Aquaponics basement lighting setup

[aquahealth]

For a grow bed of 4' x 8' x 1', jammed to the max with vegs, every six inches, for home use only, and in the basement, for year round growing, I am totally at a loss as to which lights, how many, brand name, power, etc. Of course I am looking for the most economical thing to do. I certainly do not want an extra $200 per month in electrical bills, or sticker shock at setup costs. I just want enough to keep the vegs alive, and not looking for the super duper grow-em as fast as I can. I figure aquaponics will grow plenty fast for me.

Anyone know a good setup? Thx, Bill.

[David - WI]

Obviously the cost would depend on how expensive electricity is in your area. I'm not an expert, but since no one else replied, here's what I think:

Two 4-bulb T5HO (high-output) fixtures would cost about $20/month to run 12 hours per day... and provide about 13.5 watts per square foot of grow bed.

Four 4-bulb T5 (standard output) fixtures would cost about $16/month to run 12 hours per day... and provide about 14 watts per square foot of grow bed. These would provide better coverage (covers your whole grow bed) and are cheaper to buy.

That level (~15 watts per square foot of grow bed area) seems to be about the minimum amount of light for lettuce & greens & herbs to grow reliably.

If you could afford to run four 4-bulb T5HO fixtures then you're up in the 25+ watts per square foot range that tomatoes and peppers would prefer... for about $40/month in electricity.

A single 400w HPS or MH fixture only gets you 12.5 watts per square foot of grow area... and not very good "coverage" since all the light is right under the single fixture.

(Edited: more realistic electricity costs.)

[keith_r]

well..
i've had some really great greens indoors..swiss chard is going crazy at the moment, been working every day since the 2nd, so the system is getting overgrown.. any lettuce i've tried did really well, and quite a few herbs, my leeks have to be trimmed back,, chives do well.. i'm using t8 32watt "shop lights" fixture at walmart is around 12 bucks and holds 2 bulbs.. over my ibc growbeds i use 3 fixtures, one bed has 4..
so 192 watts over 3 gb's and 256 over one

[David - WI]

What do those work out to in watts / square foot of grow bed?

(I'm guessing 13 to 13.5 sf per IBC grow bed? So, it's about 14 w/sf and 20 w/sf respectively?)

Is there any additional (say window) lighting... or is it solely the shop lights?

[Corey B]

Lighting is one thing I find the most confusing. With your post you make it sound like going T5 route is sub par and not a good way to go. Is this your meaning if so What lighting do you suggest?

Obviously the cost would depend on how expensive electricity is in your area. I'm not an expert, but since no one else replied, here's what I think:

Two 4-bulb T5HO (high-output) fixtures would cost about $20/month to run 12 hours per day... and provide about 13.5 watts per square foot of grow bed.

Four 4-bulb T5 (standard output) fixtures would cost about $16/month to run 12 hours per day... and provide about 14 watts per square foot of grow bed. These would provide better coverage (covers your whole grow bed) and are cheaper to buy.

That level (~15 watts per square foot of grow bed area) seems to be about the minimum amount of light for lettuce & greens & herbs to grow reliably.

If you could afford to run four 4-bulb T5HO fixtures then you're up in the 25+ watts per square foot range that tomatoes and peppers would prefer... for about $40/month in electricity.

A single 400w HPS or MH fixture only gets you 12.5 watts per square foot of grow area... and not very good "coverage" since all the light is right under the single fixture.

(Edited: more realistic electricity costs.)

[David - WI]

Lighting is one thing I find the most confusing. With your post you make it sound like going T5 route is sub par and not a good way to go. Is this your meaning if so What lighting do you suggest?

Not at all, I bought 160 four-bulb, regular T-5 fixtures because (except for LED's that I can't afford) they produce the most light per watt of power... but (according to my PAR meter) they don't produce enough light for flowering plants like peppers & tomatoes; so we're adding some T5HO (high output) fixtures for those.

[bcotton]

David,

Have you had success blooming tomatoes under T5HO? I had no problems with peppers but never got tomatoes to bloom. I attributed it to the lack of orange spectrum light, the tomatoes thought it was summer/vegetative growth season all year round.


brian

[David - WI]

We expected to have to change bulbs in the T5HO light fixtures after the plants reached a certain height, in order to get both the peppers and tomatoes to bloom; but I haven't really had any success blooming much of anything yet... I'm still building & testing.

We trialed a couple of the standard T5 fixtures for about 9 months with strawberries and house plants in our basement at home before we bought the rest of them. We also tested them with the power meter (Kill-a-Watt) and the light meter (Apogee PAR); before we spent $12,000 on T-5 light fixtures.

We've checked all kinds of T5, T8, and T12 fixtures & bulbs and none of them seemed to produce enough usable light for the "flowering" plants. So, if I can find some T5HO fixtures for a reasonable price, we will test a couple on tomatoes & peppers before we buy another 100 fixtures.

Like I said, I'm not an expert. The only reason I replied, was because no one else had... and we have tested some fixtures for power use versus output.

[bcotton]

I'm not knocking you. we all have a little bit of experience and that helps save people time and money doing what doesnt work.

I didnt have success with strawberries either, but for a different reason. The strawberries usually bear in early/mid summer (blue light spectrum!)... but I was doing an 18 hour light cycle (and the room was 78-82 degrees) for my hops... and the strawberry plants started fruiting right away.. a little bitty plant making weak/sad/useless strawberries. It may be possible, just starting with 10-12 hour days which is more like when a strawberry is in veg.... maybe temperature is a factor, inconclusive..

brian

[tmcmaster]

Not to beat a dead horse on this thread... But, is it better for indoor growth to have an off/on cycle? I am working out the kinks in my first indoor system, and have been leaving the light on 24/7 (granted, not the most cost effective plan)...