plant grow lights?

[reptilover]

So Ive asked a couple stores what's the best lights to grow indoor plants.... They look at me like I'm a drug addict and dont take me seriously.. almost seem to try and be unhelpful due to my apperience and the area I live in... (i suspect its a common question). The best answer I got was "there over with the other bulbs"
So someone please wat am i looking for. When I find sometging that saye plant on it it just says to bring out the beautiful colors... I don't think that's wat I'm looking for

 

[Rottsko]

you need a 6500k bulb. i use a linear flourescent light across the top of all my cages.

 

[reptilover]

Thank u!

 

[xeonic]

you need a 6500k bulb. i use a linear flourescent light across the top of all my cages.

Agreed. I also use the 6500k linear flourescent.

 

[AllFallDown]

So Ive asked a couple stores what's the best lights to grow indoor plants.... They look at me like I'm a drug addict and dont take me seriously.. almost seem to try and be unhelpful due to my apperience and the area I live in... (i suspect its a common question). The best answer I got was "there over with the other bulbs"
So someone please wat am i looking for. When I find sometging that saye plant on it it just says to bring out the beautiful colors... I don't think that's wat I'm looking for

He he he...

Yeah... you walk into home depot asking about grow lights they will look at you funny.

I agree that 6500K is a good light color- I would suggest a T8 fixture.

Now, for completeness sake (you did not specify what plants or where so I am assuming a very general usage here), and to give you an idea of what is out there... (If you are willing to take the T8 suggestion, feel free to stop reading now). If you can find (and afford) T5 bulbs, they tend to be very nice. One of my indoor grow setups is fixed with a 4 tube 4' T5 fixture. Plants love it. My cephalotus take on a very nice color under it (IE they are happy with the lights).

If you cannot find or afford t5's the next best option (and around the same price as T12s) is T8's. Honestly, the marginal benefits of T5's over T8's is not that much- T5 are nicer but unless you are growing something with some kind of yield (I am not insinuating anything here), T8's are perfectly fine. (Hence my recommendation)

Another option you can consider is HID (High intensity discharge) lights. These usually include metal halides and high pressure sodium. The price tends to go up substantially with these guys as does the heat they produce (not recommended for your cham enclosure), the advantage here is they produce a TON of light. I have a dual 1000W MH/HPS system, when I fire that thing up it is literally like I have turned on the sun in my grow room. That said, I rarely use it these days. I grow tropicals and carnivorous plants and it actually seems to be a little too strong for many of them. Dropping down to a 250W or 600W system might be better. Personally, I like the light profile of HID's better than florescent. It is much closer to natural sunlight- plus you avoid the risk (admittedly minor risk). of Mercury exposure associated with florescent (I have a toddler running around, I have to think about these things....). Other downside to HID- they are really expensive (My fixture was over $350 and that was a bargain!).

Hardware stores will likely have a very limited selection of T5 fixtures and bulbs. Hydroponics stores will likely have everything I have mentioned but at a very premium price (most of their clientele is making money off of these lights and are willing to pay higher prices... Or so my friend who works at a local hydro store tells me...)

hope this helps.

 

[Chris Jury]

...plus you avoid the risk (admittedly minor risk). of Mercury exposure associated with florescent (I have a toddler running around, I have to think about these things....).

Huh-uh, metal halides (i.e., the type of HID lighting used in this application) also contain traces of mercury, just as fluorescent lamps do, but the risk of exposure from breaking either is minor. For instance, sitting in a small, unventilated room with a broken bulb for several hours results in a smaller mercury dosage than eating a can of tuna (though the can of tuna--and I eat fresh and canned tuna regularly--is a non-negligible source of mercury). A thorough sweep/vacuum and ventilating the room for a few hours is plenty sufficient to flush out the traces of mercury released from a broken bulb.

cj