lighting Lighting & General Indoor Grow Info/Help Wanted!

[ThatBlondGuy101]

Ahoy There Me Hearties!
 
So, 
I am looking at starting my grow this season coming up indoors, and has a few queries about lighting, etc.
 
I am planning to start (sowing) late June/early July, and planting out late September in beds and pots. I will probably transfer plants into an outdoor greenhouse late August-September, and will probably transplant the potted plants around then.
Here is my local climate:

 
My house is quite old, and doesn't really have any windows suited for growing through. It does, however, have a north-facing veranda (don't forget I'm in the southern end of the world, so north is good), which is pretty good, as it bounces around a fair bit of heat and light. In April it was usually 5-10 degrees hotter than the rest of the yard. However, I don't know what happens in Winter. You can see the normal temperature ranges in the chart above. 
 
So, first of all, I was thinking what your thoughts are on a greenhouse on the veranda? I'd assume that the temps out there are the same as the normal in Winter, if that affects anything. Light wouldn't be a problem.
 
I was also considering growing under lights inside. I've done a bit of research on lighting, and read most of the relevant literature. I think T8's would be most suitable for me if I were to go down the lighting path.
So a few questions on that:
 
- Can you get T8 lights in sizes other than 120cm? I could pobably make do with that size, but 80cm or smaller would be much more useful.
- Are Aquarium lights suitable for growing under? I'm not planning on getting the plants to fruit under the lights, just to get them established before plant out.
-Would I need a heater in addition to the T8's? The temp inside rarely gets below 15 degrees, and never gets below 10.
-What kind of ventilation/fan/etc would be needed? The area I was looking at growing the plants isn't too enclosed, its pretty much in an open room.
 
I think that's about all for now, Thanks!
 
Also, I have been reading the glogs and have read the pinned article on lights. And Jubnat's guide to growing. And the other stuff thats around. But I'll be grateful for any answers you can give me,or just your own thoughts!
 
Thanks again! 

 

[OCD Chilehead]

I think they make 30 and 60cm t8s. It depends on how many plants you want to grow. The bigger the plants, the more light you will need to support them. If your just growing seedlings, not a big deal. You say, you get some sunlight, you may not need any lights. Or very little. Its amazing how much light there is in the shade from the Sun, then there is under fluorescents.

As far as a heater goes. Your lows don't seem that bad. Daytime temps is what I would think about. I would record the temps, once you've got it builtz that would give you more of an idea if you need some ventilation and how much.

Are you going to enclose it with plastic?

I'm not an expert in the subject. Just offering my thoughts. Others may no more on the subject.

 

[Gorizza]

- Are Aquarium lights suitable for growing under? I'm not planning on getting the plants to fruit under the lights, just to get them established before plant out.
-Would I need a heater in addition to the T8's? The temp inside rarely gets below 15 degrees, and never gets below 10.

 
I actually know a thing or two about aquarium lights as I have been working on a planted tank for a while now. That community has 2 parts, fresh and salt, and everything on the salt-water side is cooler and more expensive, but the lights aren't going to work for peppers, the PAR is all wrong.  They use way too much blue and no red at all.
 
Planted tank lights go either LED, Halogen, or just use T8s. I don't know anything about halogen, but it seems like expensive overkill.  Also, if you live in the US, the DEA will bust your door in looking for weed haha.
 
A lot of people have success with T8s but they can't grow some of the cooler stuff that needs really high light. Similar to how your plants will probably grow really slowly under them.  Also the light spectrum of fluorescent lights shifts over time, so you'll need to change the bulb every year or so to keep the reds in. I have a tank with fluorescent bulbs and I have to change them every 6 months because the heat speeds up the shift. Its expensive and stupid.
 
Which is why a lot of people (myself included) are making the move to LEDs. Most LED systems are only expensive because they are in nice mounts that fit right on a fish tank. You don't need any of that. They make some like this: Then there are ones like this:

But if you're going to do all that you should get one that actually has the spectrum that your plants are going to be able to use like this one:https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Reflector-Spectrum-Indoor-Plants/dp/B01B4GQ6MO/
 
I overwintered my plants just fine with this light https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1PU3RT4822&cm_re=grow_light-_-9SIA1PU3RT4822-_-Product I got it on sale for like 12 bucks.
 
If you can afford to spend $100 dollars you can get a lot of stuff thats perfect for the job
 
HEATER: If I remember correctly, the temperature that matters the most is soil temperature, not foliage. So if you're working in a basement or somewhere with a cold floor you should invest in a heater

 

[Gonzo]

T8 is 100% to grow seedlings. You need daylight tubes 6000-6500 kelvin. This is perfectly fine to start them for up to 8 weeks. Some people buy one daylight and one 2700k for red to mix them.

But it was shown blue is fine for starting plants. T8s can last quite some time and does NOT need changing every year,you are only running your lights once a year for like 8 weeks so you can get multiple seasons out of your t8s. Im using 4ft x 4 daylights t8 and my seedlings are growing perfectly fine. Aquarium lights are simply fluorescents rebranded as "aqurium" for sales. They are HIGH OUTPUT thats the only difference,so just check if you can get t8 HO at a normal hardware store,they are exactly the same. You can also go for t5 HO but they are more expensive than t8. You get 2ft but get two double 4ft units(4 bulbs total) on a 2ft x 4ft surface. You can put the seedlings on crates close to the bulbs and remove the crates or use smaller ones as they grow larger,but always maintaining atleast a 12inch distance.

Sent from my GT-I9190 using Tapatalk

 

[Gorizza]

T8s can last quite some time and does NOT need changing every year,you are only running your lights once a year for like 8 weeks so you can get multiple seasons out of your t8s. 

 
Great point! My experience is 8 hours a day year round in a poorly ventilated aquarium lid over a heated tank. Those suckers drop the red off quickly in that environment.
 
I'm also interested to read about "florescent rebranded as T8." I assumed this was the case for all grow lights?
I'd love to see some PAR graph comparisons

 

[Gonzo]

 
 
I'm also interested to read about "florescent rebranded as T8." I assumed this was the case for all grow lights?
 

Read it again.
 
It is normal t8's rebranded(labelled) as a aquarium light,they simply just put their sticker on it in nice packaging. Its the exact same thing you can buy at a hardware shop. 
 
If you want to grow a plant from start to finish you need different lights,t8's can work but is not best suited for it.T8's are great for seedlings up to 8weeks

 

[TheHydroScientist]

I did the growing inside with LED lights. So far I'm extremely happy with the results. I've done this out of need, because I have a limited grow space and I dont want to waste the start of the growing season with small seedlings that spend a good 1.5-2 months outside just getting to the flowering stage. Maximize yield in the space I have.
 
Growing indoors will give you much better control of the environment, nutrients and minimize exposure to pests. My approach was to use a grow tent with hydroponic media (coir+perlite) and hydro nutrients. I did some custom LED lighting, but you can find stuff that will work fine without the DIY route if you're not so inclined.
 
I've chronicled this in a video I posted on youtube, you can check it out and decide if this is something you'd be willing to spend time and money on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8vGNib0Mx8
 
 

 

[adrian089]

I did the growing inside with LED lights. So far I'm extremely happy with the results. I've done this out of need, because I have a limited grow space and I dont want to waste the start of the growing season with small seedlings that spend a good 1.5-2 months outside just getting to the flowering stage. Maximize yield in the space I have.
 
Growing indoors will give you much better control of the environment, nutrients and minimize exposure to pests. My approach was to use a grow tent with hydroponic media (coir+perlite) and hydro nutrients. I did some custom LED lighting, but you can find stuff that will work fine without the DIY route if you're not so inclined.
 
I've chronicled this in a video I posted on youtube, you can check it out and decide if this is something you'd be willing to spend time and money on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8vGNib0Mx8
 
 

 
What ratio of coir+perlite?