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maark23

Light fixture question

maark23 TX/8a
10 years ago

Hello everyone!

I was at Hd the other day looking at light fixtures, and saw that they had a fixture that held two T5 lights. I was wondering if that would be a good purchase. I figure two lights would be better than one.

It was about 22 bucks.

They also had other light fixtures but they only held one bulb.

I wanted to use the lights for growing seed and if there is room on the shelf, for over wintering some small adenium plants and plumeria seedlings.

Thank you for any input!

Mark

Comments (15)

  • jv44
    10 years ago

    Sure, two is better than one, four is better than two, and so on. Get the biggest one you can afford--even still, you will quickly outgrow it and wish you had gotten the next size larger! I have a single fixture with 12 T5 bulbs, 48" long...my adeniums grow like weeds under it (I also use an electric seed germination mat under them all) and I wish I'd spent more and gotten a 16 bulb fixture!

    Mike in MN

  • Pagan
    10 years ago

    whoa. 12 t5 bulbs??

    Mark, I have a puny setup consisting of two 14-watt t5HOs (they were the only bulbs that happened to fit in what used to be a lamp-turned-FPU (favored-plant-unit). I just propped them up as close to the bulbs as possible since the T5HOs only generate enough heat to keep the unit about 2 degrees celsius warmer than the room. The T5s might be hotter.

    If you want to intensify the light in your fixture, you can cover it on all sides with anything that has white surface--it reflects light much better than, say, ,mylar (good insulation but white surfaces reflect light better).

    Your setup rocks, by the way, Mike. T-joints are our friend!

    Pagan

  • rcharles_gw (Canada)
    10 years ago

    Hi Mike,
    I use two T5 HO flourescent bulbs for adeniums and annuals (flowers/Vegetable) and they work well. I would not grow them under these lights for flower and fruit procuction, just to get a head start on things.

    With the set up that you have pictured. Very nice by the way.
    How is it set up. Are there 12 lights, 2ft. long running throughout the 48" of fixture?
    When you speak of T5's. Are T5 and T5HO flourescents the same bulb?
    Sorry for all the questions, just curious of set up.
    Rick

  • jv44
    10 years ago

    Thanks Rick and Pagan....T-joints, yeah.....I had never worked with PVC before--just looked at what we had in stock where I work, made up a basic design in my head and went at it. It turned out really nice and it easily supports the weight of the light fixture--about 30 lbs.

    Correct, Rick, 12 T5 HO bulbs, each 4' long (not 2 ft.) running the length of the 48" fixture--of course the fixture itself is REALLY more like 50" or 52" in length in order to accommodate 48" bulbs. I thought all T5 were High Output, that's why I just say T5's.....I know for sure mine are HO. And my larger adeniums bloom quite well under the lights--I've got buds showing on a grafted obesum called "Classic", my Thai soco KHZ, as well as my Pachypodium densiflorum. v. brevicalyx. I'm actually very surprised at the vigorous growth of my adenium seedlings (the blooming ones as well) under the fluorescent lights....I think part of the explanation is that normal 8-bulb T5 fixtures are 24" wide.....whereas my 12-bulb unit is only 21" wide, so the light is more concentrated within a smaller area.

  • Pagan
    10 years ago

    Hi Rick!

    T5HOs are just the updated, more efficient version of the T5 fluorescent line in that they generate more light from less energy and lose less of that energy in terms of heat. Basically, you'll be getting more light for the power you're putting in, without losing some of that to heat. This is why incandescent bulbs are just silly--much of the electricity you put in them are lost in the amount of heat they produce.

    I considered setting up a winter spot in the basement but this winter is so ridiculous, nothing can survive down there unless I heat it up!

  • rcharles_gw (Canada)
    10 years ago

    Mike,
    The lights must be no more than an inch or two apart. Must run the hydro up I would imagine?
    You obviously are getting superb results with what you are doing.
    Rick

  • jv44
    10 years ago

    You must have one nasty cold basement! Actually, even the T5 HO bulbs put out a fair amount of heat still....plus the electric germination mat warms them from below--my lights are on a timer (16 hrs. on, 8 hrs. off) but the electric mat is on all the time. I was very dubious of my set-up producing enough heat for decent growth...my room faces NW and Minn. winters are just brutal so normally my room is rather cool all winter. Not this year though--this is the warmest room in the house now!

    Mike in MN

  • maark23 TX/8a
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Very interesting info! Thank you guys for all the information. Right now I will go with the fixture that holds the two T5's. I plan on using them for a small shelf system that has 3 tiers, so I will get two fixtures.

    I will keep you guys updated!

    Mark

  • rooftopbklyn (zone 7a)
    10 years ago

    When you get up to 600 Watts (4foot t5(ho) bulbs are usually 54 watts..) there may be more efficient light sources available, like metal halide. At 600 watts any technology available today will generate significant heat (mh/flourescent/led/halogen/whatever). Probably great in a cool basement, not so much in your average house.

    But, thats a cool fixture. I have one that has only 4 4 foot tubes (54w/t5ho) in it, and its it's about 16" wide. I'm feeling inadequate now.

    I keep it much higher too, but I have a variety of plants of different sizes underneath, and prefer being able to see them nicely over maximizing their growth. It's still plenty bright enough to flower many plants, including african violets, orchids, and serissa. Haven't had an adenium flower yet, but haven't had any very long and only have 1 that is flowering size.

    Twisty CFL bulbs are great too, there's a wide variety of sizes available at reasonable prices, and you can use any old lamp you have - clamp lamp reflectors work well, or get creative and build your own fixture out of PVC and some hardware store parts. It's pretty easy to wire classic lamp sockets. (get 6500k/"daylight" bulbs for the most part, no special "grow" magic needed).

  • longaeva54
    10 years ago

    What about led lights for indoor plant growth , has anyone used them?

  • Drontti
    10 years ago

    Hey longaeva54.
    I've had led plant light for a couple of months now. I have most of my plants under it including my adenium seedlings and everything has grown very well. Adeniums haven't grown very fast though but some at least.. which is definitely better than them being dormant. :) They'd probably grow faster if I brought the light closer to them but I want to provide light for all my plants so that's not an option. The led light only gets slightly warm so the plant could probably even touch it without burning.
    The only possible downside with the led light is that because it's optimized for plants the color of the light is kinda psychedelic purple which some could find disturbing if kept in an open room... I keep mine in a closet which of course may seem very suspicious to others.. lol :)

  • longaeva54
    10 years ago

    Hi Drontti ,
    I read that red color is to help plants flowering while the blue color to help plants growing. Can you show us your led plant light?

  • Drontti
    10 years ago

    Longaeva - it just so happens that my led plant light just broke yesterday morning.. sigh :/ It was a cheap one from China so I guess you get what you pay for.. it was nice while it lasted though. It actually has a 5 year warranty on it but sending it back to China would probably be rather expensive.

    I ordered myself a "T-Neon" growth light as a replacement... from Germany this time.. Plant lights in here are just too expensive for my student budget. I hope it will be more durable and at least the bulbs should be cheap to replace if they break.

  • longaeva54
    10 years ago

    Mike in MN, what is the electricity consumption of your fixture ?

    Drontti,sorry for your lose. I hope the T-Neon will be OK for you.

  • artist8590
    10 years ago

    Home Depot and Lowes have such ordinary fixtures. When it comes to decorating I find I can get great fixtures at www.lighting55.com at very competitive prices. The light used for growing plants this time of year always gives me a jump on my gardening projects. the better the light the stronger the plants are when I transplant them into my garden next month.

    This post was edited by artist8590 on Mon, Mar 10, 14 at 16:34

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