Growlight suggestions?

[power270lb]

I have 3, spider farmer sf-1000, Mars hydro 600 and another red/blue square (was my first didn't know any better). I bought like 150 adenium/desert rose seeds and germination rate was roughly 80% (attached pictures of two trays and there's another full tray as well). Along with cuttings I'm well over 150+ trees and most need adequate light because they're tropical.

I've researched Reddit and a lot of users get kingbright off Alibaba, the ordering system is confusing and not sure I trust Chinese vendors. At the same time I've researched cannabis growers to see what lights they use and these things are $700-1400. The light here is blocked by buildings so it's a lot of bright indirect light. Was wondering if anyone has anything they'd recommend or perhaps built using T5s etc.

 

[Paradox]

I have 3, spider farmer sf-1000, Mars hydro 600 and another red/blue square (was my first didn't know any better). I bought like 150 adenium/desert rose seeds and germination rate was roughly 80% (attached pictures of two trays and there's another full tray as well). Along with cuttings I'm well over 150+ trees and most need adequate light because they're tropical.

I've researched Reddit and a lot of users get kingbright off Alibaba, the ordering system is confusing and not sure I trust Chinese vendors. At the same time I've researched cannabis growers to see what lights they use and these things are $700-1400. The light here is blocked by buildings so it's a lot of bright indirect light. Was wondering if anyone has anything they'd recommend or perhaps built using T5s etc.

My winter setup for my tropicals uses shop lights with t5 daylight bulbs and that works fine for them during the winter.

Last year I saw some LED fixtures at Lowes that I was thinking of replacing my t5 fluorescent with but never did. When I run out of t5 bulbs I'll think about it again

I wouldn't trust any light that doesn't have a UL listing which I doubt any of the cheap Chinese lights have.

 

[yashu]

My winter setup for my tropicals uses shop lights with t5 daylight bulbs and that works fine for them during the winter.

Last year I saw some LED fixtures at Lowes that I was thinking of replacing my t5 fluorescent with but never did. When I run out of t5 bulbs I'll think about it again

I wouldn't trust and light that doesn't have a listing which I doubt ant of the cheap Chinese lights have.

I don’t know how good they are but I saw T5 LED lamps. They were daylight, plug and play so if they work well you wouldn’t need to replace the fixtures, just the lamps themselves.

 

[Paradox]

I don’t know how good they are but I saw T5 LED lamps. They were daylight, plug and play so if they work well you wouldn’t need to replace the fixtures, just the lamps themselves.

They were 4 foot LED tubes so they would fit in a 4 ft shop light? Would have to see if they are full spectrum/daylight. If they arent, they won't work

 

[yashu]

They were 4 foot LED tubes?

Yeah, they were in a clear, round tube that looked like a regular T5 (but clear) and there was a strip going town the middle with 2 rows of emitters.

 

[yashu]

They were similar to this but the tube was clear and you could see the emitters.

Philips 54W Equivalent 46 in. High Output Linear T5 Type A InstantFit Daylight LED Tube Light Bulb (5000K) (1-Pack) 473520 - The Home Depot

Experience hassle-free energy savings simply by replacing your currently linear fluorescent tube with the Philips InstantFit 24-Watt 4 ft. T5 linear LED light bulb (LED T5 24W/850). It is the easiest way to replace a linear fluorescent light bulb with an LED solution. Philips InstantFit is a...

www.homedepot.com

 

[Paradox]

Yeah, they were in a clear, round tube that looked like a regular T5 (but clear) and there was a strip going town the middle with 2 rows of emitters.

Just looked on Amazon, there are t5 daylight leds

https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-25W-65K-10PK-LED/dp/B06VWB3FFP/ref=pd_aw_ic_dpcp_m_1_m_2?pd_rd_w=lHFGj&content-id=amzn1.sym.bd0fdf53-c22e-4ccf-9db7-c2aba5cf5188&pf_rd_p=bd0fdf53-c22e-4ccf-9db7-c2aba5cf5188&pf_rd_r=KEV45GXAHCG4D5GKSGED&pd_rd_wg=sevm5&pd_rd_r=1cb379da-32a6-4b5e-af11-ac33a756dec1&pd_rd_i=B06VWB3FFP

 

[yashu]

Just looked on Amazon, there are t5 daylight leds

https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-25W-65K-10PK-LED/dp/B06VWB3FFP/ref=pd_aw_ic_dpcp_m_1_m_2?pd_rd_w=lHFGj&content-id=amzn1.sym.bd0fdf53-c22e-4ccf-9db7-c2aba5cf5188&pf_rd_p=bd0fdf53-c22e-4ccf-9db7-c2aba5cf5188&pf_rd_r=KEV45GXAHCG4D5GKSGED&pd_rd_wg=sevm5&pd_rd_r=1cb379da-32a6-4b5e-af11-ac33a756dec1&pd_rd_i=B06VWB3FFP

Ha! I just checked Amazon as well and found these

…apparently there are a bunch out there.
All that said I have not tried them.


Active Grow T5 High Output 4FT LED Grow Light Bulb - Plant Grow Lights for Indoor Plants, Veg, Bloom, Greens & Microgreens - 24W - Sun White Full Spectrum High CRI 95 - Direct Replacement - 4-Pack https://a.co/d/25th1tj

 

[Paradox]

The 6500K ones would be better than the 5000K ones.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I use a mix of t5ho and spider farmer. The first one that I bought did not have a dimmer so I put my succulents under that one. Hella bright.
I have upgraded the middle shelf to spider farmer (used to be t5ho also) and have a new one off to the side now.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I haven’t figured out how to link them together with the cat5 cable???
im using a timer so that might be why it’s not working but as soon as I plug in the Ethernet cable then the lights shut off.
I have them on two timers and it is working ok.
My aquarium lights are on there too.

 

[Carol 83]

I use full spectrum, I think T5. I started out with the awful pink/blue things and they sucked. I keep my trees in my kitchen for the winter and couldn't stand to look at them. The full spectrum are much easier on the eyes and made a huge difference in the healthy growth of the trees.

 

[power270lb]

My winter setup for my tropicals uses shop lights with t5 daylight bulbs and that works fine for them during the winter.

Last year I saw some LED fixtures at Lowes that I was thinking of replacing my t5 fluorescent with but never did. When I run out of t5 bulbs I'll think about it again

I wouldn't trust any light that doesn't have a UL listing which I doubt any of the cheap Chinese lights have.

Could you possibly show a pic or link of your setup? How hot does it run?

 

[power270lb]

Just looked on Amazon, there are t5 daylight leds

https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-25W-65K-10PK-LED/dp/B06VWB3FFP/ref=pd_aw_ic_dpcp_m_1_m_2?pd_rd_w=lHFGj&content-id=amzn1.sym.bd0fdf53-c22e-4ccf-9db7-c2aba5cf5188&pf_rd_p=bd0fdf53-c22e-4ccf-9db7-c2aba5cf5188&pf_rd_r=KEV45GXAHCG4D5GKSGED&pd_rd_wg=sevm5&pd_rd_r=1cb379da-32a6-4b5e-af11-ac33a756dec1&pd_rd_i=B06VWB3FFP

If I were to use theses what housing unit should I get?

 

[power270lb]

I use a mix of t5ho and spider farmer. The first one that I bought did not have a dimmer so I put my succulents under that one. Hella bright.
I have upgraded the middle shelf to spider farmer (used to be t5ho also) and have a new one off to the side now.
View attachment 451759

What did you pay for the shelf? Mine are on tables and enclosed in mylar, takes up an entire room

 

[power270lb]

I use full spectrum, I think T5. I started out with the awful pink/blue things and they sucked. I keep my trees in my kitchen for the winter and couldn't stand to look at them. The full spectrum are much easier on the eyes and made a huge difference in the healthy growth of the trees.

Agreed I don't like the red blue lights, mine are in a separate room upstairs but I'm running out of space. For whatever reason every tree I have thrives under the spider farmer and Mars hydro except adeniums. My two adult adeniums get leaf burn but my 6 adenium seedlings that are 15 months old grow like crazy under the red and blue which is making me think just get another since I have close to 100+ adeniums now.

 

[RJG2]

They were 4 foot LED tubes so they would fit in a 4 ft shop light? Would have to see if they are full spectrum/daylight. If they arent, they won't work

Yeah, they were in a clear, round tube that looked like a regular T5 (but clear) and there was a strip going town the middle with 2 rows of emitters.

I got some of these for my office. Just an FYI - the ones I bought required you to bypass or remove the transformer - so be careful.

 

[Paradox]

??? My fixtures are just plug in to a wall socket.

If those just fit into a regular shop light fixture, they should work without rerouting.

 

[Dogestoevsky]

I got some of these for my office. Just an FYI - the ones I bought required you to bypass or remove the transformer - so be careful.

Do you mean the ballast that is part of the fixture housing? I’m also thinking about upgrading my units to led lamps but am having trouble figuring it out without seeing the product in person.

 

[Paradox]

If I were to use theses what housing unit should I get?

A 4 foot shop light fixtures that does not have a screen or panel over the lights. You don't want any thing in front of the bulbs to attenuate the light. Also a while or reflective surface behind the bulbs to provide more light bouncing out of the fixture. Just choose one with a UL listing for safety.