Is my grow set up any good?

C

Colorado Indoors

Member
I'm brand new to growing and very curious on how well my setup is I'm on a very low budget so don't throw anything crazy at me that I need to improve it to a professional operation. It's my first grow and I want to spend as little as possible. I have a whole closet to grow in 3x10x9 but I set up a cardboard box about 2x2x4 lined with tinfoil for optimal light reflection one side of the box is cut open so I can access my plants so it only has 3 enclosed sides and a open top so I could hang my cfl setup like a Chandler. I have 12 23watt 5000k cfls that pUT out 1600 lumen each 6 inches from my seedlings and I have about 15 seedlings but only plan on keeping the 5 best ones which I will decide in about 2 weeks was curious about my lighting as well. i cut a hole in the left back side of the box for my fan to provide fresh moving air it's a small personal fan. I also have a vicks humidifier in the closet constantly on and the closet door is always open so it gets fresh cool air and doesn't overheat my plants. So these are my questions I need answered.
1.should I get rid of the box now or wait a couple weeks till I repot them? Planned on using the whole closet when i do so (currently in small Dixie cups) 2.will the size of the box slow their growth as seedlings?
3.how should my setup be I have the whole closet available 3x10x9
4. With the tools I have and a small budget how could I achieve an optimal setup?
5. What should i do to overall improve my setup?

thank you for taking the time to read this thread .
 
Last edited:
kmog33

kmog33

Well-Known Member
Swap the foil for Mylar or just flat white paint, the foil will create hotspots and not efficiently or effectively reflect your light.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Rollitup mobile app
 
kmog33

kmog33

Well-Known Member
No problem good luck on your grow

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Rollitup mobile app
 
C

Colorado Indoors

Member
I just looked it up and they have emergency blankets at Walmart made of mylar for about 2 bucks would these do well ? And so you think I should keep the box or use the space that is available to me?Thanks again
 
grasscropper

grasscropper

Well-Known Member
Yes the emergency blankets will work fine. You can also use panda wrap. It's white on the inside. Cheap too.
 
dajosh42069

dajosh42069

Well-Known Member
grasscropper said:
Yes the emergency blankets will work fine. You can also use panda wrap. It's white on the inside. Cheap too.
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If by fine you mean mediocre at best....
You'll virtually never get it strait enough for it to be properly effective.
Can you use it? Yes. Much in the same way you can also use tin foil and have it be just about as effective.
 
dajosh42069

dajosh42069

Well-Known Member
Honestly....are the walls a flat white? That will be just as, if not MORE effective as the walmart mylar. If you want to use a more reflective material, go with the other thing he mentioned, panda plastic. But you typically have to go to a hydro store to get it.
 
grasscropper

grasscropper

Well-Known Member
Yes what she said... That s me. I do get it at a hydro store. Have one in town here. But yes if the inside of the closet is white then that is good too.
 
grasscropper

grasscropper

Well-Known Member
I don't know it I would be using a humidifier in the closet either. Could cause issues with your home or rental space. Mold could develop because of moisture.
 
C

Colorado Indoors

Member
dajosh42069 said:
Honestly....are the walls a flat white? That will be just as, if not MORE effective as the walmart mylar. If you want to use a more reflective material, go with the other thing he mentioned, panda plastic. But you typically have to go to a hydro store to get it.
Click to expand...
They are a tan color so it won't be that effective I'll definitely have to get some real mylar then I have 19000 lumens on the seedlings atm so they should be fine until they get bigger thanks everyone!
 
dajosh42069

dajosh42069

Well-Known Member
Colorado Indoors said:
They are a tan color so it won't be that effective I'll definitely have to get some real mylar then I have 19000 lumens on the seedlings atm so they should be fine until they get bigger thanks everyone!
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That's wayyyy too much for a seedling, lol. You can use like 60-100W of CFL's on seedlings for the first couple weeks. 19,000 lumens is a bit of a waste of electricity to start with.
But it's your electricity to waste.
 
C

Colorado Indoors

Member
dajosh42069 said:
That's wayyyy too much for a seedling, lol. You can use like 60-100W of CFL's on seedlings for the first couple weeks. 19,000 lumens is a bit of a waste of electricity to start with.
But it's your electricity to waste.
Click to expand...
well thank you for the info I looked a lot at how many lumens I should have and a lot of the "know it alls" said about 10000 per square foot some said I don't need that many but more were to the higher side so how many lumens should I use? Like 10000?
 
D

~Dankster~420

Well-Known Member
trust me. You want to lower them or they will get all spindly(stretch) on you. Keeping them lights close will keep your plants nice and compact which is what you want. Besides, if you can take the backside of your hand and place it a few inches away from your lights and it doesn't burn your hand, it wont burn your plants.
Colorado Indoors said:
@~Dankster~420 i can lower my light its adjustable but ill lower it i just get worried about burning them
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