algreen - Go back a page to 54, and check out Chloemobile Micro PL-L Vert grow, should help you get the idea. Growing this style isn't any harder really, its just a different method. If you can grow the "good old way" you can grow using the Vertical method.
algreen - Its up to you but techincally speaking the vert should yield a little more since your gaining some extra growing area. You have about 1.19 sq.ft of space, its recommended you have 50 watts per sqft, tho I like to shoot a little more like 65-75 watts for florescent.
Either set up should work fine, if you feel more comfortable go with the 2 36ws, but if you want to challenge yourself and learn something new, go with the vert style, plus you may be rewarded with more yield by doing so.
Wait how tall is your box? Your first post you said 650mm, or 65 cm, now your saying its 52.2 cm?
My 55w lights are about 54cm with the sockets. And I ordered mine from 1000bulbs.
Regarding the vertical setup, I would encourage people to try scrogging one plant around one 55W PL-L (use some kind of mesh or tubing around the PL-L to keep the plant from burning).
If you place four plants around one PL-L, each plant is only receiving 1/4 of the light. I reckon giving one plant the entire 4800 lumens will result in a greater overall yield compared to the 4plants1light setup.
From the webpage you linkedCould somebody please upload/link to the exact measurements of the ahsupply.com reflector (http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm Meaning this image in particular:
http://www.ahsupply.com/images/36402.jpg
A simple sideways picture would be great!
I'm from Germany and shipping the kit overseas would probably cost a couple hundred (thinking worst case here). Besides, I already have a kit from Elektrolux (German company) for 2x55W PL-Ls and all I really need is better reflectors.
Hope that helps!Each reflector in a 55watt Bright Kit™ is 22 inches long, 4 inches wide and 2 inches high. With a 2x55w Kit, for instance, the two reflectors can be installed end-to-end on a 48" long aquarium in one 4" wide row, or installed front-to-back on a 24" or 30" long aquarium. The 1x36w Bright Kit's reflector is 17.25"L x 4"W x 2"H. 2x36w Bright Kits come with two 17.5"L x 4"W x 2"H reflectors.
Thats nice. Any chance you could make an accurate 2d drawing with dimensions ?I took matters into my own hands to get an almost perfect design:
http://imgur.com/PqHSiCt
The forum will only permit 150kb for a gif.
With this design next to none of the light is reflected back into the twin-tube. The only losses occur in between the tubes, but this can't really be helped and it doesn't matter that much anyway, because PL-Ls reach their greatest effifacy at 35°C, so some losses which convert to a rise in temperature are bareable.
It's quite a compact design at 10cm x 3.5cm and could be reduced in width by 1-2cm without losing too much light.
Unfortunately bending aluminium into this given shape is probably impossible in terms of DIY, so a simple approximation with a polygon would be a sufficient substitute with most likely neglegible losses. In other words, cut a couple of 1-2cm wide aluminium stripes and arrange them as close to the parabolic curve as possible.
Thats nice. Any chance you could make an accurate 2d drawing with dimensions ?