

Active Member
if your stuck for space, and cos you got i 400w id go for a simple 4x4
grow box/room.

id keep the light close but dont let it burn the plants, a good way to
test is to put your hand under it if it burns your hand its gonna burn
ya plants too.


CW72:leaf:PEACE
 

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evangjames89

Active Member
By the way, at any moment when I use the word "plant" or "growing" or words of the such it's in reference to growing orchids. :)
 
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