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Grow Light - Regular Fluorescent ok?

tjbarney

tjbarney

I have a spot at work that I am planning on putting my plants under once they start growing. It has a mirrored back and I will put the plants on shelves with a poster in front to hide them. I figure it will help keep them warmer with the poster in front as well. I have been looking for a grow light to replace the regular fluorescent light in the fixture right now but I can't find the right size. It needs a 36" light and all I can find around me are 24" and 48" grow lights. So is a regular fluorescent ok if I can't find a grow light to fit?

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Ya it will work. But you might want to consider upgrading, depending on how much growing you are doing as well as how long the winter lasts there.
 
This will only be for a short time to get them going. I live in Oklahoma so I can start putting them out during the day towards the middle to end of March usually. It won't be for a full sized plant by no means, just while they are babies.
 
What are you planning on doing with your plants? If you're just planning on growing them for a month or two before you bring them outside you could just rig up a bunch of high power CFLs (the 40-something watters, 150W incandescent equivalent). Six of those should give you a decent 36"x12" or so growing area for a couple of months until your plants are ready to go out. If you are planning on flowering and fruiting indoors, however, you need to start looking into HID lighting. I would search lighting and you should find a wealth of information.
 
Oh, and the pic makes it look much darker than it really is. It's really bright up there. I only plan on having them there for a little bit while they are just starting out. I will then move them home to a south facing window where I have my over wintered pepper plants. It's just too cold right now to put the babies there and I figured under that light would be the best for them for a little while. Then in mid March I will start putting them outside when it's nice.
 
tjbarney said:
Oh, and the pic makes it look much darker than it really is. It's really bright up there. I only plan on having them there for a little bit while they are just starting out. I will then move them home to a south facing window where I have my over wintered pepper plants. It's just too cold right now to put the babies there and I figured under that light would be the best for them for a little while. Then in mid March I will start putting them outside when it's nice.
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It will work for a short period of time. But the more light the merrier! When i was short on lighting and cash I went to Walmart and bought a 2 pack of 6500k cfl bulbs that emit 1,600 lumens each. So i put one in my little desk light and bam! Happier plants! Now im using that and my 2 ft T5 that emits 8,000-10,000 lumens.
 
Not enough light to support a good start. Why would you have to hide them at work, they're not illegal...........lol
Seriously, why take a chance at work if it causes any problems. Get youself a small light for home if you only intend to use it for the early stages...

Greg
 
Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help! I will see what else I can work out. I might try and see if I can put a small desk lamp with a good bulb in it as well. I am trying to go as cheap as I can since money is tight and also because it is very temporary.

PIC 1 said:
Not enough light to support a good start. Why would you have to hide them at work, they're not illegal...........lol
Seriously, why take a chance at work if it causes any problems. Get youself a small light for home if you only intend to use it for the early stages...

Greg
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Lol, no, not illegal. I am only covering them up because I manage a retail store and the spot is right behind the register. So a poster to cover them up looks nicer and is a good focus point for the poster as well.
 
tjbarney said:
..... So is a regular fluorescent ok if I can't find a grow light to fit?....
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I think you should give it a shot, with these limitations: Keep in mind a plant will only grow well directly below a lamp like that. So if you had a long skinny row of seedlings it might work. You wouldn't want to put a whole tray of seedlings under there, but you could cut the cells so it is 1/3 of a tray just a few inches wide.

Also keep in mind seedling need to be 'tended' regularly, like every day! IF it is easy access to the light fixture, IF you can adjust the height of the plants to the light to keep them as close as possible without burning them, IF you can check them for water without disrupting the place, it becomes possible.

Try to find out the type of light bulb is in there--it has markings near the end. Also, If you can hang a poster, perhaps you could hang a sheet of foil behind the poster and get even better light reflecting.

Don't rely on it as your only option, but put a few test plants in there and let us know. You'd have a story to tell fo sho. It's great to have the best light spectrums and associated items, but you can still grow stuff without all the fancy/schmancy. It might surprise you and us.... :cool:
 
Siliman said:
I think you should give it a shot, with these limitations: Keep in mind a plant will only grow well directly below a lamp like that. So if you had a long skinny row of seedlings it might work. You wouldn't want to put a whole tray of seedlings under there, but you could cut the cells so it is 1/3 of a tray just a few inches wide.

Also keep in mind seedling need to be 'tended' regularly, like every day! IF it is easy access to the light fixture, IF you can adjust the height of the plants to the light to keep them as close as possible without burning them, IF you can check them for water without disrupting the place, it becomes possible.

Try to find out the type of light bulb is in there--it has markings near the end. Also, If you can hang a poster, perhaps you could hang a sheet of foil behind the poster and get even better light reflecting.

Don't rely on it as your only option, but put a few test plants in there and let us know. You'd have a story to tell fo sho. It's great to have the best light spectrums and associated items, but you can still grow stuff without all the fancy/schmancy. It might surprise you and us.... :cool:
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Thanks Siliman! It isn't hard to get to where the seedlings will be and I will be able to raise and lower their height as well. I had thought about putting foil on the back of the poster, for sure now since you recommended it. I plan to put the seedlings in 5 ounce yogurt cups I am saving once they get their first 2 leaves. Then into Solo cups or something of the like before their final 5 gal buckets. Does that seem like a good progression for them? I have them germinating in small plastic containers w/ a paper towel right now. It won't be a problem making one line of the seedlings under the length of the light and raising them up to be right under it. I know they need to have some time without the light for their dark cycle; will it matter what time of the day I do that? How long does it need to be? There is no shut off switch on the light but I can just twist it a bit to make it go off. Here is a pic of what the bulb says on the end, what do you guys think? How do you tell how many lumens it puts out etc from the numbers/letters on it?


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stc3248 said:
here is a good bulb...but as mentioned the plants would have to be directly under them within a couple inches.

http://www.lightings...px?___store=lsc
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Thanks for the link and taking the time to look that up for me! How does mine above compare to it?
 
tjbarney said:
37595538.jpg





Thanks for the link and taking the time to look that up for me! How does mine above compare to it?
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Here are the specs:

GE 77119 - 30 Watt - 2350 Lumens - CRI 70 - 3000K - 18,000 Life Hours - Medium Bi-pin - F30T12 - White - Fluorescent Tube...

The color will work, but not optimal...3000k would be something to use when you want the plant to flower I think, but for growth the higher the # the better. So you're better off using the 6500k bulbs to start with. I mix and match my bulb colors sometimes, but with a single fixture you don't have that option.
Good luck and I wanna see some photos of the hidden treasures behind the poster when you get them in there!
 
Thanks stc, I will go to the store in a few days and see if I can find a 36" daylight 6500k. I should be able to find that, it was just the 'grow light' I couldn't find. I have Lowes and Walmart as my options here. I will update on what I find and with pics as my plants are coming along (hopefully). :pray:
 
tjbarney said:
Thanks stc, I will go to the store in a few days and see if I can find a 36" daylight 6500k. I should be able to find that, it was just the 'grow light' I couldn't find. I have Lowes and Walmart as my options here. I will update on what I find and with pics as my plants are coming along (hopefully). :pray:
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Good luck! My Wally World doesn't carry 36" floros...but yours may? I looked back at the bulb link I posted and the lumens were a little on the low side, so pay attention to that too. The more the merrier on the lumens. I am afraid that is where the biggest sacrifice might be with your 36's? Didn't think of it before, but a small fan would help them too. Maybe you could run it at night when closed. It strengthens the stems and helps keep them nice and compact.
 
stc3248 said:
Good luck! My Wally World doesn't carry 36" floros...but yours may? I looked back at the bulb link I posted and the lumens were a little on the low side, so pay attention to that too. The more the merrier on the lumens. I am afraid that is where the biggest sacrifice might be with your 36's? Didn't think of it before, but a small fan would help them too. Maybe you could run it at night when closed. It strengthens the stems and helps keep them nice and compact.
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I know both Lowes and WM carry some 36" I just don't know the specs of them. I'll see if I can find a small fan to stick up there at night, I remember reading that on another post, thanks! Also, what do you think about the dark cycle time? Thanks again for all the help.
 
Some folks go 24/7 for the first few weeks...I am running mine on a timer for 16 hours. Some folks run a 12/12...I think the longer the better for yours since the light might be a little under powered, but there are bigger experts than me. Longer lights = better growth...shorter = more blooms....both within limits of course.
 
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