RuHappy69
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Grow light vs. Basic Fluorescent 4' shop light?

Why can't I buy a 4' shop light at Home Depot for $20 with chains I can hang from the ceiling rather than spend about $70 on a Grow Light kit? Plus I can buy 2 T% four foot bulbs for about $25.. Thoughts?

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jal_ut
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That is what I used when I did grow indoors. I had two 4 footers. It works just fine. Hang them close, 4 inches is good. I set my wife's alergies off with the tomato plants, so I don't grow indoors any more.

Oh, I just used the regular tubes too. No expensive grow lights.

DoubleDogFarm
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What James said.

I would lower the fixture even closer to the seed flat. Maybe 2". Then move up as needed. No light is need until germination.
The money you save on regular shop lights, buy 2 or 3. :D
I wouldn't even buy new, go to your local thrift, secondhand store. Our local consignment store has them all the time. Maybe $4 - $5 each.

Eric

RuHappy69
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For now I wanted to put my mature ghost peppers under the lights? They are about 18 inches tall and my wife no longer wants them in my 5 year old daughters room. :)

Dillbert
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get a normal fixture, use half warm and half cool white 'std' tubes.

the 'grow light' bulbs have the right spectrum, for about a month. after that their output shifts and the 50-50 warm/cool is equally effective.

DoubleDogFarm
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Dillbert,

You seem to know your fixtures. Do you see any problem connecting 3 or 4 fixtures side by side. Screw them to a piece of plywood. We would have 6 or 8 parallel tubes. Keeping the transform in each fixture. Wire them together and plug it in.

Eric

RuHappy69
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For seeds why would 'no light till germination'? Its a room in the basement with zero natural light?

Also, for the table with the Ghost peppers - how far above should I mount the lights? Each shop fixture has 2 - 32 (T8) watt florescent bulbs..

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GardenRN
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The seeds aren't exposed to the light until they germinate anyway. That's why it doesn't matter.

Although there are some seeds that need light to germinate. But that's not the norm.

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Halfway
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Look for tubes at Lowes or menards that are T8 6500K. Should be about $2.50 each bulb. They are the correct spectrum for the growth phase of plants and I use them top grow continuously indoors.

No need to buy the "grow lights".

Keep the lights between 1 and 4 inches from the tops of the plant as flouros are not real strong for canopy penetration.

Best of success!

Dillbert
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[quote="DoubleDogFarm"]Dillbert,

You seem to know your fixtures. Do you see any problem connecting 3 or 4 fixtures side by side. Screw them to a piece of plywood. We would have 6 or 8 parallel tubes. Keeping the transform in each fixture. Wire them together and plug it in.

Eric[/quote]

not 100% sure I understand the question - but if it's:

will hard mounting multiple fixtures and using a single electric supply cord work - the answer is yes comma to the amperage limit of the plug in cord.



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