Grow lights, suggestions needed

[windsng225]

Hello everyone,
I am new here and need to ask for your advice. I want to set up a growing shelfing system in my basement in February for my seedlings. I need to know what I should buy for a lighting system. I do want to get the 48" florescent light tubes and want to know if I can buy the (I don't know what you call them)thing a ma jig - that you plug them into, those things that are adjustable as the plants grow. Can I purchase them cheep or do I have to pay a lot of money for them? I'm on a fixed income and it's hard to do these things when it involves money. My son said he would build me something with 3 shelves, but need to purchase that (fixture?)?
I thank you in advance for any information you can give me.
joyce

[velikipop]

Hi Windsng,

You can buy a 48 inch shop light fixture at most department stores in the US for under 10 dollars. I bought mine at Fred Myers in Bellingham WA. Make sure you get tubes that are compatible for the fixture. Usually a T8 or T12. Buy one full spectrum tube and one cool white. The two will probably cost around 10 dollars.

If it is problem to adjust the fixture, moving it up and down, then I would suggest that you simply fix it to something and elevate you seedlings up to the light and down as they grow using old shoe boxes, books or anything that is stable and can hold the weight.

Also if you can locate your seedlings by a south window that will help, there is nothing like sunshine to make them happy.

Alex

[username5]

Originally Posted by windsng225

I do want to get the 48" florescent light tubes and want to know if I can buy the (I don't know what you call them)thing a ma jig - that you plug them into, those things that are adjustable as the plants grow. Can I purchase them cheep or do I have to pay a lot of money for them?

Hello and welcome, Windsng!

I am not sure what component you are referring to so I can't really answer the question, but a simple way to make an adjustable light stand is to ensure each shelf has ample height to fit your containers and plants at their tallest, more height for the light fixture and about a 2-3" space between the plant and lights.

A couple hooks for each light fixture can be used to attach, via inexpensive chain, the light to the stand. As the plants grow you simply hook the chain one link further down the link and repeat as necessary.

[LoreD]

Hi wndsng,

The hooks and chains work great. No need to do anything fancy.

LoreD

[dcarch]

Because fluorescent lights are considered "lineal source" not "point source" (incandescent type), therefore it does not follow the inverse square law of dissipation. In other words, when you increase the distance between the light fixture and say, your seedlings, the light intensity does not decrease drastically, especially if you provide reflective material around your lights. So if you want to simplify construction, you may choose not to have adjustable shelves or fixtures.

By the way, if you are making anything electrical, you should make sure that everything is ground properly. You can buy a ground checker, HD, fairly cheap, so you don't get electrocuted because there is always water around.

Don't forget to buy an automatic timer/switch.

dcarch

[username5]

Originally Posted by dcarch

In other words, when you increase the distance between the light fixture and say, your seedlings, the light intensity does not decrease drastically, especially if you provide reflective material around your lights.
dcarch

Are you certain? I have always heard/read the opposite of this.

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by username5

-------------------Are you certain? I have always heard/read the opposite of this.

There are several points in your quoting my post; I am not sure which one you are questioning, so I will try to answer them all.

It has been a few years since I took physics 101.

The inverse square law applies to point source radiation. Intensity falls off quickly as distance increases.
For lineal source, I don’t remember the exact formula; intensity falls off less as distance increases.
For flat source, as in multiple fluorescent tubes, intensity falls off even less as distance increases.

All the above conditions change depending on the design and reflectivity of the fixture reflectors. With a focusing reflector, as in the case of a flashlight, a point source can go hundreds of feet and still very bright.

If you have a 100% reflective box to put the light fixtures in, distance doesn’t matter at all.

Moral of the story, regardless of what fixture type you use, a focusing reflector and highly reflective environment will save you tons of money in operating cost and minimize the need of adjustable shelves.

Now if they can find a way to make the light wave coherent, (as in laser light) the distance can go several miles.

I hope I have explained some aspects of electro-magnetic radiation behavior.
dcarch

[Tomatovator]

I can't comment on the physics but I've been doing experiments with seed starting for the last 3 months. I set up a 48" fluorescent fixture in a spare room. It is in a fixed position and I just move the plants down (away from the lights) as they grow. Depending on the number of plants you are working with you can use almost anything you have laying the house to do this. Individual plants can be adjusted away from the light as they get taller without moving the shorter ones too. I don't know why (maybe the heat if not the light) but I am getting stockier seedlings by keeping them very close to the fluorescent tubes. You may want to experiment on your own to see what works for you. Its fun and then you will know for sure. I am just using a standard 48" dual tube fixture and it is working fine.

[Suze]

Here's what I consider to be the basics, and really all you need (besides flats, a good seed starting mix, and water) to grow great transplants indoors:

You can go to a hardware/home improvement store and pick up inexpensive shoplight fixtures. I prefer the larger fixtures with reflectors, because they cover at least twice the footprint of the smaller ones (and are usually wide enough for a standard seed starting flat). The smaller fixtures will usually run you $10 or so, and the larger ones about $20. Here's a pic of something similar to what I am talking about, and you do want those reflectors/wings on the sides.


Chains and S-hooks are what I use to raise/lower the lights. These usually come with the fixtures. Have a peek in the boxes before you purchase them. I've found that sometimes all the chains and hooks get packed and sometimes they don't (and I hate having to go back and exchange things).

As for what bulbs/tubes to use, cool tubes work just fine, and are less expensive. I don't use anything else and my seedlings are always plenty stocky. Tops of seedlings should be kept close to the lights, no more than 2-4 inches away.

A rack can always be built or you could also purchase one inexpensively, again at a hardware store or home improvement center. Sometimes you can also find nice racks at shopping clubs like costco, etc. One important consideration when making/buying the rack is where the attachment points are for the chains on your fixtures and will they work spacing-wise with the rack.

And you'll need a power strip. A timer is optional, but certainly doesn't hurt. I usually don't use one, and just turn the lights off when I go to bed and back on when I get up (so they get about 16 hours light/day or so).

I also like to have an oscillating fan running because it helps to keep the surface of the soil drier (damp off prevention) and I also find that it makes for stockier transplants.

Also, February sounds awfully early to start seedlings where you live.

[Worth1]

With out a doubt, what Suze just old you is the absolute truth.
I have used this same setup and it is all you need to grow the seedlings.
There is no need to get sucked up into some fancy grow light gadgets that cost a lot of money.
You would be better off spending your money elsewhere.
On a side note flat white reflects more useable light than foil does.
You can trust me on this too.

Worth

[Innoma]

While I've used this kind of setup for a few years now with good results, I have a tendency to make things as pain-free as possible - sure, you can build the shelving you need rather easily, but if you're all thumbs when it comes to building and assembling things like I am, here's something that goes together pretty easily:

I purchased one of those wire-framed free-standing shelves from Lowe's / Home Depot that works perfectly.

Lowe's 5-Tier White Shelf:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...74W&lpage=none

I can't remember if it was originally a 4 or 5 shelf unit, but when assembled with 3 shelves, it works really well for a 2-tiered light frame: the shelving itself assembles without tools and its pretty sturdy when complete; the 48" fixtures can easily be hung with short lengths of chain (8 14" or 15" segments) and S-hooks (16 total); and its a good deal less expensive that specific light frame systems that some people sell for hundreds of dollars.

I've got one set up in my office now:



You can see how easily the fixtures mount with S-hooks:



The shelving itself goes for about $75.00 in black, white or chrome, plus the cost for 48" fixtures, chain (I paid about 39c/ft), and S-hooks. You can mount a couple of clip-on fans to provide air circulation and put the whole thing on a timer to make things really easy. As for fixtures and bulbs, I'll let others here point you in the right direction because they have far greater knowledge in this area than I do.

I had originally built a PVC frame (which I do have plans for) and it does come in a bit cheaper (if I recall correctly, maybe in the neighborhood of $60 or so), but it does require measuring cutting and assembly (not to mention the fact that my wife thought it an unbearable eyesore in the house!). In the end I relegated it to outdoor use, but it is indeed simple enough to build that even I, in my mechanically inept ways, can put it together without trouble.

[Rena]

Make room for fans. This unit is almost 5 years old. It really saves me money on running the greenhouse. I rotate trays everyday. I also have a heat mat going. It has a place to ground it but (it is not grounded) It is on wheels which is handy as it currently is living in the kitchen. I have tried other rooms but the kitchen heat really is best with the added window. Best investment I ever made. When it is totally filled then I start up the greenhouse and start moving everyone out. It is all timed to save me the most on heating.-Rena
Edit and yes my kitchen is GREEN LOL I made a deal that I would change it in a year.

[feldon30]

I considered writing the names of the varieties on dozens of labels. I also considered buying a pack of popsicle sticks.

But I ended up making a chart. A treasure map if you will. I wrote the varieties at the top and then numbered the cells on my map.

Here's a seedling map for a 72 cell tray if you wish to go by number.
http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/...Chart_2007.pdf

Here's a seedling map for a 72 cell tray if you wish to write the names of the varieties in each cell.
http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/...t_OpenPlan.pdf

[feldon30]

I've updated the 2007 PDF so the numbers go 1-50. For my needs, I used 1-40 for tomatoes and 90-91 for peppers so I wouldn't mix them up.

[tjg911]

joyce,

i sent you a pm.

tom