my lighting did prove to be a problem. the temp got up to 95+ a few inches below the lights. I wired everything up and set my lights up in the top of the box, built my shelf and the brackets to hold the shelf(spaced every 6 inches).
I placed my thermometer on a string and tacked it about three inches below the 64w light/main bulb(as I call it) and plugged all the lights into my power strip as well as my(shitty, near ineffective) fan and watched as the temp climbed to beyond what the thermometer was able to read! surprise? no, not really. I figured that the amount of light paired with the use of three quarter inch plywood was going to cause heat issues. I just had not figured on how much of an issue it was going to be! I drilled holes in the top around the lights and the top of the sides of the box and that helped but not by much. next I dug up an old microwave and removed the fan from it and cut a hole for it and wired it up then mounted it.......its loud as hell.....and did nothing. so I thought, wonder if I reversed the direction of the fans if that might would do anything. yep! the 3" computer fan was the intake and the 6" microwave fan was the exhaust. I reversed them, as the 3" was not pulling enough cool air to make a difference and the microwave fan was put under strain for trying to evacuate with a strong vacuum that was created inside the grow area, now, the 6 inch microwave fan is the intake and the 3" computer fan is the exhaust and the temp is at a steady 74-78. in utilizing a method of "growing down" that is my lights remain in place mounted in the top of my grow box and a shelving system is being used much like the racks in an oven. as the plants grow, I move the shelf down to accommodate for height. I have had many very successful indoor crops but as ive said this will be my first grow in an enclosed area of such a size. as such, what do you think my ideal number of plants? I have planned for two but I have read of people doing three and even four! I know the limited amount of space will cause crowding and make the plants compete for light thus creating a situation to where the yield will decrease. I have only planned for 2 that will be grown in 2-14" pots, which is what Jorge Cervantes recommends in his book, so my pots fill up the entire grow space, so, to try more will result in having to use smaller pots 8-10" which will result in root cramping. I know all the possibilities and problems that can occur which is why I have not really invested in any good seeds(as I will be growing feminized white widow if this setup proves to be successful) nor put much into it in ways of buying all new materials. im intending to grow to a height of about 3' during a 2-3 month period, I know it can be done with other setups ive used and im hoping that my results with this will be about the same, and that's it before I induce flowering. I know that I wont be getting much in the way of yield but that's okay as this is just a test run to see what results I get and also I will be growing for quality not quantity. any thoughts?