Yeah I have a temp/humidty meter in the box with everything... ambient temp in the box, not under direct light, flucuates between 70-75F and humidity is in the 20-25% range... which seems like it could be a little low (humidity) to me, but i;m honestly not sure what a good target would be, and i also suspect that number is going to start going up on its own as the plants get larger.

good call actually about not taking the plants outside, i never thought about the pest problems that that could create... makes perfect sense now that you mention it though :thumbsup:

I think the biggest problem with the soil drying out is the parabolic reflectors... they are obviously getting more light to the plants/soil than would otherwise get there which means more light energy is getting absorbed by the soil, but then there is also the problem that the reflectors themselves get warm and keep the heat closer to the plants instead of letting that heat rise in the air easier...

but..... i also installed my proper cabinet ventalation yesterday and that seems to have helped with the soil dryness problem as well... i previously just had a big upright fan pointed down through the cabinet door basically right at the plants on its lowest setting (which is still quite powerful for the plants) and i suspect that the constant air flow over the soil was also helping to evaporate additional water.

that seems to have helped with the dryness problem... but it very well could be that i;m just over analyzing it as well, i know over-watering is a really common rookie mistake so i;m trying to find a balance somewhere between what my instincts are telling me with what my knowledge from reading all these forums is telling me