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lighting My lighting is insufficient...:-(
- Thread starter huntsman
- Start date
Hi willard -
Thanks, but I'm hoping to get this all sorted before tomorrow, and there are just too many posts to read them all.
I'm hoping for a few personal recommendations that don't send me off to every technical site on the planet, but which can actually help me.
Do you recommend these 'HID' lamps, yourself?
(Local electrical supplier says that the Kelvin rating might be important and that the one might be too yellow, whilst the other is a brilliant white..??Make sense?)
Thanks, but I'm hoping to get this all sorted before tomorrow, and there are just too many posts to read them all.
I'm hoping for a few personal recommendations that don't send me off to every technical site on the planet, but which can actually help me.Do you recommend these 'HID' lamps, yourself?
(Local electrical supplier says that the Kelvin rating might be important and that the one might be too yellow, whilst the other is a brilliant white..??Make sense?)
Thank you.
I'll be putting in shelving on which my trays of newly germinated sprouts will be placed, so I now need to find out if HPS and Metal Halides can be placed to the side of the trays. I have a feeling they must be above, as with a table of sprouts, and that would mean that fluorescents might be the best route to follow...
I'll be putting in shelving on which my trays of newly germinated sprouts will be placed, so I now need to find out if HPS and Metal Halides can be placed to the side of the trays. I have a feeling they must be above, as with a table of sprouts, and that would mean that fluorescents might be the best route to follow...
Generally speaking, plants use the BLUE spectrum of light for growth, and the RED spectrum for flowering. Since you have babies, think about the blue spectrum for the time being. Metal Halide is mostly in the blue spectrum. Flourescent plant bulbs are also mostly in the blue spectrum. HPS are mostly in the red spectrum. Some people have also used Full Spectrum Flourescent, which is supposed to resemble natural sun light. Hope this helps. good luck.
huntsman-
I don't know where exactly you are in SA (I have good friends in Malelane, I love it down there) but I'm pretty sure that specialty items such as HID lights are pretty expensive relative to standard flouro fixtures. And since you're down there and only need the lights for seedlings (lucky!) I would say you'd probably be best off by just adding more flouros for the time being- if later on you get sorted out then you should look into something like a 450 watt MH. I've had great success using 4 and then 6 each, 4' flouro tubes for starts. Get some Philips plant light tubes or equivalent, wire 'em in with your current fixture, and you're done. It's easier, in my opinion, to mount the lights on a board that can be raised or lowered than it is to build or buy adjustable shelving, but you will definitely have to do one or the other- since you're basically poorboying it you absolutely MUST keep the lights very close to the plants to keep them from getting too leggy. Also, surround the plants with mirrors or mylar or some sort of reflective material to maximize the light.
Good luck, post pics!
I don't know where exactly you are in SA (I have good friends in Malelane, I love it down there) but I'm pretty sure that specialty items such as HID lights are pretty expensive relative to standard flouro fixtures. And since you're down there and only need the lights for seedlings (lucky!) I would say you'd probably be best off by just adding more flouros for the time being- if later on you get sorted out then you should look into something like a 450 watt MH. I've had great success using 4 and then 6 each, 4' flouro tubes for starts. Get some Philips plant light tubes or equivalent, wire 'em in with your current fixture, and you're done. It's easier, in my opinion, to mount the lights on a board that can be raised or lowered than it is to build or buy adjustable shelving, but you will definitely have to do one or the other- since you're basically poorboying it you absolutely MUST keep the lights very close to the plants to keep them from getting too leggy. Also, surround the plants with mirrors or mylar or some sort of reflective material to maximize the light.
Good luck, post pics!
If you are only using the lights during the seedling and growth stage, I would recommend using a t5ho fixture, as they are extremely efficient and do well for growth and also for production on some types of plants.
And HID lighting can be expensive to operate if you don't spend the money to get the right thing. I have a salt water aquarium that was using 2 400w metal halide setups and I switched over to 2 t5ho 4 ft 4 bulb fixtures and saw a $230 decrease in my light bill the next month, and it was hotter the next month. And there was not much difference in the amount of light or sprectrum provided according to the readings on a meter.
And HID lighting can be expensive to operate if you don't spend the money to get the right thing. I have a salt water aquarium that was using 2 400w metal halide setups and I switched over to 2 t5ho 4 ft 4 bulb fixtures and saw a $230 decrease in my light bill the next month, and it was hotter the next month. And there was not much difference in the amount of light or sprectrum provided according to the readings on a meter.
Hey there Huntsman. I've been using flouro tubes, but the type used for aquariums and the plants seem to love it. My jalapenos are flowering like crazy and everything looks real healthy. I'ts costing me around AU$80 for four 2' tubes from a hydro shop, while the exact same lights are going for $120 in a pet shop. Just make sure you shop around, whatever you buy.
Well, space constraints have left me with a six shelved unit, that has three 90cm fluoros over each shelf, though I must say, my leaves are a complete mix of perfect, through mottled, yellow, curled to burned, so I'm not sure what - if anything - I'm doing wrong.
Ah well...at least the bloody tomatoes are growing faster than a bushfire in a briar patch!
Ah well...at least the bloody tomatoes are growing faster than a bushfire in a briar patch!
Be sure to check for nasty, tiny white bugs. Also, I don't use a lot of ferts when the seedlings are small. I bottom water once a week, making sure the containers are soaked. One week, plain tap water (or rain water if you have any), the next week a semi-weak solution that has some tomato-tone fert in it.
Mike
Mike
Scorp - They've been in position for around three weeks I guess, and each shelf has a small computer fan attached. It's really weird that some leaves are perfect and others display every problem I've seen on this forum...!
Now that we're getting warm (read HOT!) weather, I'm allowing them time outside, so perhaps the sun can weave it's magic.
Mike - I might well be over watering, though it's something I am cognizant of. My grow room is heated, however, and the smaller cups dry out really quickly, so I am watering those at least twice a week. Hey, perhaps I'm washing all the nutrients from the soil...?
No bugs that I can see, but my eyes belong to a 49 yr old, so lots of wear 'n tear!
Now that we're getting warm (read HOT!) weather, I'm allowing them time outside, so perhaps the sun can weave it's magic.
Mike - I might well be over watering, though it's something I am cognizant of. My grow room is heated, however, and the smaller cups dry out really quickly, so I am watering those at least twice a week. Hey, perhaps I'm washing all the nutrients from the soil...?
No bugs that I can see, but my eyes belong to a 49 yr old, so lots of wear 'n tear!