Thanks greg I was figuring somewhere around 12 - 16 hours. Dave I was thinking I'd plug the thermostat in the wall socket then plug a power strip into that and the mats into that. What is a good temp to set the thermostat at for starting seed? When the seeds start to grow I'm thinking I can turn the mats down if not off altogether is that right? Also since the trays will be one above the other which tray would be the best to use the probe on? I was going to get some Styrofoam board with like foil on one side to set the mats on to help reflect the heat back up instead of letting it dissipate down is that a good idea? I also ordered some mylar film to put in front of and behind the shelves to help keep the light bouncing around inside. I don't want to do the sides so that there can still be some air circulation. I will keep this thread going with updates and pictures as I go so that people can comment on what I'm doing right and wrong. Also so that others might be thinking of doing the same thing might learn from my mistakes and what (if anything) I am doing right.

This is what I did when I was living in an apartment. No pulleys though but a great idea to be able to adjust. We painted the posts and the shelves so that they somewhat look presentable in a living room. Your setup looks great.

I wasn't planning on watering for quite a while as I have already over watered it so much, because of this should I even worry about repoting in a different soil mix at this point? I was planning on waiting for some substantial growth before watering (is this the correct thing to do?). Regarding the lights, the light I have fits on the shelf pretty perfectly but doesn't leave room to mount a 2nd (at least not both mounted to the bottom of the top shelf like that). How critical is adding a 2nd? Or are there any other 18" bulbs that would be more powerful that would allow me to get away with a single one. The cactus I have there was a present a while ago and it has just been sitting in the corner until now. The flowers on it were attached before (don't know if they were real or fake), but fell off. I was thinking about repotting this as it looks like it has potential for more growth (it was just a cheap cactus from Meijer and looks crowded in the small pot and has looked that way since I got it). Would repotting be beneficial? I understand that the plant will get much larger and plan on repoting in a larger pot at that point and also getting a different setup for it. Like I mentioned though, I was planning on growing some other plants as well (havn't decided what yet) in this same setup. Would I need more lights for most plants I might grow in this setup? ( I know it depends on the plant, but generally speaking...) Lots of questions, thanks for the help.

Squirel cage fans block the light, an important consideration if some plants need 12 hours of darkness to bloom. The axial fans Paul is talking about do not block the light; you would have to rig up something else to do that. The axial fans that are quiet, tend to have low cfm. Because small axial fan blades have so little surface area, they need to rotate fast in order to move a lot of air. (Paul) " Electrical and computer fans at low rpm are virtually silent,..." (Lermer) "Electrical" fans? I had thought all fans were electrical, although I suppose there might be little elves with hand-powered fans. "Computer" fans? I don't know what kind of fan Paul has, (perhaps the original WWII-era Eniac); but in all the computers I have seen, the axial fans in them are too small to be useful for plant room ventilation. (Dcarch) "The computer type of cooling fan is specifically designed for ventilating and cooling." (Lermer) Silly me, I had thought all fans were for the purpose of ventilation and cooling. Please, tell me where I could get some fans that are not. Ripley's Believe it or Not might be interested. (dcarch) "Squirrel cage (centrifugal) blowers are specifically used to overcome backpressure situations as in pushing air thru ductworks. It is never used for general cooling purposes." (Lermer) Squirrel cage fans have that capability, but they don't have to be used in ducting; in fact they are rated for different lengths of ducting starting with none at all. Normally I wouldn't use them without ducting (because of the higher cost) but they do block the light. If you read what I said, my first preference was for an open door with a 16" pedestal mount fan from Home Depot. Telling someone to make holes in their door and install axial fans in them, without warning them about light leaks (in and out) is irresponsible. (dcarch) "Before you use a 16" fan to blow on your seedlings, say goodbye to them first." (Lermer) I said, pedestal mount; which means, the height is adjustable. Jon didn't say anything about seedlings. Those can be placed away from strong air currents. The bigger plants would appreciate the air movement (as any but rookie growers know). (Object 16) "PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS OPTIMUM at 70-85 degrees." (Lermer) That's an incredibly ignorant statement. Where did you hear that? Generally, he optimum temperature is 76F. For every two degrees above that, you lose about 10% of the plant growth. This isn't apparent to the naked eye, except at extremely high levels. Above 76F you will see more green leaves because the leaf surface area increases (leaves become thinner) to transpire/cool more; and the leaves at such high temperatures tend to be more full of water. Once you weigh the dried mass, you will significant reductions in yield at 85F. Although light-on periods should have at least 70F. http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/greenh use_management/gh_cool_growing.htm "For many crops, media temperatures for germination should be between 72F and 76F. After a crop is established, most plants will tolerate non-optimal temperatures more easily. Seed germination is not the place to skimp on heat." (Lermer) Adult plants can usually tolerate slightly lower or higher temperatures, depending on species (where they evolved). A few degrees above optimum is a lot more harmful than a few degrees below optimum. (Object 16) "Plant growth is mainly a function of total number of photons - a rough measure of light intensity is lumens, so have a look at both lamps, and decide whether one or the other has sufficient lumens." (Lermer) "Lumens" is a "rough" measure, true; very rough, because it is biased toward the center of the spectrum. HPS reads very high in lumens because it is mostly yellow spectrum. However lacking a better common measurement, "lumens" is a factor to consider; but you should also consider spectrum. Generally you want a full spectrum, between 400-700nm, blue (about 420nm) and red (about 675nm) are the most important. For that, CRI (color rendering index) is a rough measure.