Lighting???

[VictoryGarden]

Picking up my system tomorrow...

What kind of lighting do you folks feel would get the best results?

I have about $200 left to spend//
My concerns are for both initial and ongoing electrical cost.

The grow bed is about 4' square...

Thanks!


Victory Garden.

[Roger L.]

4x4=16 sq. FT.
16x50watts per sq.ft.=800watts

See Aquaponics 101 by Oliver

[VictoryGarden]

Thank you!

T5/T8's ???

What do you think avg. cost will be to run/mo.?

[Aloha Don]

Will you be using any natural lighting?
Or rely only on the artificial lights?

[Roger L.]

T8's definitely. You generally have about 32-35 watts per bulb. I'm also adding 4 spotlights, one on each side, to use where the extra light is needed.

[VictoryGarden]

Saw this on Ebay....

I am concerned about head from T-8's as well as the cost to run...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-300w-LED-Gr ... 4164f3ba34

Thoughts??

[Oliver]

I didn't see any specifications. I would want to know the dimensions of the light and the lens angle. From that, you can somewhat determine the area it will cover. Sometimes LED lights have specs that tell you the designed coverage area in both X and Y directions and what height it needs to be. This is important to know as to whether or not it will work with your grow bed.

Narrower beam angles work best for tall plants, up to a point, than do wide angle lenses. From my rather expensive experience with LEDs, they don't buy you any power savings if all you are growing is leafy greens. Too much red light and too little blue is just a waste of electricity and cost for leafy greens. With some of the left over LED lights we have we are planning on using them for sprouting of leafy greens.

Oliver