fluorescent lights

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Originally Posted by dontbugme

What happens if I don't add ventilation? Because I really can't, short of just opening the cabinet.

This cabinet is 20 inches tall. This is much too small to flower any decent plants right? Anybody have any ideas how I could make it work?

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You have the same $2 (literally) crackfan from walmart in your grow cab as I do!

Wally world sells these crackfans without the AC adapters they require.. either find a 3 volt adapter or use batteries...

They die so quickly... I have to buy a new fan once a week, this week twice... and I only run them 12 hrs a day

I can't find any other fans that are small enough to fit in my space though, so I have to keep using them

What you could do for ventilation is to drill some holes (or cut out a 4-5 inch in diameter hole directly behind your fan. The fan will then draw cool air from the outside from directly behind it into your cab. Then have a small opening or some holes drilled at the top of your cab so the hot air rising can flow out.

good luck and keep us updated

peace

Okay, so with the two lights, the fan and the ac adaptor in there, it got to 91.9 degrees. Way too hot! So I pulled out one of the tubes and it went back down to 85. For ventilation, can I just crack the door when the lights are on?

I know to close it when the lights go off and I start flowering and everything.

put a small fan or a few 12v computer fans in there to circulate air.

if you dont have an in/out ports for air, you may consider building em on...

When you added soil to the pots that no seedling was showing in, did you raise the level of the seed in the cup or just cover it? If you just covered it, it will probably die- the seed should never be planted more than 1/4-1/2" MAX below the soil surface.

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Originally Posted by psteve

I'd use 1 inch foil coated foam core insulation from someplace like Home DePot..
You can cut it to fit, and it will reflect almost as well as white walls.
Be careful not to restrict air flow to your plants. It's more important than a little more reflected light.
Eventually you won't need anything. Those 5 plants should fill a 4x6 space nicely, with a bit of room for good light penetration.
Keep the lights as close as possible (like less than 6 inches) to the top of the plants.

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foil toward or away from plants? i have 2X3 syrafoam sheets by my flowering girl right now, and i plan to move them in once shes done in a week or so.

PS: the freezer room is veg only, i have an entire bedroom to flower in under a 600w hps. its roughly a 7X5 area that the plants sit in, so maybe ill wall 3 sides with the foil stuff

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Originally Posted by hybridlove420

foil toward or away from plants?

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It usually has foil on both sides.:)
Shiny side in (if it has a shiny side).

Foam insulation does not have the proper reflective material unless it actually has real MYLAR on one side. The metal foil one is not reflective- it's as good as tinfoil, and that's not good. You need it to be white from the factory, cover it with mylar or panda film, or paint it white before installation.

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

You need it to be white from the factory, cover it with mylar or panda film, or paint it white before installation.

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This really is the best option. Use pure super bright flat white wall paint, or if you can afford it, flat titanium white.
I use the foil panels for ease of setup in a pinch, not for their superior reflectivity.
Good catch Stink!

Hey stinkyattic, I recall in another post you mentioning you had T5 for veg. If someone had a 8 bulb T5 4' x 2', how close should they be to a plant that is about 3 weeks old?

As with any light, as close as you can get it without burning. This depends in part on strain hardiness, ambient humidity, watering schedule, and temps, but generally within 2-3" is the right distance.