secondary lighting ?

sup everybody. What should i look for to add some light to my 3x3x5 grow box running a 400w, keeping in mind low energy and low cost.

You can never go wrong with a couple 26 watt daylight bulb CFL's. Throw them in there preferably underneath the canopy so that the undergrowth gets some light.

CFLs and maybe consider some UVB (reptile) light (or not).

more HPS never hurt either.

mylar?
i was thinking of laying some underneath the plant and above the soil.

Mylar cant hurt. I have my pots sitting on a reflective surface.. but I wouldn't cover the soil with that.. is that what you meant?

you still need good air flow at hte soil. just a thought

400w for a 3x3x5 space.
Isn't that enough?
Yes, I'm a rookie.

oldbus199 said:

400w for a 3x3x5 space.
Isn't that enough?
Yes, I'm a rookie.

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it's plenty but if dude can keep it cool - the more light the better!

you'll most likely run into heat issues long before you give marijuana plants too much light.

i have the heat issues handled. 500 cfm in an air tight box. half for the box and half for the light. the air tightness allows tons of fresh air to come in. plus i have a small intake fan to supplement. the key to success is my window a/c on a plug in thermostat.

royalewithcheese40 said:

i have the heat issues handled. 500 cfm in an air tight box. half for the box and half for the light. the air tightness allows tons of fresh air to come in. plus i have a small intake fan to supplement. the key to success is my window a/c on a plug in thermostat.

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sounds perfect. in a closed system you could even pump in CO2 if you wanted and let the heat rise a bit.

for sure. does c02 have to be on a timer or could i periodically just spray it for 5 min or something?

royalewithcheese40 said:

for sure. does c02 have to be on a timer or could i periodically just spray it for 5 min or something?

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i think the "best" way is to have a regulator on the tank and the regulator plugged into a controller - but they can be quite pricey.

Otherwise you'll have to figure out how much CO2 to release using those CO2 test kits and i'm not sure how accurate that would be.

you can get a regulator for about 120 US dollars (or thereabouts) but controllers are usually in the range of 500 US dollars! but they can control more than just CO2 (temp, humidity, etc..) provided you have the equipment.

to be honest, i haven't started using CO2 yet - but that may be my next addition. So I will cop out and suggest you check out the FAQs and look for journals where folks are using CO2 injection.

There are other ways (like spraying seltzer on the leaves and using the yeast/sugar method) but they seem like more bother than benefit (to me at least).