Help me with my lighting!

So my grow space is 2.5ft by 2.5ft by 1 ft.
Lined with aluminum foil, great reflectivity.

Right now I have a 21in 15watt gro-lux CFL tube light on both sides of the box, totaling in 30 watts of that kind of light. Then at the top of the box I have a rounded metal reflective fixture with a 26 watt Daylight cfl.

Here are my concerns: Is this enough light total for two plants to veg productively in nutritious soil?

Also, Ive heard that soft light cfls are absolutely worthless for plants... Does the same go for "daylight" cfl's? Or is this bulb sufficient?

Totally willing to invest in proper bulbs and lights, so long as it as economic and compact, and most importantly, effective.

Thanks for the time and help all!

ps- Ive heard the cfl lights produce a great amount of lumens, and I believe I have enough lumens per square foot to be effective, but I am unsure, and concerned.


Advice?

Umm im a newbie grower and currently working on my first plant and from what i researched tin foil hurts the plants, soft white bulbs(2700k) and daylight(6500k) are actuLly the best...people use the daytime 6500k during veg and the soft white(2700k) during flowering. My plan is to start flowering from seed which is 12/12 and ill be uaing both bulbs at the same time, 1 40watt(or higher) soft white(2700k) cfl and a 40watt (or higher) daytime(6500k) cfl that way i got both veg and flower bulbs at the same time

Hope this helped

You can also try the lights at first with shitty seeds if you are afraid they will not grow...this is what i plan on soing with my first plant...
But i think you will be able to grow with those because i watched som1 grow a plant with only a 30 watt cfl on utube

Foil is NO GOOD...

IMO, fORGET THE CFL'S invest in the mh/hps...

Hmm... Im very new at this as well. Ive never read about flowering from seed. Thats really interesting. What are the pros and cons of doing it that way?

Thanks for the time sir.

Ive seen many pics of rooms with foil, and they seem to have flourished. So, you reccomend the mylar or flat white paint then?

Do you know why the foil is bad for the plants? Just curious.

Ajsemz44 said:

Ive seen many pics of rooms with foil, and they seem to have flourished.

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I have seen many pictures of Bigfoot and of UFO’s. Some seemed to be real enough, even the one UFO with Elvis waving from a window.

So, you reccomend the mylar or flat white paint then?

Do you know why the foil is bad for the plants? Just curious.

Click to expand...

Mylar reflects the best but is not inexpensive and if you purchase the thinner Mylar to save money it is so thin that it is easily torn.


Flat white paint will reflect between 75% and 80% of light rays. Aluminum foil will reflect roughly 50% to 55% of light rays and that percentage range will decrease if it is uneven/crinkled/cut/damaged in any way. It also does not give as even of a level/amount of light reflection/distribution as flat white paint.

Ajsemz44 said:

Do you know why the foil is bad for the plants? Just curious.

Click to expand...

Foil produces hot spots on your plants too. If you have to use it I'd suggest using the dull side. (Honestly though, just invest in mylar.)

Forget the post telling you not to use CFL's. They are excellent if you're just getting started and are looking to get your feet wet. While one 26w daylight CFL might suffice on a seedling you'll need as much light as you can get during veg. For example, I used roughly 280w of CFL's for two plants during veg and 500w of 2700k CFL's during flower for two plants. I've since moved to HPS but don't be scared away from CFL. Visit the CFL growing forum and you'll see tons of people growing fine, dense bud with CFL's. HPS, in my case, makes things a lot easier in regards to proper light placement. However, under your small grow area CFL's would probably do excellent. Good luck man and check out the FAQ link at the top of the page!

The 12/12 from seedling method forces the plant to go into flowering right away. People do this to get a smaller plant due to space limitations and alot of people use this method to get a plant to grow and flower quickly...be aware though that 12/12 from seedling doesn't give as much bus as a fully mature plant would. I personally am gonna stick to 12/12 from seed because i want bud, FAST and it wont take up as much room as a bigger plant.