Teach Me?

Extortion22 said:

tin foil is not a horrible material to use but its also not the best. FLAT white paint works better for reflectivity. And nobody needs to prove it its already proven.

Thw downfall to tinfoil is it crinkles easily causing light to be diverted in the wrong direction. also it holds alot of heat. if you are having problems keeping your temp above 20C then tinfoil is ok. If you are having problems with temps being over 30C then tinfoil is a horrible material to use.

Read the growfaq about materials and reflectivity.

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Where do you think it's proven that flat white plant is better?

Look at this pic:


That's white reflection. What flat white paint actually causes reflection of this quality? None.

White powder coat is not flat white paint.

White powder paint causes diffusion, this "'diverted' light in wrong directions." It can be in the 90th percentile. Flat white paint is maybe 70% reflective.

According to science, not regurgitation, aluminum foil is nearly 90-95% reflective across the visible light spectrum. It hits a dent in the yellow-orange range, not much to worry about plant-wise. It averages 88%, according to Wikipedia's sources.

Aluminum doesn't 'hold' heat well. That's why it's used for heat sinks and cheap cookware. It's not like it's creating heat. It's being absorbed and dissipated away from the bulbs.

Ever cook fries on an aluminum baking sheet? Take it out for a few minutes, out of 450F, and it's cool to the touch.

Try that with cast iron, copper, or steel for reference. Now try it with an insulator, like glass, or ceramic.

TeaTreeOil said:

Prove it. You're full of shit.
Prove that tine foil burns plant and white paint does not? this has been proven and is writen in every cannabis book i have except for the oldest one "Marijuana Growers Bible" by mel thomson but personally i disagree with him there but there were less places to purchase mylar and black/white poly back in the 70's


You clearly are unexperienced in CFL grows.
With cfls the lights should be as close as u can get them only if u are available to move the lights up and out as the plants near the bulbs(except for the largest bulbs which obviously should be furthur away since they are hotter), and bigger is better when it comes to cfls. but saying that I only use flouro when i veg for i think hid produce better and bigger buds, so where was I wrong?


Well said.

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26 watt lights are best around 2 inches. White paint isn't go great. Aluminum foil is much better unless you powder coat in specialty white paint.

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please don't use aluminim foil it is a waste of ur time

I do use it, and with great results.

for my soil I am using a mixture of sphagnum peat moss and seed starting mix. They are both by miricale grow and also I just revently changed my light setup. Now that I have those 5 26w they are starting to bloom very fast. Any advice?

ronronvc07 said:

for my soil I am using a mixture of sphagnum peat moss and seed starting mix. They are both by miricale grow and also I just revently changed my light setup. Now that I have those 5 26w they are starting to bloom very fast. Any advice?

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Ya I noticed your soil looked like it retains moisture, and doesn't drain as well. That's just an observation tho

so what does that mean?

Just to add my 0.02$ to the aluminum matter. I've heard it's reflective yes, but can cause "hot spots" (It's where you get a concentration of light off the reflective surface, rather than an even dispersal of light off your lamp), b/c of the easy crinkling. I wouldn't use it, but w/ small grows it would be just fine since your not dealing w/ too much light If you're ever dealing w/ 1000w HIDs I would have to recommend staying away from foil. I've never used it. I've always used mylar. That was just my two-cents

Well if you have to much water in your soil. You might have trouble getting oxygen into the soil as well. Just be careful in your waterings

yea tomorrow im gonna take the foil out. where do you buy mylar?

I buy from my local hydro shop. Some others prefer online. It's probably cheaper online

TeaTree just because you see light shimmering with your eyes doesnt mean shit. READ THE FAQ! Can you see UVA and UVB ligth with your own eyes? are you a superhero? can you see light in the air? seriously.

Go to this link noob!

https://www.rollitup.org/view.php?pg=faq&cmd=article&id=68

"Flat white paint has the ability to reflect between 75-85% of the light, and does not create hotspots."

"Aluminum foil is no more than 55% reflective - It is also very dangerous to use because it creates hotspots easily, is electrically conductive, and is a fire hazard when it is in close contact with HID lighting."

STRAIGHT OUT OF THE FAQ! Do all the new growers a favour and stop giving advice. Your going to kill someone.

Oh and by the way, I said aluminum foil HOLDS THE HEAT IN. Yes it is cold after comming out of an oven, but the heat inside STAYS in. This is why its used in cooking.

ron you can go to walmart or a similar store with an outdoors section. Grab a survival blanket. its thin and folded up into a small rectangle or square.

is your plant indoor or outdoor?

as for the medium your using. next time you replant grab a soil with no nutes in it. I used miracle grow and added worm castings and burned my plants bad. you should only use miracle grow if you have some experience growing and using nutes.

The FAQS also report a 500w Halogen is equivalent to 80w CFL(over 6 times). Which makes CFL better than every HID every created in PAReff(PAR efficiency).

I'm the noob? You're regurgitating what some ignorant fool wrote. Which makes you doubly the fool.

CFLs pose no fire hazards with aluminum foil. 99% of reflectors you can BUY are aluminum. Most HIDs are housed in aluminum. You make a lot of claims but back none of them up with anything more than hearsay.

I've never seen hot spots created by foil. I've had plants burn from being too close to a CFL. The foil has never been the issue.

'Hot spots' would be an indicator of efficiency(it's too good!). Gold and silver are even superior to aluminum by slim margins. They'd be even MORE dangerous, apparently, and not the highest quality reflectors you can buy? Again, your argument is weaker than weak.

Crinkles? You mean like one of those expensive dimpled aluminum reflectors?

Insulators retain heat. Conductors transmit it freely. That's what makes them conductors. Go back to elementary school for a science lesson.

I'm sorry, Extortion22, but you're just not helping by regurgitating misinformation.

Like I said, I haven't used foil So that was just my analysis on the matter. I personally wouldn't use foil. I'm in a closet, and aluminum would just be a hassle

Always use a light reflector or you forfeit 30-40% potential increase in yield. Reflectors are evermore important as wattage decreases.

I use 2mm mylar in my closet. If I ever shrink down to a PC grow I would probably use aluminum instead of ordering more mylar

You are using aluminum. This mylar of which you speak is aluminum metalized mylar(PET fiber).

People here are so cluelessly hilarious in their ways.

My bad I've been talking about tin foil. You know, that really cheap stuff

There's less than a 10% difference between Mylar and aluminum foil(smooth & shiny side).

I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. What? Your light meter not sensitive enough?

Ok dude you're right, I'm wrong. Is that what you wanted to hear? I mean I only posted my opinion on the matter, and simply stated what I used. I didn't say I was right, and anyone against me was wrong. You might be right. I just simply wanted to say I use mylar, and my grows are just fine Sorry for taking up this much space on the foil matter here

Peace