Grow Tent/Light & Equipment
Phil UK zone 8b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
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8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Grow Tent and Light Setup
Comments (4)I am considering replacing the T5 grow light with a 150w HPS. I feel like the T5 is better for my non fruiting tropical plants. I chose the 150w HPS because it is affordable, at just $66 and because it produces 16,000 lumens (compared to 8,000 from the T5). Also, it will produce more heat than the T5, so the grow tent will be much warmer. 150w HPS Mini Grow Light Mike - I am always pondering better (or more effective) ways to grow my tree. I apologize if I am repetitive. None of my friends are interested in horticulture or container citrus growing, so I do not have anyone to bounce ideas off from. Citrusfrak, have you had any success with your trees? Any pics? You said that a 400w HID would be right for growing as the only light source. That would bump the price up to about $150, which will be out of my price range for a while. Has anyone estimated how many lumens a dwarf citrus tree should receive? Any thoughts on this light?...See Moreebb and flow and grow tent ducting questions
Comments (1)Hello Mirth. It sounds like you've got your hands full with hydroponics at the moment. Though I don't grow under lights I will share what I can / know. I'm sure there are others more experienced who'll help fill in the areas I can't. As for changing the rez. Well that is the 1st rule that most of us learn the hard way. Always consider a means to change nutrients during the planning stage. Trust me, we've all been there :-) Probably the easiest fix for you currently is to add a drain into the bottom of the rez container and either elevate the whole system so it will drain or attach an external pump to pull the nutrient out. If you have a hydro store nearby go buy the adapter and then modify the fitting so PVC works. From there you can attach a valve for easy on and off. Personally I use drains on all my reservoirs for the plumbing issue. But in the future you may not want the EnF tray on the rez and be sure the connecting plumbing is flexible. As for your venting plan, it will work BUT as you recirculate the air in the study it will increase in temperature as it picks up heat from the lamp so eventually the whole room will hover around 90 degrees. Unless the room has its own window AC unit, your house AC will probably not handle the heat correctly. Also, the increased humidity will make changing the temperature more difficult. You best bet with venting is to have your intake and output vents go somewhere where temperature is either unaffected or of little concern. (i.e. discharge into the attic) Onto another topic; If you're growing Marijuana the 12 hour light cycle is necessary (don't forget the one hour on in the middle of that cycle I've been told). Tomatoes (or most of them) are not light cycle dependent to flower and fruit so you don't need that kind of dark cycle. If it were me, I would adjust the lighting cycle so the plants "night" cycle occurred during times I would likely be in there. But yeah, the freaky plant lighting can be kind of unnerving. I have grown indoors before just don't do it regularly. As for lighting and plants, I believe the rule is: if you place your hand at the top of the plant and your hand gets hot from the light, the light is too low. If you can vent the light adequately so the tomatoes can near touching the glass you'l have a lot better success growing tomatoes and lettuce together. Otherwise the lamp height is dictated tomato and it get really far away from the lettuce plants....See Morehow many CFL lights for my grow tent?
Comments (34)Love the indoor grow-light gardens, especially since we've already been down as low as -10C/14F, so if it wasn't for indoor gardening now, I wouldn't be doing any gardening at all. Those peppers were just planted 33 days ago?... wow, that's impressive. I started my indoor winter peppers in mid-July (Nagas) and mid-August (some unknown Thai-type), and the plants aren't much bigger than yours, though I do have lots of peppers set (very green, nowhere near ripe). I grew mixed-greens inside a few years ago (spinach, lettuce, etc) in a big tray... I did get several salads from it but didn't think it was worth repeating. I have never tried radish or celery indoors. Parsley does fantastic under fluorescent lights (I have 2 pots of it now)... basil is another grow-light success story you should try (I have Thai basil growing now, but every kind of basil I've tried under lights has done well)....See MoreGrow light and tent
Comments (45)Thought I will add some bits from my experience. For a reflective surface I use panda film. It is black on one side and white on the other side. made of thick poly film and is very durable. Also easily washable and stays smooth. for a 10x10 sheet it is $17 on Amazon and the larger ones are even cheaper per sq foot. No need to mess with painting walls, etc. Mylar is more pain than it is worth. I made the switch to LEDs a few years back. Experimented with all kinds including plain bulbs, tubes and boards made specifically for plants. They all have their quirks with respect to usage, efficiency, price and reliability. All leds produce heat and it is this heat that lowers the efficiency and can potentially cause other problems. Unlike other light sources leds are unidirectional which is exactly want we want for plants. In most cases the led itself produces most of its light in a 120 degree cone. Means we waste less light and no need of very fancy reflectors. Bulbs are least reliable. The heat generated by leds destroys the electronics since it is confined to such a small space and run for extended periods. Expect them to die in 1-2 years. They come with frosted covering to spread unidirectional light in many directions to mimic regular household bulb. The frosted covering cuts down the light, it would have been better without that. My measurements show you can get 30-40% more light without the cover. Made with cheap, not so efficient leds. Useful for spot lighting. Tubes are convenient when you have many plants of approximately the same height. Most made with same cheap, not so efficient, leds as bulbs. Does not suffer from the same electronics destroying heat since it is spread over a much larger area. Makes them a bit more reliable. I lost 2 tubes out of may be 16 or so I use. Light output per unit area is low so you need more in parallel and closer to the canopy. Light panels made for horticulture are all over the place in terms of price/power/efficiency. After doing a lot of research I settled on quantum boards from horticulture lighting group. This particular panel is 60W, super bright, very good spectrum and runs completely cool to touch. If you wire it yourself it costs about $60 a panel with dimming feature. This panel is great for tallish plants of varying heights. Hard to beat price performance of this panel....See Moreaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoPagan
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoPagan
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoAveril
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoAveril
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoAveril
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPagan
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoDain (Zone 5a, high NM Desert)
8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoUser
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoDain (Zone 5a, high NM Desert)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoaddicted2plants Southern IL USA
8 years agoPhil UK zone 8b
8 years agoUser
3 years ago
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