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Grow Room Floor Color

welj31

By welj31
in The Grow Room

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welj31 Advanced Member

welj31

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Has anyone painted their grow room floor? And did you see any inprovement?

 

From the research I have seen it would be a min of inprovement as it would reflect to the underside of leaves.

And yes I know cleaning would be a full time job, but some people have grow rooms cleaner than a operating room. Thanks

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lkline300 Advanced Member

lkline300

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Painted mine flat white enamel mixed with a little light gray Just to reflect more light around the room, help to eliminate shady spots. I have seen some improvement with the light meter.

 

I like that I can SEE the dust & dirt on the floor, It makes me keep it cleaner.Got a little ocd anyway.

 

Getting light to the underside of the leaves was not my intention, but I haven't seen any problems as a result.

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Cannastyle Advanced Member

Cannastyle

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Maybe try the white plastic before you commit to painting it....run a test....do one cycle with and one without.

 

If you paint it white....it will not be white for long if your growing in soil. Believe me.

 

I personally cover all my room floors with black plastic. You can still see all the debris on the ground and its real easy to clean. After each cycle it is replaced.

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Guest 1TokeOverLine

Guest 1TokeOverLine

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As I understand 1950's botany, photoreceptors are on the top of the fan leaves, no benefit from bottom lighting, I would spend the time and effort on side lighting, mainly to light the lower branches past the intensity zone of a conventionally mounted hood light at the proper height for the plant, and to aid in growth of droopy leaves that may be angled enough to take advantage. I've found that this growth area would be a waste of time to develop, as the plant needs nutrients at the top developing bud sites and the lower branches merely suck from the producing sites with little or no added benefit to ultimate yeild. (Mileage may vary, every grower develops their own skill sets)

 

Plant photoreceptors are most sensitive on the top of the leaves, as they not only signal the plant what type (ie: range) of light but from which direction it is coming from and the intensity. The plant needs this direction so it grows upward, not back down.

 

http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/125/1/85

 

50 years of trial and error has led me to believe that titanium white walls and ceilings have the most reflective qualities. Keep in mind that any shiny material will absorb light energy and dissipate it as heat and create "hot spots", whereas a white dimpled surface minimizes loss and remains cool.

 

I've seen debates on panda's properties, etc, and all the reflective data as a whole points to panda wasting 31% of your light energy in absorption and reflectivity.

 

http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/1116.htm

 

1T

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Royal Smoke Advanced Member

Royal Smoke

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I have tear-proof mylar covering floor, ceiling and walls. cleans up well, looks cool and throws light EVERYWHERE!!

 

 

You have reflective mylar on your floor or the white panda material?

 

I was thinking about either using the white panda material or painting the floor white. I'm in a pretty dingy basement and I'm going for that clean, sterile look. I had never thought about reflective reasons though.

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Grow Thread Advanced Member

Grow Thread

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Has anyone painted their grow room floor? And did you see any inprovement?

 

From the research I have seen it would be a min of inprovement as it would reflect to the underside of leaves.

And yes I know cleaning would be a full time job, but some people have grow rooms cleaner than a operating room. Thanks

 

hiya sir :sword:

 

well, i am a fan of the panda film for a lot of reasons: http://www.4hydropon...temNo=pandaFilm

 

it says in that link that "The white side reflects 90% of your lighting back into the garden."

 

gallery_13801_60_66624.jpg

 

 

as far as light reflectiveness, i dont think it really matters all that much. obviously, in my buckets, the plants start a foot off the ground as it is. even if you started in soil, in little tiny pots, set them on the floor, and slammed your hood all the way down, you might get minimal reflection off the floor, but only for a few days until you have to raise your lights. then it becomes worthless again.

 

i wouldnt say i keep my grow room cleaner than a hospital, but i would feel safe doing a brain surgery on my clean floor if i needed :)

 

the panda is durable. very very durable. i probably replace the floor once a year. it will take that much abuse. not only am i normally in the rooms walking around 25 times a day, i am constantly dragging 50 pound totes, fans ect. across the floor too.

 

panda film cleans SO EASY. you can sweep it with a broom like a linoleum kitchen floor, or your can spray it down with a bleach/water mix and use a mop on it as well. heck, on lazy days, when its not that dirty in there, i raise my regular house vaccuum to its highest carpet height setting and buzz over it real quick.

 

it looks clean. i mean its white :) it just looks clean.

 

it makes finding bugs on your floors much easier. a mite spotted on a plant IS NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THE ROOM.

 

it will help prevent mold/moisture from cement basement floors.

 

although i NEVER recommend growing on a carpeted floor..... if you MUST do it because you rent or whatever and cannot afford to rip the carpeting out, panda is a cheap and easy way to throw a make-shift floor down to grow on.

 

a 10ft x 10ft piece is only $10. thats a 10 dollar floor in 10 minutes. painting would cost a fortune, and then you have to wait for days for the place to air out. and after your floors take a beating after a few cycles, its much easier to pick up the old panda film and lay down another $10 piece....... rather than repaint the entire thing again.

 

i use panda film on the walls, ceilings, floors, tabletops, and probably another few places i forgot. it hangs very easy. a few thumbtacks and you are done. you can use it to divide a room into 2 as it is lightproof also. if needed, clear tape can stick 2 pieces together seamlessly.

 

i suppose i could go on....... and on and on......

 

panda is the way to go.

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Royal Smoke Advanced Member

Royal Smoke

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it looks clean. i mean its white :) it just looks clean.

 

it makes finding bugs on your floors much easier. a mite spotted on a plant IS NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THE ROOM.

 

it will help prevent mold/moisture from cement basement floors.

 

 

 

Thanks for answering. The basement that I'm building my new grow spot sometimes gets water down there. Not a lot of water, but when it rains, a few puddles form. You said it will help prevent mold. Are you saying that if I lay panda film on the ground and water leaks in, I'll be alright?

 

I was thinking about just keeping the cement floor, just because of the minor water issue I'm having.

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Grow Thread Advanced Member

Grow Thread

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Are you saying that if I lay panda film on the ground and water leaks in, I'll be alright?

 

I was thinking about just keeping the cement floor, just because of the minor water issue I'm having.

 

well, cement is porous and can hold moisture. panda film isnt going to stop that from happening obviously.... that would take a $10,000 treatment or whatever the heck they do when they waterproof basements :)

 

BUT....... panda film is MUCH easier. spill something? wipe it up. not so easy on a dank, cold cement floor.

 

plus, it can act as a barrier between your cement floor and your grow space. im not saying its going to keep 100% of the moisture out..... but it would be better than nothing on floor IMO.

 

thats the beauty of it.............. you have nothing but 10 bucks to lose :) if doesnt work for you, and you decide that the cement floor is better for whatever reason....... im sure you can find something to use that panda film for. i have about 100 uses already :)

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Royal Smoke Advanced Member

Royal Smoke

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get some treated 2x4s and plywood and build a false floor then put down your panda

 

That's a pretty good idea. Then I'd be raised above any water. But won't the panda stop that water underneath from evaporating, causing mold?

 

 

I'm working with 5 gallon buckets and 6'1" ceilings, so every darn inch matters! :lol:

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Guest 1TokeOverLine

Guest 1TokeOverLine

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Forgot about concrete floor, mine are wooden frame. When I had cabs in the basement I snagged 1/2" foam insulboard at Home DePOT and laid that on the floor. Cold concrete messed with the cloner and pots. It's the 1/2" hard foam covered with foil. Helped with cleaning and looked like a hospital. LOL

 

1T

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ToadInCan Advanced Member

ToadInCan

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Has anyone painted their grow room floor? And did you see any inprovement?

 

From the research I have seen it would be a min of inprovement as it would reflect to the underside of leaves.

And yes I know cleaning would be a full time job, but some people have grow rooms cleaner than a operating room. Thanks

 

 

Just some obsrvations...

 

When I sit out on a frozen lake, with my big parka hood up and my back to the wind, I'm thinkin' that I'm pretty much not exposed to the elements. But a few nice clear days of ice fishing and I've got people asking me if I was in Florida. Mighty big reflection from 93 bazillion miles away., off of a white surface.

 

I like to go out on a summer evening and watch the sprinkler water my garden., I take a nice chair, and a few beers, and my medication, and sometimes I forget to turn the water off before Venus is passing through the western sky. She's a pretty big light in the sky, and it's cool to catch her in the cradle of the moon. Anyway... what I'm seeing is just a reflection of the sun off of a stark, lonely planet out in space. Mighty big reflection from more than 93 bazillion miles away.

 

My point is that light reflects off of certain surfaces. White is better than most. Light travels until it is absorbed or reflected. The plants don't synthesize light from the bottom, but the reflected light will travel until it bounces off the walls or the ceiling or the reflector, or gets absorbed by something in the room that isn't white. How do you spell rickocheting? Well that's what the light does. It's arguable that it has any effect, but if you keep that light bouncing around the room some of it will hit the top of the plant. ANY color other than white is going to absorb light.

 

I have a concrete floor, and I think it's awesome! A little slosh here and there vanishes within minute. But I have a nine foot ceiling. I have a framework of slatssitting on eight inch blocks. I can slide a pan underneath to catch the runoff when I flush my dirt plants. I keep warm air circulating under my bubble totes which keeps them warmer than sitting on the floor. I like having a concrete floor, but on top of the pressure treated wooden slats, my floor is white. It might be a miniscule percentage, but I like to re-capture some of that light.

 

This works for me. I know that you'll develope your own methods. I hope this helps, and I hope that you have great success.

 

Toad

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Royal Smoke Advanced Member

Royal Smoke

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What do you guys think I should do with this floor? I'm going to be using 5 gallon buckets and this is my flower room.

That puddle is from a water leak....

 

 

013.JPG

 

 

It's kind of cool that I have that hole with the water to go down with the pump if water may spill. I'm not sure if septic is the right word for it, but you know what I'm talking about.

 

 

014.JPG

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mibrains Advanced Member

mibrains

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its called a sump pump pit.

and they r great to have....but they put them in a basement floor for a good reason

i wouldn't recommend painting that floor only because you would probably have to acid etch it to clean it well enough, and panda film is more economically viable. i would change it every 6 months or so to avoid moisture build up...by the stains in the concrete i would say theres standing water in there annually. winter u should b safe, but watch it in the spring when the snow melts and the water table comes up, you may get seepage that could be a hassle.

i also would not enclose it with any type of wood, treated or otherwise because to do so without addressing the water seepage would be setting yourself up for long term problems. water plus heat plus dark = bad news...every time.....wether it's visable or not...

just my 2 cents...

peace

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G3LLO Advanced Member

G3LLO

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I went to Menards and bought 4x8 sheets white tube surround and used seam pieces to put them together. Whether it helps with my reflection (with I think it helps) it is EXTREMELY easy for clean up. I will go in there with a mope and bucket and give it a nice cleaning!

 

If you look in the right hand corner of the pic you can see how the seams look on the floor.......

 

gallery_15392_238_779010.jpg

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