Hello everyone. I'm thinking of trying out grow lights and I'm having trouble understand what the best specs for growing are. My impression is that some plants need higher wattage than say leafy vegetables. Other than that I'm still pretty clueless on the subject. I saw in another topic someone used t8 bulbs. I don't know what that means, but the ones I thought would be good are t5. Can someone verify if https://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/sh ... 6_prd1.htm are good bulbs to use or not? Any recommendations would be appreciated. I don't know what I'm going to put under the lights, so let's just assume I want to start gaillardia with grow lights.
Thanks a lot.
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rainbowgardener
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Well ... you do need to give us a better clue how you want to use the lights. "so let's just assume I want to start gaillardia with grow lights. " When you say START gaillardia, or whatever, do you mean start it from seeds and grow to transplant size to put out? Or do you mean start it from seed (or transplant) and grow through its cycle of blooming and setting seed all indoors under the lights?
Those are quite different light requirements.
Those are quite different light requirements.
This is exactly what I meant.rainbowgardener wrote:When you say START gaillardia, or whatever, do you mean start it from seeds and grow to transplant size to put out?
However, I would also like to know the requirements if I were to start from seed and grow something like, let's say, wintergreen, indoors, that would stay inside.
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Allyn
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I can help you with the lights themselves.
"T" means it is a tube bulb -- the long bulb we generally think of when we talk about fluorescent bulbs. The number after the T is the diameter of the bulb in 1/8-inch segments. A T5 bulb is 5/8 inch in diameter. A T8 bulb is 1 inch (8/8 inch) in diameter. A T12 bulb (12/8 inches) is 1.5 inches in diameter. T5 bulbs are slightly shorter than T8 bulbs and the pin base is different, so they're not interchangable. Also, T5 bulbs are a higher efficiency bulb than a T8 and they throw very little heat (big plus). Check the specs on the light fixture to know which bulbs it accepts. (Don't think you're gonna buy a fixture and stick whatever bulb you want in it.) My fixtures take T5HO (high output) bulbs. You can get any of these bulb sizes in "grow lights."
Now you get into the whole red/blue, warm/cool thing with the light itself. That is where the discussion arises as to which is better for seed-starting, seedlings, foliage plants, fruiting plants, flowering plants, et al. This is where I'm not as savvy and will let other folks guide you.
I do know that it is something of a myth to say cool white bulbs emit blue light and warm white bulbs emit red light, so you have to mix them if you want both red and blue light. As I understand it, warm white bulbs emit most of their light in the red part of the spectrum with only a small amount of green and blue light. Standard cool white (4100K) bulbs emit more blue light, but still more red than blue. "Daylight" 6500K bulbs emit roughly equal amounts blue and red light power, which still means about twice as many red photons as blue photons. So any of these bulbs emit a lot of red light and some blue light.
I can't speak to the bulbs you linked except to say they are really expensive (REALLY expensive). I get a pack of five T5HO bulbs for about $13. (Yeah, okay, I get two-foot bulbs, but still.) I wouldn't find a shatterproof bulb very useful. What usually happens that prompts me to replace the bulb is it gets dim. When the ends of the tube where the glass meets the metal endcap starts turning dark/black, the bulb is no longer putting out full brightness.
"T" means it is a tube bulb -- the long bulb we generally think of when we talk about fluorescent bulbs. The number after the T is the diameter of the bulb in 1/8-inch segments. A T5 bulb is 5/8 inch in diameter. A T8 bulb is 1 inch (8/8 inch) in diameter. A T12 bulb (12/8 inches) is 1.5 inches in diameter. T5 bulbs are slightly shorter than T8 bulbs and the pin base is different, so they're not interchangable. Also, T5 bulbs are a higher efficiency bulb than a T8 and they throw very little heat (big plus). Check the specs on the light fixture to know which bulbs it accepts. (Don't think you're gonna buy a fixture and stick whatever bulb you want in it.) My fixtures take T5HO (high output) bulbs. You can get any of these bulb sizes in "grow lights."
Now you get into the whole red/blue, warm/cool thing with the light itself. That is where the discussion arises as to which is better for seed-starting, seedlings, foliage plants, fruiting plants, flowering plants, et al. This is where I'm not as savvy and will let other folks guide you.
I do know that it is something of a myth to say cool white bulbs emit blue light and warm white bulbs emit red light, so you have to mix them if you want both red and blue light. As I understand it, warm white bulbs emit most of their light in the red part of the spectrum with only a small amount of green and blue light. Standard cool white (4100K) bulbs emit more blue light, but still more red than blue. "Daylight" 6500K bulbs emit roughly equal amounts blue and red light power, which still means about twice as many red photons as blue photons. So any of these bulbs emit a lot of red light and some blue light.
I can't speak to the bulbs you linked except to say they are really expensive (REALLY expensive). I get a pack of five T5HO bulbs for about $13. (Yeah, okay, I get two-foot bulbs, but still.) I wouldn't find a shatterproof bulb very useful. What usually happens that prompts me to replace the bulb is it gets dim. When the ends of the tube where the glass meets the metal endcap starts turning dark/black, the bulb is no longer putting out full brightness.
Awesome response Allyn.
I'm not familiar with the rules about posting urls on this forum so if you don't mind, would you PM me with a link that has the bulbs you said you have? I misread the price on the one I linked, I thought I was getting 6 for $14 or whatever, not 14 for each. Home Depot is selling 2fters for $25 each, so I definitely want to get the deal you did. Also, how much is a fixture? I assumed I would just be plugging the bulbs into the wall, and now that I think about it I've never plugged a bulb into a wall, derp.
Thanks again.
I'm not familiar with the rules about posting urls on this forum so if you don't mind, would you PM me with a link that has the bulbs you said you have? I misread the price on the one I linked, I thought I was getting 6 for $14 or whatever, not 14 for each. Home Depot is selling 2fters for $25 each, so I definitely want to get the deal you did. Also, how much is a fixture? I assumed I would just be plugging the bulbs into the wall, and now that I think about it I've never plugged a bulb into a wall, derp.
Thanks again.
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Allyn
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I think links are okay. If my post gets pulled, I'll PM you. 
I tried doing an Uncle Fester and stuck the bulb in my mouth, but it didn't work. I had to go with a proper fixture. (Did I just date myself by referencing Uncle Fester?)
This is the fixture. I have two and getting ready to order a third. Note that the fixture includes four bulbs.
These are the bulbs I get. No where in the description or in the picture does it say HO, but the ones I received when I ordered these are marked and labeled T5HO right on the tube.
These are what I got when I ordered those bulbs:
I tried doing an Uncle Fester and stuck the bulb in my mouth, but it didn't work. I had to go with a proper fixture.
(Did I just date myself by referencing Uncle Fester?)This is the fixture. I have two and getting ready to order a third. Note that the fixture includes four bulbs.
These are the bulbs I get. No where in the description or in the picture does it say HO, but the ones I received when I ordered these are marked and labeled T5HO right on the tube.
These are what I got when I ordered those bulbs:
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rainbowgardener
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You can get the shop light fixtures like Allyn showed you in 4' lengths as well and in widths for two bulbs instead of 4. I get the two bulb, 4' long ones and they cost me usually around $15 - $30 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lig ... /202994372
I have a "Jump Start" Grow Light. It is a T5 (4 feet long), has an on/off switch, and a nice stand with adjustable heights for the light. I am very happy with it, and grew awesome transplants this year - if anything I complained they grew too fast! The light needs to be kept very close to the seedlings, especially small ones, and it is great that it puts out almost no heat at all and is easily adjustable. Definitely one of the pricier options, though.
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Allyn
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That is true. I went with two-foot fixtures because of space constraints. My tower is over seven feet tall. I didn't have the luxury of long and low. I had to go narrow and tall.rainbowgardener wrote:You can get the shop light fixtures like Allyn showed you in 4' lengths as well and in widths for two bulbs instead of 4. ...
It was much easier to find four-foot fixtures than two-footers so I did quite a bit of hunting *and* I wanted fixtures with reflectors. The fixture RG linked is less expensive, but it doesn't have reflectors (and bulbs aren't included, so factor that into the price). It was important to me that my fixtures have reflectors. ......so, I needed two-foot fixtures with reflectors that take T5HO bulbs and it was a bonus that the four bulbs are included. I like the option of being able to turn on just the inner bulbs, just the outer bulbs or all four bulbs.
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pepperhead212
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Hi Franco,
Fullspectrumsolutions.com is where I have gotten all of my grow bulbs, as the lumens output - 3,300 - and the life of the bulbs - 34,000 hrs. - was the highest of any 48" T-8 bulbs I could find. I bought the 5000k; back when I got mine, they had 6500k bulbs, but the light output was far less. They now have 5900k bulbs, with the same output as the 5000k, though I have had good results with mine, so no reason to change. I start my seeds under 4 bulb fixtures, which works well, though I have 2 T-8s and 2 T-5s to grow the plants in my hydroponics, which need a little more light.
Fullspectrumsolutions.com is where I have gotten all of my grow bulbs, as the lumens output - 3,300 - and the life of the bulbs - 34,000 hrs. - was the highest of any 48" T-8 bulbs I could find. I bought the 5000k; back when I got mine, they had 6500k bulbs, but the light output was far less. They now have 5900k bulbs, with the same output as the 5000k, though I have had good results with mine, so no reason to change. I start my seeds under 4 bulb fixtures, which works well, though I have 2 T-8s and 2 T-5s to grow the plants in my hydroponics, which need a little more light.