hi all Im planning a grow soon and i could really use some advise. whats the best way to set up an area thats 3'x2'x5.5'. like whats the best way to line the walls to make it reflective, what sort of lighting do i need, that sort of thing. thanks in advance for all help :>

Aluminum foil is a great reflector of solar radiance. White paint is also pretty good, but reflects 'softer'(highly diffuse) light. Reflective Mylar or mirrors create the 'hardest' light(least diffuse, also called specular). A 400 watt HID would be sufficient. Otherwise there are fluoro and LED(pricey, but usually last a decade and use very low power, create very little heat, and are similar in efficiency to fluoros) alternatives.

There currently are LEDs that surpass HPS in efficiency(over 150 lm/watt), but they're still 'perfecting' the technology. So unless you can smuggle LEDS out of a laboratory.... Nvm. The major problem is dealing with the heat generated by HO LEDs.

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i was planing on using CFLs, but its starting to look like id need a lot of em. but i was thinking if i put a little platform thing at the bottom and hang the light down, wouldn't that make it so i would need less? would putting 2 4' floresent fixtures vertically on the sides improve things a lot? i dont really want to go out and buy a fancy light. :/

Yea, I think a lot of people exaggerate CFL necessity. 25 (actual) watts per cubic foot is plenty adequate. You could double that, but without adding CO2 you will definitely not get even close to doubling yield or anything(growth).

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omg thats so much better... only figure i could find was 3000 lumens per square foot, which worked out to something like 28 bulbs O.O am i figuring this out right? area will be 3'x2.2'x5' (re measured) so 3x2.2x5= 33sqf 33x25 = 825W 825/42(biggest CFLs i could see) = about 19... at 12$ea~ thats 228$ am i messing something up or would it really cost that much

The problem with the 'lumens per sq ft' is it's assuming a bulb type(HPS, probably). CFLs create much higher quality of light(for photosynthesis), and as such, do not require as many lumens per sq ft.

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so am i figuring it out right, or is there something im not accounting for? EDIT: kinda thinkin of, since i dont really feel like painting the walls either, making a sort of growbox there. then I could paint it white, solving that problem. would require less light... and would prolly be easier to make lightproof. what would be a good size grow area for a few plants?

Check my post. This may help you.
DIY: Light Up Your Plants! Cheap, Effective and Easy

I've grown a dozen seedings in 6 oz yogurt containers under 1 26W CFL. And they were very healthy.

At full size, yes,several plants could probably utilize 825W(though if you half that, you would not be halving yield). But you only need to give them as much light as they are big. Coverage is the major issue with CFLs, as the light is no where near as intense as HID, and will not 'travel' or be 'thrown' as far.

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i was actually thinking of putting maybe 6 on a lowerable thing on top, then a few around the sides or bottom so the plants will grow out more, kinda light from everywhere. (for my flowering chamber) would a couple CFLs be enough to grow plants through the veg stage, or do you need lots of light for that?