I appreciate the responses! Irina, Thank you so much. I believe you are suggesting changing to one in the 3000K range? From what I can grasp, that one has the most red in its spectrum (or something...remember the eye-crossing). They are roughly 12" away but nothing really looks good. I only grow AVs, no other gessies. One that upset me was Arctic Frost. I don't usually grow it under lights but I had it in the center and that spot seemed a little bright for many plants; surprisingly, I had the nicest one ever, nice foliage for the first time, and then it started to bend up. There is nothing wrong with the large shelves many people use. It just took me a long time to get one and then it was boxed in the garage for a year or so and then on the porch for a couple of years. After I gave up and bought the Flora Cart, it has put together in the basement. It's kind of strange here at times. I am disabled with a disorder that affects my shoulder, arms and hands so I'm somewhat limited. Mac, I think that was probably a good idea on the lights. I probably read about the "burn in" after the fact. I started with a very short time and the lights are as far apart as they would go! I was going nuts (I must enjoy it) trying to choose a stand and finally just called IGS and asked how much it would cost to substitute the T8s. I may have emailed first, but I also called because I didn't know about shipping and that quote had included shipping. I thought it was relatively reasonable. Replacing the one light with a T12 cost quite a bit though, but I can use the T8 shelf to convert an old plant light for spring seed growing. I put Gro-Lux tubes in the new shelf and my reds are certainly redder :). The cart is nice, although I am a bit short for it. It is easier to move than the utility stands too so that's a plus. I have since bought a 24" T12 stand from another company. I know that size isn't practical but I always seem to be running them anyway for minis and such. Diana in PA

The sprawlmarts where I live (and they are HUGE Walmarts with full grocery) do NOT carry shop lights. Not all sprawlmarts are created equal! ;-) I have one T8 and one T12 fixture. In some ways I like the T12 better for the plants because it seems to be wider. The bulbs are a little bigger, and they are spaced a little further apart, so the overall shop light is wider. When I slide my tray under it, I seem to get much better coverage then I do from the T8. Here in Southern Ontario, I can't find a shop light for under $35.00. I bought a T8 for $39.00 as it seemed to make sense that if I was going to fork out that much money, what is another $4.00 for a more energy efficiant fixture that will likely still have bulbs available and easy to find 5-10 years from now?? (sorry about the hijacking the thread, from what I have read, either fixture is fine, they both put off the same amount of light. I am sure you can find fixtures that are wider and thiner in both t12 and t8. This has just been my personal experiance!)

You want FOUR foot lamps, NOT 8 feet!!! find out if you can purchase lithonia F40T12 four foot strip light fixture for 2 x F40T12 lamps per fixture online. You can get free shipping if you have a DoItBest store in your area. Now get yourself a Sasi ballast for an 8 foot T8 from ebay, $12 plus shipping, throw out the T12 ballast, and replace with the Sasi: it will overdrive your T8 lamp to make it give out the light of a T5, but at less than half price - and buy either an 850 or 865 series triphosphour T8 lamp - it will fit in the same fixture as for the T12, where the T5 will not. This has lots of blue, and all the spectrum you need for growing, plus they are CHEAP! Your full spectrum lamps are more expensive, but there is no added benefit for the cost. You will be getting 5000 lumens per T8 lamp, driven that way, with NO DANGERS - this method has been used for years with no problem. Make sure you are getting an EIGHT foot ballast to drive these four foot tubes - this technique is called overdriving. you can look it up on wikipedia, but in a nutshell, that is all there is to it. You must get the T12 fixture, because the 8 foot ballast is BIG, and needs the big case of the old F40T12 fixture! T8 fixtures are too tiny, and they have a tiny ballast, so that is the reason. That's what I do, any questions, email ptmozarowski@hotmail.com - I don't make any money in this deal, just giving out the best advice for the money - Paul Moz.

I'd expect to see a ballast in there, did you neighbor remove it? There's another thread on GardenWeb about this light and the ballast should be at the end of the fixture where the cord comes in. If the ballast is missing, then you'd need to use a LED lamp that does not require a ballast. You may not have an option with this fixture but going forward, you might want to do the math on replacing fluorescent lamps with LEDs. The last time I looked the break even, using national electric rates, was about 8,000 hours of operation. In the northeast, electric prices are higher, so that might drop to 6,000-7,000 hours. Also LED lamps typically put out considerably less light than fluorescent lamps.