CONFUSED WITH REFLECTORS FOR CFL's

I'm a bit confused, I read that you need reflectors for the CFL's and in alot of these CFL grow pics here theres no reflectors, just the bulb over the plants, whats the deal, do you or Dont you need them?

Maybe they are including the mylar / space blanket around the grow area as a reflector? Its best not to let light sneak away if you can.

Reflectors help, but not everyone has the time/money to make/buy one. That is why they grow with CFL's in the first place, cheap and easy for the hobby grower. CFL light diminishes quickly from my understanding, so any light that would normally be going towards the top of the grow space can be diverted down to your plant giving it that much more light. I will be attempting to make my own reflector on my next CFL grow.

If you are using small bulbs, like 27 watts or less, you can cut up a beer can and make a reflector. You can google this info or search here. I use a large clamp reflector(10.5" diameter) a y splitter and 2 26 watt bulbs. With the reflector I get a reading that is double of the bulbs without it. Using a lux meter.

Only drawback is increased heat, so a small fan may be needed to keep the plants cool. As said above, most people using cfl's are just trying to get a small harvest with the least expense or bother, so they do not bother with reflectors.

If you need a beer can reflector link here ya go...I am using mylar myself...maybe someday when I get around to it I might do the beer can thing.....

https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/232568-beercan-cfl-reflectors-cheap-easy.html

Thanks guys, Imgonna switch the bulbs every couple weeks, I heard they get dimmer after awhile.....Thanks for the link Space, Peace

They don't get dim that fast dude lol, you can do a few grows with them. If you switched them every couple weeks that would cost a fortune.

Once a year is plenty to change the bulbs.

I'd change them more than once a year--twice, three times if you've got the flow. CFL's grow more dim faster after 3 months of heavy usage, so if you're shining them for a 20 cycle it'd be a good idea to have some on hand. And i think somebody else gave a really good idea on another thread of utilizing/recycling your previous grow CFLs by just using them throughout your house. They may not be bright or strong enough to grow, but they'll still shine brighter than most incad. light-bulbs. Espeeecially if you're using the 6500k like you're supposed to.

yeah i had a reflector and like above heat is the problem. i made it look super ghetto now and cut half of my reflector off so some is still reflected 2 bulbs and 1 bulb is open. the cut reflector alows air from my fans to get inthere and cool my box down i have seen a 5 degree drop since i cut off half of it

Jhnfrmrby420: kindly let me add my two cents worth. I've never grown with anything other than florescent lighting. Originally in the eighties it was T-8's in a 4' shop light from The Home Depot in a large cabinet I built. It had two 'regular' tubes. I was told it would be better to use 'grow' bulbs and I bought them but I can't say they were any more productive.

I went from T-8's to an Aerogarden Classic with two round lamps that you needed to find with a lit match in the dark when they were switched on. When I found out they had an upgraded hooded on a taller arm/light stand with 'three' higher intensity flat CFL's I jumped at the opportunity and bought one. It worked great with my favorite herb but the flowering was all on top. Obviously it couldn't penetrate the foliage. It made sense to me that if I could illuminate the lower portions of the plants I'd get more buds. Also, it's only fair to add that Aerogarden's lamps are proprietary; you can only get them through Aerogarden, they're expensive and they recommend changing them every six months. Friends with Aerogardens used side lighting but their grow areas soon looked like a snake pit with cords running every which way.

A couple of years ago I got a chance to edit a manuscript written by guy up in northern California named Sebastian. It was about growing medical marijuana with an Aerogarden. Coincidentally, he and I were just starting to tinker with reflective surfaces; aluminum foil, Mylar and white glossy paint. Mylar came out on top every time.

I vaguely remembered something that was driven into my head by a college physics teacher in the late sixties about 'the angle of incidence equaling the angle of refraction.' It made sense to me that if the light could spur flowering on top, and I redirected it to the lower portions of the plant that it should flower there too. I shared that idea with Sebastian and he had the same success.

I bought some white, plastic, waffled lenses for overhead recessed florescent lighting fixtures. Sebastian used cardboard cut outs but I was paranoid of fire. I cut mine down to size, glued Mylar to them and 'aimed them' so that the light was reflected directly back up to the normally shaded portions of my plants. The result was incredible! We got bigger plants and buds all the way down to the planting deck. They weren't as big or as dense as the buds on top but well worth the cost and the effort. The reflectors and Mylar were about fifty some dollars.

I see that Aerogarden is now selling Mylar curtains with adhesive strips you can attach to the hood to take better advantage of their lighting. They're expensive and since they hang straight down I suspect they're not as effective as the ones Sebastian and I have been experimenting with for the last couple of years. I'm also hoping that they're using the 2 mm Mylar not the 1 mm that tears like tissue paper.

The real trick is supporting and aiming them to get the light back up to where you need it, but where there's a will there's a way. I hope this helps. HSA