light tunnels

anybody ever thought to use a light tunnel in a grow room?? even as just a addition to the main grow light?? it would really add to the lumen's?? even two small ones either side...thoughts anyone?? oh also amount of light could be controlled via a shutter..

what are talking about?

show us some pics of a light tunnel please. I have no clue what your talking about.

a light tunnel is a highly polished aluminum tube that goes out of a roof to a plastic dome that collects the light and channels it down to a room of your choice (grow room) via the ally tubing

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/72CC6148-B98D-4D98-AD50-F6AC31C626AC/32703/LightTube_w200.jpg

shows a drawing of one in the above address

That is pretty cool but on the bottom there is a light defuser wich i beleive lowers the strength of light. I may be wrong tho.

wicked init..yea that could be removed..and any light is a bonus right?? plus its all free caachingggg...

Cutting a hole in your house aint free and the materials aint free. I am still wery that it is going to be strong enough. When light passes through anything it decreases in strength.

I've seen them used on different re-modeling shows.They wouldn't work on their own,but would be a great supplement as long as you're timing everything by the outside light schedule.

Their called "Skylights" their sold at home depot, lowes and several private contractors. Ive been thinkin of this myself as well, The only prob is they usually have to come and install it. And you would need a couple at least to make a difference

agreed there wil be light loss etc but ive been working on a job (im a builder) where they installed one of these and they are really quite effective ..never as a main source but yea two one either side of your main grow light..outside daytimes dont matter as you could shut the light out with a shutter..but yea ob day cycle would have to be during the day but 12/12 could be controlled...unless moonlights more ya thing lol

i know im a tradesman but the installation would be really straight forward an picture guide comes in with the kit...

Not a bad idea.. or you could use my idea that I came up with a long ass time ago.

But only few people actually try this method.. but once you try it. You'll like the results.


Okay what you do is, go and find some old pcp piping. I'm talking about like what they use to transfer water under ground. Those light bluish colored piping.. made of plastic I think.

Any how.. I usually try and find a broken piece or a piece that wasn't used during construction.. and take it.

Then once you get home with hit.. cut it down to your specs. I usually try and make sure that the piping i get from the site.. will be big enough initially so that I can cut it down to size.

Anyhow, what I personally like... is cut it down to where the top of the plastic piping comes up to about my hip region. I'm about 6'2" tall. So a good 3 to 3.5 feet tall is good for me. (remember.. this varies as to how tall your going to let your plant(s) get in the end.)

Then, you'll probably need a base for the bottom of the tube. I usually just measure the diameter of the piping.. and cut a piece of circular wood to fit inside the base (bottom) of your piping.

Now, the final step. Drill a few holes for lighting... then just line the inside with Mylar. And presto... you've just made your very own 'Grow Tube.'

*What are the benefits of using a 'Grow Tube'? Well, here are just a few things to think about.

Benefits include:

You lose very little lumens..
plants get more lumens (confined space)
The plant's just get more attention from their environment basically.. plus like I said your not wasting as much light with one of these, compared to a much more open grow area.

I think it's a really good idea.. and a great grow method. I'll be using mine on my next grow.

Have a good week ppl.
peace.