I personally run two 400W MH bulbs in my basement to cover a 4x8 foot area. All you need to cool things down a bit is a standard fan that runs all day. Unless the prices have dropped the problem with the T5 set-ups is they were as expensive as a 400W MH set-up, including ballast, etc. and the bulbs are very expensive...they only illuminate what is directly under them like any other fluorescent fixture you buy (no horizontal reach at all). Since my basement can use the extra heat I went with the old stand-by technology and have been using it for several years now.....almost no Hippis under it as most of mine are dormant in the winter (I do not force mine to grow out of season), but many South African Amaryllids.....Brunsvigia, Gethyllis, Boophane are within 2 inches of these bulbs (well there is a glass plate protecting the bulb from stray water which can cause an explosion) and they do well.......tried a 600W HPS with an extended spectrum last year, but it kept tripping my GFI circuit when it fired so was not something I could use. I'd like a 1,000W MH for some of my really tall Amorphophallus and Dracontium, but that will have to wait I suppose. People on the growing under light forum can give you a HUGE amount of info, but really, most is just over the top......good growing, whatever you decide to use :o) Dan

Hey there, I came across this page looking for different LED information but I want to try and set the record straight with a few misinformed people, or growers who tried LED's when they came for a few years and those who had poor results. Right now its still a bit of a secret that LED grow lights are giving pro results fast. Like most people, I tried LED 'grow lights' a few years ago when they came out and was highly disappointed. Although, its worth mentioning that ANY lighting you try will not work if you dont have the right spectrum/color temperature (measured in Kelvin 'K'). For most plants there are two stages, vegetative and flowering. Each plant has their stages a little different than another with some likeing short veg growth and long blooming growth, or visa versa. Most can agree on that veg growth requires a Kelvin 'K' temperature in the blue/white spectrum 6000k-7500K, and a blooming temp of 3000l-3500k in the red/orange/yellow spectrum. That goes for all plants and all lights. With that said the next reading on a light is the Color Rendering Index-CRI. The CRI index is a scale from 1-100 and it is how well that particular light Imitates the mid-day sun. there are no bulbs that can give you a CRI of 100, but some tweaked HID's can come close and now so can the LED's. When they first came out they were in the right spectrum, but with poor watts/USABLE lumen ratios. Meaning that even though its bright, in the right color range, and cost effective. They werent in the form of usuable photosynthetic energy, just in the form of visable lights that humans can see and use. Now they changed that and some high-dollar LED's not only can be fine tuned better than HID(High Pressure Sodium/Mercury Halide) in the form of usable lumens and CRI index up to 99, and the best bulb ive seen in an HID system was a hybrid MH to HPS coming in at 96. I was skeptical at first so i bought an expensive LED floodlight that had a usuable spectrum the same as visable lumens and rendered around a CRI of 90. It was in the 6300k range which is perfect for vegetative growth. I bought the expensive heavy bulb because if you experiment and go cheap then you will get what you pay for when it comes to lights. I was skeptical still so i surgically removed it from its packaging and it felt wierd using a floodlight bulb to grow stuff....it was like I was a sneaky teenager all over again, haha... Although after starting my plant from seed and after germination putting into my custom soil mix I went from Cotyledons (seedlings first pair of leaves that are similiar in every plant)to the second pair of true leaves in just 5 days with 2" of vertical growth. I have never....never seen that kind of growth in any of my previous plants I started from seeds. It could be that since I am becoming more skilled in my techniques of fertilizing and soil building, or maybe I was just lucky and had great genetics. So my second test is about to begin today and as a matter of fact I just ordered the expensive bright LED grow light that is 90Watts of power from LED's that are 2Watts each and the manufacturer claims that it can beat a 600Watt HID anyday. Once again my previous failure a few years ago has me suspicious but one thing is for sure. If my next seedling grows like my last super-grow-seed, Im switching my entire Florescent propagating lights out and switching to a row of those LED's. BTW if your looking for decent lights that are low power consumers, that dont put out alot of heat, and are a sure fire way to grow indoors. Then your best bet is to find a used 4-6lamp(bulb) Flourescent ballast that uses the high output T-5 bulbs. Those have came a long way as well and work very well for small grows......hope it helps!~ -G

I've only been using LED downlights for about 9 months, but my oldest lamps, BR40s made by Lighting Science (both their Definity brand at 3000k and the Home Depot Ecosmart at 2700k) are going strong. Our au pair never turns out the lights, even on a bright sunny day, so these have been on for at least 16 hours a day (full blast for 8 or more hours a day, dimmed at night). Almost as old are two Phillips Airflux BR30s in 2700k and 5000k, and a Lighting Science Definity BR30 (GP30) at 4000k. The reason I went with LED in the first place because (1) we were going through halogens left-and-right (lights left on all day), (2) LEDs are dimmable, and (3) the halogens left on all day really warmed up the kitchen and family room. Right now I'm experimenting with Feit/Utlitech 22-watt (1350 lumen) BR40s in the basement. The previous owner had installed 65watt Br30s in the 6-inch cans, it was like a dungeon down there. As each bulb burns out, I'm replacing it with LEDS (also, the au pair never turns out the lights in the basement). They are WAY bright and dim well, but I've only had them for a month. One thing I have learned is that I definitely prefer 3000k over 2700k (2700k is too dingy), and 4000k over 5000k (5000k is too blue, and 4000k seems to be just right). So far, only Lighting Science seems to make bulbs in those colors. I did try a CREE CR6 (it didn't fit my cans), but I was unimpressed with the brightness and color.

Is this grow light waterproof? Since you use it in bathroom...