Quote Originally Posted by ForgetClassC

Anywho, the box is 2 identical bookcases with reflective insulation wrap around the whole shi-bam.
nothing wrong with the insulation wrap, but make sure you watch out for heat build up inside the box... some of those wraps are just as good at holding heat in as they are at reflecting it away. - as long as you have an exhaust fan running through there you should be fine though


-4 14-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 800 lumens each
-1 23-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 1100 lumens
-1 random CFL (will be replaced soon) I think its soft white = no bueno
-1 14" t-5 UV reptile light
are you sure those lumen counts are correct? I;m not sure about the 14watt one, but the lumen count on the 23watt seems low... or are they maybe just older bulbs from when CFL bulbs just weren;t as good as they are today?

all the 23watt CFLs i see on the shelf today are in the 1600-1700 lumen range.

with the random CFL you have - you should be able to figure out what it is... most CFLs have a model number written somewhere on the balast, take the model number and google it for lots of info... also most of the time you can tell the approx. colour temp just be looking at it while its lit up... this is by far not accurate of course, but its enough to get you in the right ballpark... 6500K bulbs are much strong in blues and the bulb itself will look very bright white with the smallest tint of blue seen if you look for it... while the 2700K bulbs have more red in them and when they are lit up, almost look like they have a very very faded salmon colour tint to it.

of course... they do make bulbs inbetween these 2 levels as well... i have some 5100K bulbs, and I have also seen some on shelves that are in the 4000K-area

If you can find them... i have seen some 29watt CFLs that output 2200 lumens... i have only found them in the 2700K spectrum so far though... these so far are the most effecient CFLs i have found on store shelves here (75 lumens per watt), where as 23watt (1600 lumen) bulbs are 69 lumens per watt and 43watt (2600 lumen) bulbs are 60 lumens per watt.... not sure if electrical usage is an issue for you, but if it is... i;m sure you can see the effeciency benefits of the 29watt bulbs... if effeciency is not a factor to you, then i'd go all out on the 43watt bulbs to max your lumens... just be careful on heat... the more effecient the bulbs are at producing lumens, means they also produce less heat per lumen outputted.


as italiano said... your plants look pretty stretched, try getting the lightts closer if you can... CFLs should be kept about 1-4" away from the plants... less than 1" and you'll scorch the plants, more than 4" and their effectiveness starts to decrease... you can also help with effectiveness by making some home-made reflectors out of pop cans... check this link Text for some great info on CFLs and how to make the reflectors (might need to find larger cans for the 29watt or 43watt bulbs though, as they tend to be fatter than the 23watt ones)


I;m also not sure about the reptile light... do you have the specs on it? T5s are great, but you mention its a UV light... it might be outputting tons of light, but it might be in a spectrum that the plant can;t even use.. so you might just be wasting electricity with it... i couldn;t say without knowing its colour temp though...


Dimensions:
25" x 18" x 21" = 832 lumens/sq.ft.
Does that sound sufficient? or should I get bigger lights.

You need alot more than 832 lumens/sq ft - but also remember for your square footage, that really only the amount of square footage that your plants are occupying is imporant... if you put a single plant into a 4' by 4' area (16sq foot) it would be kind of silly to put 80K lumens in there for a single plant thats only actually occupying maybe 1' x 1' area. this is a detail that I think most people often don;t pick up on... but then again, most people often grow the max their box can possibly fit, so to them, cab area = occupied area... not so in your case however... well at least... not yet
syde00 Reviewed by syde00 on . Growing on a budget of $0.00 Yup, had most of this hanging around from previous grow attempts, the rest only cost $40 bucks that I asked the mum for (I'm in college w/ no job, the funds be low). Anywho, the box is 2 identical bookcases with reflective insulation wrap around the whole shi-bam. The fixture is bottom of the line 3 socket bar/bath light. Picked up 3 of the Y dual apadters, and threw: -4 14-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 800 lumens each -1 23-watt CFL Daylight (6500k color temp.) 1100 lumens -1 Rating: 5