lighting for wide array of light loving

[Tony Paroubek]

Just a quick note on warm vs cool..

Most people will put in a mix of the two if they have more than one light. Yes the warm white might be closer to natural light ( I haven't actually looked at the specs on a warm white bulb lately). However the cool white puts out more blue light which is the primary light that plants need for good photosynthesis. Too much red light (warm) and the plants will get tall and spindly but are more likely to flower as red light promotes flowering. Which is why most people will put in a warm tone here and there if they have multiple bulbs. For a single bulb application I would go with a cool white preferentially. The 'grow bulbs' are not necessary and usually more expensive. They are designed to put out more blue light but the slight advantage is minor if the price is much higher.
You could also use the daylight type bulbs Pyro mentions.. they come in various brands.. ultralume, chroma 50 etc. They are usually a little more expensive than the standard cool/warm white but not always easy to find the size that you need. If you can find them and they are not too expensive these types of bulbs are noticably better than the cool/warm white combo.
Tony

 

[carniverous newbie]

This whole lighting thing has me spinning personally! It's the one part of this whole thing I just can't seem to get a handle on.  

I don't know exactly what the regular florescent is that my hubby is bringing home...but from what he said it shines a slightly yellow/orange light. The grow light of course gives off a blue tint. Both bulbs were the same price where we got them. This place has an online store if anyone is interested:
http://www.brite-lite.com/
I also found another place that's in Canada:
http://www.hydroponix.com/en/index.html

Still feeling rather hopeless on the VFT front  

But I'll pull through, even if they don't!  

 

[Tony Paroubek]

It will probably say somewhere on the bulb..

coolwhite
warmwhite
daylight
softwhite (essentially coolwhite)
etc

If you cant find one that matches what we mention exactly.. take a plain white piece of paper and hold it next to the light bulb. Look at the paper to get an idea what color the bulb is putting out. Opt for one that is close to white or slightly bluish ;>
T

 

[carniverous newbie]

Thanks, I'll have to do that with the bulbs we get today.

 

[Shauntell]

Thanks guys. I definately don't have the setup or money for those metal halide lights. Does anyone know a reasonable price for those lights Pyro was talking about or Pyro if your reading this. I don't want to get ripped off a second time. Thanks again. Shauntell

 

[Pyro]

Shauntell,

The 'Sunlight' fluorescent tubes? I think the are something like $3-5 at Wal-Mart. Or maybe it was $7

 I can't remember as it has been a while since I went to Wally. There are not too expensive though, that I do remember

 

[Tristan]

Most of the plant lights I've seen and bought were $6-7.

 

[CPSINC]

those life glo run up to 20 bucks a pop

 

[carniverous newbie]

The florescent 60 watt grow light I purchased the other day was $18 Canadian. The regular florescent was the same. Wierd, but a good deal, I think!

 

[Shauntell]

Cool! I'm going to Walmart. Woohoo, a valid excuse to go look at crap that I don't need. Thanks everyone.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Shauntell on Aug. 23 2002,9:56
 </span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Cool!  I'm going to Walmart.  Woohoo, a valid excuse to go look at crap that I don't need.  Thanks everyone.  

 

 

[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Oh jeese! Another Wal Mart junkie!!


.....................Well at least I'm not the only one

 

.  Go in for $50 of stuff and come out with $250 instead.

 

 

 

[carniverous newbie]

Hey! Don't knock us Wal-Mart junkies! Can't get a better deal on most things anywhere else whether you're a parent or not!

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Carniverous Newbie, their good deals are the problem.  I can't remember the last time I went to Wal Mart and spent less than 100 and *mumble mumble* dollars

 

.  Seems like the only way for me to hang on to my money is to limit myself to doing Wal Mart only once a month or so.  

 

 

.

 

[Shauntell]

I always have to use my mom's method of "put it down and we'll come back for it" Most of the time I don't even remember until I'm home or I'm too lazy to go back and get it. It doesn't help much though. I still walk out of there with a lot of stuff. Usually kids clothes and my daughter ran around in a diaper all summer! I didn't even get any good use out of them. They're just so cute. Oh well. Anyone having a girl?

 

[carniverous newbie]

Yup, that Wal-Mart is definitely a problem! I guess I'm lucky though, I seem to have this ability to be rather frugal. I think I"m paranoid enough about spending all our money that I prefer not to spend any..sometimes to the point of obsessing!

No girls here...none coming either  

I have 2 young boys, ages 4 and 2. An 8 week old puppy, a 1 year old cat, and an over-grown boy *g* for a hubby. I'm busy enough!  

 

[Shauntell]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I went with Pyro's idea. Thanks Pyro. I got a 4' double fixture shop light for $8 and two 48" t-12 40watt tubes. SUNSHINE, it's so pretty. It's impossible to dind english on the packaging but other then that. Just says I need to learn spanish or something. Oh, they cost $7 dollars each. Would've been $22 but I went into a Home Depot. Impossible to go in without a lot of well everything including plants. So, it actually came to $80. I'll let you know if the lights make my plants happy. Thanks again to you all. Shauntell

 

[Joe Dirt]

hey do those sunshine flourescents come in compact size?

 

[carniverous newbie]

I am still having a real difficult time wrapping my brain around terrarium lighting, so I can't help you there! But I do know that the cool glo florescent grow lights I have are only 4 inches long and screw into a regular fixture (they are not the same thing that Shauntell is using).

 

[Joe Dirt]

where can i get those type from? wally world?

 

[carniverous newbie]

I'm in Canada, and I got mine from a store called "Brite Lite" that specializes in all sorts of lighting. There is a place online by the same name...but I"m not sure if it's one and the same. Check it out, it might be!