I don't suggest this set up...but it worked when my other lights broke and I couldn't repair them immediately. It's mostly tomatoes under this setup and I wanted to keep them close to the tubes. Sometimes all the "junk" in the basement comes in handy :)

From peppers, light "tower"

i take my seedlings out side when they are 3 to 4" tall transplant into 3" pots in limited sunlight for the first two weeks and then full sunlight after that. after they hit 6 to 8" i put them in the ground. works well for me.

CHEERS!

I started lots of plants last year, and I even had green peppers on the plants before I could put them out. Started Habs Jan. 7 and took them outside in June! :) Not doing that this year!

Here is a Thai pepper on the 20th of July. It was about 4' tall and just as wide.

Being I grow coral and have an extensive salt water aquarium setup, I have pretty good knowledge of lighting. Do any of you know the color temperature of the lamps your using? It would be much easier to figure out what lighting works best that way. For example, I have 2, 20 watt T12 5000 kelvin lamps in a Lowe's 24 inch shoplight that I use for mangroves in my filter setup and they grow like weeds. 5000k is a full color spectrum light. So I would imagine that should be a good temperature?

T12 = 2 bulbs x 40 watts x 65 lumens/watt = 5200 lumens
T8 = 2 bulbs x 32 watts x 85 lumens/watt = 5440 lumens

I buy the T12's because they are cheaper.
Rick (from VA also)

Well, there goes my special claim to fame!

Thanks for the clarification on the fluorescents. I guess T8 must be newer technology. I can get a pair of T12 40w "residential" bulbs (4100 Kelvin) for $4 whereas the T8 are $10 up a pair. I would only save 16 watts with the T8 so even running them 24x7 for a couple months...

Hey wait a minute! It doesn't make any difference, does it? As long as the bulb is matched to the ballast...

My system consists of 15 fixtures of 40W bulbs.

If I'm running all of them.

15 fixtures x 2 bulbs/fixture x 40 W x .00037/60 $/hr = $0.0074 / hour

Or, about $16 to start 12 standard trays of plants.

So the cost per 48" bulb for the 8-week sprouting period would be: T8 = 98 cents and T12 = $1.25.

That seems pretty negligible, unless you go totally bonkers and fill your whole house with banks of shop lights, as some of our more prodigious trading partners are rumored to be doing.

Source: http://www.simkar.com/t8.htm

here is more info

http://www.uaf.edu/ces/publications/freepubs/HGA-00432.html

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/kobayashik/Supplemental.html

There are links to links to links...

It was a nice read though!

Rick (in VA, not to be confused with the other two ;^)

Dale

john

http://www.uaf.edu/ces/publications/freepubs/HGA-00432.html

BTW Dale, I never received my seeds from you - are they on the way?

Dale

I hope the bar doesn't go bankrupt without me!

Oh yeah, the grow light I was supposed to borrow from a friend "mysteriously" disappeared. Don't you hate when inanimate objects just walk off out of your garage? Luckily this thread has so much different info in it, I knew what I wanted and where to go. Thank you!

I figured out it was from the dirt down below.

My sole problem is I dont have a room with consistant heat for the seedlings.

john

John, I will send any spiders I find inside your way, if I don't smash them first. Oh, we get black widows here too. Glad they are welcome at your place because they are NOT welcome here. :)

Plant count a little out of control. Had to make return trip to Wally World for another light. The plants that are already under the lights are very happy. I'm very, very glad I went this route. Thank you so much everyone for your input, I have learned a lot.

Erin