gro lights?

[Gumby]

I got high and went to Lowes looking at plants and things, anyways I found a 120w Spot Grolight, they were $6. I got two of them and two floodlight socket, they were $3... so for $18 I got 2 120 watt grow lights. Has anyone used these with success?? Because I was going to try them for my mothers and veg and just get about 5 or so... I mean $45 for 600 watts isn't too bad. Just wondering if anyone knows if it should work or am I getting my hopes up?

Gumby Reviewed by Gumby on 05-18-2005. gro lights? I got high and went to Lowes looking at plants and things, anyways I found a 120w Spot Grolight, they were $6. I got two of them and two floodlight socket, they were $3... so for $18 I got 2 120 watt grow lights. Has anyone used these with success?? Because I was going to try them for my mothers and veg and just get about 5 or so... I mean $45 for 600 watts isn't too bad. Just wondering if anyone knows if it should work or am I getting my hopes up? Rating: 5

[darpin]

If they're incadescent (regular looking bulb, super hot to the touch, not flourescent), than yeah, waste of time.

[Gumby]

they aren't regular looking bulbs... they look like they have been coated with something to make the spectrum specific for plants, and aren't round... more like a buglight or floodlight.

[darpin]

Still, there's only three major types of artificial light you're going to see:

- Incadescents. The kind you're talking about. The coating doesn't matter; it's the way light is designed. That light uses roughly 80%-95% of it's electricity as heat, not as light. They are terrible for growing.

- Flourescents. Either the long tubes, or the replacement style for screw in incadescents, in which they generally look like a bunch of twisted glass. These are far more efficient than incadescents, are pretty cheap, and while far from the best method of lighting your plants, are miles beyond incadescents.

- HID. Either HPS (high pressure sodium) or MH (metal haldide). These are the best methods to use for indoor planting, period. Incredibly efficient, they give off the perfect spectrum for plants, and the vast majority of electricity used goes into light, not heat. Although, because of their extremely high power systems, they generate a lot of heat themselves. These are also generally more expensive than floros.

And last, but the best, if you can have it indoors for more than 12 hours a day...


Direct sunlight.

[darpin]

You will easily find out if I'm right or wrong. Try to grow them under the lights you bought. When they die, come back, and we'll talk about what kinds of lights you should have gotten.

[Gumby]

oh i have a hps light... 400 watts, i was just thinking that these could be used to keep the mothers going and the preveg plants incase the veg get's overfilled, waiting for the flowering. I have different stands and plant them in weekly cycles and some are growing fast and now realize that this problem will occur in a few weeks and was thinking this may be a solution is all

[darpin]

You have a 400HPS already? The other stuff isn't going to do much except generate heat and suck up power. If you're looking to add more light, without destroying your finances with an HPS or MH, try this:

I took a few of those 24" cool florourscent lights, and mounted them on the walls sideways in my grow room (attached). They'll make a pretty good dent as far as lights go, and I like them because they get into the lower regions that the HPS doesn't get down to because of shadows and leaf penetration.

[Gumby]

how many watts are your flos?? I have two 18" under shelves but those are for my seedlings... they are enough for veg plants? I've read you need too many to make any progress beacuse of the amount of light needed. But they run about the same price and i'd be an easy change for me. I have 3 plants under them now, and the HPS is in a different room, just to see if this setup will do any good... if it doesn't I'll try your idea, thanks for all the suggestions.

ps, i'm a little uneducated on flo's if you have more info about them and there spectrum and all that jazz i'd love to learn. But the only thing I really have read works well is using them for the first 1-3 weeks and keeping the seedling/cuttings about an inch away, just thought it'd be too hard to do that with vegging plants cause they can grow that much in a day.