Mirror Mirror On The Wall. (And Floors).

Rottedroots

Rottedroots

Well-Known Member
OK so it looks like Mylar gets just a slight edge over simple white paints or primers but are those the only options?
I was wondering about other types or colors of paint. Do they all have the same reflective properties? If I used a silver paint or maybe a marine paint would there be any improvement over white Kilz?
I also have given some thought to mirrors. I can buy mirrored 1 foot square tiles for a buck a piece or floor length mirrors for 7 bucks. Does light reflected from a mirror retain the lights spectrum and value? No worries, just stoned conversation. Rock on.
 
GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
I've heard on this forum the mantra "Mirrors eat light" but never bothered to try and verify or dismiss.
What say you RM3?
 
prostheticninja

prostheticninja

Well-Known Member
Also, I don't know about you, but I would hate to have a fan or something fall or hit the mirrored floor or walls off grow room. Imagine breaking four or five. You'll be having bad luck on your harvests for decades :bigjoint:
 
Rottedroots

Rottedroots

Well-Known Member
So I guess I can rule out mirrors. But if mirrors eat light but reflex part of it would you not benefit from the light that is reflected? If the girls were dancing to a fan wouldn't that reduce the possibility of having hot spots? Maybe a closers look at Panda Film. My only experience with Mylar is in the form of cheap emergency blankets. Even with spray adhesives the blankets are impossible to wrangle. Is Panda film the same stuff I buy in bag form with clones in them?? I'll have to look into the merits of paint with Titanium Dioxide.
Well the Sour D is still out and needs a little more time. Frost and possible freeze warnings tonight and then a nice 10 day forecast. I guess I had best not break any mirrors for another week or so. Even without a proper frost the girls are standing out like sore thumbs. Deep green in a field of brown. Let us pray...
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
Tip about mylar, if you crinkle it up and flatten back out it will make less hotspots. I happened to reuse some that had gotten all crinkled up and noticed less burning. Basically just ball it up I guess. Also, substantial light can pass through one sheet of mylar so it's good to use two together. Actually I use a folded piece to look directly at COB LEDs to make sure there's no burnouts. A single sheet is still way too bright. BTW, I looked directly at them once for just a second by accident from about 2 feet away and had very dark ghost images of the COBs in my vision for a good 10 minutes. It's like looking at an arc welder. It can burn your retina.
 
Rottedroots

Rottedroots

Well-Known Member
Titanium Dioxide.. it's the primary active ingredient in sunscreen blocking UV light. Noted for its high refractive properties. Used in a lot of plastics to prevent UV degradation. I can't seem to find anything relating the stuff to growing therefore I'll assume its not of much value.
I guess if there was something out there that would let us use our light more than once we would know about it. It doesn't look like there is any practical benefit to use anything but paint and the color probably doesn't matter. Maybe a black floor to absorb a little warmth for the roots. Seedling sure like the black electric heating mats. Geez.. smoke a bone and rattle on...
 
GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

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Staff member
I've built a raised flooring for my closet fab'd out of 2x4 & plywood that I painted white, I also put extra pearlite on top of the soil to help with reflection in addition to the kills on the walls.
I am very satisfied with the results.
 
Rottedroots

Rottedroots

Well-Known Member
That's pretty much the story Mr. White. The perlite is a nice touch and the raised floor and 2x4 construction accurately describes my build in progress. Kilz I gots and will work on the concrete foundation as well as the plywood. I don't think I can easily improve on simple.
 

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Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
i don't like perlite on top of a pot, everytime i do that i get godamn algae that won'tever go away completely. i even put a two inch layer of pure coco on top of my hempy pots because of it
 
Rottedroots

Rottedroots

Well-Known Member
That didn't even occur to me Mr. Shrubber. I have had green perlite although I don't recollect worrying about it. Is it an indicator of an unhealthy environment. IDK.
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
not really in soil, in hempys and hydro it can swell then die off, plugging flow and return pipes, choking roots, and the decay is perfect for anaerobic bacteria, none of which are good. honestly it just bugs me, its not a huge threat, just like a sign of poor housekeeping to me.
 
GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
Roger A. Shrubber said:
i don't like perlite on top of a pot, everytime i do that i get godamn algae that won'tever go away completely. i even put a two inch layer of pure coco on top of my hempy pots because of it
Click to expand...
Huh, I've never seen it although I run Super soil & no extra nutes.
Wonder what's different?
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
soil isn't as good a host, it usually has its own stuff growing in it, even if you didn't put it there, perlite is a neutral medium for it to grow in, and the top of a pot, with light and nutes is a nearly perfect environment for it. it never goes more than a couple of inches down in a black pot, if you have a translucent pot it'll grow all the way to the bottom
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
its mostly because soil is opaque, just about the same as having a black bucket. ligh penetrates into perlite 2 to 3 inches. soil is usually a slightly higher ph, also. not enough to kill algae, but enough to slow it down a little. and...its green, you have any on white perlite and it shows, you might have a little on the surface of soil and never see it.
 
Tyler the Gardener

Tyler the Gardener

Member
Rottedroots said:
So I guess I can rule out mirrors. But if mirrors eat light but reflex part of it would you not benefit from the light that is reflected? If the girls were dancing to a fan wouldn't that reduce the possibility of having hot spots? Maybe a closers look at Panda Film. My only experience with Mylar is in the form of cheap emergency blankets. Even with spray adhesives the blankets are impossible to wrangle. Is Panda film the same stuff I buy in bag form with clones in them?? I'll have to look into the merits of paint with Titanium Dioxide.
Well the Sour D is still out and needs a little more time. Frost and possible freeze warnings tonight and then a nice 10 day forecast. I guess I had best not break any mirrors for another week or so. Even without a proper frost the girls are standing out like sore thumbs. Deep green in a field of brown. Let us pray...
Click to expand...
They make emergency shelters made from mylar. Like a large tent. 4 bucks, it comes double sided and the majority of it has taped seems done really well. I buy a few at a time and they come in handy constantly
 
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