Doublechecking CFL Box Setup

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FuckinNewbie

Member
I need to get started building my grow box and I just wanted to get some feedback before I end up making huge, costly mistakes. Firstly, my box is going to be made from those reflective foam insulation panels and will be 5' wide, 4'tall and 2' deep. One problem is that my shop lights are covering the entire ceiling of the box and at 40w a tube and 8 total tubes, that is still only 320w. That isn't going to give me enough wattage per square foot to grow many plants. Cfls are seeming inefficient, but they are all my budget allows. I don't understand why people say you can use them, unless you are talking about one or two plants in a closet. How many plants (bagseed) can I get in my box/room? Is there a better way to do my cfl's? Why doesn't the reflectiveness of the walls count when figuring out how much total light one has? I thought that was the whole point. Thanks for any help. I am experiencing information overload and have developed an unattractive twitch.
 
A

Adam4nt

Member
I don't know a whole lot about grow rooms, but I do know you're going to need at least 5 feet deep. You can't really grow much if it's only 2 feet deep.
 
Xcon

Xcon

Active Member
FuckinNewbie said:
I need to get started building my grow box and I just wanted to get some feedback before I end up making huge, costly mistakes. Firstly, my box is going to be made from those reflective foam insulation panels and will be 5' wide, 4'tall and 2' deep. One problem is that my shop lights are covering the entire ceiling of the box and at 40w a tube and 8 total tubes, that is still only 320w. That isn't going to give me enough wattage per square foot to grow many plants. Cfls are seeming inefficient, but they are all my budget allows. I don't understand why people say you can use them, unless you are talking about one or two plants in a closet. How many plants (bagseed) can I get in my box/room? Is there a better way to do my cfl's? Why doesn't the reflectiveness of the walls count when figuring out how much total light one has? I thought that was the whole point. Thanks for any help. I am experiencing information overload and have developed an unattractive twitch.
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LOL dude, you're thinking too hard... shit, my brain is smoking from reading all that. You can wire cfls into absolutely any configuration you want, with as many watts as you can cool, for less than I spend on dirt. wiring tutorial in my sig :)
 
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FuckinNewbie

Member
Less than you spend on dirt? I am spending 16 bucks a fixture (w 2 tubes). That's 64 dollars total for a measly 320 watts. Now I found a dude on craigslist who has a 400 watt MH for 45 bucks. That''s awesome but then I have a cooling problem. Why can't I make my roombox 2 feet deep? I thought i could get one plant per square foot. Wouldn't that mean I can get one plant in there with room around the edges, like a single line of five plants? I think a lot of my unhappiness with the design stems from the fact that I really wanted to grow at least ten plants and I can only afford enough lighting for 4.
 
Xcon

Xcon

Active Member
FuckinNewbie said:
Less than you spend on dirt? I am spending 16 bucks a fixture (w 2 tubes). That's 64 dollars total for a measly 320 watts. Now I found a dude on craigslist who has a 400 watt MH for 45 bucks. That''s awesome but then I have a cooling problem. Why can't I make my roombox 2 feet deep? I thought i could get one plant per square foot. Wouldn't that mean I can get one plant in there with room around the edges, like a single line of five plants? I think a lot of my unhappiness with the design stems from the fact that I really wanted to grow at least ten plants and I can only afford enough lighting for 4.
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If you build your own fixture, it's cheaper than dirt. You asked for a better way to do cfls, and I answered. Check my sig. That $45 MH is the best deal though, you'll need to spend twice that on cooling it.

You can build it however you want, don't listen to that guy. 2' deep is fine for your plants. Good luck dude!!!
 
F

FuckinNewbie

Member
Thanks, Xcon. I did check out your wiring tutorial. Right now, I am using tube lamps, so it won't work for me. Plus, the tubes are much cheaper than the squiggly light bulbs. I do have some 2500k squiggly ones that I plan on configuring using your tutorial for flowering. Big ups to my utility company, who sent me a box of ten cfl bulbs for free, in a lame attempt to save the Earth while monopolizing power rights within this region. I passed on the MH bc I can't afford to cool it. I am sticking with cfls and will just have to deal with only 4-6 plants.
 
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