Not 100% lightproof material.

OK, so ive built my grow tent out of bubble foil insulation (thermawrap) stapled to a wooden frame. I have my seedlings vegging in there at the moment some Sour Kush, White widow x Big Bud and some Northern light blue. These are popping up nicely under a 4 tube T5 lightwave.

The bubble foil is not 100% light proof. I tried to take a photo but it is soo slight that it wont even show up on a camera. You can see a very dim blue glow from the T5 lightwave inside. It's only little bits in the material that let some light through, like where the foil layers have creased during the manufacturing process.

It just looks to me like the far away stars in the sky at night and a very slight blue glow. Does this mean I have to cover the whole lot up with another material now or will this be OK?

Sorry, ive taken pictures and wrote out a long post to accompany them and lost the lot. This is a work in progress on my flowering room, im just using it to veg some seedlings for the time being.

Im not very good with forums

No input at all?

Does anyone have any ideas on the light leaking issue? Please read my first post and tell me what you think.

Thanks. Scroggsy.

I have no idea if it's okay like that or not. To be cautious I would add a 2nd outside layer if possible. If you were to replace the material, try poly film. It's not too expensive. It's like a plastic, with one side black and the other side white. Very reflective, tough enough, easy to handle. Mylar, at least in some thicknesses, isn't light proof at all.

I bought some 100% lightproof white poly from the growshop (which is what I have made the door from) Im getting velcro to finish off the door seal.

The light leaks I have are very dim. Your eyes have to adjust in the pitch black to see them. I may do a second layer in the poly film to completely light proof it but it's a pain in the ass.

Just wondering if anyone knew to what degree it really matters.

Thanks. Scroggsy.

Scroggsy said:

I bought some 100% lightproof white poly from the growshop (which is what I have made the door from) Im getting velcro to finish off the door seal.

The light leaks I have are very dim. Your eyes have to adjust in the pitch black to see them. I may do a second layer in the poly film to completely light proof it but it's a pain in the ass.

Just wondering if anyone knew to what degree it really matters.

Thanks. Scroggsy.

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Whether you can see the plant lighting from outside the tent only matters if stealth is a big concern. It's what the plants will "see" that's important. Assuming that this "tent" will be a space for flowering your plants, you want it light-proof enough so that you can provide them with 12 hours of darkness per day. Take a seat INSIDE the tent and check to see if any light gets IN...specifically, during those times when your plants would be in their dark cycle (i.e., lights off). If there are other lights around the tent wherever it's located (looks like a basement to me) that are usually on (or might be expected to be turned on at some point during that twelve-hour period) and you can clearly see them from inside the tent, then you need better light-proofing. On the other hand, if the area around the tent will likely be fairly dark during those times, then it'll probably be light-proof enough as it is. Again, check from the inside of the tent.

Either way, I'm with zeropercent on the black-and-white poly...reasonably cheap, durable (usually sold in 5 or 6-mil thickness), easily taped/glued/stapled to most any surface and 100% lightproof. You can buy 1' x 10' and 10' x 10' sheets (or bigger) from a number of online shops.
Good luck.

xebeche said:

Whether you can see the plant lighting from outside the tent only matters if stealth is a big concern. It's what the plants will "see" that's important. .......

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^^^^what he said ^^^^^
but to add my 2 cents, I have used a space heater w/ glowing red coils for 2 grows (4 & 6 plants) and have had no problems.-plants grow outside under moonlight,right?

you want it to be pitch black. especially during flowering. you dont want any light leaks turning some buds into hermaphodites