Design Opinions

im attempting to build my first grow room for cfl's and would like some input plz. the dimensions im going for are 4' high x 4' wide x 2' deep. 2x4's and plywood. fan on bottom left side (suction) and fan on top back right side (discharge). 6-8 cfl bulbs for veg and flowering. but does anyone have any good ideas on how to go about hanging these lights so i can adjust the hanging height when the plants start to grow? also covering the whole inside with aluminum foil for better light reflectivness.

A possibility is jack chain and a hook at the top of the box. Take a look at my grow for an idea of what I am getting at.

I've seen these clamp lights at the hardware store, they even have a reflector (I dont know how effective it is) but you can position them any which way you need. You'd just need to build some mini shelf or something to mount all the clamps on. Other thing is they're a wee bit expensive if you're buying 4-8 of them, you could probably just scrap the CFLs at that point and buy a small HID. I think they were $15 per clamp light, plus figure about 2-3 bucks a bulb (23w), times that by 8 and thats about 200 watts and 110 bucks, I could get a 150w sunlight HPS for that price from local hydro store. Of course it would probably get hotter.

I'd probably just paint the inside white instead of using aluminum foil. Theres a few other flexible options for CFL mounting just limitted by your building skills and creativity! A stoned trip through the big box hardware stores is always fun lol, I just make sure not to ask questions unless the person seems cool, but generally they're like can I help you and I just say no (polite) and look like one of the millions of other customers who pass through.

I'd spent the ~$150 and just get a 2x4 T5 from a hydro shop. You hang it with eye hooks, chain, and screw links. Home Depot will sell you 2, 1 ft section of chain - you can put eyehooks in by hand, or predrill if you have a drill - it's like $10 to hang a light and you end up with a bunch of eyehooks.

panda plastic is a little less permanent then paint if you need an alternative.

thanks for the advice im def about to take a stoned trip through the depot this weekend and see what i can come up with, ill post with what i get.

Emergency blankets are a cheap source of mylar prob as cost effective as the tin foil and ofcourse you get rid of the problems you get with tin foil. I went with flat white because I have no local hydro store for quality prodcut so I went with flat white and since you are building your cabinet you can paint the panels before you put them on.