Check out the "Sun Blaze" fixtures.

Hi everyone, John L here. I'm just getting into the indoor lighting part, but I have two light fixtures. I purchased both of them at Amazon a few weeks ago, and have just set up my grow station about three weeks ago.

One of the light fixtures is a [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]DuroLux T5 system with four 6500K bulbs[/url]. The other one is an [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H1C74O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1]EnviroGro FLT46 4-Ft, 6-Tube Fixture[/url]. The former is very light weight, while the later is quite heavy.

I found that the former, has the best packing system, where the T5 bulbs are packed separately, and tucked into the undercarriage. Nothing broken in shipment. The later had the bulbs placed within the receptacles, and when arriving, two were broken.

Both seem to work quite well, but I still haven't gotten my two broken bulbs yet, so I cannot judge what the extra T5s can do.

I'm currently experimenting with CFLs purchased locally. I discovered that Duke Power has a special program here in the Raleigh/Durham area, and some places offer the CFLs at a very reduced price. Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store has CFLs for $0.50 each, and they come in a box of two for a dollar. Great price, but they are warm white, and good for flowering.

So I kept looking and actually called Duke in search of other place to look for the (Daylight)5600-6500k range. I was referred to WalMart, where I looked around. One WalMart did not have the Daylight CFLs on sale, so I went to a couple more, and Bingo they have a box of four 23W bulbs in Daylight for a price of $3.48. Not as good as the Habitat thrift store, but they were in Daylight.

I'm self-employed( make beautiful things for the interior design business) and have my shop in the basement. The ceiling is not finished, but stuffed with insulation. When it is removed, I have a nice recess that is about 14 1/2" wide and 9 1/4" deep. Its a great place to set up a bunch of CFLs and use the trusses as a modified reflector for plants I have brought in from the outside. The low cost of the CFLs are so good, I should be able to come up with a nice light system for a smaller price than the two T5 fixtures above. I'll try to keep everyone informed as to my success here.

As I said, I am new to all this, and even though I try to thoroughly research things, I'm sure there is much I have left out of the process. I'm trying to figure out how this forum works, so I'm not sure how to post everything. It's not like the software I use on my own forum.

Anyway, hello everyone, and I hope to learn a great deal from this site.

I noticed the Sun Blaze fixtures say 120 volt only. Does that mean you have to check the individual outlet, since not all houses are 120 if I remember correctly? My house was built about 25 or 30 years ago I believe.

This post was edited by Bama_Joe on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 21:31