Grow lights?

[ak474u]

I need to figure out a grow light setup for my garage here in the next few days. I've got a 2'x4' shelf that will need to be lit for my starter seeds. I've been building my garden boxes with every spare minute this week, and its approaching time to get the seeds started. I found 4' grow light fluorescent tubes at HD, but anyone have any tricks for incandescent bulbs, or since I don't want to have to wire up a fluorescent fixture, would I find anything useful at an aquarium store? The guy at HD said he thinks people use aquarium fixtures to sprout seeds...

Any ideas?

[ladyhk13]

I'm not sure if mine are incandescent or not (I know nothing about bulbs) but they are long glass tubes and not grow lights. I used them last year and they worked great. I just had to put a small heater near them to make sure the plants stayed nice and warm. I can find out from BWRR about incandescent thing.

[ak474u]

I'm not sure if mine are incandescent or not (I know nothing about bulbs) but they are long glass tubes and not grow lights. I used them last year and they worked great. I just had to put a small heater near them to make sure the plants stayed nice and warm. I can find out from BWRR about incandescent thing.

I found a fluorescent fixture and bought 2 bulbs, and also got 1 incandescent (screw in) to supplement the light. Also got a few bell lights with incandescent bulbs for a little heat.

[TroubleShooter]

To sprout or start seeds, no light is needed. Heat , I have seen some using heating pads or just a indecasent bulb. I bought several fixtures for indoor grow setup at Mennards, prewired with plugs for $9 each . I use two styles bulbs cool white and regular in each fixture. You need an easy way to raise and lower fixture to maintain light output. Also I am playing with a reptile bulb as growlight .. I have a light meter and the outputs dramatically changes based on distance from plant.

[Metrocruiser]

If you are starting them off in the garage and then planting in your boxes after they have grown a few inches, fluorescents are the way to go. You can get the lights pretty close to the sprouts without burning them. This reduces the stretching which weakens them.

Heat mats under the bed or peat pods will speed up the root growth.

Thanks for your thread it reminded me I have to get started on my garden stuff as well.

[ak474u]

If you are starting them off in the garage and then planting in your boxes after they have grown a few inches, fluorescents are the way to go. You can get the lights pretty close to the sprouts without burning them. This reduces the stretching which weakens them.

Heat mats under the bed or peat pods will speed up the root growth.

Thanks for your thread it reminded me I have to get started on my garden stuff as well.

Started 100 plants last night. Decided to build a sprouting table inside that I can take apart and store when I'm done. The light fixtures are adjustable height so I can get down close to the sprouts when they appear. I've still got room on the table, so I'll be doing another round of them as soon as I figure out my PVC vertical planter setup. I think I'm gonna do strawberry plants, and some other stuff in there.

[Vodin]

Red and blue CFL lights
Kelvin 4k green growth
Kelvin 2.5k flower growth
Wattage 200 - 300

This is what I run 12 hours a day all year. The lighting bill for me is $75 a year.

[realist]

AK, do you have companies who cater to the marijuana underground? Obviously in California we have a huge selection. When I first started landscaping my place 20 + years ago I want to a nursery who would say they did or would say they didn't. However they did educate me very well on irrigation. We may not like them or support them but pick their brains because when it comes to indoor grows they really know how to do it. You would be amazed at the number of concoctions they come up with to get their plants to grow. There was one guy who said if they put as much time and effort into growing food instead of pot then there would be no hunger in the world..........

[Vodin]

realist, is correct you can find websites dealing with lighting issues for pot growers. That is where I located the idea for the CFL lights that I built. They get so technical on the procedure it flew over my head at one point granted I only have an AAS in electronics and the guy writing the article had a doctorates degree in the subject they were discussing. Do a search on pot grow lights there is a plethora of websites. Wait I got the sight on one of my printouts


http://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/

When you start researching you will be amazed B)

[ak474u]

AK, do you have companies who cater to the marijuana underground? Obviously in California we have a huge selection. When I first started landscaping my place 20 + years ago I want to a nursery who would say they did or would say they didn't. However they did educate me very well on irrigation. We may not like them or support them but pick their brains because when it comes to indoor grows they really know how to do it. You would be amazed at the number of concoctions they come up with to get their plants to grow. There was one guy who said if they put as much time and effort into growing food instead of pot then there would be no hunger in the world..........

Yeah, I YouTube'd grow lights... That pulls up like 80% pot grows. Lol