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Hydroponic Fluorescent Lights Bulbs Lamps

Hydroponic System DiagramFluorescent Light
Fluorescent tubes offer a broader color spectrum and are available in a variety of kinds including bright white. cool white. warm white. plant bulbs. daylight and full spectrum. The combination of warm and cool white offer a broad light spectrum.

Fluorescent bulbs are relatively inexpensive, long-lasting and provide even, cool lighting.

The down-side to fluorescent lights is that they are low in intensity and need to be very close to the plants to be effective. Seedlings, cuttings and most house plants will benefit from fluorescent lighting. Listed below are some fluorescent lights to get you started with.

There are several options when it comes to lighting your indoor hydroponics system. One of them is fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lighting is the least expensive of the lighting system for indoor hydroponics growing. It is also one of the more energy efficient and coolest running systems. Despite these pluses, there are also some significant drawbacks to fluorescent lighting.

The biggest drawback to fluorescent lights is that they do not provide the full spectrum of wavelengths in the optimum bands for photosynthesis. The newer T5 fluorescents are an improvement and are getting closer to covering the full spectrum needed for all phases of plant growth.

For the moment, fluorescent lighting is best suited for ornamental house plants and for starting seedlings, cuttings and clones. Full-spectrum fluorescent lights are also great for leafy produce like lettuce spinach and herbs. They fall short, however, when it comes to fruiting vegetables and flowering plants. Despite the improvements with the T5 bulbs, they are still lacking in the wavelengths most suited to fruiting and flowering, so they are not well suited to activities such as growing tomatoes.

If you are going to limit your growing, say, rafts of lettuce, you might well consider taking advantage of the low cost of fluorescent lighting. If you do choose this option, here are a few guidelines in utilizing them:

  • Since fluorescent lighting does not produce much in the way of heat, lights can be hung very near to     your plants. As a rule of thumb, 4-6 inches above the plants is sufficient.
  • When planning your system, plan on using about 40 watts of fluorescent lighting for each square foot of growing area. With T5 fluorescents, use one 4 foot tube for each two square feet of growing bed.
  • Fluorescent lights are not well suited for larger plants because the light they emit does not penetrate foliage as well as some other types of lighting (Notably, lighting of the High Intensity Discharge varieties), this can be overcome by placing lights to the sides as well as above larger plants.
  • You can split your operation, utilizing fluorescent lighting for vegetative stages of plant growth and moving your plants under an HID lighting system for flowering and fruiting.

Properly used, and with an understanding of its limitations, fluorescent lighting can be a useful tool in indoor hydroponics, they are economical to purchase and cheap to operate. They also produce less heat than other lights and therefore reduce the amount of cooling your growing space will require. They can be a big money  saver, if their spectrum meets your growing needs.

fluorescent

VIVOSUN T5 Grow Light Bulbs 2 Ft, 24W 6500K HO Fluorescent Tubes Light Bulbs, Co picture

VIVOSUN T5 Grow Light Bulbs 2 Ft, 24W 6500K HO Fluorescent Tubes Light Bulbs, Co

$48.31



HYDROFARM 2' , 2 BULB T5 HO FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT with 4 bulbs picture

HYDROFARM 2' , 2 BULB T5 HO FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT with 4 bulbs

$42.00



T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO PURE BLOOM SPECTRUM picture

T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO PURE BLOOM SPECTRUM

$38.96



Oppolite 2FT/4FT 4/6/8-Bulb 24W/54W T5 HO Fluorescent Plant Grow Light Fixture picture

Oppolite 2FT/4FT 4/6/8-Bulb 24W/54W T5 HO Fluorescent Plant Grow Light Fixture

$54.74



T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO GROW BLOOM 2 4 8 PACK picture

T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO GROW BLOOM 2 4 8 PACK

$37.50



46IN 54W 6500K T5 HO Fluorescent Tubes COOL White Grow Light Bulbs 5Pcs picture

46IN 54W 6500K T5 HO Fluorescent Tubes COOL White Grow Light Bulbs 5Pcs

$49.99



Interlux Compact Fluorescent  Grow Lamps - 125 & 200 Watts -  6400k FOR PLANTS picture

Interlux Compact Fluorescent Grow Lamps - 125 & 200 Watts - 6400k FOR PLANTS

$49.50



Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Grow Light Bulb Model 100340 picture

Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Grow Light Bulb Model 100340

$14.99



Vivosun T5 Grow Light 4ft 8 Bulbs Fixture picture

Vivosun T5 Grow Light 4ft 8 Bulbs Fixture

$80.00



VIVOSUN 2FT 4FT T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture w/ High Output Bulbs 6500K picture

VIVOSUN 2FT 4FT T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture w/ High Output Bulbs 6500K

$161.99



VIVOSUN T5 Grow Light Bulbs 2 ft 24W 6500K HO Fluorescent Tubes Light Bulbs 3 Pc picture

VIVOSUN T5 Grow Light Bulbs 2 ft 24W 6500K HO Fluorescent Tubes Light Bulbs 3 Pc

$25.00



T5 Grow Light Bulbs 2 Ft 24W 6500K HO Fluorescent Tubes Light Bulbs, Cool White picture

T5 Grow Light Bulbs 2 Ft 24W 6500K HO Fluorescent Tubes Light Bulbs, Cool White

$48.98



Skylight T5 Bulbs (8 Pack) 6500K Cool Blue 54W 4 FT High Output Fluorescent Lamp picture

Skylight T5 Bulbs (8 Pack) 6500K Cool Blue 54W 4 FT High Output Fluorescent Lamp

$53.95



VIVOSUN T5 4FT 54W 3000K  Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs - Pack of 5 New In Box  picture

VIVOSUN T5 4FT 54W 3000K Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs - Pack of 5 New In Box

$74.95



Growers Supply Double Fluorescent Light Fixture with 2 Sylvania Light 24 in 20 W picture

Growers Supply Double Fluorescent Light Fixture with 2 Sylvania Light 24 in 20 W

$80.50



DoubleLux 4 ft x 16 BULB T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture picture

DoubleLux 4 ft x 16 BULB T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture

$200.00



EYE HORTILUX 1000W ENHANCED GROW LIGHT BULB LAMP GREAT CONDITION picture

EYE HORTILUX 1000W ENHANCED GROW LIGHT BULB LAMP GREAT CONDITION

$39.95



Sunbester 4ft 54w T5 Ho 6500k Fluorescent Tubes Grow Light Bulbs Cool Daylight picture

Sunbester 4ft 54w T5 Ho 6500k Fluorescent Tubes Grow Light Bulbs Cool Daylight

$64.90



iPower 4Feet 54W 6400K Fluorescent T5 High-output Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed picture

iPower 4Feet 54W 6400K Fluorescent T5 High-output Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed

$61.08



VIVOSUN T5 fluorescent tubes pack of 5 picture

VIVOSUN T5 fluorescent tubes pack of 5

$32.00